-- Written By Scott Lunn --
(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (6) Dallas Mavericks
I will freely admit that Denver is a better team than I thought they were. They played very well and handled New Orleans without much difficulty, including one of the worst beatings I can recall ever seeing, and a playoff record 58 point victory. Chauncey Billups has really made all the difference in the world for this team by providing the veteran leadership Denver has been lacking. Their defense has been tenacious to say the least with Chris Anderson, Kenyon Martin, and J.R. Smith blocking shots left and right. Carmelo Anthony has been freed up by Billups ability to score as well and he's certainly benefited. Dallas looked impressive in the first round as well, taking out San Antonio in 6 games. The Spurs couldn't overcome injuries and age, despite Tony Parker and Tim Duncan's best efforts. Dirk Nowitzki leads the scoring effort for Dallas, but they also get a huge punch form Jason Terry off the bench. Jason Kidd has also been solid and a bit healthier Josh Howard aids the Mavericks as well.

I'm not sure Kidd can keep up with Billups defensively and that may be a big factor in this series, as most of the other spots are a wash. Denver has lots of big men to send at Dirk, but the problem is Nowitzki can easily extend those guys to the outside with his shooting ability, freeing up the middle for Dallas rebounders to take advantage of. While I definitely underestimated Denver, I'm still not ready to buy in just yet. I'll take the more experienced Mavs to pull out what should be a hard fought series.

Dallas in 7

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Houston Rockets
The Lakers dispatched of the Utah Jazz with relative ease, needing just 5 games. They even won in Utah which is no simple task. LA seems very determined this season behind Kobe Bryant's leadership and anything short of an NBA Championship will be a disappointment for them. The Lakers will be well rested coming into the series, and that just means Andrew Bynum should be evern closer to 100%. Trevor Ariza has stepped up his game as well and provides an explosive presence at the small forward spot, proving he can be counted on when the team needs him. Houston struggled a little bit with a very young Portland team, but ultimately proved to be too much for them to handle. The Rockets actually seemed to be an improved team with out Tracy McGrady, and overcame his curse with him gone by actually winning a series in the postseason. Ron Artest has taken his game to another level and Yao Ming has been nothing but solid. Even young point guard Aaron Brooks has faired well so far, despite his playoff inexperience.

Ron Artest may be able to slow Bryant down a bit, and Yao will be a touch matchup for the combination of Gasol and Bynum on defense, but simply put, the Lakers have far more when it comes to scoring options. Bryant is going to get his 20 plus and the Lakers will get enough out of a secondary player in either Gasol, Bynum, Ariza, or even Lamar Odom to push them by a slightly overachieving Rockets squad. Houston may steal a game or two, but not enough to worry Los Angeles.

Los Angeles in 5

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--Written By Devin Dombrowski --

(2) Denver Nuggets vs (6) Dallas Mavericks

While both Denver and Dallas won as I picked, both teams did it in a much easier fashion than I had thought. Then again, I don’t watch a ton of NBA games so there is a good chance that I don’t know what I’m talking about.

Denver throttled the Charlotte Oklahoma City New Orleans Hornets, including one of the worst beat downs in NBA playoff history. Honestly, there was no excuse for the way New Orleans played. The only logical thing I can think of is the team quit on coach Byron Scott. Of course, I had help coming up with that theory (Thanks Sports Guy!). Regardless of the circumstances, my image of Chris Paul has been sullied a little bit after that series.

But I have to give props to Denver for playing their part. They have finally come together and have probably the best Nuggets team that Denver fans have seen this decade. I can’t say it enough times, but the trade for Billups was so huge for this team. Without him, they are golfing right now; with him, they have a legit shot at the title.

With Dallas knocking San Antonio out of the playoffs in the first round, they have helped close the window for the Spurs. In fact, the window is completely shut right now. Let me explain. Each team has a window to win a championship or multiple championships. Detroit’s window was open for two seasons and they got their ring, then the window shut. Boston’s window was open last year and they took advantage. In hockey, Buffalo’s window was open two seasons ago but they failed to take advantage and now their window is shut. Well with old age, injuries and a first round exit, San Antonio’s window is officially shut.

I don’t see Dallas having such an easy time this round; in fact I don’t see them winning at all. They have a good team and good chemistry, but what Denver did in the first round cannot be ignored. Carmelo Anthony and company are finally making the leap and ready for more playoff stardom.

My pick: Denver in 6

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs (4) Houston Rockets

If anyone else reads articles by Bill Simmons, they will know what I’m talking about in this next paragraph. Bill once wrote about the Milton Berle game. To put it simply, there were rumors long ago about Milton Berle being very…well…very large shall we say. Anyways, there is this story about someone challenging him, losing and Berle saying simply that he “pulled out just enough to win”. This basically explains the Lakers first round series with the Jazz. There was no way Utah was winning that series. The Lakers knew it and the Jazz knew it. But LA didn’t sweep. They didn’t blow them away. Simply put, they pulled out just enough to win.

The Rockets stunned me and I’m guessing most NBA fans by knocking Portland out so easily. I definitely didn’t expect it. Although I didn’t pick Houston, I’m somewhat enjoying the fact that their recent success has been with Tracy McGrady on the bench. He is a notorius choker when it comes to clutch games and I find it so ironic that the Rockets are now advancing in the playoffs while he is sitting and watching. It strikes a solid 97.4 on the irony scale.

This series could very well go six of seven games if Houston really brings it, but they aren’t winning the series. This is the Lakers year as far as I’m concerned and the only team that can stop them play ball in Ohio.

My Pick: Lakers in 5