Who said there wasn’t any parity in the NBA playoffs, that the winners of each round are so predictable that it isn’t even worth talking about? Sure I might have said something along those lines last week, but I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed. I did admit to being excited for the playoffs to start, and I must say that the playoffs are quickly moving from exciting to can’t miss.

The story of the playoffs morphed from controversy over the NBA seeding policies to a potential showdown in La La Land. Going into their series, the Los Angeles Clippers may have had the fifth best record in the West, but with limited playoff experience, nobody expected them to cruise through their opening series with such relative ease. The Nuggets were able to do nothing more than self destruct as the Clippers played like a veteran team, sticking to their game plan and the things that made them successful in the regular season.

Meanwhile, down the hall, the Los Angeles Lakers have displayed some of the best team basketball in the playoffs. Wait a second, that can’t be right, you’re saying. Isn’t Kobe Bryant on the Lakers, you ask? The “Black Mamba” is still there but you may forget that with him is Phil Jackson, probably the best sports psychologist ever.

Phil Jackson put together an ingenious gameplan to slow down the Suns and keep them out of rhythm in a half-court game and convinced his megastar to stick to it. Kobe is now passing out of double and triple team situations, allowing his teammates to feel like they are actually his teammates.

The Lakers have done such a good job containing the Suns’ run-and-gun style that when the opportunity arises to take off on the break, they can’t capitalize.

But now, with the Lakers up 3-2 and the Clippers already having clinched a birth in the second round, we are one Laker victory away from Hallway Series History – the first time ever in modern professional sports where two teams sharing a venue face each other in a playoff series. Forget the Subway Series, we’re talking seven home games without leaving the arena.

The playoffs are happening outside of Hollywood too, however, with just as much excitement. I’m not saying the Bulls are going to survive the first round, but I never would have pegged Nocioni to be the one to cool down the Heat. The Bulls are playing out of their minds, stepping up their level well beyond what their roster dictates it should.

We also have an answer for how LeBron James, the NBA’s golden child, would hold up to playoff pressure: a triple-double in game one, 18 points in the first quarter of Game 4, and an average of over 30 per game. LeBron certainly didn’t crack under the pressure, but he is still a playoff rookie and his inexperience is going to cost Cleveland the series.

Unfortunately for LeBron, he is up against an experienced superstar in his own right, Gilbert Arenas. For however good LeBron has been, Arenas has matched him and has produced when it mattered. Sure LeBron hit a game-winner in Game 3 (after he blatantly traveled), but Gil has managed to get his teammates involved early and often before taking over the game late (20 points in the fourth quarter of Game 4 was amazing). All I have to say is Wizards in six.

So take that NBA naysayers. This year’s playoffs have thus far been the toughest and most entertaining in recent memory. Lower seeds are bringing the noise and forcing many teams (namely the Heat, Spurs and Pistons) to step up their games much earlier than they expected to. Prepare yourselves for some upsets. This NBA playoffs are bringing a lot more to the table than was previously expected. Adieu.

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