It’s playoff time in the land of the NBA and this weekend I will finally have something to watch besides the exercise in futility that is the first 50 games of the baseball season and the endless chatter of the NFL draft.

I have to say I’m excited. I am a big fan of the playoffs, of seeing teams finally play to their potential and put forth at least minimal effort on the defensive side of the floor. My excitement, unfortunately, cannot go beyond that. The NBA is currently the only one of the major sports leagues in which parity in the playoffs, to a large extent, does not exist.

League experts and even NBA fans are able to predict with a great deal of accuracy who will advance in the playoffs and who will win each particular series. Unlike the “one and done” playoff system of the NFL or college basketball, a series does a good job of ensuring that the best team always wins.

Despite the system, which I have no problem with, this year’s playoffs offer little by way of excitement. The most talked about issue leading into this weekend has been the counterintuitive way in which the NBA seeds its playoff teams. Currently, division winners are given the top three seeds with seeds 4-8 based on record.

But, home court advantage is granted to the team with the better record despite their seed. So congratulations to the Denver Nuggets for winning their first division title since 1988 and securing the three seed. But because their record (44-37 as of Wednesday) is worse than their first round opponent, the Los Angeles Clippers (46-35 as of Wednesday), Clippers will have home court advantage.

On a brighter side, the world will get its first glimpse of Lebron James at the next level when his Cavaliers take on the Wizards in the opening round. Also, Kobe Bryant – love him or hate him – brings an added level of excitement to the playoffs. The addition of these two amazing athletes is appreciated more this season in which there is a possibility of four teams making the playoffs with records sitting at .500 or below, and two of the leagues premier squads, the San Antonia Spurs and Miami Heat, hobbled in with injuries.

Alas the most interesting thing about the playoffs – and the NBA for that matter – is the parity in roster and personnel changes. The Grizzlies enter the playoffs for the third year in a row with not only a revamped offense, led by Pau Gasol, but one of the league’s top five defenses.

This is after trading defensive specialist James Posey to the Heat for Eddie Jones, when the Heat decided last summer that they needed to improve their defense at the three spot. Jones is now an asset to the stifling Grizzlies D, while Posey is riding the pine with an Achilles injury. The Heat are thus forced to play the defensive stud (note the sarcasm) in Posey’s stead.

Staying in the West, Jerry Colangelo’s decision to demand Boris Diaw from the Atlanta Hawks along with two first-round picks in exchange for Joe Johnson, proved genius. Diaw, the “throw-in” part of the trade package, has been a star for the Suns, posting nearly 14 points, seven boards and six assists a game and is a huge reason the Suns landed a two seed despite losing Amare Stoudamire for the year.

The pickup of the “selfish” Sam Cassell and the emergence of Chris Kaman (I can’t believe I just said Kaman “emerged”) that has led Lala Land’s red-headed stepchild to the playoffs with not only a better record than their Staples Center counterpart, but also home-court advantage in the first round.

Though the parity that exists in the NBA is contained to the outcomes of trades and not teams, and the excitement of the early rounds of the playoffs lays in individual performances and not group efforts, I will greet the playoffs with open arms. No more meaningless baseball games and repetitive NFL draft chatter, only the nonsensical adjective-plagued ramblings of Bill Walton. Adieu.

Josh George is a senior in Communications. He can be reached at [email protected]