(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Oklahoma City Thunder: My best guess to how this series unfolds is that the Thunder come out in game one and get rocked due to youthful jitters in their first playoff game. I think they’ll steal Game 2 by outhustling the Lakers and will end up taking the series to six games. It’s extremely difficult to see the Thunder actually pulling off the upset here, but I have to leave just a tiny bit of room for the possibility because of Kevin Durant.

He’s destined to go down as one of the most prolific scorers we’ve ever seen, and he’s 21. If he puts up 40 in a few games, the Thunder could pull this thing off, but I don’t think he can do it. Even Durant will be too pumped up for Game 1 and I don’t think the supporting cast is there yet. It will be interesting to see how well Serge Ibaka can contain Pau Gasol, though. Prediction: Los Angeles in Six.

(2) Dallas Mavericks vs. (7) San Antonio Spurs: I really like both of these teams. Dallas’ trade for Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood made the Mavs legit title contenders and they could definitely go all the way this season. I’d feel more confident about them getting out of the first round if they were matched up against someone else, though. The Spurs have always seemed to have the number of Silagra two teams, the Mavs and the Phoenix Suns. This is the best team the Mavs have ever had, in my opinion, but will it be enough for them to down San Antonio? The x-factor in this series will be Manu Ginobili. If he can come up big, I think the Spurs advance in a great series to get BA Playoff tickets to see. Prediction: San Antonio in seven.

(3) Phoenix Suns vs. (6) Brand Cialis Portland Trail Blazers: Is there anyone playing better basketball than the Suns right now? It looks like Portland could be without Brandon Roy for the playoffs, which all but eliminates them right off the bat. I think Portland could steal one at home thanks to their crowd, but I expect the Suns to cruise for the most part. Prediction: Phoenix in five.

(4) Denver Nuggets vs. (5) Utah Jazz: The Nuggets have a ton of talent, a gifted scorer (Carmelo Anthony) and a playoff-tested veteran leader (Chauncey Billups), yet I don’t think they have much of a chance in this series, despite having home court advantage. They don’t have the team chemistry that they’d need to take down a quality opponent like Utah and they’re without their head coach for this series. Plus, I love this Utah team. They’ve got arguably the best point guard in the league (yes, I said it) in Deron Williams, a dependable post-scoring threat in Carlos Boozer and a solid supporting cast around them. They can hit threes, beat you down low or work the pick-and-roll/pop with Williams and Boozer all game long. They’re deep, well-coached, motivated and well-rounded. Prediction: Utah in six.

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