No bite for your bark

By Jonathan Lowe Sports Central Columnist

Let's face it, these NBA playoffs are nothing to get too excited about. Double-digit beatdowns, inklings of football on parquet, and several point totals below 85 are quickly zapping the enthusiasm of this b-ball fanatic.

And after all the pomp and circumstance, the second-round isn't shaping up any better than the first. Sure, the four series will go longer, but the excitement is a bit on the lacking side.

To paraphrase the rap group Atmosphere in their song "Trying to Find a Balance," where did all the drama go? Apparently, it's off the courts, where comments, or lack thereof, have been more prevalent in these contests than actual sport.

The Nets/Pistons series has been flat-out awful, as a winning margin of 17.5 points per game is creating no fourth-quarter tension. Let's not forget round, I mean, Game 3, where more fouls were committed than field goals made. Didn't those guys finally go to fisticuffs in the locker room?

Maybe Detroit coach Larry Brown was talking about the series when he upset New Jersey management.

"To all of a sudden say 'Look, anybody can coach.' (The Nets) are really, basically saying that."

Coach Brown seemed to be more on point about the play of the squads rather than Lawrence Frank. Unfortunately, that means he should probably own up to his words.

Next, it's out west, and the battle between the only two champs over the last five seasons. Everybody gushed over the Lakers/Spurs tilt as the regular season drew to a close. All the talent on that floor at one time would make fans salivate uncontrollably. Instead, the well has been sucked dry by nonchalant home victories through Game 4.

While the winning margin in this series is only at 13 ppg, three of those results didn't really seem as close. You won't get any grief from me about Game 3, though. That difference was dead on. So with so many big-time mouths to point to for blame's sake, who's the loudest?

"You can put it on me, it's no big deal."

G.P., you sure about that?

"Somebody's got to be the scapegoat."

Cool, man. That's gives me a little more time to discuss the other two series.

Actually, now that I think about it, there's not much to say about Indiana taking on Miami. There's been a lot of intuition that the Pacers would have no problem vanquishing the Heat, and the whispers grew softer after Games 1 and 2. However, the crowd from South Beach won't let this season go. The young guns have won 18 in a row at American Airlines Arena, following Wednesday night's victory. Now the voices should be heard loud and clear about a series extension the Pacers definitely didn't want.

Then there's the series that actually does most of its jawing in the rectangular box measuring 94' x 50'. The Wolves/Kings matchup has been the best by far. Three games decided by a total of 12 points. The road squad actually claimed victory in two out of three contests. Mike Bibby, Sam Cassell, Kevin Garnett, and Peja Stojakovic all stepped up in the clutch. Yet, there's not a lot of talking from either camp.

Oh, that's right. They must still be gagging from all that choking that was going on. Although it made for great drama, the way the last two games ended didn't equal the beauty of Holland tulips in bloom. Sacramento mishandled a 10-point lead with a little more than four minutes left. It would have given them a 2-0 sweep of the Target Center heading back to the comfort of their cowbells.

If that wasn't enough, Minnesota almost pulled a Sacramento, giving up a 14-point cushion in the last frame of Game 3, only to survive at Arco in OT. Postgame, Kings coach Rick Adelman tried to cry referee error, but he was dwarfed by the astonishment of the comeback that wasn't.

All in all, there's still a chance to get it right before the next round. Just give each team game film of the Wolves/Kings series to this point and add one simple instruction: repeat.

Or, maybe, we'll just have to find out if the hype of the conference finals can be matched on the court.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.