The cast for the Eastern Conference Playoffs has been completed for some time now, but the match-ups have yet to be determined. Most teams, especially the Central Division, are still battling for two of the top four slots, and gain home court advantage. Detroit has clinched the top spot, but Cleveland is just a half game behind Chicago for the second seed.

Out West however, the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers are slugging it out for the eighth and last spot. Hell, the Clippers may even snatch the seventh spot if the Lakers lose their last assignment. Right now, the Warriors own that eighth spot at 40-40, just one game ahead of the Clippers (39-41). The Warriors have won their last three games, while the Clippers lost four of its last six, a bad omen for the Los Angeles boys.

The Clippers would love to go back-to-back in postseason wars. The last time they did that was in the 1991-93 seasons. They have Phoenix and New Orleans as their last assignments. A lone win, coupled with two Golden State losses, will catapult them to the play-offs since they own the tie breaker.

The Warriors, on the other hand, will clinch that play-off spot if they win their last two games. Thus, in any scenario, they need to win their last two meetings, one with Dallas and the other with Portland, to avoid any complications.

For me, I would like Golden State to go to the play-offs. Why? First, their coach, Don Nelson, was the one who brought the Dallas franchise back to life as he stirred the Mavericks to successive play-off appearances from 1999-2005, after the ballclub has stayed in limbo for a decade. What drama would emanate if Nelson faces his former team. It is also important to note that Nelson was the last coach to guide the Warriors franchise to their postseason appearance back in 1993-94 when his General Manager, Chris Mullin, was still playing for him.

Second, Golden State holds the edge against Dallas in their season series. And only two other teams have won twice against the Mavericks. They are Phoenix and Utah. But the Warriors may sweep Mark Cuban’s boys tomorrow, and hold that psychological advantage coming into the first round.

Lastly, I would love to see another running team making it to the postseason. That will really make it more exciting. Imagine Dallas, Phoenix, Denver, the Lakers and Golden State Warriors in the play-offs and eventually beating methodical and boring ballclubs like the Jazz and the Spurs. I would just love to see that.

That injury that sidelined him for four games solidifies his bid for a third straight MVP plum, a feat that he would share with Legends Larry Bird and Wilt Chamberlain. His Phoenix Suns lost three of four games since Nash was sidelined. And they barely won the first one against Portland. It was an overtime win, and a narrow one.

With Nash back in the line-up against the Los Angeles Clippers, he wasted no time in orchestrating plays and restoring order in the Suns offense. Phoenix thrives on their run-and-gun style, and they would love to score in the first eight seconds of the shot clock. An interesting stat was offered in the final eight minute mark of this game. Suns scored 43 points when they make a shot within eight seconds of the clock, and produced only 18 after the next eight. And the maestro of those plays is Steve Nash, the reigning two-time NBA MVP.

Nash scored seven points and had six assists in the first six minutes of the game. This led to a double-digit lead by the end of the first canto, and the Suns would not relinquish that lead till the end of the game. Nash scored a total of 13 points and dished out 12 assists in just 28 minutes for a 115-90 Suns victory.

Tonight, the Suns will face the Boston Celtics, and I expect another rout. That’s how important Nash is to the Suns. Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire are not the same without him. Their fluidity is lost without him. I saw them having fun against the Clippers. Rarely used forward Pat Burke even had a career-high 10 rebounds.

There’s a lot of talk going on on Dirk Nowitzki being this year’s MVP. But I still believe Nash is more valuable to Phoenix than Dirk is to Dallas. (Sorry Dirk!) He deserves to win the award more than the past two seasons. (pic courtesy of yahoonba)

But earlier today, in their game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Yao fell to the floor six minutes into the game after trying to block a shot. He did not get up for quite some time and was wincing in pain. Yao’s knee appeared to be under the body of Clippers forward Tim Thomas. He was diagnosed with a fractured bone under his right knee, and will be out for at least six weeks. Ouch!

The Rockets were ahead 14-12 at that point. But Chris Kaman sparked a 14-3 Clipper run in the third to take the lead for good. The Clippers beat Houston, 98-93.

Thomas led L.A. with 21 points. Kaman contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Mobley and Brand had 18 and 16.

Shane Battier led the Rockets with a season-best 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting, and had four triples. Head and Alston added 22 and 21 points respectively.

Yao was enjoying a career-best 27 points and nine rebounds a game for the season. That was too bad for him. Other Rockets need to step up to avert a repeat of last season’s performance. Both Yao and McGrady missed 60 games combined last season, and Houston went 34-48, missing the playoffs. If only both were healthy for at least half of those games, it could have been a different story. Also, Houston went 1-8 when both stars were out. Pressure, pressure, pressure!

The guys coming off the bench has to get involved and double their effort. Houston leads the league in defense, but they need a lot of help at the offensive end. Bonzi Wells was acquired during the off-season to boost that lackluster offense dominated by T-Mac and Yao, but he hardly helped at all. Wait, he made things worse! Houston was in the game before Wells came in. He disrupted the rhythm of the Rockets offense, played 20 minutes, was a dismal 1-of-6 from the field, scored just four points and had six turnovers! More TOs than points! Whoa! Get out of here Bonzi! He has a major attitude problem, and I clearly do not understand why he is still being signed. His underachievements overshadow his skills. Talking about bad investment.

