Makes You Wonder...

What could have been? That's the questions I've been asking myself throughout the NBA Playoffs this season.

First, what could have been if Luol Deng didn't bolt Duke after only one season? If you haven't noticed, he's the Bulls best player and was a mismatch for the defending champions. Sure, Ben Gordon may be their money guy at the end of the game but Deng has become a tremendously versatile player and if he would've hung around for a few more years at Duke, the sky could've been the limit. He's on the verge on becoming a perennial All-Star...

Second, what could have been if Coach K wouldn't have given Baron Davis' scholarship away to William Avery? First, William Avery was an excellent PG for Duke for two seasons but let's face it, who would Duke fans have rather had: a 6'5'' PG who is dominating in the NBA playoffs or a guard who is struggling to find time in Tel Aviv? Exactly. To me, when healthy, Baron Davis is the 3rd best PG in the league and that's saying something considering only Nash and Kidd are better and that's only because Davis has been plagued with injuries. Just imagine if Davis would've went to Duke though, how about this lineup in 1999:

PG- Baron Davis
SG- Trajan Langdon
SF- Chris Carrawell
PF- Shane Battier
C- Elton Brand
6th Man- Corey Maggette

The 1999 team with Avery was seconds away from going down as one of the greatest teams of all-time. They went 37-2 that year and the two losses were by a combined 4 points. If you put Baron Davis, with the way he played at UCLA because it's not fair to compare him now, on that team, that truly could've been a 39-0 National Championship team.

Finally, what could've been if Carlos Boozer showed us his jumper at Duke and didn't play back to the basket? There were two reasons why Boozer dropped to the 2nd Round after he came out after his Junior season: 1, he blew a wide open layup at the buzzer of the Indiana game, which turned out to be his last shot at Duke and 2, for a back to the basket player, at 6'8'', he was a little small despite being chiseled out of granite.

Other Notables in the Playoffs:

Chris Duhon is ran a nice PG off the bench as Chicago swept Miami.

Shane Battier is a perfect fit for Houston and when he scores, it's all gravy considering the intangibles he brings day in and day out.

Also, I know Toronto is getting spanked by New Jersey but how about how Kris Humphries is playing? He's the forgotten man. Everyone talks about Deng and Livingston playing a combined 1 year at Duke but what about Humphries who cried his way out of a letter of intent to go to Minnesota, where he dominated for a year before he jumped to the pros. I have contended this since 2004, if Humphries goes to Duke, Duke wins the 2004 National Title.