NBA Conference Finals

No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 3 Orlando Magic: The Cavaliers got the maximum amount of rest - sweeping their series while watching the Magic and Celtics go seven games. Cleveland's defense is stout, but Orlando's ability to score (especially from behind the 3-point line) will test the Cavaliers. Can Cleveland win a game offensively, even with LeBron James? The Magic's forward duo of Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu presents a matchup problem for whoever is at power forward for the Cavaliers. Lewis is the key as he likely draws the defensive assignment against James. Did Orlando grow up against Boston? Does James have enough help? Magic in 6.

No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 2 Denver Nuggets: Despite Cleveland's two sweeps, the Nuggets have been the most impressive team in the playoffs. Chauncey Billups gives Denver confidence in big situations, particularly Carmelo Anthony. The Lakers had heads scracthing in their series against Houston, which didn't have Yao Ming for four of the seven games. Will Los Angeles take a fully-loaded Nuggets team seriously? Denver does not have speed in the backcourt, which gave the Lakers trouble against the Rockets. The Nuggets have good size up front with Nene, Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen but the Lakers are bigger with Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, if only they play that way. Kobe Bryant had an OK series against Houston (by his terms). If Anthony can match Bryant star move for star move, Denver has a great chance. Lakers in 7.

NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals

No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 4 Atlanta Hawks: The Cavaliers have been sitting for over a week after easily dusting off the Detroit Pistons, while the Hawks beat the Miami Heat in the worst seven-game series in NBA history. Atlanta is a better team than was shown against the Heat, but are still wildly inconsistent and lack an on-court leader despite the presence of Mike Bibby. Cleveland, to use a cliche, appears to be on a mission. The Hawks have no one to stand up LeBron James, who by the way is the league's Most Valuable Player. Cavaliers in 5.

No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. No. 3 Orlando Magic: While Atlanta and Miami played a terrible series, the Celtics held off the Chicago Bulls to win the best series in years. If the Magic are to take a step forward as a team, knocking off the defending champions is a good start. Does Boston have anything left? Do they have any frontcourt players? If Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis can't stay on the court for the Celtics against Dwight Howard, they have no chance. Then again, Orlando tends to forget Howard is there and fires up too many three-pointers. It's easy to say Boston is out of gas, but ... Celtics in 6.

NBA Western Conference Semifinals

No. 1 LA Lakers vs. No. 5 Houston Rockets: If you had to pick a matchup in the West you'd like to see, this would be it. The Rockets play strong defense and in Ron Artest (and to a lesser degree Shane Battier) have someone with a better-than average chance of defending Kobe Bryant. Andrew Bynum was a non-factor for the Lakers against undersized Utah, but will be needed against Yao Ming. Luis Scola's play will be key for Houston - if he can hold his own against Pau Gasol it will force Bryant to score more. The Rockets' issues are depth up front and whether they score enough points. Los Angeles is too versatile offensively for even Houston to stop. Lakers in 6.

No. 2 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 6 Dallas Mavericks: The story of each team's first-round series victory was the relative ease of which they won. The Nuggets showed a maturity level not seen before in not letting New Orleans have a real chance. The Mavericks continued their season-ending surge by handling San Antonio. Both teams have veteran point guards (Chauncey Billups for Denver, Jason Kidd for Dallas) who are responsible for keeping their teams focused. Josh Howard's return gives the Mavericks another scoring option along with Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry. The Nuggets have the advantage in the frontcourt and can be a little more explosive on offense. Nuggets in 7.