Random observations on the NBA playoffs from The Post's backup, part-time, JV NBA writer:
I picked the Lakers over the Nuggets in five and missed by one. I knew they had no one to guard Kobe Bryant, and Dahntay Jones, with his defense nullified, had slightly more impact than Rocky. I knew Nene's offensive prowess was way overrated after he ran roughshod over New Orleans' one-legged Tyson Chandler and Dallas' aging Erick Dampier. The Nuggets' inside scoring punch was no match for the Lakers' Pau Gasol.
Still, I had no idea the Nuggets , facing elimination in front of the most adoring, crazed fans in franchise history, would sleepwalk through their elimination game Friday. They played as if they knew their place in the NBA hierarchy.
I asked Bryant if Denver fans are harder on him than anywhere else. He said no. It's the same everywhere. What? Mass boos every possession? Every shot? Every game? Let's see how fans in Central Florida react to him.
If he thinks Denver fans aren't worse, he'd better not take up snow skiing or snowboarding anytime soon.
Conspiracy theories flew all through the playoffs. I thought at season's end a Zapruder film would produce hidden evidence of the NBA funneling the Lakers and Cavaliers into the Finals. The Magic squashed that theory, but there's no question the NBA is a media-driven league.
How much? ESPN apparently was going to cut half its staff for the Finals if the Nuggets beat the Lakers.
I will never again look at a Le-
Bron James commercial and smile. He's no longer funny. He's no longer the face of the league. His news conference no-show after the Cavaliers' elimination loss represented another megastar who only wants the center stage, fame and ensuing coin when he is seen in the best light.
This nation's sports fans made you the corporate entity that you are, LeBron. They have a right to know what went wrong. Sit down and take the heat. Now it's too late. So get out of our sight.
Which moronic NBA executives voted Cavs general manager Danny Ferry as Sporting News executive of the year? The Magic exposed Cleveland as LeBron and four caddies with bad haircuts.
Denver's Mark Warkentien took a washout with the Kings and a guy out of rehab, then fleeced, er, persuaded a former NBA executive of the year, Joe Dumars, to trade Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson. It merely added up to the best NBA season in Nuggets history.
