T-Mac may have some serious skills-- but don't counting winning a playoff series among those.

Looking Forward 

With Tracy McGrady failing to get yet another team out of the first round, all eyes will likely be on the Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors.  Can the Warriors keep up with the same style of play that has gotten them this far?  Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur are arguably better runners than Dirk Nowitzki and any combination of DeSagana Diop and Erick Dampier - which could also pose a problem for Stephen Jackson, who had the honor of guarding Nowitzki last series.  Boozer is exponentially more of an inside presence, so the defensive sets that Don Nelson throws at the Jazz will be very interesting.

Another point of contention will continue to be the health of Baron Davis.  After playing a role of Superman in the Dallas series, Davis had been held out of practices allowing for his hamstring to heal.  He’s been a huge part of the 105 points per game that the Warriors have put up thus far in the post-season, so his impact is very vital to the success (or lack of) that the Warriors may have in the second round.  It should be worth mentioning that the Jazz have only broken 100 points once in the post-season, and that was in the 103-99 Game Seven win over the Rockets. 

Look for the Phoenix Suns to bounce back in Game Two this week.  This game was definitely winnable even with the two-time MVP Steve Nash being unusable for the final minute – so having him available for a full 48 minutes could (and should) make the difference.  The Tim Duncan/Amare Stoudemire match-up should continue to be one for the ages as you pit a big man known more for his sound fundamentals against a younger, more-explosive big man known more for his running and pure power.  And as mentioned earlier, this series could easily come down to the bench – staring with Leandro Barbosa and Manu Ginobili.

The two series in the Eastern conference, though not as exciting, could wind up being just as important.  The Bulls will definitely look to improve from game 1, but let’s face it…it can’t get much worse.  If the biggest story to come out of this series is Ben Wallace facing his old team, we’ll have a huge problem.  The shots of Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng are bound to fall at least one night, so if the Bulls can dictate the pace of game 2, we could have a different outcome. 

Finally, can LeBron James take his team to the conference finals this season?  After being up 3-2 last season, the last win of the regular season this year can prove to be that much more important – as they could’ve been the ones playing the Pistons this week.  Vince Carter has historically given the Cavaliers fits, and Jason Kidd is still one of the best point guards in the league.  If you could take any pair of players for your backcourt, would it be Carter and Kidd or Larry Hughes and Sasha Pavlovic?  Yea, that’s what I thought.  Comparing frontcourts is like apples and oranges at this point, but if Kidd and company can compensate for that, the Nets could still find themselves back in the same position they were in only a few years back: The Eastern Conference Finals.