There’s nothing like the 2nd round of the NBA Playoffs. There’s at least a game a day, usually more. And because none of the weakling teams that were just making up the numbers in the first round are there anymore, the attraction of 8 high quality franchises fighting it out night after night is almost unsurpassable.

Unlike the NBA Finals, where you often find yourself supporting a team you dislike simply because you hate the other team more, the 2nd round is often where your guys are still out there, still in with a shot of making their, and your, dreams complete. And this year it’s no different. There’s some terrific basketball being played, all series are locked at 2-games all and in some ways it’s a shame that by this time next week, 4 teams, 4 elite teams each with a legitimate chance at the Title, will be eliminated.

Or at least, 3 elite teams, and the Miami Heat.

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It?s a travesty that this series, which has seen arguably the highest quality basketball in a couple of years, has been rescinded into the mass-media background behind the Lakers and Spurs; and the same mistake will not be perpetuated here. Kevin Garnett ? not Kobe, Iverson, Shaq, T-Mac, or TD ? is the league MVP. Take a moment to dwell upon that. Kevin McHale took a monumental risk back in June 1995 by drafting the skinny teenager from Mauldin, South Carolina, and it?s amazing to consider KG is, now, before our very eyes, just about to start his ascent into legit superstardom. Minnesota finished the regular season with more wins than anyone else in the Conference, and shouted down the upstart Denver Nuggets in an entertaining first round series whilst Sacramento were overcoming the out-of-synch Mavs. Sacto don?t have home court, and they don?t have their franchise player at anywhere near 100% fitness, but they?re deep, they?re experienced and they know what it takes to win frantic, physical playoff contests. Of all 4 current series, it?s the TWolves and Kings that play right down to the last possession. Each game so far has been decided by 6 points or fewer; compare this with the 10-point, and even 20-point, margins evident in the other matchups. Part of the absorbing closeness of this series is that Minnesota actually have more postseason experience that they?re given credit for, and Sprewell and Cassell have both been significant factors, albeit inconsistently, throughout this encounter. Mike Bibby might be the hardest point guard in the game to defend, which is saying a lot, and Doug Christie, whose rep oscillates between maligned and ignored, is playing so well he just could be Sacto?s MVP up to this point. The tape of game 3, the 1 point game, the overtime game, the scoring duel between Garnett and Peja Stojakovic game, will be treasured for years to come, no matter which teams ultimately wins this series. Minnesota have home-court. Sacramento have been here before.

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Amazingly, this series is 2-all as well, with the Pacers falling in Miami, again, last night to a Heat team which had 6 players score in double-figures and shot 50% both from the field and the free throw line. In their respective first rounds – Indiana comprehensively dismantling the jaded Celtics, while Miami out-enthused a fractured New Orleans ? there was nothing that suggested this. At best, the fatter, hairier, Van Gundy brother would preside over a face-saving victory in game 3, and the Heat would be starting their summer vacation sometime about now, and be quite satisfied as Indiana cruised on to face a real playoff opponent. But somehow, behind an explosive rookie and a rejuvenated multi-versatile forward, Miami have made this into a real, live series. Lamar Odom, after battling PJ Brown for 7 games, has now had to contend with Jermaine O?Neal 4 times in the past week, and he?s again done a fantastic job. Indiana are a deep outfit, but their big-man depth is a myth, with Bender, Harrington and Croshere all playing smaller than their tape-measured height. That a team with Brian Grant, Malik Allen and Udonis Haslem can be on level terms with them says a lot about Indiana?s flaws. This is a 61 win team, remember, being shown up by an organisation which, to everyone else, believed were fortunate to just make the playoffs. All of a sudden, Indiana look like an incongruous cross-section of individual ball players rather than the unified team that paced, pun intended, the league this season. With a comprehensive win in game 5 back home on Saturday, things will be back on track, but no-one will be fooled anymore as Indiana?s self-styled reputation as a dominant team not to be trifled with, particularly defensively, has been shown up as a sham. Of all 8 teams remaining, Miami is the most healthy, and the longer this series goes on, the more Indiana?s aches and pains will become a factor mentally for them, not just physically. Dwayne Wade, whoa, the kid can play.

