Wow, could this year?s edition of the NBA Playoffs get any better?  The first round was highlighted by the physical play and the surprising runs by the Sixers and Hawks.  

The second round had a ?Home Sweet Home? theme, where the home team won 23 of the 26 games played.  

What will the basketball world be in store for in the Conference Finals?  

We have The Big Three vs. The Big Four in the East.  

We have the two teams who have combined to represent the West in 8 of the 9 past seasons.  

And overall, we have winners of 8 of the past 9 NBA Championships still alive.  

We have two of the best players in UConn history set to square off and two of the most clutch scorers in the League ready to match up, but here?s what we can get excited about in this year?s Final Four.

Similar to the first and second round breakdowns, I will identify four hot topics for each series: the key storylines to watch for during the series, the best individual match-up on the court, the biggest mismatch in the series, and the Trade Deadline Airball. The TDA is a term I will use to recognize the player that one team in each series should have traded for at the trade deadline in order to give themselves an added advantage in the series.

Eastern Conference Finals

- (1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Detroit Pistons

Season series: Celtics lead 2-1.

Key Storylines: The top two winningest teams in the league this year are set to match up for the right to play for the NBA title.  The Celtics and Pistons were always viewed as the only two legit contenders for the Eastern Conference all season long, so it seems fitting that they will get the opportunity to play in this series.  Both teams are stacked from top to bottom with veteran leadership and spark plug youngsters.  The Pistons are amazingly competing in their sixth consecutive ECF, while the Celts are in Year One of the Next Eastern Conference Dynasty.  Chauncey Billups will try to haunt the team who drafted him, while Kevin Garnett will try to take his squad to a higher place.  All year, we?ve been salivating over the prospect of Celtics vs. Pistons in a best-of-seven series.  Now its time to play it out.

Best Head-to-Head Match-up: Kevin Garnett vs. Rasheed Wallace.

There are plenty of head-to-head match-ups to watch.  UConn studs Ray Allen vs. Richard Hamilton running around in circles, hoisting up jumpers.  Young defensive stopper Rajon Rondo trying to slow down the hindered Chauncey Billups.  Tayshaun Prince trying to shut down the dynamic Paul Pierce.  There are plenty of match-ups that are worth watching, but only one that encapsulates this entire series:  KG vs. Sheed.  Both big men are among the elite in the NBA and both are the personality of their entire respective teams.  KG has come to Boston and initiated a change in lifestyle and commitment to the game within the locker room and has his team ready to compete with his screaming and chest pounding each and every night.  Sheed has been the catalyst for the Stones ever since he came to the Motor City back in 2004.  Both big men love patrolling the paint for weak-side blocked shots and they both love stepping out and hitting the outside jumper.  But perhaps the best part of this match-up will be the enduring intensity that each man leaves on the floor.  With the high levels of passion and heart each man wears on his sleeve, David Stern may want to put some extra officials out on the floor to make sure we don?t see a battle of fists amongst this extreme battle of will.

Biggest Mismatch: Rodney Stuckey

One of the biggest differences between these teams exists on the bench, where the Pistons are equipped with a change-of-pace slashing point guard with which the Celtics cannot match.  Sure, Doc Rivers can sic Rondo on the ultra-quick Stuckey, but that would force the second year point guard to play virtually the entire game.  Eddie House and Sam Cassell can?t keep up with The Stuckman, and neither can any of their other options at shooting guard.  When Stuckey is on the floor, the Pistons have a weapon that will be difficult for the Celtics to defend.

Trade Deadline Airball: Mike Wilks for Boston

To counter the speedy and talented Stuckey, Boston should have gone after a veteran point guard who can run the floor and play solid D, rather than the aging and often selfish Sam Cassell.  The perfect available candidate would have been Wilks, a journeyman point guard who is a bit small, but a tremendously quick athlete with good on-ball defensive skills.  He played sparingly this season for three teams (Denver, Washington, and Seattle) and would have been an ideal pickup for the Celtics in this series.


Western Conference Finals

- (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs

Season series: series tied 2-2.

Key Storylines: The last time the Lakers met the Spurs in the playoffs, Tim Duncan was sitting with his face in his hands, wondering how Derek Fisher got off his last second game-winning, series-altering shot in 2004?s second round.  Since then, the Lakers traded Shaq and hadn?t won a playoff series until this season, while the Spurs captured 2 of the next 3 titles.  Overall, these two teams have been the two premier teams not only in the West, but also in the NBA, over the past decade.  They have won 7 of the past 9 titles and in only the 2006 NBA Finals were both of these teams absent.  They are the two best teams in the West of the past decade, each reaching the Finals 4 times apiece, but the Lakers trail the Spurs in championships by one.  Can the Lakers get past the Spurs in the WCF and even up the score at four?  

Best Head-to-Head Match-up: Kobe Bryant vs. Manu Ginobili

These are the two guys on each team that can get his fellow mates going.  More importantly, they are the two of the top clutch performers in the entire NBA.  According to 82games.com, Bryant and Ginobili rank number 2 and number 4, respectively, in ?Clutch? scoring ? as defined as ?4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points? ? and both rank 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in ?Super Clutch? scoring ? as defined as ?4th quarter or overtime, less than 2 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 3 points.?  The only man they trail is LeBron James, who is often seen as The One-Man Show Known as the Cleveland Cavaliers.  So, whichever team gets the most out of their ?Super Clutch? scorer, is likely to be the one victorious at the end of this year?s Western Conference Finals.

Biggest Mismatch: Tim Duncan

This is why he plays the game.  Tim Duncan has known winning since his birth into the NBA eleven years ago.  He has captured 4 rings in his career, and seems determined to carry his crew past the Lakers again to defend last year?s title.  The Lakers have no real answer for Duncan.  They have Pau Gasol, Ronny Turiaf, and DJ Mbenga?and even Mbenga will tell you that a seven-game series against Duncan was nastier than any encounter he?s ever experienced.

Trade Deadline Airball: DeSagana Diop for Los Angeles

When the Lakers were out finding a replacement for the injured Andrew Bynum, they should have turned their attention to then-Dallas Maverick, DaSagana Diop.  Diop was eventually dealt to the Nets in the package for Jason Kidd, but has proven over the years that he is the perfect body to use six fouls getting under Tim Duncan?s skin every night.

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to contact Jason M. Williams with your thoughts and predictions on which of these teams will reach the NBA Finals. He can be reached at Jason.Williams@RealGM.com for comments or questions.