[Izulde]

And so our quest for a fourth straight Finals appearance begins. I'm not really worried about our first round matchup. The Sonics are dynamite on offense, punchless on D.

"The Denver Nuggets are ready to gun for another West Conference title, their fourth consecutive one. They appear to draw an attractive first round matchup, for while Seattle is known for its offensive prowess, their defense is among the worst in the league.

Point Guard
Zelipe Gama vs. Branko Starcevic
Better point production and fewer assists out of Gama this year looked a little out of place and indeed, at times, the Spainard struggled. While most of the difficulty occurred during Scott Skiles's half-season tenure, Gama was erratic enough that GM Jestor explored trade possibilities at the deadline. Word of this leaked and Gama still isn't quite over it. Still, 13.3 points, 9.6 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.5 steals aren't regular season numbers to be scoffed at.

The Croation Starcevic is loaded with talent, but he only shoots around 40% in any given season, hence why he only averaged 11.5 points and 9.6 assists during the regular season. That said, he's a good floor general and a good fundamental defender who has the size to be able to contain Gama. It's really a toss-up between these two.

Advantage: Draw

Shooting Guard
Mateen Yeaton vs. Andre Quarles
Yeaton, similiar to Gama, experienced a drop in numbers during the regular season. Again, part of it attributable to Skiles' offense, but part of it also is due to the repeated nagging injuries plaguing the Nuggets star all season long. That's worrisome for Denver's title hopes, along with the lowered statistics of 19.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.2 steals. His most injury was a concussion that he insisted on playing through. He's fully healthy now, but how long can that last?

Quarles was one of the players most often mentioned in the Gama trade rumor mill and the 25 year old has a very sweet shooting stroke, good ballhandling skills for a two and some nice technical defense. He's also a smart player. He's small, though, which doesn't translate well for the Sonics against Yeaton. On a less high-powered team, he'd probably average close to 20 points a game. As is, Andre averaged 16.5 points with 4.2 assists during the regular season.

Advantage: Nuggets

Small Forward
Luol Deng vs. Brooks Smith
Picking up Deng via trade in the offseason was one of Jestor's smartest moves. The 33 year old plays very good defense and has nice stealing instincts. He knows how to shoot but he also knows his role in the system and doesn't take a ton of shots unlike certain other former Denver threes we could name. 13.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals in the regular season may not look like much, but Deng's capable of taking over a game at any given point in time.

Smith has been one of the biggest draft steals since Jestor came into the league. Taken 18th overall by Seattle in 2008, he's developed into a fantastic scorer who's really worked on his defensive game. While he isn't any better than average on the defensive end, he has 9 consecutive seasons of 20+ points and is a 3-time All-Star. This season he averaged 21 points and 5.9 rebounds in the regular season.

Advantage: Draw

Power Forward
Marcelino Augusto vs. Nate Bonner
Augusto had a sensational sophomore campaign, averaging 19.7 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks, earning his first of what is likely to be many All-Star trips. It's still hard to believe he's just 20 years old or that he gets the hops for blocks at just 6'9, 217 lbs. He's developed rapidly and if he keeps improving the way he has, he just might have a ticket to the Hall of Fame waiting for him later on down the line.

Bonner's one of the greatest enigmas in the league. He's got great shooting skills, but he's never averaged more than 17.5 points a season. 13 points and 7 rebounds is an okay regular season, but he's capable of so much more. On the other hand, he's a complete sieve on defense and horrendous ballhandler, so he's going to get clobbered by the much more talented Augusto.

Advantage: Nuggets

Center
Victor Gipson vs. Scott Palmer
The rookie Gipson not only beat out David Jackson for the starting C spot, but he had a surprisingly successful first year, averaging 10.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. At 7'2, 303 lbs, he has the size to be an absolutely nasty shotblocker and he takes full advantage of it. Good rebounder and he's developing his offensive game, including what are now lackluster ballhandling skills.

Although they were taken 1-2 in last year's draft, Palmer hasn't had near the success of Augusto and in fact, Gipson had a better rookie campaign than Palmer did. On the other hand, Palmer's a great fundamental defender with terrific rebounding skills and the potential to be a fantastic scorer. The problem is, he's 6'9, 246 and that's just asking to be killed as an NBA five. Given the size issue, it's little wonder he averaged 11.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and a steal in his second year. He's going to have a hard time fighting past the huge Gipson, no matter how more talented he is.

Advantage: Draw

Bench
David Jackson's bothered a sprained finger, but he still averaged 8.8 points and 7.1 rebounds as Denver's 6th man, developing into one of the best in the league at that position. Rico Wolfe, acquired near the deadline from Toronto, is an excellent backup guard, with well-rounded skills and good defense. Emeka Okafor can still rebound, shotblock and play D, still one of the smartest players in the game, a savvy 36 year old. Louis Mertens is an excellent floor general and is improving his offensive game significantly, but is still a cipher on defense.

