By Don Ellis

Beep beep, beep beep.

No, the Road Runner didn't steal my keyboard. That was the sound of me tooting my own horn.

With Dallas' win over Portland a few hours ago giving the Mavs the series in 7 games, I was a perfect 8-for-8 in predicting the winners in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Maybe I should start one of those 1-900 handicapping services. Maybe I should move to Vegas and become a professional gambler. Or maybe I should thank Tracy McGrady for his embarassing case of Premature TMaculation.

After coasting to 89 points on 57.4% shooting in the first two games as the Magic stole home-court from the Pistons, TMac thought himself unstoppable. He then averaged a very pedestrian 26.6 points and shot only 38.7% over the last 5 games as the Magic became only the seventh team in NBA playoff history to blow a 3-1 series lead.

After game 4, when the Magic were sitting pretty with a three games to one lead, all the word around Orlando was that the Pistons couldn't score enough points to beat the Magic, that they couldn't win in the playoffs without a go-to guy, and that the Magic would probably finish the series in five games.

Well, let's see. The Pistons averaged 103 points over the last three games of the series while limiting Orlando to only 82.7 a contest. And it's mostly because Chauncey Billups - a former Magic player who GM John Gabriel cut before ever seeing him play a game in a Magic uniform - went out and played like a superstar in games 6 and 7.

77 points on 52.4% shooting - including 10-21 from behind the arc and 23-24 on free throws - hmm, that sounds an awfully lot like "go-to guy" numbers to me.

And I wouldn't be the die-hard Wildcat fan I am unless I threw some props at Tayshaun Prince. After barely playing during the regular season, the rookie had a career-high 15 points in game 5, and then he went out and topped that with 20 in game 7. Prince also did a very commendable job of frustrating McGrady with his defense, and he kept Piston sixth-man extraordinare Corliss Williamson on the bench for all but eight minutes of the final three games.

Of course, the Pistons' sudden success on the offensive end of the floor could also be attributed to the fact that the Magic are one of the worst defensive teams in the league. Will Gabe address the problem in the off-season by trying to add a player or two who don't mind getting down and dirty on defense? Will Doc finally convince his players that despite TMac's scoring escapades, the Magic will never escape the first round until the entire roster decides to step it up on defensive side of the ball? Will Rivers ever earn the $5 million a year he makes to be "just a coach" (as opposed to a coach/GM)? Time will tell...

The Pistons will now move on to face the Sixers in the conference semifinals. Philly advanced in six games over the pesky Hornets, who just might have won the series if Jamal Mashburn hadn't missed a pair of games and been hobbled for the final two. Allen Iverson was his usual dominant self, putting up 34.8 points and 5.7 assists. But he also managed to hit an unusually high (for AI) 44.4% of his shots while increasing his 3-point shooting by almost 10% over the .277 he shot during the regular season.

The Celtics pulled the only upset of the first round, knocking the Pacers out in six games. But what can you expect when one the teams starts three former UK Wildcats? OK, so it was Paul Pierce who won this series for Boston, but Walker, Delk, and especially Wal-tah McCarty all played their parts. Of course, it helps that Jamal Tinsley isn't very good, Reggie Miller is finished as a difference-maker, Isiah Thomas is no Larry Bird, and Ron Artest is completey Insane in the Brain (as Cypress Hill would say).

The Celtics move on to face New Jersey in a rematch of last season's conference finals. The Nets had little difficulty downing the underachieving Bucks. Kenyon Martin led the Nets in the series, averaging 22.3 and 10, but as always it was their offensive balance that made victory possible. Four Nets other than KMart averaged over ten points in the series, and the team shot over 46% against a Milwaukee squad whose coach used to be known as an outstanding defensive tactician back in his Seattle days.

In the wild, wild West, the Lakers overcame an early 2-1 deficit to beat Minnesota in six. Yawn. Shaq was Shaq, Kobe was Kobe, and Devean George was Rick Fox for LA, which will move on to face the Spurs in the next round. The only suspense here is if the Wolves will try to trade Kevin Garnett - who will be a free agent this summer - or wait until after next season's first-round loss and hope he doesn't bolt as a free agent, with Minny getting nothing in return. Believe me, lots of teams will be trying to clear cap space next summer in anticipation of a possible buying frenzy.

