by Bill DiFilippo

Last year, my final column in the now defunct Ironmen Press was about the Cleveland Cavaliers. In that article, I bashed the Cavs and basically said they couldn’t win the Finals. Everyone said I was crazy. However, my Orlando Magic ended up shocking them and kicking them out of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference Finals. Normally I’m not one to toot my own horn and pat myself on the back, but…..

WOOHOO!!!!!

I CALLED IT!!!!!

Sorry, I’ve been waiting a year to do that. I don’t know if it’s going to be a recurring theme or not, but I might be good at these bold predictions. So for the NBA’s 2010 playoffs, I’ll make one prediction I haven’t seen anywhere outside of Texas; the Dallas Mavericks will win the 2010 NBA title.

If you ask the average NBA fan who they think will win the title, the three big answers you hear are Cleveland, Orlando, or the LA Lakers.  While many people feel the Eastern Conference is a three team race (Cleveland, Orlando, and the decrepit Boston Celtics), the West is considered to be 7 teams chasing the Lakers. If you are one of those people, please go for a walk before you continue reading. I’ll wait.

(Waiting)

(Still Waiting)

(Listening to “Freebird”)

Ok, you should have had enough time. Look, I’ll acknowledge the Lakers might be the best team in the West. I can’t deny that. However, I don’t trust them to get to the Western Conference Finals without some type of injury (Andrew Bynum, I’m looking at you) or with fresh legs. The fresh legs are especially important this time of year. The best player on the Lakers, Kobe “We’ll Settle out of Court” Bryant, has played 1,021 career games in his NBA career. Add in the 175 Kobe has played in during the playoffs and the 35 or so he’s played for Team USA, and he has played in over 1,200 games in his professional career. Here is a list of players who have been healthy and played over 1,200 games in their career:

1)    None

2)    None

3)    None

Even Michael Jordan, the hands down greatest player that ever played, struggled in his time as a Washington Wizard (or as I call it, “The Dark Ages”) because he received many of the injuries that come from too much basketball and not enough

Sorry, Kobe. Bill says you're not winning your 2nd title in a row.

rest.  Kobe has played almost the same number of games in his career as the Great One. While he has shown he will play through injury, I have to think he will be rendered ineffective from too much abuse in the playoffs.

The other big reason I don’t like the Lakers is their recent inability to win games. In their last 10 games going into the playoffs, they are 4-6. Now, I know one of you will point out that Cleveland is also 4-6 in their last 10 games. But remember that LeBron and Shaq have both been getting rest on the bench, while starters like Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison have had their minutes sliced so they get rest. And while Kobe hasn’t played since April 8^th, the Lakers haven’t really rested their other stars like Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. How can I trust a team that has been showing signs of aging for the last month of the season?

This brings us to Dallas. I tend to follow a simple formula to determine my title pick. If a team can make 3’s, turn to a scorer when the times get tough, rebound, defend the paint, has a savvy point guard, is well coached, and has overall great chemistry, they have a fantastic shot to win the Larry O’Brien trophy. Orlando doesn’t have a crunch time scorer. Cleveland doesn’t have a good coach. LA has the chemistry of your average Real World house. Phoenix couldn’t defend a team of slow, unathletic dwarfs. Denver is an extremely streaky 3-point shooting team. Utah has one guy who can make 3’s, and he is as athletic and agile as a tree. I’m pretty sure you can figure out where I’m going with this.

Dallas is the one team that hits every bullet. They can make 3’s (4^th in the NBA among playoff teams), they have a crunch time scorer (Dirk, who was the 2^nd most

The trade that brought Brendan Haywood to Dallas makes them Bill's title favorite

clutch player in the league behind LeBron), they can rebound and defend the paint thanks to the trade that brought Brendan Haywood to Dallas at the trade deadline, their point guard is the smartest guy other than me or Thomas Edison to ever live in New Jersey (Jason Kidd), and head coach/Jim Carrey look-a-like Rick Carlisle is second on my unofficial Coach of the Year Ballot.

So far, I’ve addressed everything except for chemistry. If we look at the Western Conference this year, the only 3 teams that have the chemistry for a successful playoff run are Dallas, Phoenix, and Oklahoma City. OKC needs a little more seasoning before I consider them a contender. Phoenix can’t defend a team of slow, unathletic dwarfs (yes, I used that joke already, but it hammers the point home). Dallas has been a new team since the addition of Caron Butler and Haywood. Normally, when a team trades for an All-Star (Butler), it takes much longer than 2 months to do all the little things to get them settled in their city. Butler and Haywood’s seamless transition seems to have made this trade the lone exception.

This all will lead to my Finals matchup, where my Magic will face the team I’ve been pimping all column, Dallas. I want to say Orlando will sweep Dallas and eventually win their first title in franchise history. I want to say Orlando will have a giant parade that goes through Disneyworld. However, there are three problems I have:

1) Dwight Howard touches the ball about 12 times a game. Trust me. I went to a Magic game, and you can’t appreciate how underused Howard is used until you see him in person. The guy’s teammates just don’t get him the ball.

2) Jameer Nelson still hasn’t made the leap from a good point guard to a great one. Not trying to nitpick, but it’s been 5 years. If it hasn’t happened by now, it won’t happen.

3) Vince Carter is now our crunch time scorer. Enough said.

Look, it kills me to do this, but I think that if my predictions hold to form, the Dallas Mavericks will beat the Orlando Magic in 6 games to win the title. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go vomit.