Playoffs?!

I am something of a Bulls fan (of course, I grew up worshiping Jordan like every kid my age, and in the last decade or so they have drafted about 4 Duke players, so I respect their support of our program!), so for a time, I was pretty happy with these playoffs. It was great to see Deng excel in the first round... but I'm pretty terrified of this series with the Pistons considering how Game 1 went. Granted, the Bulls were 3-1 against the Pistons in the regular season with the only loss being a 2 point road loss.. but the playoffs are different. I just really dread the possibility of another Detroit/San Antonio final. How dreadfully boring would that be?

Today Cleveland (my 2nd favorite team) and New Jersey start while San Antonio faces Phoenix. Should be an interesting day. As for the two series, I think Cleveland wins in 6 and Phoenix in 7. A lot has been said about San Antonio's defense, and how defense wins championships or whatever. I sort of disagree. San Antonio has two great defensive players (Duncan, Bowen), and they have experience, savvy, and balance offensively - enough so to make up for their lack of an explosive offensive weapon. And for all the insults thrown Phoenix's way regarding their D, they have Raja Bell and Shawn Marion who are both excellent, versatile defenders, and their offense is so much more balanced than Denver's. They can attack you with 5 weapons on the court at once, inside and out, in transition or in the half-court. I think this year might be Phoenix's year. If they get past SA, then they have... Golden State or Utah (probably Utah since they can actually attack GS in the post) and then probably Detroit. I'd pick Phoenix in both of those series in 5 or 6 games.