"All World All Sports"

-Digger's Daily-

Buckle up. The Western Conference Finals start tonight. Two high flying offenses are ready for battle. Defending champion Los Angeles Lakers will shoot for their second consecutive title. A short lived turmoil was brewing as LA survived shaky early round performances. They'll need to solve a red hot Phoenix Suns squad fresh from a dominating sweep of San Antonio.

Lakers
Coach Phil Jackson needs to keep LA's top guns fresh and role players focused at all times. Kobe Bryant leads LA shooters with 26.9 points/game. KB needs to do a much better job protecting the ball (3.7 turnovers/game) while creating opportunities for his supporting cast. Paul Gasol is averaging 20.2 points on 56% shooting. Key for LA is transition defense. Mental lapses, if any, will cost them dearly. When LA is on, their tops. Obviously, they'll have to play like champions for another shot at the title.

Suns
Look out LA, the Phoenix Suns seem to be doing everything right. It's been a total team effort. Phoenix has capitalized on opponents mistakes throughout this playoff season. On offense, they've been exploding to the hoop creating opportunities on nearly every trip down the floor. Almost everyone is putting the ball through the iron. Jason Richardson (21.9 - 51%), Amare Staudmire (20.5 - 51.4%) and Steve Nash (17.8 - 51.2%) lead starters. Bench players aren't afraid to put it up either. Phoenix roster has shot 47.6% in 10 playoff games including 42% of 3 point attempts.

Prediction: Phoenix and LA like to run. Both averaging over 100 ppg. It's all about Kobe in LA. Lakers bench cannot be counted on. Transition defense and ball protection are two major keys to this series. Wild card key to success is stamina. Both teams will be taxed after three quarters. Phoenix bench has been clutch. LA represents a most difficult challenge. Everyone's getting the job done for sharp shooting Suns. Phoenix stuns basketball world with a huge upset. Phoenix Suns in 6.

"All World All Sports"

-Digger's Daily-

Eastern Conference
(7) Philadelphia Flyers vs (8) Montreal Canadiens: Nobody predicted the 7th and 8th seeds would square off to represent the East. Here they are nonetheless. Both teams are coming off exciting rounds. Philadelphia trailed Boston 3 games to none in the series and 3-0 in Game 7 to stun the Bruins. Montreal went toe to toe with Pittsburgh surviving a grueling 7 game series. Key to this series relies on Montreal's ability to stop Philadelphia's flying attack and for others to find the net besides Mike Cammelleri (12 goals) and Brian Gionta (7 goals). All Flyers lines have been applying heavy pressure on opposing netminders led by Mike Richards (17 points), Danny Briere (15), Chris Pronger (11) and Claude Giruox (11). These two split the season series 2-2. Prediction: Flyers in 6

Western Conference
(1) San Jose Sharks vs (2) Chicago Blackhawks West's top two teams go head to head. Chicago took the regular season series 3-1 including two in OT. This one will go the distance. Joe Pavelski's 9 goals lead San Jose shooters who will have their hands full vs a tenacious Chicago mid ice game. Jonathan Toews has been setting up teammates (14 assists) and figures to do more of the same. All games should go down to the closing minutes. Prediction: Chicago in 7