Yesterday, 8 members of the highly-paid and extremely well connected ESPN staff had a Writer Round Table discussion about the NBA’s phenomenal Western Conference. And despite repeating and contradicting themselves for almost 4,500 words, there wasn’t a single mention of the Portland Trailblazers. Unbelievable.

Anyway, here at desipio.com, we enjoyed it so much that we thought we’d do the same thing. Of course, our budget is such that we only have one NBA writer, so we had to invite a few mythical friends to get the concept off the round. Enjoy.

Welcome to the inaugural turvey.com Writer Round Table. Today our panel consists of the following;

WhoHoop - a serendipitous and widely-read blogger who, for some reason, chooses never to go out on a limb and have an opinion about anything.

Fad Chord – a scouting guru who has 10 impeccably researched reasons to draft someone you’ve never heard of over every proven college performer.

Muc Stain – a prolific writer who never allows objective analysis to get in the way of his personal opinion that the Eastern Conference sucks.

desipio.com – an NBA fan who has spent the last 15 years writing for a bunch of sports websites you’ve probably never read.

– – – –

Q1 – What do you expect from Shaq the rest of the season?

WhoHoop -Â I’ll make a bunch of motherhood statements guaranteed not to offend anyone.

Fad Chord – I’ll have a bet each way.

Muc Stain – I’ll make a positive comment because I don’t want Shaq to do to me what he did to Greg Ostertag.

desipio.com – Ahem. I expect an epic battle of statistical warfare over the rest of the season. On one hand, we’ll have the Shaq supporters who will point to his adequate points and rebounding numbers as proof of his effectiveness, and on the other those people who criticized the trade will denigrate his contributions by focusing on Shaq’s predictable areas of limitation - FT%, turnovers and fouls.

And it will be possible that both camps will be right. Shaq will certainly contribute, although he is no longer able to dominate games. The key will be that expectations are now so low that Shaq’s fans can be delighted with a 12 point, 8 rebound night on 4-10 from the field and 4-8 from the line, whereas in Miami that level of output was deemed atrocious.

Phoenix have enough talent and firepower that will finish the regular season ranked near the top of the Conference, which will be in Shaq’s favor. Still, they had the best record in the West before they traded for him, but have gone 3-3 since and are now a full game behind New Orleans in the standings.Â

Q2 -Should Kobe have finger surgery now?

WhoHoop -Â yes.

Fad Chord – no.

Muc Stain – yes.

desipio.com – uh, why? If it weren’t for Kobe trying to get out of the All-Star weekend, nobody would even be aware that his finger was still injured.

Remember, he hurt it against New Jersey back on Feb 5th, and since then has played in every game and averaged 29.1ppg as the Lakers have gone 6-1. And yet all these ‘experts’ believe he should take the next 6 weeks off? Seriously?

I destroyed the pinky finger on my right hand playing ball at the end of 2006, and once the pain went away after a few days, there has been no change in my dexterity at all. The finger still bends in weird directions, but I can still shoot, pass and rebound just as poorly as I could before… I’ve won 3 Grand Finals with an incapacitated right pinky, so Kobe will be fine. A complete non issue.

Q3 – Shaq and Kobe aside, which team is best equipped to handle the postseason: Suns or Lakers?

WhoHoop -Â um, I’ll just say something positive about both and hope nobody notices.

Fad Chord – Lakers.

Muc Stain – Suns.

desipio.com – in a 7 game series, the keys to victory are defense (which the Suns just sacrificed to get Shaq), depth (the Lakers go 10 deep whilst Phoenix play with just 7 guys), execution (Lakers have the edge via the triangle) and end-game FT shooting (will D’Antoni have the guts to leave O’Neal out there at the death and dare Jackson to hack-a-Shaq?). On paper, LA are superior to Phoenix in each of these areas.

The Suns have a wonderfully diverse offense and with Shaq in town have improved one key intangible; chemistry. But remember, in the 2006 playoffs the Lakers would have upset Phoenix in the first round if it were still a 5-game series, and since then LA has got immeasurably more talented and the Suns significantly less so.

Q4 – Biggest acquisition so far: Pau Gasol, Shaquille O’Neal or Jason Kidd?

WhoHoop -Â Kidd, only because I want to talk about a team other the Phoenix or LA.

Fad Chord – Gasol.

Muc Stain – Gasol.

desipio.com – Who is bigger? Do you really need to ask? Did you see Shaq filling out that unflattering Suns jersey last night? He’s huge. He looks like Shaq’s older, heavier uncle, rather than the Diesel himself.

