OK, who do I root for?

[CosmicCowboy]

A lot of you little es will tell me that I am jinxing the Spurs by looking ahead to the next round, but Spurs have the Hornets number. They aren't winning 2 of 3.

I've been rooting for the Jazz (hock,spit) to this point but I think I am gonna start hoping the Lakers somehow pull this round out...Kobe is definitely struggling..

Anyone else want to weigh in on this one?

[CubanMustGo]

(1) Root for SA to win two of the next three.
(2) Root for Utah b/c we have HCA against them.

[ClingingMars]

utahhh

- Mars

[san antonio spurs]

It doesn't matter.
Whoever the spurs might face presents his own matchups problems.
But the spurs have scouted well this jazz team and handled them pretty well last year. We didn't have the opportunity for the lakers

[tmtcsc]

I want the toughest road to the Championship. Last year was great but beating the Cavs left me wanting more. No Challenge. Beating the Pistons in 7 was AWESOME. They were the defending champs and they were a great TEAM.

Getting 2 out of 3 from Hornets (especially in their home) will be a HUGE challenge.

[SPARKY]

Let's get through Game 5 first.

As for the other Western Conference series, can both teams lose?

[justanotherspursfan]

It'll be more fun beating the Lakers. Do you suppose we can get Kobe to cry again?

[Brutalis]

Lakers in 6

[O-Factor]

Lakers. Its would be more fun to give them a beat-down

[GSH]

Doesn't matter. We struggled against the Suns because they plugged the middle. If the Spurs get past the Hornets, it will be because they have found their perimeter (and in-between) game again. If that happens, nobody is going to beat them in a 7-game series. Nobody.

And they don't have to shoot lights-out from the perimeter, either. Just enough to keep the other defense honest, and keep the paint from becoming a rugby scrum. Give Tim, Tony, and Manu a little room to operate and they will cut any team to pieces.

And right now, it looks like they are just about there.

This series with the Hornets could turn out to be the best thing that could have happened. (I know there is still work to do to get to the next round.) It forced the Spurs to get their jump-shooters back into the game. For a while Tim was passing out of the double-team, and the next guy was heading for the basket. And whenever that got cut off, they often wound up having to take off-balance, or contested shots.

Now it's the second pass out of the double-team, getting guys almost uncontested looks. And with so many wide open looks, the guys are getting their confidence back on their jump shots. And that, in turn, is opening up the paint.

The point is, it doesn't matter who wins the other series. If the Spurs are knocking down jumpers, nobody is going to beat them in 7 games. But anything can happen in a best of 3, so first things first.