Tonight will finally clear up the playoff picture for good, and set the stage for one of the most anticipated post-seasons in NBA history

SCOTT JACOBS

It’s the greatest ride the NBA has ever been on. Call it mediocrity in the East. Call it dominance in the West. Call it whatever the heck you want. But this season has been more fun, more insane, and more change by the minute every minute then any season the sport has ever seen.

We’ve seen blockbusters, and resurrections, disappointments and surprises, all in the midst of the most exciting playoff race in all of sports for 2008. Tonight it ends. The regular season that is. Nothing’s all that clear yet. This is what we do know.

The Lakers are the one seed in the West. They get either the Nuggets or the Mavs. It’s very simple: a Mav win over New Orleans (in progress at the time of posting) seals Denver as the 8th seed. A Mavs loss and a Nuggets win over lowly Memphis pushes the Nuggets into the 7th seed and a date with New Orleans. The Hornets won the most games in their history this year, yet getting a top notch NBA crowd to see them was like pulling teeth.

As for the rest of the seedings… There are like 30 something scenarios between San Antonio, Utah, Houston, and Phoenix. I’m not going to go over them. ESPN has them. But, this is what you should know. The Spurs/Suns can finish anywhere from 3rd to 6th, and the odds favor a first round rematch between the two. A Houston/Utah series would also be a rematch from last year’s seven game thriller in the first round.

There’s a lot to be determined, but this much we know: Utah cannot finish worse then 4th thanks to their Northwest Divison crown. So that’s clear. Everything else, no one knows.

As for the East. The underwhelming playoff field has been set, and yawn, the best series of the bunch will probably be Cleveland-Washington. Note: Doesn’t it seem like these teams are rigged to play like every year in the first round? Just a theory.

The matchups in the East:
1. Boston vs. 8. Atlanta
Early signs: This would be the biggest upset in NBA history. No chance of it happening though.

2. Detroit vs. 7. Philadelphia
Early signs: previously hot Sixers have cooled off. Pistons have dominated most of the year.

3. Orlando vs. 6. Toronto
Early signs: Orlando’s been very good this year, but no one is scared of them. Toronto is in Canada.

4. Cleveland vs. 5. Washington
Early signs: Defending east champs are struggling, and Agent Zero and the revamped Wiz could give the Cavs a run for their money.

By about 1:30 a.m. eastern time the playoff picture will be settled. In the meantime, we’re left to scour at an East bracket that pretty much leads down to an inevitable Boston-Detroit tussle. (Did I say that aloud? I meant, yay, these East playoffs should be awesome! Yeah, that)…

And thanks for your comments about the Sonics article. Keep em coming, I am interested in your thoughts.

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