NBA Western Conference Semifinals

No. 1 LA Lakers vs. No. 5 Houston Rockets: If you had to pick a matchup in the West you'd like to see, this would be it. The Rockets play strong defense and in Ron Artest (and to a lesser degree Shane Battier) have someone with a better-than average chance of defending Kobe Bryant. Andrew Bynum was a non-factor for the Lakers against undersized Utah, but will be needed against Yao Ming. Luis Scola's play will be key for Houston - if he can hold his own against Pau Gasol it will force Bryant to score more. The Rockets' issues are depth up front and whether they score enough points. Los Angeles is too versatile offensively for even Houston to stop. Lakers in 6.

No. 2 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 6 Dallas Mavericks: The story of each team's first-round series victory was the relative ease of which they won. The Nuggets showed a maturity level not seen before in not letting New Orleans have a real chance. The Mavericks continued their season-ending surge by handling San Antonio. Both teams have veteran point guards (Chauncey Billups for Denver, Jason Kidd for Dallas) who are responsible for keeping their teams focused. Josh Howard's return gives the Mavericks another scoring option along with Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry. The Nuggets have the advantage in the frontcourt and can be a little more explosive on offense. Nuggets in 7.