Bottom-line: veteran Dikembe Mutombo needs to play like he did when he was still with Denver and Atlanta, the “D” that is. And Head, Battier and Alston should all team-up to score the points to keep the team afloat before either T-Mac or Yao returns.

The Phoenix Suns faced another Los Angeles team for the second straight night. But this time around, they made sure that they will get the win at their home floor. They beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 112 -104.

Phoenix built their biggest lead in the third, 73-59, on a Diaw jumper. But the Clippers capped the quarter with a 15-4 run that cut their deficit down to three, 74-77. But that was the closest the Clippers could go. James Jones started the final period with a triple and the Suns used a 10-4 spurt to finish the game off, and the Clippers has never gotten close after that.

Suns All-Star forward Shawn Marion had an all-around performance, contributing 27 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Two-time MVP Steve Nash added 20 points and 11 assists, pouring in 17 points and 8 assists in the second half alone. Amare Stoudemire finished his second game after a microfracture surgery, which sidelined him for most of last season, with 15 points and 2 blocks in 24 minutes.

The Suns stepped on the gas in the second half, scoring 64 points.

The Clippers were led by Elton Brand’s 28 points and 13 rebounds. Guards Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley added 17 apiece. Former Sun Tim Thomas could only muster 9 points and 8 rebounds in 2-of-8 shooting from the field. (photo courtesy of nba.com)

The entire roster for the Los Angeles Clippers has been kept almost intact, with just minor additions and losses. Why not! The team finished second in their division after a 12-year-no-playoff drought. They also finished ninth over-all in the NBA and had 47 wins. A great feat for a lottery team the previous 12 years.

Elton Brand shoulders most of the load of the team’s offense and defense. He is one of only three other current NBA players who average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks and 50% from the field. The other two are Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal, who are both definitely shoo-ins for the Hall of Fame. Also, he has developed a consistent jump shot and has slimmed down tremendously. He is a sure shot from mid range, at around 15-18 feet. He has compiled 20.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 50.1% FG percentage.

Much of the Clippers’ success, however, could well be attributed to Sam Cassell, the wily 37-year old veteran point guard. He has turned Brand into an MVP contender, and led the Clippers to their first playoff appearance after so many years. They are laughing stocks of the NBA no longer. Cassell can also be attributed to the Conference Finals appearances of both Milwaukee and Minnesotta, where he is much a factor of Kevin Garnett’s MVP plum, and for Houston’s two NBA titles. Cassell has brought in his leadership, steadiness, veteran smarts, and that deadly and clutch shooting. He is one of the few deadly shooters in the NBA.

Chris Kaman has also helped this team a lot by improving on his offense. Plus, we all know that he is a good shot blocker. Opponents are having doubts trying to drive into that Clipper lane with both Kaman and Brand patrolling the paint, having at least 2 shot blocks credited to each of them. The only problem for Kaman during his first seasons is that he is foul prone. But Coach Mike Dunleavy has remedied that last season by letting Kaman play through his fouls. As a result, he jacked up his numbers in field goal percentage, free throw attempts, free throw percentage, rebounds, steals and points. He has also learned to limit his fouls a bit towards the end of the regular season.

Well, I feel that the Clippers will utilize a regular nine-man rotation. Brand, Cassell and Kaman are locked-in at the 4, 1 and 5 positions respectively. Cuttino Mobley, who was also acquired last season with Cassell, is a sure-fire to play the 2 spot. He brings in his outside shooting and penetration. He is also a veteran, being at his thirties, and has played for a number of years for the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and Sacramento Kings. Now the question is, who will play the 3 spot or the small forward position?

When Corey Maggette, a regular starter, got injured for a significant number of games last season, Dunleavy and the rest of the world discovered the Bruce Bowen-like defensive abilities of Quinton Ross. He is a leech, sticking like glue to the man he is guarding, and is especially effective in guarding quick point guards. Very much effective that Maggette was relegated to coming off the bench upon his return. And turning Maggette into a sixth man was also effective that he has provided the bench scoring for the Clippers, and the Clippers won more games, even extending their series against the Phoenix Suns to seven games, to the brink of elimination. I then believe that Dunleavy will continue to utilize Ross as the starter since it has really worked effectively for them. Why fix it if it ain’t broke. Thus, Ross will start at 3 at the start of the season.

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Maggette will then relieve Mobley towards the end of the first. The Clippers added Tim Thomas, a 6-10 clutch shooter who was instrumental for the Suns during last season’s playoffs. He may play some 4 since Shaun Livingston may come in at 3, 2 or 1. Aaron Williams will be rotated with Brand and Kaman at the 4 and 5 positions. Williams can play both center and power forward spot, is a hardworker, banger, good defender, and a veteran. He was also acquired in the off-season. Daniel Ewing, veteran forward Vin Baker, and 34th pick rookie Paul Davis complete the bench, and will play sparingly.

I predict the almost the same finish for the Clippers. Although, there is a possibility that they may win 53 games this season with a healthy Maggette and Cassell. But with Maggette being injury prone the past seasons, and Cassell at age 37, I do not expect them to play a full season. Especially Maggette, whose no-fear-drive-to-the-hoop-and-get-to-the-line style of play frequently lands him with injuries. I expect the Clippers to have at most 49 wins this season. They may advance to the second round, but not past that – yet! (pics courtesy of clippers.topbuzz.com)
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