Playoffs Upon Us...Finally (Day 1 Preview)

The seemingly endless NBA season has finally come to a close. Now it's playoff time, which takes more than half as long as an entire NFL regular season. There's three days between games of each seven-game series, and about a week between rounds. Upsets are at a minimum. However, in the NBA Playoffs defense is actually played, and the excitement that lacks for much of the regular season finally appears.

Today's games are Indiana at Chicago (Game 1 is currently being played as this is written), Philly at Miami, Atlanta at Orlando, and Portland at Dallas.

The Pacers have a four-point edge at the half, up 55-51. But the Bulls and the expected MVP Derrick Rose are the heavy favorite, having earned the one seed in the east following a 62-20 record. Danny Granger claimed that if his team can stop Rose, they can stop the Bulls. But the supporting cast of Chicago is not shabby, featuring Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, and Carlos Boozer. Through a half though, led by Darren Collison, the Pacers have slightly outplayed the Bulls, though many expect a Bulls recovery. Prediction: Bulls in seven six.

Before any basketball was played, LeBron James declared the new-look Heat would win "seven or eight" championships. Their quest for number one begins against my Philadelphia 76ers later this afternoon, where Miami is expected to breeze through a young Philly team. Doug Collins' group will try to prove they should not be taken lightly, as the Heat are probably already thinking past them. Andre Iguodala still is not fully recovered from a knee injury, and while he is regarded as one of the NBA's best defensive players, he will have a tougher time limiting Dwyane Wade or LeBron like he's done in the past. Iguodala can only guard one of them though, so Evan Turner will have to step up on D if the Sixers want any shot at the series. Expect the Heat to run screens with wily vet Mike Bibby to get Iguodala off one of the stars. Prediction (sadly): Heat in six.

Orlando seemingly traded away half of their team earlier in the year, but of course Dwight Howard remains, and is hungry for a championship. Not expected by many to go all the way, however, the Magic start off against the Atlanta Hawks. Jameer Nelson's postgame comments to Derrick Rose drew some scrutiny from the Hawks players, when he told Rose he will see him in round two. The well-rounded Hawks, led by Joe Johnson, want to prove Nelson wrong, and certainly not repeat last postseason, when the Magic swept them. Prediction: Magic in six.

Dirk Nowitzki has already won an MVP and been to the NBA Finals. He just has not won it all. Calling this "another disappointing season" if his Mavs group does not go all the way, Dirk's road starts against the potent Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers have a great mix of talent including the newly-acquired Gerald Wallace, Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews, Marcus Camby, and Andre Miller. Roy was once regarded as an NBA star, but has been hindered by injuries and only averaged a dozen points a game. He's now behind Gerald Wallace on the depth-chart, as Wallace's acquisition has skyrocketed Portland to new heights. Expect LaMarcus Aldridge to be almost unguardable for the Mavs. Portland creates far too many matchup problems in the series for the aging Mavs. Prediction: Blazers in seven.