By Guest Blogger Geoff Nelowet:

Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat (Bulls lead 1-0):

After handling their second round opponents without much worry, both of these teams came into this series with their confidence at an all-time high. If you watched, that translated into one heck-of-a-game last night. Besides just being great entertainment, last night told me everything I needed to know about this series. The reason the Bulls were so successful last night was their air-tight man to man defense. They held the scorching-hot Heat to only 82 points by forcing James and Wade into taking more difficult shots than they have been seeing so far in the playoffs. When they had opportunities, the Heat got easy buckets by forcing turnovers and getting out in transition. They do this better than anyone in the league, but not last night. Derrick Rose showed in game 1 that the carousel of defenders Miami plans on sending at him could end up being completely irrelevant; he’s going to be dominant regardless. I think we should all grab our popcorn and enjoy the rest of this series, which has a high likelihood of seeing its way to seven games. If the Bulls can continue to play great team defense as they did last night, they will outlast the Heat. But if Miami can get their transition offense going, it’s like a locomotive with no brakes. When it’s all said and done, the MVP will have the last word in Chicago.

Prediction: Bulls in 7

Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

Now, the matchup we’ve all been waiting for… wait what? Mavericks vs. Thunder? If you didn’t see this coming don’t be ashamed because you surely are not alone. Most saw the Lakers meeting the Spurs at this point, but instead we are presented with a series that may end up being more exciting than that hypothetical classic anyway. We’ve got Dirk Nowitzki and his ever-hungry teammates facing off against the dynamic duo of Westbrook and Durant. The Mavs will be well rested and focused after sweeping the Lakers and are playing game 1 at home, a place they haven’t lost in during these playoffs. The Thunder have plenty of momentum and excitement after defeating the Grizzlies in 7, but does this team have the maturity to keep their deepest run into the postseason going? The Thunder will have to find a way to slow down Nowitzki, just like Dallas will need to find a way to hinder Durant’s efforts. Westbrook will be facing his toughest defensive matchup yet, as he will mostly be guarded by Jason Kidd who was responsible for shutting Kobe down in the Conference Semi’s. Top to bottom the Mavericks are just too deep for the Thunder to hang with at this point, and where well-rested legs meet experience you have a recipe for success.

Prediction: Dallas in 6

The Memphis Grizzlies were supposed to be a push over in these playoffs. They were a young team without their dynamic scorer Rudy Gay, and had a long history of losing. Yet now they dismantled the top seeded Spurs, and just forced at game 4 against 4th seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. No one really gave the Grizzlies a shot this postseason, but now they are one game away from their first Western Conference Finals.

It looked as though the Grizzlies run would end last night, as they were down by 10 at halftime, but Memphis battled back and ended up winning 95-83. The Grizzlies won in an all-around team effort led by Zach Randolph and O.J. Mayo, who combined for 46 points. The Grizzlies played excellent defense, which stymied Kevin Durant for his worst playoff performance yet, 11 points on 3 of 14 shooting. Memphis really challenged the Thunder’s 3-point attempts, and they ended up just 4 of 25 from behind the arc.

Memphis also won the battle in the paint (46-38), matched Oklahoma City in rebounds, and just really controlled the tempo in the 2nd half. The Grizzlies also limited their turnovers, which had been a problem earlier in the series.

The Thunder will need to make quick adjustments for Sunday as they look to avoid blowing their advantage in this series. Oklahoma City needs to find a way to get Durant more open looks, as he was constantly double-teamed last night. While Westbrook and Harden had nice nights, they either need to score more, or add a 3rd option to make the Grizzlies pay for the attention that Durant receives. Both Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka need to produce more on offense, or at least be enough of a threat to try to get Randolph in foul trouble.

One area that the Thunder struggled with that can’t be blamed on the Grizzlies defense was their free throw shooting. Oklahoma City shot just 17 of 24 from the charity stripe, or 70.8%. That is down from their league leading regular season high of 82.3%. Also, their 24 attempts is less than their usual 29.3 (you can give Memphis some credit here for not taking unnecessary fouls), which cost them additional points (presuming they’d actually make them). The biggest surprise though was the fact that Durant, Westbrook and Harden eached missed at least 1 attempt (which in an of itself isn’t too bad, but combined it really hurt), despite all being 85% shooters.

