NBA Playoff Race: Wild, Wild West

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What was already shaping up to be an exciting postseason could be even better with the many trades and potential trades across the NBA landscape. Pau Gasol is the Lakers new golden boy, Shaq is in the desert, and Jason Kidd could be back with the Mavericks.

Although the East has the two best teams record-wise ( Boston, Detroit), the West is still the better overall conference. Consider the fact that Denver at 32-20 doesn’t even have a playoff spot while Philadelphia and New Jersey, the 7 and 8 spots in the East, are both seven games below .500.

Despite their underachieving, the Mavericks and Spurs are the most talented and battle tested teams in the Western Conference and probably the league. With Jason Kidd on the point the sluggish Mavericks could finally get back into Championship form but no deal is written in stone yet.

Devean George interjected, claiming he wants to stay in Dallas. Stackhouse has also said he isn’t going anywhere and if the deal falls through he would have to sit out for thirty days. The Mavericks are now hoping for approval on a restructured deal involving Keith Van Horn and Trenton Hassell and word is they are close to an agreement.

The Mavericks could still end up with a significant loss in DeSagana Diop, who despite poor offensive numbers is a solid rebounder and defensive presence alongside Erik Dampier. Besides, with Shaq in Phoenix and Gasol in L.A., now is not the time to be without a quality center.

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Word is that Cleveland and Denver are still interested but should the Mavericks fail to acquire Kidd, he would likely stay in New Jersey.

As for San Antonio, even with Duncan hurt the Spurs are still a handful for anybody evidenced by Manu Ginobli’s 46 points in last Wednesdays win over the Cavaliers. The Spurs still appear to be the class of the West and have the third best scoring defense in the league giving up just 91.5 ppg.

With Pau Gasol and a healthy Kobe the Lakers are now a complete team with a dependable defense, Utah has the best home record in the league, Houston is still a good defensive team and could be tough come April, and who would have thought the Hornets would have the best record in the western conference?

No team has as much star power as Phoenix. The Suns have been on the brink of a championship for years but just can’t seem to muster enough defense when it matters most. Shaq would certainly give them girth in the middle but how will he fit into the run and gun offense? Only time will tell but if he is able to get into shape and stay healthy he could provide the much needed points in the paint, rebounding, and defense to put the Suns over the top.

by Erich Straub
Pro Basketball Fans Staff Writer

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