ed note: Great playoff preview from Hawk42. ZF and I are (NOT) working on something similar...We don't think we could top this!  -Phx Stan & ZF

Here is my take on the first round.  I'll let someone else do the in-depth stuff.

Playoff Preview - 2008 NBA first round

(8) Atlanta at (1) Boston

I don't see the Celts having much trouble here.  Everyone seems impressed with the Hawks, but really, if the Bulls and Nets hadn't tanked,  nobody would be talking about playoffs in Atlanta.  37 victories hardly qualifies as a breakthrough.  The Hawks are strong at home, though.  The match up of Horford vs. Garnett will be interesting to watch.  Rajon Rondo will hound Bibby to exhaustion, and the thin Boston bench will have a fun time with their pathetic Hawk counterparts.

A key player in this match up for Atlanta is Marvin Williams.  If he can get in  a groove, the Hawks can spread the floor for Joe Johnson and Josh Smith.  I don't think Hawk fans are in good shape if they must trust Marvin, though.  I'm calling for a sweep, with one close game in Atlanta.  The Hawks missed a chance to beat the Celts last week and plant some doubt in the minds of the Boston players, but they dropped the ball.

Boston, 4-0

[Edit] I seriously underestimated the Hawks.  They may not win a game 7 in Boston, but they have shown that they are not slouches, and JJ is a superstar.  The JJ-Smith-Horford duo could be a playoff regular if the point guard situation is resolved long term.

(7) Philadelphia at (2) Detroit

Some have tabbed this match up as one to watch.  I am not one of them.  The Pistons are primed and ready for another title run.  The Sixers have shown some moxie in their second half push for a playoff spot, but have cooled off in the last few weeks.  I just don't see the Sixer combination of backcourt wizardry (Iggy and Miller) and overachieving frontcourt men (Green and Dalembert) can stay with the veteran lineup of Hamilton-Billups-Prince-Wallace-McDyess.  I don't even think Philly's frontline guys can beat Detroit's second five of Afflalo-Maxiel-Hunter-Johnson-Stuckey.

Philly did win 2 late season games from the Pistons in their playoff push.  These games are hard to read since Detroit had a huge lead for their division, and have been locked into the #2 seed for over two months.  If Detroit lets Sammy D get loose for 20 and 13 again, they  could lose a game.  Welcome to the playoffs, Sixers!

Detroit, 4-1

[Edit] underestimated the Sixers, but only missed by one game.

(6) Toronto at (3) Orlando

The Magic carved out a nice season in central Florida, riding the athletic freak Dwight Howard in his breakout year.  Hedo Turkoglu also had a career year, which took some pressure off of the new free agent, Rashard Lewis.  Toronto looked to be moving in to the elite group after last year's division winner, but clearly took a step back as Bryan Colangelo's moves weren't all peaches and cream.  I really think the improvement shown by Sam Mitchell was a mirage, and the Raps will have to get another coach to push this young and talented team to the next level.

Orlando won the season series , 2-1, but the one loss was an embarrassing 127-110 defeat as Calderon had a fantastic game and Bosh played Howard to a standstill.  The Raps have the talent to make it a 7 game series, but the malaise they find themselves in is good enough to extent the series to 6 games.

Orlando, 4-2

[Edit] pretty spot on

(5) Washington at (4) Cleveland

This is the one people are waiting for.  The Wizards have stayed true to their nickname, somehow winning games with 2/3 of their talented stars out of the lineup from time to time.  The result is that they have a strong bench, which was not the case  in years past with the Jamison-Butler-Arenas troika averaging 75 points and 125 minutes per game.  I do not know of the status of Arenas and Butler, but I think this series is a dogfight in any event.

As for the season series, you have two early blowouts, one by each team, and more recently, two very close games, also split.  Much depends on the availability of Caron Butler, but also someone besides James needs to provide some consistent offense.  A classic 7 game series is probably in order.  I give the edge to LeBron and his boys, but it could swing either way.

