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This year, the NBA Playoffs will decide more than just the champion. They may decide the way general managers around the league build their teams in the future. This season, we are seeing some of the best versions of three different styles of basketball teams, and the one who is crowned champion at year's end may be the mold for years to come.

Phoenix, Miami and San Antonio are the prototypes for each of their respective team styles, and a wild card may throw general managers for another loop if they pull it off.

The playoffs are broken down fairly symmetrically this year, with five teams falling into each of the three catagories, plus the wild card team.

Phoenix is the prototype for the fun and gun, running and shooting style of basketball that has been popular in Europe during the last few years. That style was brought into the NBA by Sacramento and Dallas about five years ago, and has also been picked up by Boston and Washington recently.

While the Kings and Mavs have gone deep into the playoffs, their perimeter heavy offense has left them frozen in critical situations. This year's Suns team, however, has the ability to go inside and get paint buckets from Amare Stoudamire.

If Phoenix can shoot their way to the title, watch for GM's around the league to find as many shooters as they can, and try to run up as many points as possible. If you loved the heyday of the 1980's running and scoring, the Suns may be your ticket to a return to upbeat ball.

While the Suns rely heavily on their offense, the Spurs have won two fairly recent titles thanks to their powerful defense. This style has had much more success in the past than the offensive build. The current defending champion Detroit Pistons use it. The playoff bound Bulls, Grizzlies and Pacers have also used this style to get themselves into postseason position.

Games that score in the low 90's have been the staple of champions of recent past, including the aforementioned Spurs and Pistons, the last three titles of the Bulls in the 90's, and the physically dominating Pistons of the late 1980's.

The old slogan that defense wins championships has proven true lately, but the Suns and company believe that defense can't beat running and bombing threes. If the Spurs win again this year, it'll serve as a reminder that if you want to win, you have to defend.

The third style of play, best executed by the Miami Heat, employs one or two superstars, and a bunch of role players. The same style that won the Lakers three titles to begin the millenium. Just like the Lakers, Miami uses Shaq as their big guy, but instead of Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade anchors the ball on the perimeter.

Along with Miami, the Rockets (Yao, T-Mac), Sixers (Iverson, Webber), Nuggets (Anthony, K-Mart), and Cavs (LeBron, Big Z) will enter the playoffs with the superstar strategy. Good role players are key in this strategy, as guys like John Paxson, Robert Horry, Steve Kerr and Toni Kukoc have come up big in postseason games for these teams. To compete using this strategy, everybody has to be ready to contribute, not just the stars.

This year, these three differently-styled teams all may boast a 60-win team, and compete for the title.

And now, the wild card. Seattle has traces of all three of these molds, but hasn't taken the full body of any of them all year.

The Sonics boast a strong, rugged defense with big guys like Danny Fortson, Jerome James and Reggie Evans. And their perimeter shooting game is fueled by Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, with help from Vladimir Radmanovic (though, he's been injured) and others.

Unfortunatly for the Sonics, they've proven recently that when they're missing some pieces, the team falls apart. Other teams are better at adjusting when a key guy or two is out. So, it may be tough for them to last all through the playoffs.

Whether the title lands in South Beach, the Alamo, the desert or somewhere else, this year's hoister of the Larry O'Brien Trophy will have the blueprint GM's around the league may attempt to copy.

Mangurten loves feedback. E-Mail him at gurt14@comcast.net with your questions or comments.