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I have spent a combined 30 hours on planes in the last three weeks and for that reason I am now qualified to tell you that <\/span>National Treasure <\/span><\/i><\/span>and<\/span> Tomb Raider <\/span><\/i><\/span>are basically the same movie.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Each has their own <\/span>thing<\/span><\/i><\/span>– what George Lucas calls the “monkey”- basically each has their own reason to watch.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>National Treasure<\/span><\/i><\/span> used American history and patriotism, while <\/span>Tomb Raider<\/span><\/i><\/span> used exotic locations and Angelina Jolie’s hotness.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Each movie has a sequel that is slightly different from the original but it (kinda) adds new characters and (kinda) adds layers to the existing characters and the sequel (kinda) has a different end.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>But my point is this: the Eastern is <\/span>Tomb Raider<\/span><\/i><\/span> and Western conference is <\/span>National Treasure<\/span><\/i><\/span>.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Despite the hype and the assumed differences, they are basically the same.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Gone are the days when one side of the country had all the big men and the other had all the point guards.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>The East is probably sexier- LeBron, D-Wade, Dwight Howard, even Derrick Rose are putting on a show but are leading one-man teams; while the West- the Lakers, the Nuggets, the Hornets, the Blazers- is about near-strangers coming together to form a unit.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>The Eastern and Western Conferences have the same goals and the same problems to solve, but each gives us different reasons to watch- even if we already know how this is gonna end. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Western Conference <\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n The Pre-text <\/span><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Last year the Lakers breezed through the West.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>It took them only 15 games to get to the Finals (Boston took 20 games.)<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Were they ultimately hampered by the lack of competition in the West last year?<\/span> <\/span><\/span>If they had played some tougher opponents would they have been better prepared for the C’s?<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Or no matter who was in their way, were the Lakers just too determined to be in the Finals?<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Is this year’s crop actually better, will it have the same ending?<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The Reason to watch<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Lakers\/Jazz: <\/span><\/i><\/span>If Kobe leads LA to the Finals it will be his 6<\/span>th<\/span><\/sup> Finals appearance in 13 seasons.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>And with Bynum and Ariza in the fold, this Lakers team is stronger than last year’s- and stronger than any team Kobe had before, even during the Shaq years- but so too is the field in the West.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>The Lakers should dispose of the Jazz but the rest of the series are up in the air.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Nuggets\/Hornets<\/span><\/i><\/span>: Denver has really put themselves together but can Chris Paul rise to the occasion (even if his supporting cast is, um, let’s say: less than adequate)?<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Rockets\/Blazers: <\/span><\/i><\/span>Can Ron Artest and Yao Ming continue to contain the young, hot, Blazers?<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Spurs\/Mavs<\/span><\/i><\/span>: This is like a naked, mud-wrestling match between Demi Moore and Michelle Pfeiffer- I mean sure you’ll watch now but wouldn’t this have been amazing a few years ago (real quick sidenote: I think I’ve found the only thing that ages faster than hot chicks- basketball teams.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>I wanted to find two hot chicks from like 2002 that weren’t really hot anymore except that every list had like Natalie Portman and Angelina Jolie so the joke didn’t really work.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Instead I had to go back to ’95 to find two chicks that were over the hill enough.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>I’m just saying- I thought hot actresses aged in dog years but clearly Jason Kidd and Tim Duncan have aged even quicker.)<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Round 2: <\/span><\/i><\/span> <\/span><\/span>This might be exciting.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>If CP3 survives, he could clearly dispatch of the San Antonio\/Dallas winner, but then again if the Nuggets pull off the round 1 upset they would easily make it to the Conference Finals.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile the Lakers should be able to knock off the Rockets easily (despite the Shane Battier-can-stop-Kobe hype, the Lakers were 4-0 this season against them.)<\/span> <\/span><\/span>But there is this groundswell of people that believe the Blazers could stop the Lakers.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Let me just put an end to that right now- yes the Lakers\/Blazers split the season series (with each taking their home games) but there’s no way that Brandon Roy or anyone else on the Blazers can stop Kobe, there’s no way Portland has enough of an inside presence to stop Bynum\/Gasol, there’s no way they win a game in LA.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>It’s just not going to happen.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>I am saying it right now- there is no way the Lakers get bounced before the NBA Finals.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n A Lakers\/Hornets Conference Finals would be fun simply to see Chris Paul do his thing, but barring a major injury, the Lakers are a lock (and of course by that I mean an injury to Kobe.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Gasol or Bynum could cover for the other’s absence; Ariza or Odom could do the same; obviously Farmer\/Fisher could.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Kobe is not as good as he was 4 years ago, but he is still the most irreplaceable player they’ve got.)<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Eastern Conference<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n