Playoff pre- monitions

PARIS [The Monday International Show] - With the European season winding down and the NBA playoffs heating up big time, I'd like to throw out a few ideas that have been haunting me the last few months.

On the European scene, why is Ricky Rubio getting so much hype while Milos Teodosic from Olympiakos is getting so little? Because Rubio is younger and quicker, no doubt, but Teodosic is having a much better season, is a better shooter, and like any Serbian, knows how to play tough defence!

A Barcelona-Olympiakos match-up in the Euroleague final in Paris would be an ideal setting to settle this dispute and maybe awaken a few NBA General Managers to Teodosic's NBA potential. He's got some Steve Nash and Kirk Hinrich in his game and is the natural leader of his generation. This doesn't mean that I don't think Rubio is a future NBA star too!

On to the Eurocup Final Four in Vitoria where the French player Nando DeColo is making noise for Valencia the way his former team-mate in Cholet, Roddy Beaubois, made noise in last season's Eurochallenge Cup.

Again Nando is older and less athletic than Beaubois but he possesses some of the same qualities as Teodosic, although with a less glowing resumé. When you see the incredible success of Omri Casspi with Sacramento, you get the feeling that some of these Europeans stay too long under the NBA radar.

Another irony, the naming of my friend Elias Zouros, the coach of Panellonios as the Eurocup Coach Of The Year which puts into perspective how unfair his firing was by the Paris team a little over two years ago.

Now for some NBA playoff predictions and comments because the first round match-ups have me salivating like I do in front of a foie gras appetiser!

What a pleasure to see LeBron James and Joakim Noah trash-talking their way through a playoff series because when Noah stood up to James earlier in the season due to his cheesy celebrations which ridicule some opponents, a lot of NBA people were secretly applauding!

The Cavs must learn to tone it down in order to avoid another shocking disappointment similar to what happened to them against Orlando in last season's conference finals when LeBron walked off in a huff without congratulating the winners! This being said, Chicago will be lucky to win a game in this lopsided duel.

Another hot rivalry is brewing between those nasty Bostonians and Miami. This one should go to six or seven games with no one scoring over a hundred and Boston barely squeaking through, but an upset wouldn't surprise me either.

In the other East pairings, I feel that Charlotte can win two from Orlando (nice French duel between Boris Diaw and Mickael Pietrus) by defending and slowing the pace. Meanwhile, a diminished but international and courageous Milwaukee team would be lucky to win one game against Atlanta.

By the way, is Larry Brown doing the same thing to Charlotte that he did at the end of his reign in Detroit when he tried to seduce future employers Cleveland and New York during the playoffs? Definitely not cool!

In the West, I'd love to see Oklahoma City win a couple of games against the Lakers to confirm their excellent season despite being the youngest team in the league. Denver seems to have Utah's number whereas Portland-Phoenix could drag out but the loss of Brandon Roy condemns the Blazers in the end in my book. Maybe Portland needs to copy some of Phoenix's revolutionary preparation and prevention techniques to avoid so many injuries in the future?

Last but not least, the last stand! Will it be San Antonio or Dallas who rides off into the Texas sunset in this crucial playoff campaign where both teams KNOW, it's now or never? It's not an easy pick but I'll go with Dallas in 7 thanks to home court in a last-ditch battle for the ages.

Only a stratospheric Ginobili could turn the tide in this series which interests the French public because of the Tony Parker-Beaubois face-off. And speaking of international duels, are we not headed for a Western Conference final where the key actors will be Dirk and Pau? Time will tell.

George EDDY