It should be an interesting game to watch on Sunday, as the Grizzlies found some weaknesses in the Thunder’s armor. Can Oklahoma figure out a way to get their offense back on track, while at the same time find a way to stop Randolph? That will be the central question, and if they don’t have an answer to it their season will be over.

By Guest Blogger Tyler Daly:

With the NBA playoffs now in full swing, fans and players alike are beginning to discover whom the contenders and pretenders really are.  As more games are played, we learn more and more about who has a shot.  Here’s what I’ve learned so far this April:

THE BOSTON CELTICS FOOLED US ALL AGAIN:

Much like last year, Boston more or less stumbled into the playoffs, finishing with weak performances and opening them up to questions about whether or not age would affect their playoff performance.  The C’s have quickly silenced their doubters by jumping out to a 3-0 series lead against a tough New York Knicks squad.  If Rajon Rondo can continue to distribute the ball to Boston’s shooters as well as he has, then we may have not seen the last championship won by this group.

THE ATLANTA HAWKS ARE FOR REAL:

This incredibly athletic lineup has come to play in their series against Orlando, looking to avenge last year’s embarrassing lopsided defeat.  Jamal Crawford has been playing out of his mind, and Joe Johnson has been everything Atlanta needs and more.  Atlanta has seemed to realize that there may be no stopping Dwight Howard, but instead have focused on closing out on Orlando’s shooters and making it hard to get the ball into Howard.  After taking a 2-1 series lead, the Hawks are flying high and their confidence just might carry them to a first round upset.

OKLAHOMA CITY IS ON ITS WAY:

What do I mean by this?  I’m talking on the way to a championship folks.  Not necessarily this year, but the Thunder are headed in the right direction.  Not only does this team look poised to blow the Nuggets out of this series, they’re playing as good as anyone in the playoffs right now.  OKC has electric scorers in Westbrook and Durant, and with the addition of Kendrick Perkins they finally have an inside presence to bang with the big boys.  Serge Ibaka is an absolute monster shot-blocker, and Thabo Sefolosha plays hard defense every possession.  This team has all the pieces to be great and they are looking ready to take that greatness to new personal heights.

A Guest Blog By Fanspeak Contributing Writer John Manuel

I am taking my NBA Season opening thoughts to South Beach, I mean fanspeak.  The NBA tips off this week with its most anticipated season in a long time.  All eyes will be the new Big Three of Martell Webster, Michael Beasley and Kosta Koufas in Minnesota.  Just kidding…Martell Webster starts the season injured.  How many games will the Miami Heat win?  I was in Vegas two weeks ago and the win over/under was 63.5.  I thought that was a pretty good number.  I passed and gambled all my money on that the Sasha Vujacic and Maria Sharapova engagement rumor was a joke.  I lost. We all lost on that one.

Speaking of the Lakers most analyst I have listened to the past week feel they are still the favorites to repeat.  I have never been a fan of the Lakers but I may find myself rooting for them now based on two moves.  One is obvious.  Lebron and Bosh joining the Heat to load up a team of superstars.  But I am sick of hearing about Lebron and the Heat.  More important was when the Lakers added my fellow Maryland grad Steve Blake.  It would be great to see Blake hit a huge shot in the finals against Miami.  Slim chance of that with Kobe and the returning Derek Fisher.

Opening night with TNTs coverage is always great.  Charles Barkley’s reactions to the bench players, trainers and other no names receiving championship rings is priceless.  I do feel sorry for Sir Charles and I am guessing lost 50k on that Vujacic bet also.  Barkley would probably cut off one of Adam Morrison’s ring fingers Jack Bauer style if he had the chance.

My team is the Wizards or the team that doesn’t know a good practical joke.  Or just Gilbert Arenas doesn’t.  I wonder if Gilbert wishes he would have used this practical joke on Javaris Crittenden instead of the locker room gun fiasco. RIP Manute Bol.  John Wall is going to make the team fun to watch this season at the least. Hopefully with a team full of 7′s like Josh Howard and Al Thornton they can possibly contend for the 8th spot in the East.

