Well, it feels like casual Friday here in The Kitchen, so let’s take a break from the serious stuff. With the playoffs starting this weekend, it’s a good time to talk about the NBA.

Since moving back to the States in 2002, my family has been San Antonio Spurs fans. We moved into the San Antonio area, and the Spurs reign supreme there, except during high school football season, of course. Plus, Manu Ginobili is the first Argentine to make it big in the NBA, and he came to the Spurs the same year that we moved.

So as I write about the NBA, you might notice a slight bias toward a certain team that wears silver and black. But only slight…

• I’m no fan of the Heatles. Sorry to all of my friends in Miami. I don’t care for the whole attitude of that team. And I’m not really convinced they can pull it off.
• The Celtics were the Heatles a few years ago, of course. They’ve grown out of that. I tend to think they’ve got a very good shot at winning the Eastern Conference, though trading Kendall Perkins was a huge blow to their team.
• I don’t know that Chicago has what it takes to go far in the playoffs, but I like them better than the other top teams in the East. I guess my head says Celtics, but my heart would like to see Chicago do it.
• So much for the East. The West had an incredible year, as always. Even as big name players keep jumping to the Eastern Conference, the West remains dominant overall. Not always in terms of the top teams, of course. But top to bottom, the West remains on top.
• The Southwest division, however, is no longer the dominant division it was. The Rockets have slipped. The Hornets failed to become the team they looked poised to become. The Mavs are still very good, but don’t seem to have the edge they had in years past.
• I find the Lakers to be every bit as distasteful as the Heat. I don’t like Kobe Bryant. I certainly won’t miss Phil Jackson. He’s a good coach, but too much of a whiner for my taste.
• The Thunder look downright dangerous. More than the Lakers, I think the Thunder pose the biggest threat of knocking the Spurs out of the playoffs.
• And so we come to my beloved Spurs. A few thoughts…
  • When I mentioned whining, I’m sure some people laughed. Who’s whinier on the court than the Spurs? Here’s my thinking. During a game, the Spurs will protest every call, claim innocence on every foul, “embellish contact” to draw a foul. (Flop? Who said flop?) It’s called gamesmanship. Once the game is done, however, the Spurs own up to their losses. Even when every sports writer in the nation points out a call that cost the Spurs a game, I’ve never yet heard Popovich or any of the current Spurs players blame a loss on officiating. I think that’s class.
  • Second accusation against the Spurs: they’re too old. Back in January, the Hoopism site took a look at the numbers. You can see their findings here, both in terms of overall team age and the age of the players that play the most minutes. In overall age, the Spurs are #7, behind these struggling teams: Heat, Lakers, Mavericks, Nuggets, Celtics, Magic. That’s an impressive lineup, folks. Not only playoff teams, but title contenders. When age is weighted for minutes played, Spurs move up to #5, behind the Mavs, Lakers, Celtics and Suns. So if someone says that the Spurs are too old, I have to ask: Compared to who? (whom, I know. But it sounds pretentious.)
  • But let me be honest about age. The Spurs aren’t old. But Tim Duncan is, at least in terms of basketball. That’s why the Spurs seem old. Tim used to be such a defensive presence and dominating offensive player that the Spurs could ride on his shoulders. Not any more. (Age also took out Bruce Bowen. A lot of people didn’t like him, but he played a major role in the last three Spurs championships)

Still, I think the Spurs have a legitimate shot. So here are my picks.

First round East: No one cares. Celtics-Knicks will be interesting, but Knicks can’t take the series. Top seeds win.
First round West: It’s trendy to pick Blazers over Mavs, and I certainly enjoy watching Dallas lose. But I think the Mavs are better than they’re getting credit for. Three top seeds win easily. Thunder will have a challenge with the Nuggets, but I think they win. No upsets here either.

Second round East: Here’s where the playoffs begin in the East. I think the Bulls beat the Magic and the Celtics beat the Heat.
Second round West: Spurs handle the Thunder in a rough series. Mavs-Lakers to seven, with the Lakers winning at home.

Championship: Yeah, I skipped a round. But I’m going heart not head and picking the Spurs over the Celtics in the finals. Should be fun.

ESPN has a fun Playoff Predictor. I’ll run it one more time and get their prediction: Ugh. They went Lakers over Bulls in the finals.