Concerned basketball fans can take it easy, there is life after March Madness. The NBA playoffs aren't always as exciting and nobody wants to talk about them before April, but once the nets are cut down in Indianapolis, people will be looking for a fix and there aren't always many places to turn.
Of course, after two weeks of squeaking sneakers and buzzer-beaters, the NBA will seem tired, contrived, and above all else, filled with spoiled egomaniacs that don't appear to care nearly as much as their college counterparts (all of which it sort of is).
But there is some good news. This year's playoff edition could actually be exciting, even if you can't imagine how.
Yes, there's a good chance the Detroit Pistons could cruise to their second title in the last three years, but even if they do, there could be some very interesting performances by others along the way. Of course, such scenarios aren't very likely, but then again, that's what makes them fun to think about.
In the Eastern Conference, beyond the Pistons, the Shaq and Wade Show, and LeBron James, there's not much to look at. New Jersey's soft and the Pacers don't appear too intent on putting it together. If Jermaine O'Neal comes back healthy, we'll talk. Otherwise, the only championship in Indiana this year will be the one handed out at the end of the Final Four.
But I'm not writing the rest of the east off entirely. One team I'm strangely intrigued by is the Milwaukee Bucks. They're not even .500 and I write this two days after they surrendered a double-digit fourth quarter lead to the Toronto Raptors, but there's just something about them. They don't defend well, they give up a point a game more than they score, and yet while most see extreme mediocrity, I see Cinderella getting ready for the ball.
Milwaukee has more than enough talent to shock their way to the end of April. It's all about balance. They have stars in the making in Andrew Bogut and T.J. Ford, depth on the front line with Jamaal Magloire and Dan Gadzuric, legitimate scoring and intangibles from Bobby Simmons and Michael Redd and reliable, often underrated bench players in Maurice Williams, Tony Kukoc, Joe Smith, Jiri Welsch, and Ervin "Why the Long Face?" Johnson. When they play well, they're as much of a team as any in the NBA, and they can run guys at opponents all night long.
I'm not saying they're sure to shock the world, but if there's going to be a surprise in the Eastern Conference come playoff time it could very well be Terry Stotts' club — assuming they can actually hold on to the seventh seed.
As one might expect, the Western Conference is a bit more convoluted, but strangely, much like in the East, I find myself drawn to that seventh team. Dallas and Phoenix could very well score their way into the second or third round, but neither's done enough to prove they can beat San Antonio during the one time of year NBA players actually "D" up. What you'll get from relative newcomers Memphis, Denver, and the L.A. Clippers is equally difficult to predict.
But I will make one predication — look out for the Sacramento Kings.
You're talking about a team with principal players that have taken part in past playoff runs and they still feature one of the best passing big men in Brad Miller and Mike Bibby, who's had some of the most impressive games of any point guard in the NBA this year. They may lack a ton of solid guard play beyond Bibby, but what's unique about this club is that they can run bangers at you faster than an English waitress.
Corliss Williamson, Kenny Thomas, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim should be able to out-rebound almost every collection of bench front lines badly, and if you add the versatility of Bonzi Wells, the Kings are also much deeper than most of the teams they'll face. And then, of course, there's Ron Artest.
The idea of Ron-Ron putting any team on his shoulders seems ridiculous these days, but if (and this sort of pondering is always built on "ifs") all of the aforementioned can click at the right time, Artest could be the guy to take Sacramento from a fading Western Conference power to one of the surprise contenders down the stretch in 2006.
Don't forget, even though they won't have home-court advantage, Arco Arena is still one of the toughest places in the league to play, and that could put Rick Adelman's club in a position where all they have to do is steal one or two on the road to pull off a first round upset and beyond.
Combined, the Bucks and Kings were 65-65 as of Sunday, meaning most NBA fans aren't expecting to see much of either in the coming weeks. But as we temporarily focus on Shockers from Wichita State and other last-second spectacles at the Big Dance, Milwaukee and Sacramento — less than exciting teams from two rather boring cities — are quietly positioning themselves to remind you miracles can happen, even when millions are made.
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