BOOM!

That's the sound of the Jason Kidd and Shaquille O'Neal trades blowing up in the faces of the Mavs and the Suns. Although both teams lost in the first round in 5 games, I see the situations quite differently. I'm going to use a blackjack analogy.

The Mavs before the Kidd trade were not contenders to win the West so in a desperation move to compete they traded for an big name player. I see this as having 16 when the dealer is showing a 10. If you stay you are very likely to lose and if you hit you are very likely to lose. But Dallas did neither, they doubled down (by losing key depth and messing up their salary cap) and busted and lost more money than they had to. Avery Johnson is very likely to be fired and that team needs a lot of changes.

The Suns before the Shaq trade were fringe contenders to the win the West so in a less-desperate move they traded for a big center to compete with the Spurs and the Pau Lakers. I see this as having a 12 while the dealer is showing an 7. You should hit (very unlikely to win if you stay but possible) but there's a good chance you can bust. Well the Suns swung for the fences and doubled down and busted. Shaq is old and is owed a lot of money and Grant Hill is back to his injury prone ways. Not looking good for them but Amare is very young and still has a lot of potential.

In the other two games.....

The Rockets did what they had to do at home and blasted the Jazz. This has been a very even series since Rafer Alston came back in Game 3. I hope the Rockets force a Game 7 because Game 7's are GREAT.

The Pistons finally played up to their potential and dominated the Sixers from the start. I have a strong feeling they will win Game 6. They're just a lot better than Philly.

In tomorrow's games, I see the Cavs closing out the Wizards and the Celtics taking a 3-2 lead over the Hawks.

My first thoughts on the 2nd round matchup of Hornets vs Spurs are that it should be a great series. One of the best pg's in the game vs one of the quickest. Quite possibly the best power forward of all-time vs an up and coming all star power forward. Full breakdown and prediction will come before the series starts Saturday.