#1. Los Angeles Lakers (65-17) vs. #8 Utah Jazz (48-34)
Coming off of a stellar season, the Lakers have one thing on their mind, an NBA title. In their way stands a soft as toilet paper team in the Utah Jazz. The Jazz have been banged up for most of the season. Interestingly, the team seemed to get worse as the roster came to full strength. While it is interesting, it is not surprising seeing that their key components are three future she-leaguers in Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko (the guy who cried during the 2007 playoffs because his coach pulled him. You're not alone Big Baby Davis). Meanwhile, the Lakers have been rounding into shape as the season came to a close. Andrew Bynum got word of the She League and returned to play the final four games averaging a quiet 17.3ppg 5.5rpg and 4.3 fouls per game in 26mpg. Apparently carrying playboy bunnies is a quality rehab activity after all. Phil Jackson has finally come to his senses and realized that Jordan Farmar is a bum, deciding to supplant a She-League favorite in Shannon Brown who will provide quality defensive minutes against Deron Williams. While Jerry Sloan will not allow his team to be run over, the Lakers' length and depth will ultimately send the Jazz home early.
She League Prediction: Lakers win series 4-1.
#4. Portland Trailblazers (54-28) vs. #5 Houston Rockets (53-29)
In their first season of relevance, the youthful Portland Trailblazers have surprised many teams. The roster is solid from top to bottom, however their success starts and ends with their star, Brandon Roy. For the season, Roy has averaged 22.6ppg 5.1apg and 4.7rpg. He has elevated his team to new heights with his heart and toughness. He is joined by a 6'11 jumpshooter in LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge's game is built for the regular season and will prove to be useless in the playoffs (just ask Jermain O'neal). On the other side, the Houston Rockets season was thought to be derailed after She-Mac went down with a season ending knee injury. However, as they quickly found out, they are a much better team without the 6'8 She-Leaguer best known for shooting 30-foot fade-aways. The team has metamorphosed itself into a gritty team led by the enigmatic Ron Artest. Ron-Ron has changed the defensive culture of this team by consistently guarding the oppositions best player. His only problem is he clearly doesn't speak Chinese and thus doesn't hear and/or understand Yao Ming when he calls for the ball in the low post. Had Houston not handed the starting point guard position to Aaron Brooks, they'd be poised to make a more serious playoff run. These two teams are pretty evenly matched with the edge going to Portland at the point guard position. She-Mac or no She-Mac, the Rockets still can't get out of the first round.
She-League Prediction: Blazers win series 4-3.
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