The Class of the East and the First Team to Advance to the Conference Finals

The Orlando Magic have the best record in the postseason so far. They are 7-0, and tonight, they could make it 8-0 and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Their average margin of victory: 29 points. Consistently winning by blowouts throughout the first two rounds? If that's not domination, I don't know what is.

Have the Magic simply been lucky in terms of match-ups so far? Or could they actually be the best team left in the playoffs? Cleveland has been crowned the class of the East, and many have gone beyond that to predict a Cavs-Lakers showdown, with Lebron and company winning the trophy (and, consequently, Lebron staying in Cleveland). True, the Cavs have the best regular-season record, but as we have seen in the playoffs so far, regular season performance isn't always indicative of playoff performance. Also, how short are our memories? The Magic are the reigning Eastern Conference champs, having defeated the Cavs in last year's conference finals, and will reman so until they are dethroned.

Meanwhile, in the West, we have the first team to advance to this year's conference finals. Last night, the Phoenix Suns won a hard-fought game against the San Antonio Spurs and swept the series 4-0. Heading into the semis, the Spurs were looking good. They handily defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, making them the first 7th seed to win a seven-game series. History also has been on the Spurs' side: they've faced the Suns four times in recent playoff history (2003, 2005, 2007, 2008) and lost the series each time.

Fast forward two years, and the young and quick, offensively driven, showtime Suns finally outrun their slower, defensively driven, fundamental-ball-playing big brothers. Albeit not without some bleeding, a blackeye, and a few stitches--but this time, the carnage was worth it.

Am I predicting a Magic-Suns finals? Of course not. The Magic have yet to be dethroned, yes, but there are two veteran teams in Cleveland and Boston battling for the chance to do it. In the West, the Suns have yet to face either the Jazz--who have another top-3 point guard in Deron Williams to match up against Steve Nash--or, more likely, the Lakers, who are the reigning NBA champs. But if people don't start paying attention to these teams and continue to let them go under the radar? Such a match-up might not be all that unthinkable.