If I lived in Oklahoma City and couldn’t afford the cost of Oklahoma City Thunder season tickets I would probably be in the Oklahoma state pen right now for a failed bank robbery to pay for tickets.  Kevin Durant is sick and I applaud him for signing his extension and seeing where this talented bunch can go the next few seasons.  I would love to see him come back home to DC at some point but they could have something special.  Last seasons Lakers-Thunder series was great to watch.  A few seasons ago the Heat had a nucleus of Wade, Caron Butler and Lamar Odom that reminded me of the Thunder but they decided to break it up and trade for Shaq.  It got them a title, but I hope that the Thunder keeps guys like Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green together with Durant.

The whole season outlook can change if either Carmelo Anthony or Chris Paul change teams during the season.  Chris Paul in Orlando could make them the favorites.  Melo with the Knicks or Nets would probably move one of those teams at least into the playoffs.  Melo is probably my favorite player so I hope he doesn’t goto the Knicks.  Can’t his wife just host her Vh1 show reunions from Denver?  And why can’t a NBA player marry Katie from MTV Road Rules/Real World challenges, she is nuts but highly entertaining.  I may be willing to pay for the wedding of Katie and Kenyon “Necklips Tattoo” Martin.

The Lakers, Heat, Celtics and Magic are getting the most hype so far.  But look out for teams like the Thunder or my surprise selection the Utah Jazz.  Not to win but possibly finally upset the Lakers in the Western conference playoffs.  Portland has been waiting to take that step up and Dallas’ addition of Tyson Chandler will be big.  If I have to make a call I am going Lakers over Heat.  Sorry, I just have that feeling and you know how whacky the officiating gets in the playoffs.  Any Sacramento Kings fans of the C-Webb-Vlade era  just smashed their monitors so they won’t be able to hear me tell them Tyreke Evans is sick so hang in there.

By Fanspeak contributing writer Geoff Nelowet

With the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers dominating nearly every media outlet, and with the words “Kobe” and “LeBron” prefacing every NBA conversation, it’s time we take a look at the teams that aren’t leading the league right now, but almost certainly will be in the future. I’ve ranked the top five teams of the future based on three criteria: young talent, salary cap space, and projected draft status. Two of the five teams are currently NBA bottom feeders, but they have young talent, cap space, and ostensibly a top-five draft pick in this summer’s NBA draft.

1. Oklahoma City Thunder

Record: 39-24 Payroll: 58.3 M (28^th in NBA) Draft Status: two non-lottery first round picks, OKC and Phoenix

Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green and James Harden make up easily the best young nucleus in the NBA. Durant is currently second in the NBA in scoring at almost 30 per game, and Westbrook is averaging nearly 17 points and 8 assists in just his second professional season. Jeff Green is having a bit of a down year, but he’s still putting up 14.5 points and over 6 boards a night, and rookie James Harden is averaging 10 points per game in limited minutes.

This team has already found success in the NBA, as they currently sit as the five seed in the rugged Western Conference playoff race. They will definitely be the proverbial “team nobody wants to face come playoff time” because they get better every week, and it’s only a matter of time before they become the NBA elite.

This team also holds the third-lowest payroll in the NBA, and with this summer expected to be the biggest free agency in decades, the Oklahoma City Thunder could land a low post player such as Amare Stoudemire or Carlos Boozer. Even more optimistically, the Thunder could go after Chris Bosh. Regardless of what transpires this summer or the next, the Thunder are in line to sign a major low-post contributor that will almost definitely push them over the top.

2. Portland Trail Blazers

Record: 39-28 Payroll: 55.8 M (30^th) Draft Status: non-lottery selection

The Portland Trail Blazers looked like a team with an even brighter future a year ago, but with Greg Oden facing major injuries – and the fact that he simply has not become a dominant NBA center, the Trail Blazers bright future has slightly dimmed. Also many people had high hopes for foreigner Rudy Fernandez, and especially after the Olympics, but he has yet to amount to anything more than a solid backup wing player.

