By N.J. Thompson

What a great year for basketball! With the exception of the lockout-shortened season in 1998, when was the last time you did not know who was going to win the finals by Christmas? The Lakers, and before them, the Bulls, always made it seem that everyone else was playing for second place. However, there is real drama in the air this year, I am loving it. Yeah, I know, it's early and the Lakers still have time to steal the suspense, but for now, I get giddy just thinking about the possibilities of what we could see in June 2003.

Open the gates and let your imagination run for a minute. With all things being possible at this point, close your eyes (okay, you have to open them to read but you know what I am alluding to here) and think of the possibilities.

#5 Philadelphia vs Houston - All the makings a of great one. The little guy (A.I.) versus the Big Guy (Yao Ming). Or call it the Reebok Challenge - Iverson versus Francis. The two most exciting (not best, but most exciting) one on one players in the league. Both teams love to run and gun, both get out and defend on the perimeter.

#4 Detroit vs. San Antonio - only for real basketball fans. For those who enjoyed the 1994 Houston-New York championship series, this will be right up your alley. I would expect to see final scores in the mid-to-upper 70's. Dramatic (if not exciting) games between the two best defensive teams today.

#3 Sacramento (healthy) vs. Orlando (healthy) - wouldn't it be great to see 10 basketball players on the court at the same time? No forwards, no centers, no guards - just players. These teams host the most "tweeners" in their respective conferences, and the matchup problems on both sides would be very entertaining. There would be 4 -6 players on the court capable of a triple double on any given night. Great performances would be a given.

#2 New Jersey vs. Phoenix - this matchup would be the manifestation of 1990's basketball at its best. Dunks, dunks and more dunks. Think about it - going one way is Kidd with Martin on one wing and Jefferson on the other. The other is Starbury with the Matrix (Shawn Marion) and Amare Stoudmire taking it to the rack. There is some personal involvement and bad feelings going each way (Kidd and Rogers did not like how they were treated in Phoenix, and Marbury is and always will be a New York metropolitan person). This would be probably the most exciting/athletic matchup since the Bulls vs Portland back in the early 1990's.

#1 Indiana vs. Dallas - the two top teams (as of Dec 22), both teams are young, tall, quick, talented, and deep. Dallas fans are loud, and the Indy fans are legendary. Big time shooters (Reggie, Dirk), great finishers/slashers (Finley, Mercer), great individual defenders (Artest, Bradley, O'Neal), and great point guards (Tinsley, Nash). A great series from top to bottom.

It would be nice to not know who is going to win ahead of time. Look at all the fun football fans are having. So Phil, Shaq, Kobe, do the rest of us a favor - hey take a cue from the other guys in Purple and Gold - and take the rest of the off. The rest of us would like a chance to dream a little bit.

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