Barring any more unexpected developments (like having two different teams come from 20 points down to win on consecutive days), it appears likely that we will see the Kings and Nets square off next week for the NBA championship. This is probably the most one-sided match-up of the four possibilities; I could easily see the Celtics battling the Lakers and Kings deep into the Finals, and Jason Kidd is precisely the type of player who gives the Lakers fits. The Kings and the Nets, on the other hand, looks like a Sacramento sweep. Kidd and Bibby will fight to a draw, and the greater depth the Kings have (particularly with the return of Stojakovich) should set up a massacre.

Friday (or Sunday) maybe the last hurrah for this Laker team. Winning back to back titles has made the front office complacent, and other than the two stars (and occasionally Horry at the offensive end), there isn't much to say about this team. Fox, Shaw, George, Madsen, Richmond, and sadly, Fisher, are pretty much dead weight at this stage, and the one silver lining on the Lakers' ignomonious departure from the playoffs is that Mitch Kupcak will be more motivated to dump some of these carcasses before the start of next season.
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