Well, it finally happened. The L.A. Lakers lost in the playoffs.

     Earlier in the year, my prediction for the finals was Celtics-Lakers. I know, original, right? Boy was I wrong. On Sunday, May 8, 2011, the Lakers became only the seventh team in NBA post-season history to be swept in the playoffs after they won the championship the previous year. Who saw that coming?

     What may have been more surprising than the Lakers losing on Sunday was the Dallas Mavericks (the Lakers opponent) bench. Jason Terry shot an almost unheard of 9-10 from 3-point land, while Peja Stojakovic gave the team an extra 21 points off 6-6 beyond the arc. The 2 combined for 15-16 behind the 3-point line: an NBA record. The craziest part? They both didn’t even start the game.

     Now that the Lakers are out of the playoffs, the playoff picture just got even more cloudy. The Memphis Grizzlies- the eighth seed in the West- are still in the playoffs and actually winning their second series against the Oklahoma City Thunder 2-1. The Celtics and Heat are preparing for what could be a seven game series, and The Bulls-Hawks is a more up-and-down series than anyone could have imagined (one day the Bulls look like champions, the next they look like a JV squad).

     So who will win the finals this season? Only time will tell, but one thing is for certain- for the first time in 3 years there will be a new champion.

Source: ESPN.com