Predicting the second round's champs and chumps

	Nenad Krstic averaged a sterling 18 points and 7 rebounds a game in the Nets' opening-round win over the Pacers.
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Eight teams and three rounds left, cats and kittens, so we thought about taking a look at who could make or break the conference semifinals for each team.

As always, any wagering is discouraged, as are bad John Daly jokes.

Miami Heat-New Jersey Nets

Potential Champs

• Shaquille O'Neal has to keep the throwback act intact,  and he can't expect to win if he offers anything less then 25 and 10. Encouraged by exuberance and bound by necessity, an undersized Bulls team spent most of the first round double-teaming Shaq, allowing the Heat to take over 23 three-pointers a game. Jason Williams even sounded peeved when the Bulls passed on doubling Shaq after the first half of Game 2, even with his team ahead, as the open perimeter looks dried up. New Jersey has no interest in trapping and scheming, they trust Jason Collins implicitly, and would like to see Williams, Antoine Walker, James Posey and Derek Anderson (the guys that made the 2000-01 season so, so special) try to create shots for themselves. Yikes.

• Nenad Kristic won't get the same pivot looks as O'Neal, but he'll be asked to shoot every time he receives the ball in a workable position because his 18-footers could be key. Guarded by Udonis Haslem (one of the better help defenders in the game), Kristic will have to use his height and Haslem's tendency to roam in order to match the 18 points per game he averaged in the first round.

Potential Chumps

• Jason Williams started the opening round by making 16 of his first 29 shots, but fell by the wayside in the final three games, missing 18 of his final 20 looks. He he has to find a middle ground. And with Jason Kidd looking to atone for his own brutal first- round shooting (29 percent), Williams better be on his game defensively.

• Vince Carter, as always, holds the key to New Jersey's future. He averaged 37.5 points in the regular season against Miami and offered solid 29-point, eight-rebound, six-assist averages in the first round. MVP-level stuff, but he'll have to keep it up for the Nets to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Phoenix Suns-Los Angeles Clippers

Potential Champs

• In the first three regular season games against the Clippers, Steve Nash averaged 20.3 points and 13.7 assists. He ran like half-a-Nash in Phoenix' April 5 loss to L.A., registering nine points, five assists and five turnovers in 32 minutes. Mike Dunleavy knows transition defense, nearly as much as Nash knows transition offense, and whoever wins that battle wins the series.