This season's NBA Playoffs are sure to be as exciting as ever. The Western Conference itself realistically has about 5-6 teams that could win the title if they get hot. Still, Kobe Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers have to be the slight favorite going in because of the way they're playing and having home court advantage throughout the West. In the Eastern Conference, the edge goes to the Boston Celtics for the exact same reasons. However, the Detroit Pistons and the Cleveland Cavaliers shouldn't be easy teams to count out either. Take a look below as we've simulated through the entire playoffs using NBA 2K8 to see who the game's predicted to take home the hardware.
Eastern Conference Results
Well, there ended up being little drama in the East as the #1 seeded Boston Celtics met up with the #2 seeded Detroit Pistons in the semi-finals. The lone upset that we saw on this side of the bracket came at the hands of the trash-talking Washington Wizards in round 1. The Wizards were able to back up all their smack by talking out King James and the Cleveland Cavaliers rather easily 4-1. Washington also almost managed to get by the Celtics in round 2, but they fell just short losing 4-3 in seven games. Now the real drama starts in the East as the two powers prepare to do battle for the right to go to the NBA Finals.
Western Conference Results
The Western Conference simulation saw three of the four lower seeded teams advance to the second round of the playoffs. The #7 seeded Dallas Mavericks made last year's first round exit a thing of the past as they knocked off the #2 seeded New Orleans Hornets in just six games. Also, we saw the #6 seeded Phoenix Suns take out the World Champion and #3 seeded San Antonio Spurs in seven games to move on. The biggest shocker in round one was not just the fact that the Houston Rockets defeated the Utah Jazz, but it was the 4-0 sweep that they put on them that was so impressive. The reward for the Rockets' dominance in round 1 was a round 2 matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, who just barely survived in seven games against the Denver Nuggets in the opening round. The Lakers once again managed to win in seven games in round two, setting up a monumental showdown with Shaquille O'neal and the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals.
NBA Finals Results
The Phoenix Suns and the Boston Celtics both earned the right to play for the Championship as they dismantled their opponents in the Conference Finals. The loss by the Lakers to the Suns in the West has to hurt Kobe Bryant because he's forced to watch Shaquille O'neal 1up him yet again. The Suns' acquisition of "The Diesel" proved to be the right move in the end as Phoenix was able to ride their momentum throughout the playoffs, resulting in a seven game series win over the re-vamped Boston Celtics. Boston's off-season moves last year were able to bring this squad back to the forefront of the NBA, but in the end they just ran out of gas. Congratulations to the Phoenix Suns on becoming this season's NBA Champions.
