The San Antonio Spurs will beat the Dallas Mavericks. The Los Angeles Lakers will beat the Sacramento Kings. And whoever wins between those two will beat any team that comes out of the East. So let's just do away with the pleasantries. That the Lakers stand as the defending world champions means nothing to the Spurs.
Times are different.
As for the Lakers, everything has changed - and for the better, much to the chagrin of everyone in the playoffs. Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant have been surprisingly cordial and unselfish. The Lakers have won 11 straight. And the Kings didn't help themselves with their juvenile behavior after defeating the Phoenix Suns in Game 4 of the first round. The way the Kings pranced around, one would have thought they had captured a world championship.