SO MUCH FOR PARITY: The NFL may see teams skyrocket from good to bad every year, while even baseball saw some new blood in the playoffs last year. But the NBA clearly wants no part of that, as the second round playoffs will begin next week with seven of last year's Final Eight returning to the party (had the Hornets won their first-round series against Philadelphia, it would've been 8-for-8). Just like last year, we've got Lakers-Spurs and Mavs-Kings as the two Western semis, while last year's Celtics-Nets Eastern Finals will be repeated this year as a semi-final series (may we see the return of the "Jason Kidd: Wifebeater" chants at FleetCenter?)
The Wolves once again won't be in the second round, and it's likely we won't have Wally Szczerbiak to kick around anymore (damn, just as I was learning to spell his name...); New Orleans stupidly fired Paul Silas, and if Indiana has any sense they'll do the same to the overmatched Isiah Thomas. And while it would've been historic had the Blazers come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a 7-game series against the Mavericks, they are the Blazers, and don't exactly lend themselves to sentimental favoritism.
While the new best-of-7 first round led to some riveting basketball, it nevertheless showed once again how rare major upsets are in the NBA playoffs- hence six straight championships for Michael Jordan, and consecutive titles for the Lakers, Pistons, Bulls, Rockets, Bulls again, and then the Lakers again.