The Kiss of Death

Well NBA fans, it is that time of year again. The time of year where the Western Conference experiences their yearly log jam of 2-5 place, and the world holds their breath to see which sub-par teams in the Eastern Conference will undeservedly clinch a playoff berth. But today's post isn't about my feelings on why I don't like the current playoff format, this is about something so much more.

I am a Jazz fan. The first step is admittance and I should come out and say it. Funny thing is, I don't regret it. I love our team this year and am optimistic about what might happen in the playoffs. I was very excited especially after the huge, yet controversial win against the Thunder Tuesday night. However, that all changed on Wednesday. No, I am not talking about the throttling we took against the Rockets that night, even though that bout was about as one sided as the matchup of Ivan Drago vs. Apollo Creed in Rocky IV (interestingly enough, Kirilenko didn't play that night.)

My reason for disillusion came during the ESPN Half time show, when the analysts were giving their predictions as to who would take 2nd place in the Western Conference. Jamal Mashburn picked the Mavericks to take the 2nd seed, and Avery Johnson picked the Jazz. Now, this might seem like good news, especially given that the Jazz have a knack for avoiding any kind of positive, national props. But given that Avery Johnson predictions are about as valid as a tarot card readers', this doesn't look good. Let's look at Avery's track record over the past few years:

- Paul Pierce will win reg. Season MVP- 2008 (Pierce didn't receive any votes that year)

-“I always thought of him as a triple double guy” (speaking of Antoine Walker- who now is out of the league and $85 million in debt)

- Nuggets will upset the Lakers in 2007 (Nuggets were swept in first round)

- Israel (the country) is one of the biggest media markets for the NBA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RjmjejukO0)

-The Toronto Raptors will finish in the top 4in the East this season (they currently have been bumped from the playoffs)

I could go on, but to be blunt, Avery's predictions seem to be a kiss of death almost every time, and to add to the irony, he has cartoonishly gigantic lips. So you can see my reason for worry now that the "Little General" (Avery) has given us his misplaced confidence.

I still remain optimistic, but this is reason to worry. Let's hope that the Little General can actually get close on this one. Sometimes he has been known to hit his mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUHIfOicCbU