Harold Wilson

Outside the basketball world, the color green signifies growth and purple royalty.

In the NBA, those descriptions fit to the 'T' the two teams associated with those very same colors.

Boston's win-total grew all right, from 24 wins last year to 66 - the biggest one-season turnaround in NBA history, making the rest of the league once again green with envy of the storied Celtics franchise.

The Lakers, only five years removed from the end of a three-peat, returned to the top of the mountain out West, winning a conference-best 57 games, making them hopeful of starting another purple reign.

The two teams that dominated the first five decades of the National Basketball Association - going only the 1990s without either winning a championship - tip off one of the most anticipated postseasons in memory favored to make it to the NBA Finals. And for the first time in 20 years, the Celtics and Lakers, winners of a combined 30 NBA titles, enter the playoffs as No. 1 seeds in their respective conferences.

Overhauls opened the path to the top for both. Boston benefited from the addition of perennial All-Stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to a team that already included another All-Star in swingman Paul Pierce. On the other coast, the Lakers landed big man Pau Gasol to suddenly form a potent 1-2-3 punch with Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom.

Most agree the East is a two-team race, with Orlando and Cleveland capable of staying on the lead lap - but likely from a distance.

Detroit demands respect after making it to five straight Eastern Conference championships, not to mention the Pistons possess the league's stingiest defense (90.07 points per game).

Cleveland created problems last year en route to the Finals and have the league's scoring champion, LeBron James.

Meanwhile, Orlando owns the league's top scoring trio in the league of Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis, a trio scoring more than 58 points per game.

Out West, all eight teams seem capable of making noise.

The L.A. Lakers finished with the conference's best record despite a rash of injuries. The gold and purple possess the best wild card of the bunch as well, if and when seven-foot phenom Andrew Bynum resumes a season that saw him averaging a double-double and ranked in the top 10 in blocks.

New Orleans navigated its way to the No. 2 seed with what many feel to be the league's Most Valuable Player in Chris Paul and the Coach of the Year in Byron Scott. Not to mention the league's third-best rebounder in Tyson Chandler and fourth-deadliest 3-point shooter in Peja Stojakavic, and an All-Star forward in David West.

As for No. 3 seed, the San Antonio resume features four of the previous nine titles, including last year's. San Antonio, sporting the same nucleus, finished only one win away from having the best record in the Western Conference despite this being a so-called "down" year.

Utah sported the league's best home record (37-4) and Houston went on a league-high 22-game winning streak, the second-longest of all-time.

Meanwhile, no other starting lineup lists multiple MVP winners like Phoenix with Steve Nash and Shaquille O'Neal, as well as two more former All-NBA performers in Amare Stoudemire and Grant Hill.

Dallas is just two years removed from a conference championship and one from a league-best 67 wins.

As for Denver, the Nuggets have the league's top scoring duo in Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, plus and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Marcus Camby.

Despite the up-for grabs race, the sports staff at the Tyler Morning Telegraph favored the Celtics and Lakers to reach the finals, with the vote split on NBA champion between the two.

If the colors failed to convince you, perhaps the numbers will.

Of the 16 teams in the playoffs, Boston ranks first in titles won with 16. And if the Lakers leave the other 15 teams in their wake, they will win the franchise's 15th title.

Stay tuned until June.

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NBA Postseason Predictions

Eastern Conference Champion - Boston Celtics; Western Conference Champion- Los Angeles Lakers; NBA Champion - Los Angeles Lakers. Most Valuable Player - Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers. Rookie of the Year - Kevin Durant, Seattle. Coach of the Year - Byron Scott, New Orleans. Defensive Player of the Year - Kevin Garnett, Boston. Most Improved Player - Andrew Bynum, L.A. Lakers. Sixth Man of the Year - Manu Ginobili, San Antonio. All-NBA Team - G Chris Paul, New Orleans, G Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers, F LeBron James, Cleveland, F Kevin Garnett, Boston, C Dwight Howard, Orlando.

Harold Wilson
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