San Antonio finally disposed of the pesky Suns, even though Stephon Marbury was much more than Tony Parker could handle. Tim Duncan had a triple-double in the clincher, and he averaged 18.7 points, 16 boards, 5.2 assists and 3.5 blocks for the series. Of course, that's why he was the regular-season MVP. And Suns' Rookie of the Year Amare Stoudamire played fairly well in his first playoff series, averaging 14.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.67 steals and 1.5 blocks.

Sacramento, as expected, ended the Stockton/Malone era as they eliminated the Jazz in five games. Stockton has said that he will retire, and the Mailman is expected to move on to a team that can compete for a title as he persues the league's all-time scoring mark. The Kings barely broke a sweat against Utah, and they should be well-rested by the time they start their semifinal matchup against the Mavs.

Dallas was about as up-and-down as a team can be versus Portland- they won the first three, lost the next three, and fell behind early in game 7 before Dirk Nowitzki finally re-discovered his shooting stroke and confidence to lead the Mavs to a huge win. Nowitzki topped 40 in two of the first three games, then disappeared and hit rock-bottom with an embarassing four-point effort in game six. Nowitzki's 31 and 11 in game seven saved the Mavericks the embarassment of becoming the first team in league history to lose a seven-game series after winning the first three games.

On to the second round, and on to my picks...

Eastern Conference

Boston vs. New Jersey: The Nets have the home-court, but the C's have the best player in Paul Pierce. Pierce led the Celtics with 25.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.83 steals in the first round- but he got a lot of help from Walker (19.5, 7.7, 4.5 and 1.83), Delk, and McCarty, who each shot over 45% from the field and over 41% from 3-point land. The Nets are still the Nets, running at every opportunity- but for some strange reason that I can't quite put my finger on, I like the Celtics in 6. (Editor's note: InsideHoops staff picks the Nets to win this series)

Philadelphia vs. Detroit: Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton, the "Palace Guards", came up huge late against Orlando. Ben Wallace is still Ben Wallace. Tayshaun Prince- he may not play much without a TMac to match up against. Chucky Atkins, however, may need to play a lot of minutes trying to slow down Iverson. The Sixers go as the Answer goes, and he went off against the Hornets. But I don't think he has enough help to beat the league's best defensive team- at least not now that the Pistons have discovered a few weapons on offense. It will be close, of course, but I'll say Detroit in 7.

Western Conference

Sacramento vs. Dallas: This should be an absolute shootout, and possibly the most entertaining series we'll see this post-season. The Mavs love to run and run and run some more, just like the Kings- the difference is that the Kings have figured out that you actually have to play defense to win in the playoffs. The Mavs will get hot enough on offense to pull out a game or possible two, but the Kings are on a mission. Cow-town in 6.

Los Angeles vs. San Antonio: Kobe and Shaq (or is it Shaq and Kobe?) are still Kobe and Shaq (or is it Shaq and Kobe?)- but Devean George stepped up big-time in Rick Fox's absence. If he has another big series, the Spurs don't have a chance. Oh wait, I forget: if Devean George retired tomorrow, the Spurs still wouldn't have a chance. Forget San Antonio's 4-0 season sweep of the Lakers, this is the playoffs, and Shaq no longer has to worry about D-Rob giving Duncan much help. Lakers in 5.

Sorry that I don't have time to answer any e-mails this week, but keep them coming to dellis@insidehoops.net, and I'll make sure to get to all of them next week.

In closing, just let me add that everyone must be real upset that the NBA changed the first round to a best-of-seven format this year...

Oh, sorry, you readers can't see me rolling my eyes. Who doesn't like seeing a pair of game 7's in series that would have ended 3-1 and 3-0 under the old system?

Oops, I guess that would be the Magic, who certainly wouldn't have minded if the old format would have stayed in place for one more season.

Goodbye until next week, and enjoy the games. I know I will.


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