by Tom Weppel
We are now into the second round of the playoffs. All four of the top seeds in each Conference won their first series. And so we'll see who can do what to get into the Conference Finals.
While everyone is focusing their attention on the Celtics and Lakers, we are also seeing two other teams that are playing very good ball. In the East, the Detroit Pistons are a veteran squad that has been around the block a time or two. Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton, and Chauncey Billups have been fixtures in Detroit for a while now. As veterans, they realize what's going on and what needs to happen to beat their opponents. They will most likely take care of the Orlando Magic. After that, we'll wait and see who they will get. In the West, the team that simply continues to get little respect is the New Orleans Hornets. Here's a squad that had the 2d best record in the Conference, and is playing great basketball, as a few of us have seen. They are led by G Chris Paul, who has had an outstanding season. Paul has gotten that group together, and Coach Byron Scott has done a great job getting his team to play cohesively.
The Hornets have F David West, F Peja Stojakovic, and C Tyson Chandler to compliment Paul. They are giving the defending-champion Spurs a very tough time.
So, while the Celtics and Lakers continue to receive the media hype, keep your eye on Detroit and New Orleans.
We're down to the final four in the hunt for the Stanley Cup, which to me is the greatest trophy out there in sports.
The Eastern Conference finals feature a battle of Pennsylvania, with the Pittsburgh Penguins taking on the underdog, upstart Philadelphia Flyers. Pittsburgh came into the playoffs with a lot of confidence and good, solid play, and they have shown how good they are in the decisive series victories against Ottawa and the New York Rangers. When you look at the Pens, of course, everyone knows about young phenom C Sydney Crosby. He is the poster boy of the squad. He has the skills to make thing happen when he's on the ice, and his play is a key factor in how the Penguins play. But Crosby has a great cadre of teammates to back him up. Wingers Pasqual Dupuis, Ryan Malone, Petr Sykora, and Marian Hossa have been fantastic in taking careof business. The Penguins have two other outstanding Centers…Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal. Defensively, Pittsburgh has Sergei Gonchar, Darryl Sydor, and others to hold down the fort, and G Marc-Andre Fleury is superb. But the Flyers are tough, and that is the tradition Philadelphia hockey is known for. Guys like D Darrien Hatcher, RW Mike Hartnell, LW Vaclav Prospal, and C Daniel Briere have carried the Flyers in their two series. They, along with G Marty Biron, will have to do a great job in getting to the Finals.
While I think it's going to be a great series, I like Pittsburgh to win.
In the Western Conference, you've got the Dallas Stars going against the prohibitive favorite, the Detroit Red Wings.
Dallas has emerged from the nethlerlands to be in this position. Not too many people expected them to make it this far. But they've been able to win their two series handily, including their last one with the favored San Jose Sharks, and they are on a nice roll. The Stars are led of course by Captain Mike Modano, who continues his stellar play. LW Brenden Morrow, RW Jere Lehtinen, and D Sergei Zubov are fine players who headline a good, solid group. Goalie Marty Turco has played great, and he will be THE key factor in the Dallas' chances of winning. The Stars are a good team. But the key here will be whether they can handle the Wings, who have looked like an All-Star cast this season. With C Kris Draper, LW Henrik Zetterberg, RW Tomas Holstrom, and D Brian Rafalski, just to name a few, Detroit has been dominant in the NHL. C Chris Osgood has been great between the pipes, and if he needs a break, Dominik Hasek is right there.
When it's all said and done, you gotta hang with the Wings in this one. And if I'm right, you would have one helluva Stanley Cup Final played between Pittsburgh and Detroit.
Tom Weppel talks trash with Greg Larson, Lonnie Marts, Eugene Chung, Artis Gilmore, and Ron Duguay on SportsAvengers.com 24/7.
Article Published in the May 2008 Issue of EU Jacksonville
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