Saer Sene is getting up there in years, but he's still a terrific defender, an excellent rebounder and a ferocious shotblocker. Adam Lopez is comparable to Wolfe, averaging 10.5 points and 1.3 steals, only he doesn't have the defensive prowess that Wolfe does and he's also banged up by a sore shoulder. Craig Shehan is pretty good at running the offense, but he's an even worse defender than Mertens.

Advantage: Nuggets

Final Thoughts
Seattle doesn't have a prayer. They don't have an edge anywhere and this one ends in a sweep.
Prediction: Denver in 4

Oh, I don't know about that. I think the Sonics have a high-octane enough offense that they can push it to five games. In general though, I agree that Seattle's totally outclassed here.

Game One
The opening game is a yawnfest for those hoping for a close game. Mateen Yeaton scores 27, Luol Deng also breaks the 20 point barrier with 22 and Zelipe Gama finds his old form with 16 points and 12 assists. The best Seattle can do in countering is 10 points and 9 rebounds off the bench from Saer Sene. This series looks like it's going to be over quickly.
Final - Seattle 85 Denver 112

Game Two
Seattle's offense wakes up in a hurry and suddenly we've got a real battle and a real treat of a game on our hands. Brooks Smith erupts for 42 points and Scott Palmer is otherworldly with 20 points and 24 rebounds. 11's the magic number for the bench as Adam Lopez scores 11 points and Saer Sene grabs 11 rebounds. We counter with two 30+ point players, Marcelino Augusto with a great game of 31 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 blocks and 3 steals, and Mateen Yeaton with 32 points. Zelipe Gama has 12 points and 13 assists and Louis Mertens and Rico Wolfe both score 12 points off the bench. In the end, that combined 24 points from those two reserves bails us out and we barely escape with a thrilling 5 point victory in overtime.
Final - Seattle 121 Denver 126 (OT)

Game Three
After the excitement in Game 2, I'm thinking Game 3 is going to be much less of a shootout and I'm also believing that even though the series shifts to Seattle, the Sonics have exhausted all their ammo in Game 2 and are finished. Such was not to be the case as Brooks Smith scores 27 and Scott Palmer powers his way to 22 points and 10 rebounds. 23 points from Marcelino Augusto, Victor Gipson's 16 points and 12 rebounds and Rico Wolfe's 11 bench points aren't enough. The Supersonics ambush us and refuse to go down without a fight, cutting our series lead to 2-1.
Final - Denver 90 Seattle 101

Game Four
Now I'm actually a little bit worried. If Seattle finds a way to tie this series up, we're suddenly going to be forced to fight for the right to advance. That's about the time where Marcelino Augusto steps in with a legendary 30 points and 11 rebounds, Victor Gipson nabs 14 points, 16 rebounds and 5 steals and Rico Wolfe adds 10 bench points. Seattle struggles mightily on offense, their lone highlights the poor man's double of 10 points, 10 rebounds from Scott Palmer, 11 bench points from Adam Lopez and 12 points and 10 rebounds from reserve Saer Sene. We're close to slamming the door on the pesky Supersonics.
Final - Denver 93 Seattle 81

Just two series end in sweeps. Detroit knocks out Atlanta in four games and although it's allegedly an upset, I'm not surprised in the least when the Spurs eliminate the 2nd seed Kings in four. Sacramento was the most overachieving team in the league this season, San Antonio the most underachieving. Come the playoffs, that sort of thing gets sorted out, the proper talent levels asserting themselves.

Game Five
I'd like to win here if at all possible, even if Portland and Memphis are knotted at two a piece. Sure enough, Marcelino Augusto continues his heroic first round, abusing Seattle for 32 points while Mateen Yeaton scores 25 and David Jackson plays well off the bench for 10 points and 15 rebounds. I give a lot of credit to Scott Palmer for his 17 points and 13 rebounds, though and Adam Lopez and Josh McRoberts played well with 13 and 14 points respectively with the second team. Palmer really earned my respect with his performance this series, which I don't think was a case of Victor Gipson playing soft against a smaller opponent like Tim Davis would. It was Palmer being more naturally talented and being angry at all the pre-playoffs press and blogosphere. In the end, though, it wasn't enough and the underdog Supersonics get kicked off the playoff porch here.
Final - Seattle 95 Denver 104

So much for all the hype of Cleveland being a concern for Toronto. The Raptors end the series in five games, the same length of the Knicks/Bulls matchup, whereby New York advances to the second round for the first time in what seems like decades.

Portland pulls off a considerable upset in beating Memphis in six. We're going to have to face another deadly divisional offense in the second round and I'm already having panic attacks because the Trailblazers traditionally match up well against us in the regular season.

The Lakers and Timberwolves surprisingly go the full seven games, as do the Magic and the Bucks. But Los Angeles isn't about to let the Timberwolves get the playoffs' greatest stunner, nor will Orlando be intimidated by Milwaukee's superior record. It's Lakers and Magic advancing and I suddenly need a Prilosec as the acid burns in my chest and throat.

Portland in the second round, a guaranteed pick-your-poison West Conference finals foe of San Antonio or the Lakers if we get that far. Our road to a fourth consecutive NBA Finals appearance just got a hell of a lot tougher.