NBA Playoffs

By Ian Sample

Editor in Chief

The NBA Playoffs have arrived and with this comes a new reign of terror matched with some of the traditional powerhouses. If we take a look at the top contenders they are the tried and true. The top two seed in the East are New York and Chicago and they are both living off tired old legs. If you look at the West, the first and third seeds, Utah and Houston, are monolithic beasts that have literally defined the game of basketball. The hopeful younger teams are Miami and Atlanta in the East and Seattle and the LA Lakers in the West.

This year's playoffs look to be the most exciting playoffs in the nineties. Poised atop the crowd is the practically insurmountable Chicago Bulls. But even though they had a good season this year, they had some trouble with the top teams. They have the experience and the poise to take the title yet again, but for the first time in a while, about three teams have Chicago's number.

Teams like Utah have finally gathered enough supporting talent to make the deadly Stockton-Malone combo potent and ready for a title. Keep in mind that Karl Malone has been on the verge of retirement for about three years, but each time he contemplates retirement, Utah goes a little further in the playoffs. Karl Malone is one of the best power forwards ever, but has never been blessed with a ring. Of course, John Stockton has led the league in assists for as long as I can remember.

New York is the hottest coldest team in the league. Patrick Ewing has gone through some sort of transformation into a young player again. But New York still lacks consistancy. They have a powerful low game, but without the hot shooting from the outside they are worthless. However, if Starks and crew can drop the three, New York will reign supreme.

Seattle has been plagued with accusations about Shawn Kemp and a host of injuries to key role players. In the end of the season, Seattle brought things back. The players got healthy, Kemp resolved his personal issues. Seattle is coming back in with a maturity and a talent level that is higher than ever before. The stifling defense will be instrumental in a Sonics victory.

The unspoken underdogs can cause considerable playoff havoc. In the West the 2, 3, and 4 seeds are all within one game of each other. Houston is being driven by star power. Barkley, Hakeem, and Drexler can make the Rockets the Champions. They have more talent than ever before, even better than when they won the championship. If they stay healthy the crown is theirs. The Lakers are young and strong and backed by an unstoppable Shaq, but hey are very sporadic. I don't see them making it past Utah.

My expert predictions....

East
Chicago
Washington
Chicago
Atlanta Atlanta Chicago
Detroit
Miami Chicago
Orlando Miami New York
New York New York
Charlotte
-------- Utah

West
Utah
LA Clippers Utah
Lakers Portland Utah
Portland Utah
Seattle
Phoenix Seattle Seattle
Houston Houston
Minnesota