Cleveland, 4-3

[Edit] also spot on

(8) Denver at (1) Los Angeles Lakers

Denver can be an exciting team.  They closed the season on a 26-16 run, overtaking the Warriors, who faltered with a 7-10 record down the stretch.  All three losses in the Laker's season sweep of the Nuggets (average margin of 16.3 points) occurred before this run, which commenced on January 21st.  So those losses were with Andrew Bynum and without Gasol.

How can we predict how the Nugs will play given the new circumstances?  We do know one or two things.  The supporting cast for the Nuggets has been virtually nonexistent, while the Lakers trounced Denver with a well-balanced attack.  The Nuggets defense (or lack of it) has allowed an average of 118 points per game, while scoring 102.  I just don't see a sure Nugget win in this series, which is a bad matchup for Denver.  They may be able to scratch one out due to the fact that LA has Gasol instead of the shotblocking Bynum.  So I'm calling it Lakers in 5 games.

LA, 4-1

[Edit] pretty boringly spot on

(7) Dallas at (2) New Orleans

The Mavs played for this match up.  As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for.  Clearly the Mavs pulled out all the stops in the last game of the season.  This gives the Hornets a tactical advantage, as Byron Scott now knows that he will face the trap.  Whether New Orleans can adequately prepare a counter punch remains to be seen, but suffice it to say, the first punch in this first round match up has already been thrown.  Expect the Hornets to come back with a counterstrike.

Byron Scott is an experienced coach who hasn't always pressed the right buttons.  It is critical for him that he devise a way to stop Kidd from going to the basket.  The outside shots, he can live with, as JK will not be hitting those consistently.  If the Mavs can confuse the Hornets by trapping CP3 effectively, Dallas will wind up with the upset.  I don't think they can.  New Orleans will figure it out.

New Orleans, 4-3

[Edit] I gave the Mavs too much credit.  In retrospect, this wasn a 'hope' prediction.  I ewally felt sorry for the Mavs and the Jerry Jones type meddling that has led to this team's downfall.

(6) Phoenix at (3) San Antonio

The fear is gone.  All that remains is for the Suns to press their advantage.  With Barry back, and Ginobli returning to full strength, the defending champs won't go down without a struggle.  A key sideline is the health of Grant Hill, who can contain Tony Parker in the same role as the Matrix.  Another key is the series-long battle between Raja Bell and Manu Ginobli.  The Spurs have no answer for Shaquille O'Neal, who averaged 20 and 12 in two late season games.  If Shaq can limit Duncan like he is supposed to, that will put the onus on the outside shooters.

Look for a dust up at some point.  The Suns will be glued to their benches when it happens.  Bowen will try something.  Floppy Ginobli is annoying, but harmless, but someone might end up turning an ankle on a strategically placed Bowen foot.  This matchup has all the drama of a titanic struggle, and the Suns finally bring all of their guns to the party.

Phoenix, 4-2

[Edit] Totally missed this one.  I really thought the Suns would play better, although they practically mailed it in after the game 1 collapse.

(4) Utah at (5) Houston

This is the matchup the Jazz were angling for.  With Rafer Alston out and no Yao Ming, Houston is running out of weapons.  If the Rockets had an overpowering home record, I would lean towards them.  Bobby Jackson is not a huge dropoff from Alston, and Scola will battle Boozer as well as anyone.  But who keeps Deron Williams out of the lane?  And what if Okur gets hot?

Houston does own one of only four league wins at Salt Lake City this year, but that was with Yao.  However, Yao had a subpar game with 11 points and 7 rebounds.  McGrady, however, hit for 47.  This appears to be the blueprint for Houston success.  I don't think Tracy can sustain it.

Utah,  4-2

[Edit] Again, spot on

[Edit] Grade:  6 series predicted correctly, one wrongly, and one incomplete.  A 7-1 record if the C's do their job, but I wish the one miss wasn't so close to home.