Despite these setbacks, the Trail Blazers are still a team fraught with good, young talent. Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge have become cornerstones for the franchise, and Roy looks to be one of the best young scorers in the NBA. Oden still has plenty of upside as long as he stays healthy, and Jerryd Bayless and Nicolas Batum round out a very young and talented bench.

Portland also has the lowest payroll in the NBA, and premium talent is on its way. Portland of course, will be vying with nearly half the league to sign the big name free agents this summer, but even if they end up signing second or third tier players, they will still be a major force in the Western Conference for years to come.

3. Memphis Grizzlies

Record: 34-31 Payroll: 57.4 M (29^th) Draft Status: three first round picks, top-fifteen pick (Memphis), two non-lottery DEN and LAL

OJ Mayo, Marc Gasol and Rudy Gay have already made this team competitive, and they will only get better with time. Mayo averages 17.5 points per game in just his second NBA season, and Gasol has emerged as one of the best young centers in the league averaging nearly 15 points and 10 rebounds. Rudy Gay has been equally as good averaging 20 points and 5 boards.

Memphis’ young nucleus has been in the NBA for three seasons or less, and with solid young players such as Mike Conley and Sam Young contributing on a nightly basis, this looks to be one of the better teams in the NBA down the road. Memphis also has center Hasheem Thabeet, whom they drafted second overall last summer riding the bench. He is the prototypical “project” player, and he has spent time in the NBDL, which is generally a bad sign, but he still has the ability to be an excellent player. With three first round picks they can either package them to acquire a top lottery pick or use all three to have a top young bench.

Memphis holds the second-lowest payroll in the NBA. They have the ability to make a major splash in free agency, but it will be difficult for them to reel in big name free agents when they are competing with the New York Knicks or any other more enticing destination.

4. Golden State Warriors

Record: 17-47 Payroll: 65.9 M (21^st) Draft Status: top-five pick

This team may be a surprise on this list, but they will boast arguably the best backcourt in the NBA for years to come. Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry have become two of the best guard in the NBA, and they can both score and pass. Ellis is currently fifth in the NBA in scoring at 25.5 per game, and Stephen Curry, in his rookie season, has averaged over 20 points per game over the last two months.

The Warriors also have Andris Biedrins and Anthony Randolph – two very good young players – in their frontcourt. Biedrins has been battling injuries, and Randolph has been inconsistent at times, but both have the skills to be excellent starters, and they have demonstrated that on numerous occasions.

Golden State will likely not be a big spender this off season, but they are in line for a top-five draft pick, which means even more young talent. Of course, their pick could be a bust, but this draft is expected to be unusually deep. If the Warriors get lucky and earn a top-two pick, they could set themselves up for a very promising future.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves

Record: 14-51 Payroll: 62.2 M (24^th) Draft Status: Up to three selections, top-five pick Minn., late-1st round (Utah), mid-round (Charlotte)*

The Timberwolves have one of the best young frontcourts in the NBA with Al Jefferson averaging 17 points and 9 rebounds per game, and Kevin Love contributing 15 points and 11 boards per night. Both players are under 25 years old, which is the most impressive part of their performances. Rookie Jonny Flynn has averaged nearly 14 points per game at point guard for the Timberwolves, and he completes their triumvirate of young talent. The Timberwolves also hold the rights to the top international player, Ricky Rubio, who can be used as a major trade chip down the road.

The Timberwolves also hold a minimal payroll, with most of their contracts coming off the books at the end of the season. As with every team, signing a big name free agent will be a highly competitive endeavor, and it is unlikely that someone such as LeBron James would ever consider signing with Minnesota, but looking ahead to future free agent classes, the T-Wolves could be a major player.

Most importantly, Minnesota is a lock for a top-five draft pick. They will be able to add a fourth elite young player to their already talented core group. They could also have an additional two first round picks that the Timberwolves could use to bolster their bench with young talent.This summer’s draft could push teams such as Minnesota and Golden State to immediate playoff contenders similar to the jump that Memphis made this past year.

*Charlotte’s pick is top 12 protected, right now they are just outside the top 12, but that could easily change.