NBA ROUND TWO PREVIEW

Kings v. Mavs: If you don't enjoy this series, which features the two deepest and most explosive teams in the NBA, you don't enjoy basketball. LaFrentz, Nash, Van Exel and company will play Divac, Bibby, Christie and crew to a draw. That boils the series down to Webber and Peja against Dirk and Finley. If that's the case, the advantage goes to Dallas - neither Peja nor Webber have shown the capacity to take over a game like Nowitzski. Mavericks in 7.

Lakers v. Spurs: The two best big men in the game - Shaq and Duncan. Each joined with a future hall-of-famer. Of course, Kobe is in his prime, and the Admiral's creaky back makes it look like he'll be a non-factor. Lakers in 4.

Nets v. Hornets: Jason Kidd is clutch and a triple-double threat every game - but so is Baron Davis. Kenyon Martin is an imposing banger and defensive stopper - but so is P.J. Brown. The key to this series is a player that had almost no role in the Hornets Round One triumph: Jamal Mashburn. The Nets simply have no one who can match his versatility - when he finally plays. Hornets in 7.

Pistons v. Celtics: The Pistons look an awful lot like the 76ers of last year - rumbling into the playoffs with the Defensive Player of the Year Wallace, 6th Man of the Year Williamson, and Coach of the Year Carlise. They also have something the 76ers didn't - 3-point shooting. So why won't they be going to the conference finals? Jerry Stackhouse is no Allen Iverson. Celtics in 6.

Sixers Post-Mortem: The most tired cliche written about the Celtics triumph over the Sixers was that it was a case of two stars (Pierce and Walker) over one (Iverson). In last year's playoffs, Dikembe Mutumbo averaged 13.9ppg,13.7rpg, and 3.1bbg, In this years playoffs Deke's numbers were (8.8,10.6,1.8). The Sixers future depends then on one question - is Deke over the hill or was he merely running on fumes by the playoffs. In the first case, the Sixers' run ends here with the future mortgaged badly for only a 2-year run. In the second case, the Sixers can reload simply by adding a legitimate backup center and a sharpshooting forward off the bench. Hopes spring eternal. Only three months to Eagles training camp.