Thursday, April 17, 2008

Western Conference match-ups in the 2008 NBA Playoffs

Yep, the wild wild West finally calmed down to finalize its playoff spots.

With the regular season finally over, the seedings in the West were finally finalized for the 2008 NBA playoffs. And in case you've been living under a rock, Tinseltown is back on top after the Lakers won the Western Conference title for the first time since the 2000 playoffs.

That means, the Los Angeles Lakers will enter the playoffs as the no.1 seed. They will face the no.8 seed Denver Nuggets in a best-of-seven, first round series to kick-off their playoff campaign and with Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony killing some of the momentum his team gained after he was charged with DUI, the Lakers are definitely looking quite good to have their way in this playoff match-up.

Of course, Denver Nuggets guard Allen Iverson will still be focused as he prepares himself for a match-up with Lakers star Kobe Bryant. But then again, let's not kid ourselves with the idea that Denver will actually shock L.A. in the first round.

No.2 seed New Orleans Hornets will face the no.7 seed Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks had a statement game against New Orleans for the final game of the regular season, winning 111-98 when J-Kidd had a massive triple-double of 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Of course, the New Orleans Hornets are hoping for a different tune once the playoffs start. But I won't be surprised to see the Dallas Mavericks knock off the no.2 seed in the first round.

No.3 seed San Antonio Spurs renew their playoff rivalry with no.6 seed Phoenix Suns once they meet again in the first round. The last time they played a series in the playoffs, Suns star Steve Nash was on the receiving end of a shoulder block from Spurs vet Robert Horry. That ended with the Spurs moving on and the Suns taking an abrupt exit from the playoffs.

This time though, the Phoenix Suns will have a new HUGE option on the court, the seven-foot, 300-pound Shaquille O'Neal. This series should be interesting.

Last but not the least, two teams who are probably accustomed to each other especially during the postseason found each other again. No.4 seed Utah Jazz faces-off with no.5 seed Houston Rockets as Tracy McGrady (again) resumes his quest to finally get out of the first round.

The only problem is, the Utah Jazz have the homecourt advantage and although that probably don't mean shit in basketball these days, it does when you talk about the Jazz. After all, they do have the best homecourt record in the league, making them virtually unbeatable at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.

And oh yeah, do you know who knocked off the Houston Rockets from the first round last year? You guessed it, Utah.

Who will win the NBA title in the 2007-08 NBA basketball season? AcesAce Sportsbook has the odds.

San Antonio Spurs EVEN +350

Cleveland Cavaliers EVEN +1,300

Boston Celtics EVEN +450

Detroit Pistons EVEN +1,000

Want more odds? Visit Bodog for more basketball betting odds and the best betting lines on some of today's biggest sporting events.

Los Angeles Lakers New Orleans Hornets

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