FanHouse LookattheLosers2008

There's so much that's already been said. But just to recap: responding to the Western Conference Arms Race, the Suns gave up Shawn Marion and his potential cap-freeing opt-out for Shaquille O'Neal and his potential cap-killing $20 million contract next year. The hope (read: realigning of philosophical differences) from both Steve Kerr and Mike D'Antoni was that Shaq would provide defense and turn Amare Stoudemire into a freak of nature. The second happened, and the Suns actually played well.

How They Got to the Dance: By closing out the season 15-5. Bear in mind that this was immediately after the pro-Shaq trade folks had jumped off the bandwagon and well after the haters had gotten their public laughs in. Which is why their matchup against the Spurs seemed like the greatest first round set of all time. The Suns were better down the stretch than we will remember, folks.

Gaaaah. 67 wins ... Dwyane Wade ... Golden State!! ... Dirk is "soft" ... Jason Kidd ... Avery Johnson ... Implosion. That's a very rough timeline -- storyline for the Dallas Mavericks over the past few years. The Mavericks got bounced for the second straight year in the first round, this time at the hands of the Hornets and the offseason questions are sure to be endless, while the offseason "answers" are sure to be aggressive and media-attention-grabbing. That's just how Mark Cuban rolls.

How They Got to the Dance: Dallas looked dead in the water immediately following the Kidd trade with New Jersey, which in and of itself was highly questioned in most basketball circles. They got hot in April though, winning five of their last eight, and held onto the seventh seed. It didn't hurt either that the Warriors decided to go 3-6 in April.

A look at the losers as they get bounced from the playoffs.

After winning 47 games in 2006-07, the Raptors regressed to an even .500 record this year, in part because of injuries to Jorge Garbajosa, Chris Bosh and T.J. Ford. That said, no matter how well they played, there was no catching the Boston Celtics, who won the division by 25 games.

How They Got to the Dance: By being in the Eastern Conference. A 41-41 record would have left the Raps on the outside looking in were they in the West, but it was good enough to result in a No. 6 seed in the East. That said, there's no doubt that there's enough talent on this team to make the playoffs every year, but they need their key guys to stay durable, and it wouldn't hurt if Andrea Bargnani would finally live up to his No. 1 pick status.

How They Got Bounced: Dwight Howard is without a doubt the most dominant center in the NBA today. There aren't a lot of teams who can slow him down, let alone the Raptors, who are used to playing a more of a finesse game. Howard put up three 20-20 games in the series, helping the Magic dominate the boards while a crew of sharpshooters fired away from three-point land.

For a team that looked destined for the lottery early in the year, the Sixers deserve a lot of credit for not only making the playoffs but also making the Pistons sweat. There are a lot of talented young pieces on this 76ers team, and a coach who knows how to help them improve. This team will be back next year, and if they invest their free agent dollars wisely, they may even contend for home court advantage. (No, seriously.) Let's recap their playoff run:

How They Got to the Dance: Believe it or not, the 76ers were actually one of the hottest teams in the league for a stretch in the second half, winning 19 of 24 from early February to late March. Losing five of six right at the end of the regular season kept them from posting a winning record (they finished 40-42), but that second-half surge was the result of a very young team taking the next step.

How They Got Bounced: Simply put, the Pistons woke up. The Sixers should be commended for jumping out to a 2-1 series lead, but the Pistons were just too deep, too talented and too experienced to simply roll over. That said, it would've helped Andre Iguodala failed to live up to top banana status, a role for which he may or may not be suited; the team's leading scorer in the regular season, Iguodala was held to just 13 points a night on 30% shooting. Even if the team's two wins he was largely irrelevant, a performance that likely cost him a few million off his next contract.