NBA Playoff Impressions: Two Years Later, Same Damn Result.

Spurs 93, Nuggets 78 - Goddamnit. I thought the whole point of dealing for Allen fucking Iverson was to avoid shit like getting slapped down by the Spurs in the same way we did in 2005, and losing in 2006 to a Clippers team because we didn't have that other star player. Well, George Karl can't help this team play defense, and waved the white flag after deciding to bench J.R. Smith (yeah, he fucks up a lot, but if he's 18 of the 33 [!] bench points your team scored in the first four games, you probably don't bench him.) The Spurs bench remains lethal, as Michael Finely just went off with eight three-pointers and 26 points total.

"It turned out that way with the series being over 4-1, but as for the level of play, I can't really say they're a better team than us," Denver's Marcus Camby said. "Each game was close and could have been flip-flopped to our advantage. I still feel confident in our team and what we can build here."

Don't kid yourself, Marcus: the Spurs are a better team than you are. The reason it didn't flip-flop to your advantage was because the Nuggets coughed up leads they shouldn't have.

Suns 119, Lakers 110 - The Lakers never led in this game, despite good play from Lamar Odom and Kobe grabbing his usual 30+, which now appears to be insufficient for this Laker team to ever win with. He'll now have to score 40 or more on a regular basis, and even then, it won't get them close next year with their roster as it stands. Kobe wants to see what GM Mitch Kupchak and owner Jerry Buss do to improve the team:

"Do it and do it now," he said. "Personally for me, it's beyond frustration -- three years and still being at ground zero. This summer's a big summer. We have to see what direction we want to take as an organization and make those steps and make them now."

The Lakers are not exactly in good shape as far as the salary cap goes. Unless they pull off some blockbuster trade (and they will have to ship out Andrew Bynum to pull it off), expect a first-round departure next year, too.

(Photo: D. Clarke Evans/NBAE/Getty Images)

NBA Playoff Impressions: Home Is Where The Wins Are.

Rockets 96, Jazz 92 - T-Mac scores 26 and adds 16 assists; Yao has 21 and 15; the Rockets are back on point in a 3-2 series where the home team has won every game so far. This means either both teams are matched up fairly well (given that this is a 4-5 matchup, that's likely), or neither team is very good on the road for the playoffs and shouldn't be trusted come the next round against the eventual winner of Mavericks-Warriors. Carlos Boozer had the Jazz team high with 26, but only had eight rebounds.

Spurs 96, Nuggets 89 - Especially frustrating as a Nuggets fan, because they had a lead in the third quarter and then kept coughing it up. You do not get up by 10 points on San Antonio in the second half and then proceed to let them right back into the game. Here comes the repeat of 2005: win the opener, lose the next four.

Cavaliers 97, Wizards 90 - The Cavs pull off the shakiest sweep of the three that took place in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Again unable to hold Antawn Jamison to under 30 points, the Cavaliers' defense must be called into question at every opportunity when they get the eventual winner of the Nets and the Raptors soon. This team doesn't put opponents away.

(Photo: AP)

NBA Playoff Impressions: Control Freaks.

Spurs 96, Nuggets 91 - The reason San Antonio has won multiple championships with Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich in recent years is because they are control freaks. They want to control how the other team plays to an almost obscene degree, and the way you do that is by making it impossible for a team like the Nuggets to actually establish any form of offensive consistency from the second quarter on. Then, you capitalize on the turnovers and frustration plays that occur as a result, as evidenced by the third-quarter inbound that Robert Horry stole and took for a 3, sparking a 13-3 run that essentially said, "This game is out of reach for you, no matter what the final score will be."

(Edit: As D-Wil notes, you also work the refs a lot -- Manu is hated in Denver for being a flopper, and the Spurs flop like the Azzuri in the World Cup.)

Jazz 98, Rockets 85 - Jerry Sloan is as much of a control freak as Popovich, running the same old pick-and-roll based offense since the Stockton-Malone heyday. Again, it puts a premium on defense so Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, and Mehmet Okur can operate. Utah took the two games on their home court by absolutely shutting down Tracy McGrady early, and holding him to 18 points for the game before Jeff Van Gundy ceded defeat by yanking the starting lineup.

Cavs 98, Wizards 92 - The sad part of this stretch for the Wizards is that Antawn Jamison is playing absolutely out of his head; he had 38 points today, and it doesn't bode well that the Cleveland defense can't limit that. However, if there's no supporting cast to help with Butler and Arenas out, Jamison's 38 doesn't mean much. LeBron tossed in 30, nine assists, and six boards.

Pistons 97, Magic 93 - Orlando actually had a lead to cough up this time, and that's the only remarkable thing you can say about this series. Dwight, Hedo, Grant, Darko -- thanks for playing.

(Photo: Getty Images)

NBA Playoff Impressions: Be Cool.

Mavs 112, Warriors 99 - One of the big rules of the playoffs: DO NOT LOSE YOUR COOL. Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson both violated this (and their arguing was not necessarily unjustified, but you still gotta keep it in) as Dallas played a better game in Game 2 to tie it up. Davis got tossed before the end of the third quarter and Jackson got his walking papers with under 5 minutes left. Nowitzki still hasn't quite put it together, shooting 7 for 15. Jason Terry led the way for the Mavs, with a 15-2 run in the third quarter being the crucial difference.

Cavs 109, Wizards 102 - Cleveland is still letting this series be way too close for comfort with a depleted Wizards team. Antawn Jamison had 33 for D.C., and if the Cavs are just going to let him go off every night, they're going to lose a game when they shouldn't.

Spurs 97, Nuggets 88 - If you can get a split in San Antonio, it's still a good thing, and the Nuggets should be okay with how they played as long as they don't cough up homecourt in the next couple games. Manu Ginobili poured on 15 of his 17 points in the second half, and Tim Duncan had his usual 20+ night. Now, Denver knows the real part of the team it has to deal with. I'm still hoping they can pull it off.

watching and waiting.

So, with the regular season back in swing, what are we to make of one of the most mercurial teams in the Association?

For me, it's like waiting for the promise of great things to develop between Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson to finally roll around; when the electricity sparks the teams to wins and a formidable presence -- not that team that's going to win a title; the West is too stacked for that to happen -- the one that none of the top teams wants to face.

That isn't happening. The Nuggets lost to the Spurs last night, and while you get good individual performances out of both Anthony and AI, you wonder if they'll put it together with the rest of the team, when the parts will come together as a whole. They'll make the playoffs, but eventually we'll get sick of one and outs. Someone's going to have to play defense on that team.

(I'll probably get around to an NBA general assessment of playoff teams as they stand soon.)