I guess you can call it the wild and wackier side of the postseason.

Yep, unlike the Eastern Conference, seven of the eight seeds in the West for the 2009 NBA Playoffs were not determined yet until they played the last game of the regular season.

While everybody knew the Los Angeles Lakers will remain on top of the field, nobody knew which teams will occupy seeds two to eight. But now that the dust has cleared and the 82-game regular season finally came to a close, we already have the seedings complete.

Playing the top-seeded Lakers are the no.8 seed Utah Jazz. This might be a tougher series than the Lakers expect. Sure, the Jazz have a big problem with winning games on the road this season, but at 33-19 against conference opponents, Utah is still a tough nut to crack in the West. And as good as the Jazz are in the West, they are even better at home.

The rejuvenated Denver Nuggets, led by their court general Chauncey Billups, will take on the New Orleans Hornets as the overall no.2 seed in the conference. Nobody anticipated how good of an impact Chauncey Billups will have on Denver but can he outplay CP3?

Even though the New Orleans Hornets can only muster seed no.7, Chris Paul still remains as a solid candidate for MVP. It’ll be nice watching Chauncey take on CP3. And while Denver appears to be the more talented team on paper, it’ll still be a shocker if they can get past the Hornets to get to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in quite a while.

A good ol’ fashioned shootout in Texas is next as the no.3 seed San Antonio Spurs take on their state rivals, Dallas Mavericks, to kick off their postseason campaign. Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry will be put to the test as they take on arguably the most consistent team in the NBA.

However, as good as the San Antonio Spurs have been in years, they’re starting to show the effects of the wear and tear they accumulated playing in the league together. Can their old wheels still be fast enough to keep up with the run and gun pace of the Dallas Mavericks?

Last but certainly not the least, we have the no.4 seed Portland Trail Blazers playing the no.5 seed Houston Rockets.

The Blazers are arguably one of the most exciting teams to watch in the NBA. Led by the young nucleus of Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, they managed to get the franchise back in the postseason. Can this young nucleus be enough to send the Houston Rockets to another early exit in the first round? Probably.

Which team will win the 2009 NBA Finals? Bodog sportsbook has the odds.

Boston Celtics 5.00

Los Angeles Lakers 2.60

Miami Heat 51.00

San Antonio Spurs 21.00

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2009 NBA Playoffs NBA Finals