NBA western conference playoffs

western conference:

(1) LA Lakers 65w-17L vs. (8) Utah jazz 48w-34L
(2) Denver nuggets 54w-28L vs. (7) NO hornets 49w-33L
(3) SA spurs 54w-28L vs. (6) Dallas mavericks 50w-32L
(4) Portland trailblazers 54w-28L vs. (5) Houston rockets 53w-29L

- Lakers vs. jazz:
i simply see this as an advantage to LA. considering LA has been a good home team
and also a good road team, i don't see this series as a though challenge for them. as for Utah,
this is gonna be a long series. if they want to win this they have to grind it out and work real hard
in each game. also, Utah, which has been a terrible team on the road, will have a tough time
to win in Los angeles, which is 36-5 at home. but i wont underestimate Utah, which has deron williams playing like there's no tommorow, is still considered an elite team in the west.
prediction: lakers at 5

- Nuggets vs. Hornets:
i love this matchup. david west against kenyon martin. carmelo anthony against peja (if he's healthy). nene vs. chandler (again, if he's healthy). and of course, billups vs. paul. the nuggets are, i think, one of the top teams when it comes to offense. the hornets, on the other hand, are a good defensive oriented team. i think this is a must-see series for the west. and probably, chris paul will again lead this banged-up hornets team against a healthy Denver squad. in my opinion, i think the nuggets are deserving to win this series cause simply:
* they've lost 5 straight first round series so they're probably more hungry for a series win
* they are on a mission to prove that this team could contend for a title
* they are both good on offense and defense
prediction: nuggets at 6

- SA spurs vs. dallas mavs:
i dont know about you, but this match-up is a very good series for both teams. the spurs will try to prove that they could still fight without ginobili while the mavs will simply prove that their aging superstars can still take over games. the tim duncan-dirk nowitzki and jason terrytony parker matchup will also be a big bonus for this mathcup's rivalry.
prediction: mavs at 7

- blazers vs. rockets:
it's time to prove that yao and the rockets can make it out of the first round series. a matchup with a young but talented blazers squad is a good test for them. i dont know if the rockets have the experience advantage over them (given the fact that with t-mac, they havent got out of a first round series yet), but i can tell you this: the blazers will put up a fight. brandon roy and lamarcus aldridge will again lead this team against yao, artest and the rockets, which is a dismal 20w-21L on the road. the blazers, who are a blistering 34w-7L at home, can provide a good though test for these rockets.
prediction: blazers at 7


please comment on my predictions :) tnx.