Yawn! The NBA playoffs are here

By Piet Van Leer Sports Central Columnist

Nothing quite emulates two months of drawn out, over ballyhooed, over-hyped drama quite like the NBA playoffs. Like a jelly donut, the mystery isn't what is revealed, but when. Barring a season-ending injury, the Lakers will stroll to their third championship. The bigger question is will the outcome be decided in early or late June.

The NBA differs from other sports in that the likelihood of an upset in the finals is so remote that all potential drama is sucked out well before the final game.

Now, there are some detractors who believe that the Lakers are vulnerable. Don't know exactly where they are supposed to be susceptible to a possible exit, considering they have the most dominant player in the league and if you try to stop him, he can dish to the most talented player in the league - Robert Horry.

All joking aside, Kobe Bryant is possibly the greatest talent in the game, certainly the most well-rounded considering not only can he score at will driving to the basket or shooting fade away threes, but apologies to Ben Wallace, he is the best defender in the game.

Predictably, some people will argue Sacramento can beat the Lakers. I'll believe it when I see it. The Kings still believe the way to dethrone the eventual champs is to play high-scoring offense and contain Shaq. The problem is, the "Big Aristotle" cannot be contained for more than one game.

And let's say for argument's sake that he is contained for an improbable three games, the Kings still have to win one more, and they have about as much of chance as Sharon and Arafat have of making a "Taste Great, Less Filling" commercial.

All that being said, if the Lakers were to lose, it would be based on a different strategy with the arsenal to back it up. Enter Nellie's Mavs, if for nothing else, do add a touch of interest to the drama starved theatre of the NBA.

Dallas has fully acknowledged there is no stopping Shaq and Kobe, so they have to outrun and gun the Lakers. Instead of posing defensive matchups with the Lakers, they have countered by throwing five scorers on the floor simultaneously and hope there is enough firepower to outlast the beasts from the Left Coast. The only problem is this intriguing matchup might never occur if the Mavs can't get past the Kings in the second round.

As far as the East goes, who cares? Charlotte fans, for one, don't. More people turned out to see the Devil/Rays, the Expos, and two MLS games than the first playoff game in The Hive. I applaud the Hornet fans' loyalty to a team moving to a town that won't be able to support it past its initial season, a la Vancouver.

If the NBA really wanted to make the playoffs interesting, they would go one and done like college hoops. Remember how enormous an upset it was when Indiana beat Duke? Well, when the Sixers won Game 1 against the Lakers, the question was whether Philly would win another game. It surprised everyone that the series would run longer than the minimum.

The playoffs, to me, strike as much mystery in my heart as the 2004 Republican National Convention. We all know who's getting nominated, so why bother tuning in to see a speech by the guy who sold out Yellowstone National Park to get the Wyoming snowmobile contingency?

And lastly, as far as Knick fans are concerned, you're going to have to start living with the fact that no one, not even Elgin Baylor, is dumb enough to take on the contract that Scott Layden inked Allan Houston to. The number one priority is to clear as much cap room as possible without trading Houston, and then building around him as much as possible.

Trade Latrell Sprewell and Shandon Anderson together -- get rid of Marcus Camby and Howard Eisley in a package. See if Clearance Weatherspoon has enough value for a veteran team that they're willing to take on Charlie Ward to boot. Let Mark Jackson retire -- finally.

David Stern will try his darndest to secure a No. 1 pick for the Knicks, as big-time New York basketball equates to revenue for the NBA, which Stern has never been one to give up.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.