No matter how big Jason Kidd’s ego is (and even though his Mavs were humiliated last night against the Hornets whilst his old team played just fine and won without him, his inflated opinion of his own self-importance won’t change), Shaq is bigger.

Meanwhile, all Gasol is doing is investing all his energy learning the Lakers’ system and concentrating on being an important cog in an already high-quality team. Imagine that?

Q5 – Which team is most in danger of taking a step back: Lakers, Suns or Mavs?

WhoHoop - Not sure, but I’ll say something nice about whichever team I pick.

Fad Chord – Phoenix.

Muc Stain – Phoenix.

desipio.com – Dallas. Remember, this is a young team with a young coach that made the Finals 2 years ago and had the best regular season record last season. They peaked before they were ready, learned some (very tough) lessons as a result, and were set up for a long run of championship contention behind a reigning league MVP, a well-balanced core and an owner willing to spend.

Of all the teams in the West, the Mavs matched-up best against the San Antonio Spurs, who’ve won 3 of the past 5 Finals. And yes, that’s past tense.

Because now, they’ve thrown it all away for an ageing PG who throws the ball around, is a human turnstile on defense and has an unreliable jumpshot. Plus they gave up 2 first round picks (which harms their future) and a couple of important bench contributors (which harms this season’s playoff chances) for the privilege. And you’re wondering if they made a step back?

Q6 – Which West team most needs to make a move?

WhoHoop -Â Spurs.

Fad Chord – Warriors.

Muc Stain – Have I mentioned the Eastern Conference sucks, yet?

desipio.com – isn’t it interesting that this piece was written just hours before San Antonio traded Brent Barry, Francisco Elson and a 1st rounder to Seattle for veteran F/C Kurt Thomas, and not one of the 8 ESPN guys knew anything about it? Must have all been sworn to secrecy.

This is a very smart deal for the Spurs. First off, it gives them an experienced big man to take responsibility for interior defense against all the bigs in the Western Conference, allowing the soon-to-be-32 year old Tim Duncan freedom to re-spark his offense over the season’s second half. Through 48 games in 2007/08, Duncan’s points, FG% and assists are all down on last season, despite his minutes going up slightly.

Second, Thomas was one of the most effective Duncan defenders in the league during his years in Phoenix, and by picking him up for the injured Barry and the erratic Elson, the Spurs have been able to keep him away from a potential playoff opponent like Houston or New Orleans.

One aspect to this deal that nobody’s talked about is that Sonics GM Sam Presti worked for the Spurs for years – so he has done Gregg Popovich and RC Buford a massive favor - and in return has picked up a couple of expiring contracts and another first rounder for his troubles. Seattle now have 13 draft picks in the next 3 years. Well done everyone.

Q7 – How do you see the West shaking out?

WhoHoop - Utah and the Lakers, because (and I know you won’t believe this) I love all these teams and I just can’t decide.

Fad Chord – Lakers but Utah dark horse.

Muc Stain – Suns, but Utah are a sleeper.

desipio.com – So, all the experts are picking Utah, eh? That’s a surefire guarantee that whichever team wins the Western Conference Championship, it won’t be the Jazz.

Currently, the first round matchups would be;

1. New Orleans vs 8. Denver
4. Utah vs 5. San Antonio
3. Phoenix vs 6. DallasÂ
2. Lakers vs 7. Houston

Assuming Denver qualify for the last spot ahead of Golden St and Portland, this will be one superb series. Am I the first person to predict that we may see another 8th vs 1st upset?

The Spurs, with Parker returning, will be desperate to hang onto home-court advantage in their first-round matchup, and whoever wins the 4 vs 5 battle will fancy themselves in the conference semis.

If the Suns and Mavs do indeed draw each other, we’ll get not only a great offensive series but also an instant ruling on whose major mid-season gamble was an utter failure.

LA owns the season series over Phoenix, and if they can retain the 2nd seed they should prevail over Houston in a relatively straightforward first-round series, setting up against either the Suns or Mavs in the 2nd round.

So, the way things are presently aligned, it’s got all the makings of a Spurs/Lakers conference Finals.

Meanwhile, Boston, Detroit and Cleveland are each sitting back hoping that whichever team does ultimately make it through the Western Conference Group of Death, they’ll be physically exhausted and emotionally destroyed by the time they face them for the 2007/08 NBA Championship.