First Round

Eastern Conference

1 Cleveland vs 8 Detroit - Cleveland should sweep, not much to really talk about here. Cavs in 4.

2 Boston vs 7 Chicago - Chicago won't be able to score enough and even without Garnett the Celtics are a better team. Celtics in 6.

3 Orlando Magic vs 6 Philadelphia 76ers - Orlando is a top 5 defensive team and the 76ers are atrocious at shooting 3s. That makes it impossible to win in the playoffs. Magic in 5.

4 Atlanta Hawks vs 5 Miami Heat - DeWayne Wade can win games by himself but Atlanta has a lot more talent in their starting lineup. Miami is too one dimensional to win a playoff series this year. The Heat need one more year of development from Beasley and Chalmers. Hawks in 6.

Western Conference

1 Los Angeles Lakers vs 8 Utah Jazz - Utah has won 12 out of 13 vs the Lakers at home and could make this more of a series than people think they will. Lakers in 6.

2 Denver Nuggets vs 7 New Orleans Hornets - Denver has been really good at home this year and JR Smith has been on fire but Chris Paul is an animal and he'll push this to seven games. Nuggets in 7.

3 San Antonio Spurs vs 6 Dallas - Dallas is playing really well right now. Jason Terry is playing really well and Dirk Nowitzski is not getting any love this year. Dallas in 7.

4 Portland Trail Blazers vs 5 Houston Rockets - Portland is the hottest team in the West right now but they have to go through the Lakers just to get to the Western Conference Finals. This will be a good series. Trail Blazers in 7.