The most interesting series

The second round of the NBA playoffs begins tomorrow. In the first round, we saw three series sweeps (all in the Eastern Conference), two settled in five games (the Suns and the Spurs), and two won at home by the official underdog in game six. It's hard to argue that the Warriors defeat of the Mavericks is not the highlight of the first round. More on that in a moment.

The Pistons will host the first game of round two against the Bulls a couple of hours before the Jazz face Houston in game seven of their series. With all the hype surrounding Dirk vs. Baron, it's easy to forget that there's this other series still going on. And with the Mavericks eliminated, the winner of this series has to be considered a legitimate contender for the Western Conference title. Neither the Jazz nor the Rockets were swept by Golden State during the regular season.

In fact, I think this overlooked series may be the most interesting of the entire first round. Six games, six home victories. On the one hand, that seems really dull. On the other hand, the reason the teams are winning at home is because they're doing what they're supposed to do. Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming are getting their points. But in game three in Utah, only two other Rockets scored, because of the Jazz defense. Carlos Boozer is leading the Jazz in scoring, Andrei Kirilenko is starting to block shots, Mehmet Okur makes a few three pointers. The stars are starring, the role players are playing their roles, and tomorrow we get to see which team is better. Unlike several other series, it's not going to come down to which team shows up. They'll both be there.

I have every expectation that game seven will be close, because the Jazz made game five in Houston the closest of their three losses there. Derek Fisher made a stupid play down the stretch and was called for an offensive foul when Utah had a chance to tie the game. If not for that, it could have come down to a final shot, or gone to overtime. With the series finally on the line for both teams, it should be the most intense game of the playoffs so far. Forty games already played for the sake of one lonely game seven.

Now, a brief reflection on the Dallas Mavericks. All the buzz on ESPN today is about Mark Cuban re-tooling the team, possibly bringing back Jason Kidd, because their "meltdown" is unacceptable. My question is this: Shouldn't the media, and the Mavericks, wait to see just how good this Warriors team is before they decide that the Mavs suck and condemn a team that just posted sixty-seven regular season wins? What if Golden State goes all the way? Do we still blame Nowitzki et al. for not playing to their potential?