NBA Playoffs. Where Underwhelming Happens.

The NBA Playoffs are the complete opposite of the NCAA Tournament. The higher seeds almost always prevail, leaving no room for shocking upsets. We all know that in all likelihood the Lakers will face the Cavs in the Finals, but Nuggets fans can dream, can't they?
The first round of the playoffs starts this weekend, and the eight best teams from the Western and Eastern Conference respectively will battle for the right to advance.
The West seems like the deeper conference, but the East has the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James. Without further ado, here are my predictions for the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

Western Conference:

#8 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #1 Los Angeles Lakers: Lakers in 5. Kevin Durant will drive the Thunder to their first ever playoff win, but that is as far as he will take them against a pissed off Kobe Bryant and a Lakers team with far more playoff experience.

#7 San Antonio Spurs vs #2 Dallas Mavericks: Mavericks in 7. The Mavs have home-field advantage and more versatility and depth than the Spurs. However, I would not underestimate the playoff savvy of the Spurs' starting lineup, which includes four players that have been to the NBA Finals a combined NINE times.

#6 Portland Trail Blazers vs #3 Phoenix Suns: Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudamire are back to their 2006 form, and the Suns are the hottest team in the West having won eight of their last ten games.

#5 Utah Jazz vs #4 Denver Nuggets: Jazz in 6. This series is a toss up, it will all come down to who performs better, Utah's point guard Deron Williams or Denver's forward Carmelo Anthony. That will be the difference between Jazz in 6 or Nuggets in 7.

Eastern Conference:

#8 Chicago Bulls vs #1 Cleveland Cavaliers: Cavs in 4. The Bulls don't stand a chance against LeBron James and his desperate quest for a ring.

#7 Charlotte Bobcats vs #2 Orlando Magic: Magic in 5. The games will be close, but Dwight Howard will prove to be the difference for the Magic against a Bobcats team that struggled on the road in the regular season, going 13-28.

#6 Milwaukee Bucks vs #3 Atlanta Hawks: Hawks in 6. This would normally be a seven game series, but the Buck won't be able to contain Hawks' center Al Horford with their own big man Andrew Bogut being out for the season with an elbow injury.

#5 Miami Heat vs #4 Boston Celtics: Heat in 6. Miami breaks serve in the first game in Boston and then holds on behind vintage Dwayne Wade performances.