Another round is over in the NBA playoffs as we head towards the inevitable Lakers/Cavs showdown in the Finals. Sorry Denver and Orlando, it just isn’t in the cards this year. It was pre-determined before the playoffs even started that it would be a battle between Kobe and Lebron (and the other eight starters on the court). Before I get to my picks for the Conference Finals (even though I just made them), I have a few thoughts about the second round:

- Boston has been valiant in defending their title. They had an absolutely grueling season and post-season last year and followed it up this year with an even tougher slate. They battled through some horrendous injuries and found ways to win with Glen “Big Baby” Davis as the starter. Having an undeniable flair for drama, the Celtics feel inclined to take every series to a seventh game. While their season is over, I think it’s fair to applaud them on their effort. At least they defended their title with honor, something most teams don’t do.

- How can a league suffer through a referee/gambling scandal and still continue to trot out horrible officials for playoff games? It’s true that most sports suffer from spotty officiating, but they usually learn from their mistakes. The NBA continues to ignore the fact and everyone suffers. The Mavericks were screwed in Game 3 of their series which makes me wonder… Mark Cuban continues to bash the refs and draw the ire of David Stern, so is it really a coincidence that his team gets the brunt of this officiating? Also, the refs need to forget about the Pistons/Pacers fight and treat Ron Artest like any other player. I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw more overreacting than I saw from the officials in the Houston/LA series.

- During the regular season I would’ve said with quite a bit of confidence that LA could beat Cleveland in the Finals. Hell, I sat here and defended Kobe in an argument with Scott even though it was probably a dead end conversation. When the Finals take place, I’ll still pick LA because that’s who I’ll be rooting for and I’m not going to take back my words from previous blogs. But I will say right now, it probably won’t be pretty. The Cavs look like a fine oiled machine while the Lakers are a coin flip. One game they thrash the Rockets by 40, the next game they find themselves in a 17-1 hole in the first quarter. I was unaware that was even possible. Then again, who knows how the Cavs will do once they actually play an NBA team. So far they are 8-0 against the WNBA’s best this post-season.

Before we get to the picks, here are the standings after two rounds.

Devin (Cleveland, Denver, LA, Orlando in 7) –65 Points

Scott (Cleveland, LA, Orlando) – 45 Points

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Cleveland Cavaliers (1) vs Orlando Magic (3)

Like I previously stated, the Cavs have literally steam-rolled through the playoffs so far. Not only have they gone 8-0, but none of the games have even been a contest. While I think most of this is due to how good Cleveland is, some of it has to do with the garbage competition they have faced. Not many things in life are worse than the NBA’s Eastern Conference. Well, the Dave Matthews Band does rank pretty high on that list.

The Magic took Boston all the way to 7 games before finally ending their season. One could argue that Orlando should’ve ended that series in 5 games, but I guess it’s a moot point now that the series is over. I do find it funny that Patrick Ewing is trash talking and living vicariously through Dwight Howard, you know, since Ewing was such a championship player during his days.

This prediction is short and sweet, much like the series.

My Pick: Cleveland in 5

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Los Angeles Lakers (1) vs Denver Nuggets (2)

Just like the Eastern Conference, the top two teams in the West contain everyone’s favorite to win the Conference. The top two teams remain in the West which goes to show that regular season performance does matter in some sports. Somewhere someone in San Jose just started to cry again. The Denver crowd is surely going to harass Kobe to no end because of his...um…checkered history in the Colorado region. Call me crazy, but I don’t think it’s the best idea. Kobe is one of those players who seem to feed off of things like that. Don’t pour gasoline on the fire Denver.

The Nuggets have rolled through the post-season much like Cleveland, only they beat a few NBA teams along the way. Some people really thought Dallas would’ve put up more of a fight, although things could’ve been much closer had Game 3 been called correctly. I personally did think Denver would win, but I also didn’t think it would end in five games. Even more interesting than the games was the battle between Dallas owner Mark Cuban and Kenyon Martin’s mom. I’m not a fan of anything Dallas, but I have a ton of respect for Cuban. He is a great owner. What’s so bad about an owner actually giving a crap about his team? I see absolutely nothing wrong with it.

The Lakers haven’t exactly been world beaters in the playoffs so far, but I’m thinking they are just saving themselves up for the Finals. I figure if I tell myself that enough times, it might actually be true. I must say I love all the crap Kobe gets when the Lakers get beat, even though it’s usually because his surrounding cast sucked more “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist”. Much like the movie, the Lakers supporting cast has one role and doesn’t know when to step it up. Ah, good times.

My Pick: Lakers in 7

(P.S. Don't forget to join our Streak For The Cash group and follow us on Twitter. Links are posted on the right side of the blog. If you have any suggestions/comments for either myself or Scott, feel free to shoot an e-mail our way.)