NBA Playoff Pool: First Round Wrap-up

Kobe and the Lakers still haven't lost a playoff game.

The first round of the NBA Playoffs concluded on Sunday when the Celtics finally put the Hawks down, and five of the 27 ALACS Brackets made it through the first round unscathed. Sean Stokke, Andy Popp, The Commish, and Cici and Colleen Northup -- two ALACS newcomers -- each correctly predicted the winner of each first round series. They stand atop the standings, which can be found by clicking on the NBA Playoffs link at http://www.alafantasysports.com/.

The San Antonio Spurs undoubtedly did the most damage to the ALACS Pool as a whole -- which is surprising if only because they've been the dominant team of the last decade, and they repeat the same process every year: cruise control for the regular season, calculated dominance in the playoffs. I will never understand how so many of you guys decided this team wasn't making it through the first round this year. Only one participant, Steve Duin, picked the Spurs to win yet another NBA Championship this year.

Taking a quick glance at the pool leaders:
- Sean Stokke missed less games (seven) than the other four perfect brackets. As he and The Commish have identical brackets and an identical NBA Finals length, the best The Commish can hope for at this point is a tie. Unfortunate.
- Andy Popp's bold prediction of a Utah/Detroit NBA Finals -- which would hold only slightly more entertainment value than a Spurs/Pistons rematch, for the record -- is markedly different than anyone else at the top of the pool.
- Colleen Northup was the only pool participant to pick the New Orleans Hornets to reach the Western Conference finals. They've already taken a 1-0 lead over the Spurs.
- Cici Northup was the only one of the pool leaders to pick the Spurs to reach the NBA Finals.

Enjoy the second round.