Debating the NBA playoffs: Gisclair picks Lakers, Fischer picks Cavs

Welcome to this week’s version of Casey’s Corner. We have a special guest in the corner this week – my coworker, Mr. Richard Fischer.

You all know Mr. Fischer from his brilliant musings regarding the Lafourche Parish Council and other news-related issues in the Tri-parish area.

But today, Mr. Fischer will trade in the news gear and delve into sports and today’s topic – the NBA playoffs.

So, the floor is yours, Captain. Tell me your thoughts about the NBA Playoffs this year, which began this past Saturday.

Richard: Well, Casey what I like to call the most irrelevant regular season in professional sports is finally over.

After 82 games, the Lakers and Cavs sit No. 1 in their respective conference. Anybody surprised? I didn’t think so.

Now that it’s playoff time, the games we’ve been waiting all season for are finally here, right?

Well, maybe not yet.

The last time a team reached the NBA finals seeded lower than No. 4 was 1999, and that was the Knicks in a 50-game strike shortened season.

So what’s so exciting about the first round?

Truth is, in the last decade a No. 1 or a No. 2 seed has reached the NBA finals 15 times out of 20. So what’s so exciting about the second round?

Casey, maybe we have a few more weeks to wait until we get to see long, exciting series that actually matter.

Casey: Agree on some points, but disagree on others. Do the Dallas Mavericks ring a bell? They should, because they lost to the No. 8-seed Golden State Warriors in the first round of 2007 NBA Playoffs. How about the Boston Celtics? Do you remember when they got stretched to seven games by the No. 8-seed Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs in 2008? Nothing can be taken for granted in the NBA.

This year’s playoffs also seem to be exciting from start to finish as you can potentially have a matchup between the Lakers and the Thunder in the first round or between the Heat and the Celtics.

In round two, more fuel will be thrown on the fire as you could be staring at a meeting between the Hawks and the Magic or possibly even the Lakers and the Nuggets. So don’t snooze too long, because you’re missing out on some great basketball.

With that being said, can you stay awake long enough to give me a team or two you’re eyeballing to win the NBA title?

Richard: It’s the Cavs year out East. All they have to do is overcome the “bad matchup” they have with the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals.

An experienced Celtics team could give the Cavs trouble in the second round, but I see Boston as an aging boxer who only has about six rounds left in a 12 round fight.

Easy knockout once the series goes past five or six games.

As for the West, the Lakers remain the odds on favorite and my pick to go to the finals.

A recent poll of Sporting News NBA experts ranked five Lakers players in the NBA’s top-50, including Kobe Bryant at No. 1.

Although the West is deeper this year with seven teams reaching 50 wins, my money is on the defending champs.

Surprised I picked both one seeds, Casey?

Casey: Out West, we are in agreement. The Lakers have the best player, the best depth and the best coach in the game. They tend to snooze from time to time, but their B-game is better than everyone else’s A-game and they will walk to the finals unharmed.

But the East – man, what a mess.

A bad matchup you say? Well, I say the Magic beat those guys five games in a row in the playoffs last year, if not for a miracle heave from LeBron James that stole Game 2 from Orlando. If you’re of the same belief as me that Cleveland is worse with the addition of Shaq, and Orlando is better with the addition of Vince Carter, then there’s your “easy knockout.”

So, Cleveland, huh? How confident are you in that selection, Captain?

Richard: Well, Captain, I’m picking the Cavs not only to win the East, but to win the NBA title as well.

Cleveland is 2-0 against the Lakers this season, including a 15-point win in Los Angeles Christmas Day.

We all know Shaq isn’t who he used to be, but he can still be the dominant presence inside the Cavs will need to win the title.

He can give 20-30 minutes and defend big men like Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum, something Anderson Varejao and Zydrunas Ilgauskas were unable to do by themselves in year’s past.

But Shaq isn’t the reason why the Cavs are No. 1 in the East.

It’s this year’s league MVP LeBron James who almost averaged a triple double this season and is poised to bring a championship to Cleveland.

Casey: Cleveland beat the Lakers twice during the season.

Wow, that’s truly an amazing feat. That’s sure to mean they will romp through the Lake-Show in a sweep during the finals, right?

I’m sorry, chief – that’s just not how it works.

See, the Magic beat the Lakers twice in the regular last season, prior to the team’s meeting in the Finals.

How’d that turn out?

Try, Lakers in five games, for $1,000, Alex. Don’t judge the Lakers by what happens in the season – because the truth is they only start caring in the playoffs.

Shaq is fine and dandy and yes, he probably will limit Bynum or Gasol, but he can’t guard both. Kobe and LeBron will be a wash and the Cavs will have no answer for Odom, Gasol, Artest and the other tools the Lakers bring to the table. Give me the team with one great player and four really good players and one really good coach any day over the team with one great player, one has been and 10 never was’s with a Joe-Schmo on the sidelines.

But with the Cavs being your team and everything, are you willing to perhaps wager your hair on the fact they will not lose the championship to my Lakers?

Richard: You pushed the right button, Captain. When have I ever turned down a challenge? You’re on.

Casey: That’s what I like to hear. So there you have it, my dear friends. It will be a battle of the Bayou Boys with two hairlines up for grabs. If the Lakers win the championship, Mr. Fischer gets a nice No. 1-crew cut. If the Cavaliers win the title, my hair takes the plunge. If neither team takes the prize, then we will both lose our hair this summer.