The first round gave us some of the most exciting and lopsided basketball in recent memory. The Cavs easily got past Detroit. The Hawks had to beat Miami in seven. Orlando sent Philadelphia home without Dwight Howard in six games. Boston and Chicago had one of the most exciting opening round series in a long time. The Lakers got past Utah in five even though they blew a couple big leads. The Rockets finally got out of the first round beating Portland. Dallas beat a what seemed to be old, tired and beat up Spurs team. The Nuggets blew the lid of New Orleans including a 48 point beat down in Game 4. The second round looks to be more competitive.

Eastern Conference Semifinals

1 Cleveland vs. 4 Atlanta

LeBron and crew have had plenty of rest and studying of their next opponent. Lets be honest though. The Cavaliers were gonna win this round. Mo Williams and Delonte West are playing great basketball on both ends. The bench for Cleveland has been better than expected. Atlanta should’ve had their series wrapped up sooner against Miami. Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Mike Bibby will probably steal a game, no more than two. Key player is Anderson Varejao. He needs to be up to form on defense to stop the Hawks from scoring in the paint. The Cavs win this in five.

2 Boston vs. 3 Orlando

The Celtics have been through a grueling series agianst Chicago. Ray Allen has been spectacular while Boston’s bench needs to get in gear for the semifinals. Eddie House and Stephon Marbury for one, need to be more aggressive. The Magic can’t afford to have Dwight Howard elbowing anyone. Paul Pierce will be his usual self, but can Ray Allen continue his success from the quarterfinals? The key player is Hedo Turkoglu. The Magic need more from him now that rookie Courtney Lee is going to miss most if not all of this series. If Hedo is still cold, the Magic have no shot. Boston in seven.

Western Conference Semifinals

1 LA Lakers vs. 4 Houston

The Lakers got their dream matchup. They did not want to play Portland. No way. The Rockets are playing great defense and score when they need to. Ron Artest and Yao Ming were nearly unstoppable against Portland. Shane Battier made big shot after big shot. Houston’s bench was more than adequate. The Lakers will need more from their bench and specifically Andrew Bynum. He needs to play sound basketball with Yao Ming. Kobe, Pau and Lamar will need to be great in what is expected to be a low scoring series. Key player is Luis Scola for Houston. Scola was quiet for the most part against Portland. The Rockets will need more from their power forward to win. Lakers in six.

2 Denver vs. 6 Dallas

The Nuggets were soaring higher than the Rocky Mountains in the quarters against New Orleans. That should’ve been a sweep. Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups are going to get their 20 plus points in every game, but the Denver bench will need to play smart ball. No stupid fouls and they must play sound defense against a deeper Dallas team. Kenyon Martin and Nene need to be more involved. The Mavericks surprised a lot of experts with their series win in five games against San Antonio. Dirk Nowitzki was great, but it was all Josh Howard for the Mavs. Dallas showed that they will not go down that easily in what is probably their last run at a title with this group. The key player is Jason Kidd. He got a lot of help against the Spurs backcourt and will need it again with Billups. He needs to be the field general on offense, but must be great on the other side. Dallas in six.