NBA Playoff Impressions: Bulls In A China Shop.

Bulls 92, Heat 79 - So I guess you really can't just turn it on for the playoffs, despite the pre-conceived notions surrounding the Miami Heat. What should have been the most competitive first-round matchup on paper turned ugly quick and was over today, with Luol Deng and Ben Gordon picking up their 20+ apiece to get the Bulls past the first round of the playoffs since Jordan retired again in '98. Funny enough, coach Scott Skiles has been here before -- he coached the Suns when they knocked off a defending champion Spurs team in 2000. Chicago plays the Pistons in the next round.

Suns 113, Lakers 100 - Now, this was the close, fast exciting game to watch -- well, at least for the first half. Come 3rd quarter, Phoenix said, "Enough of this shit," and started just smoking a Lakers team that doesn't have the talent, outside Kobe, to compete with the top tier of the Western Conference. Nash shot poorly, but his 17 points weren't the number to focus on -- those 23 assists would do it. Amare Stoudamire grabbed 27 points and a Rodman-esque 21 off the boards, Shawn Marion had 22 and 11 boards, and Leandro Barbosa popped in 16. This Laker team is maddeningly frustrating -- flashes of brilliance, in the triangle and out, offset by more prolonged periods of poor ball-care and turnovers.

More to come after the night games. If you aren't watching Mavs-Warriors, you're probably going to be missing out.

(Photo: Getty Images.)

NBA Playoff Impressions: If You Are A Laker Fan, This Is Not What You Wanted To See.

Suns 126, Lakers 98 - Ugly, ugly game from the get-go, and it was over by the end of the first half (it really looked worse on the telecast, if you only caught the highlights). Here are some gaudy numbers: Nash had 16 points and 14 dimes, Barbosa chipped in another 26, Stoudamire had 20, and Marion added 18 with 10 boards. Kobe Bryant rolled his ankle with a 15 point night, and to even be competitive, he's going to have to dominate instead of dish. This team leans on him too much for him to be altruistic.

Bulls 107, Heat 89 - Ben Gordon and Luol Deng threw in 20+ a piece (Gordon had some nasty numbers from behind the 3-point line), and both Shaq and D-Wade played like crap, with 17 and 21 points, respectively (the crap line is more for the seven turnovers each of them had.) Miami has come back from 0-2 deficits before (like last year's Finals), but they're on the line here and need to figure out how to keep tabs on Gordon and Deng and get the other Heat starters going.

Raptors 89, Nets 83 - This may be the quietly competitive series of the first round, as the Raptors salvage a split on their home court before the series goes to Jersey. Chris Bosh tossed in 25 and Anthony Parker got 26 the day coach Sam Mitchell got his Coach of the Year award. Vince Carter suffered from another poor shooting night.

the Heat's worst nightmare.

This was so incredibly painful to watch when it happened, because I saw the replay while watching at work, and it was one of those moments when you felt the pain through the screen. The extent of Dwyane Wade's separated shoulder isn't known yet, but Miami felt his absence, losing to the Rockets by 10 in Pat Riley's first game back on the sideline. If it is serious, then the Heat may make the playoffs, but they will lose in the first round.

In other notable NBA games, Manu Ginobili was a bad man, ripping off 24 straight points (40 total) against the lowly Hawks in a Spurs win. This is the sick thing about Ginobili -- he can have ungodly games like this, then maybe not show up, then put in the double figures (anywhere from high teens to mid-twenties) that the team needs from him to win. He's just another weapon -- a nice one to have, but this is why San Antonio is there every year, even if they're one of the less exhilarating teams to watch.