1. Chicago Bulls vs. 8. Indiana Pacers

I made the mistake of predicting the Chicago Bulls would finish 5th in the conference and the Milwaukee Bucks would finish ahead of them in the division.  Oops.  Regardless thanks in large part to the eventual MVP Derrick Rose the Bulls have a good chance to make some noise in the Eastern Conference.  A lot has been said about the Bulls roster, but besides Rose they need Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer to help carry the offense.  They are the best defensive team in the league this year, but Boozer and Deng have to be more helpful on offense.

The Indiana Pacers went on a roll after they fired Jim O’Brien. Frank Vogel has done a great job on an interim basis and probably will get the job full time next year.  Danny Granger has gotten a lot of help from Nick Collison and Tyler Hansbrough during the season.  Both will need to continue to produce in the playoffs as well.  Indiana has a deeper team than Chicago, but over a 7 game series I just don’t see the Pacers taking it that far with the Bulls.

2. Miami Heat vs. 7. Philadelphia 76ers

Well, it’s finally time for the Miami Heat to shine.  LeBron James and Dwayne Wade will continue to do their thing, but what can we expect from Chris Bosh?  Will we see the Chris Bosh from the first two months of the season or the one who was wanting to be more involved towards the later part?  For Miami to make some headway into the conference finals and maybe the title, they will need a productive Bosh.  The role players they have will have to shine as well.  Mike Miller, Mike Bibby just to name a few.

The 76ers would have rather played the Boston Celtics, but this is a good test for them and their future.  Andre Iguodala is turning into a good defender, but will have to be the offensive catalyst the Sixers need him to be.  Elton Brand has been around for a while now, but hasn’t been in the playoffs for much of his career.  Talent wise they are overmatched, but they might be able to surprise the Heat and take two games in Philadelphia before it’s all said and done.

3. Boston Celtics vs. 6. New York Knicks

Will the Celtics have a healthy Shaquille O’Neal or a banged up one?  Does it really matter against the Knicks?  If he is able to play don’t expect to see him for more than 20 minutes a game. The Celtics need to play to their strengths which is let Rajon Rondo find the open man and have Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen hit their shots.  This would be a good time for Jeff Green (who was acquired for the popular Kendrick Perkins) to shine.  He has excellent scoring ability and Boston would like him to bring that in the playoffs.

New York has its star studded lineup with Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups.  What they can do with it remains to be seen.  You would think New York would probably just run the old Celtics team out of the building, but the Celtics have dealt with these teams many times before and New York is still trying to get the chemistry together since acquiring Anthony. There is plenty of scoring with the Knicks trio and Toney Douglas coming off the bench, but their defense will continue to give head coach Mike D’Antoni headaches.

4. Orlando Magic vs. 5. Atlanta Hawks

It’s a rematch of last years awful semifinals between these two in which the Magic swept them out of the playoffs.  This time the Magic don’t think it will be that easy.  Atlanta still has Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Al Horford as their go to guys, but since they acquired Kirk Hinrich they have more balance to their offense. Atlanta still has last years sixth man of the year in Jamal Crawford as another scoring option off the bench.  The Hawks seem to be better equipped to handle Orlando.

The Magic haven’t been a consistent team all year long.  Dwight Howard has been their one constant both offensively and defensively.  Jameer Nelson has been good at times, but wildly turnover prone the other times.  Jason Richardson is their second best scoring option, but hasn’t been that most of the season.  Hedo Turkoglu will have to play like it’s 2009 for Orlando.  He hasn’t been the same since leaving Orlando after that season and will have to be if the Magic are supposed to advance any further.

1. San Antonio Spurs vs. 8. Memphis Grizzlies

This won’t be easy for the Spurs.  If they don’t have a healthy Manu Ginobili for most of this series it will go down to the wire. Tony Parker has been great and even though Tim Duncan had his worst season he knows how to win during the playoffs.  San Antonio will have to count on Richard Jefferson and George Hill to ease the burden on Ginobili and Duncan.  There’s a lot of mileage on their legs and Jefferson and Hill should be able to produce at high levels in this series.

Memphis isn’t as deep as the Spurs.  Zach Randolph is their best scorer.  Mike Conley is an adequate point guard, but isn’t a viable scoring threat.  Tony Allen and Sam Young have been great since Rudy Gay went down to injury.  They will have to be to keep the Grizzlies hopes alive.  Marc Gasol has a favorable matchup for himself.  The Spurs don’t have as many big men to guard him and that bodes well for Gasol.  Whether he can take advantage of it is another question.

2. Los Angeles Lakers vs. 7. New Orleans Hornets

It was a tumultuous ending to the season for the Lakers.  They are all healthy and should be ready to play for the playoffs now.  Kobe will do his usual thing and Pau Gasol will still be the constant scorer and rebounder.  The questions always end up being the same.  What will Ron Artest, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum bring to the Lakers this time around?  All three should be fine since this is their time to shine.  The Hornets are a little banged up, but with the Lakers having banged up egos it could get interesting.

The Hornets have a great floor leader in Chris Paul.  He will have to do almost everything for them.  Score, pass, rebound and play defense for them to make it a close series.  No one is expecting the Hornets to do much, but even without David West, they have some good players still.  Trevor Ariza knows how to play on this stage.  Carl Landry and Emeka Okafor are good rebounders and can play with the Lakers bigs as long as their not in foul trouble. Jarrett Jack was a great addition during the season and can spell Paul off the bench.  The Lakers should advance, but it’s up to them how soon they want to.

3. Dallas Mavericks vs. 6. Portland Trail Blazers

This is not what the Mavericks wanted.  Portland has given them problems during the season and to make matters worse they have players that can match up with theirs.  Dirk Nowitzki has to play at a high level in these playoffs.  If Dallas has any title hopes they rest with Dirk.  Jason Terry has to be a productive force off the bench for the Mavericks.  They won’t be able to beat Portland without his scoring.  Dallas would feel more comfortable if they had Caron Butler, but even without him they nearly clinched the second seed.

The Blazers are the most dangerous team mainly because of their acquisition of Gerald Wallace from Charlotte.  He has given them a new aggressive identity.  With Marcus Camby entrenched in the paint, Portland has become a great defensive team.  LaMarcus Aldridge has had a career year and along with Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum Portland is poised to get over the hump and out of the first round of the playoffs.

4. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 5. Denver Nuggets

Oklahoma has an easier road in the West this year.  Denver has been one of the hottest teams since the All-Star break during the season, but the Thunder have perhaps the best duo in the game in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.  Both should be able to dominate at both ends for the Thunder.  Denver doesn’t have anyone who can stop them both on a nightly basis.  With Kendrick Perkins defending the paint for Oklahoma now that has opened things up for Serge Ibaka.  He should have a big series against the Nuggets big men.  

Denver will have to rely heavily on two regulars, Nene and Ty Lawson.  Both were instrumental in getting Denver the 5th seed in the playoffs.  With Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton and Danilo Gallinari playing at high levels since the Carmelo Anthony trade the Nuggets can score with anyone.  What Denver will get out of Kenyon Martin will be a mystery, but he can be the defensive catalyst if he can prevent the Thunder from getting easy baskets in the paint.  This is perhaps the most anticipated series with a lot of high scoring games.