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After game 2, which was GameCast here last week, New Jersey looked like a team that was simply not strong enough to control the tempo of this series. But back in their own building, the fans ? not to mention better rebounding and defense ? brought their running game back to life, and all of a sudden it?s Detroit who are on the back foot. It will be interesting to see if the Pistons, now under Larry Brown?s tutelage, will capitulate in the face of the confident Nets the way Rick Carlisle?s team did this time last year. Carlisle presently has enough of his own problems to offer any advice, but once again it?s the lack of a pure point guard which is hurting Detroit. Billups is explosive, and he?s changed his game over the course of his career where he can play the one quite capably, but compared to Jason Kidd you can understand why the Pistons? offense shuts down for such long stretches in every game. After holding the Nets to 56 and then 80 points in the first 2 games, they?ve only been able to score 64 and 79 themselves in the next 2. That?s not acceptable, even if you are a defense-first squad. On paper, Detroit has the bulk to wrap up Kenyon Martin and tie a bow around him, but he?s been a thorn in their side ever since a sub-par game 1, as has the dynamic Richard Jefferson. New Jersey are athletic, they?re playoff hardened, and they love themselves. That?s a good combination, but it?s not enough to defeat this deep and focused Pistons team in isolation. With 2 of the next 3 games in the Palace, where players other than Ben Wallace actually rebound, the Nets will need to find a way to retain the emotional lift they got by returning home and win at least 1 of these 2 contests. If this series does go the distance, there?s a big gap between game 6, this Sunday, and game 7, next Thursday, for all those little wounds to heal; Detroit have to be concerned that Billups and Sheed are already hobbling. The Pistons have a lot of work to do in order to prove to themselves, and to their opponents, that they are in fact the better team this season. On paper, they are.

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San Antonio are the one team in the League who aren?t mentally intimidated by LA?s often over-powering postseason mystique. The Lakers have 4 superstars, a coaching deity and a handful of rings, but alongside their trophy cabinet they have a closet full of skeletons wearing Sacramento, Minnesota, Dallas and Portland jerseys. But there?s no black and silver garments in there. Moreso than any other team, the Spurs can look this LA team in the eye and not blink; and the Lakers know it. Part of it is luck ? in last season?s game 5 when the Lakers came roaring back, they would have won the game, and possibly the series, were it not for Robert Horry?s clutch 3 rimming out ? and part of it is the self-assured and balanced approach instilled by Gregg Popovich and maintained on the court at all times by Tim Duncan. The Spurs don?t choke because they don?t even look as if they?re breathing hard. In games 1and 2, as San Antonio executed their way to such a comprehensive 2-0 series lead, NBA commentators the length and breadth of the country had as good as written the Lakers off; proving once again how short the memory of the average sportswriter is. Of course, back home for games 3 and 4, LA have played like the superstar team they so obviously are; and, as if we didn?t need reminding, when Kobe and/or Shaq are on the Lakers are impossible to beat. In a trend harkening back to Phil Jackson?s halcyon days in Chicago, the Lakers have been outscoring their opponents in the pivotal 3rd quarter, and either wilting to, or holding off, the Spurs? 4th quarter surge, depending on where the games are being played. It?s now a best of 3 series, with game 5 tomorrow on national television; a stage all great players love, and LA has 4 of them. San Antonio will need to exploit their superior backcourt speed, their youth, and their overall fearlessness if they?re going to knock the Lakers out of the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row. Watching these aged, injury-struck Lakers overcome the odds so often this season already has as times been a bit like the mid 90?s when Houston?s Clutch City dynasty was in full swing. Even when they would fall behind 2-0, or 3-1, you knew you couldn?t count them out. That?s the way great teams are de-throned; you have to kill them; they won?t go down by themselves. Just who is the victor in this series ? the current World Champion San Antonio Spurs, or the former World Champion Los Angeles Lakers ? remains to be seen.

And still, it?s only just the Second Round.