Paul Jones

Paul Jones is the voice of the Raptors on the FAN 590 and writes regularly for Sportsnet.ca.

Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash.

It’s prediction time as the NBA Playoffs start Saturday and with all due respect to all other championship basketball struggles, be it the World Championships, the Olympics, Eurobasket and even the NCAA’s big dance, there is nothing, I mean nothing like the NBA playoffs.

It’s where the players in the best league in the world go at it for pride and there is no fluking a title as in a one-and-done scenario. Nope, you can’t just win one game and then blithely dance off to the next round. You have to beat your opponent and do it four times over the course of a 10-14 day span.

No surprises here; if you lose, you get a chance to make an adjustment, see how it works and force the other team to change. If you have an advantage or find one, then you work it until your opponent submits. As Nino Brown said in the movie New Jack City: "never personal, just business."

Let the record show that at the start of the season before a single game was played I said it would be Boston over San Antonio. That prognostication is still a possibility, but not with high probability, so like many bad golf games, a mulligan might make an appearance.

Eastern Conference

Cleveland (1) vs. Chicago (8)

The first question to ask before any prediction is made in this series is: (conspiracy theorists rejoice here) do you see the league allowing LeBron James to get beat in the first round? I don’t buy into that and LeBron doesn’t see himself and the Cavs getting beat either. It will take a while to work Shaquille O’Neal back into the lineup and that will give the Bulls a chance to get a game but this series is not going more than five. It’s true Chicago pushed Boston to seven games last year but the Cavs are not last year’s Celtics.

Prediction: Cleveland in 5…maybe a "broom job" in 4.

Orlando (2) vs. Charlotte (7)

Charlotte is the right matchup for Orlando as they will push them and give them just what they need to help sharpen them for the Eastern Final against Cleveland. The Bobcats defense and athleticism will present a challenge for the Magic, but Charlotte’s inability to score will hurt them in the post-season as Orlando, a good defensive team, locks in on them. The games will be close and hard fought with the Magic winning them when one of Charlotte’s inevitable droughts hit.

Prediction: Orlando in 6.

Atlanta (3) vs. Milwaukee (6)

The Hawks have conference finals on the agenda and this is just the first step in their eyes. Mike Woodson has done a tremendous job and his does just enough things well to beat you. Milwaukee prides itself on being a hard working team but in the playoffs it’s about defense and making plays. Without Andrew Bogut up front, the Bucks are missing a good defender and a man who they can count on offensively as a scorer and distributor. The Bucks will make it look ugly and will win a game or two but don’t have enough to pull the upset. Atlanta in 6 games.

Boston (4) vs. Miami (5)

Dwayne Wade must have an awfully strong back. Why you ask? Well he did it again this season and carried the entire team in Miami. You know what, they won more games than they did last season, but not having home court will hurt them. As I said in one of these ramblings a few weeks ago when Toronto played Boston, Kevin Garnett is just not the same guy and that will hurt the Celtics, not in this round, but in the next set against Cleveland. Boston will use everything they have to defeat Miami but the tank will be empty for the next round.

Prediction:Boston in 7

Western Conference

L.A. Lakers (1) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (8)

Let the learning begin for the youngsters from Oklahoma City and for their soon-to-be coach of the year, Scott Brooks. And if you think that $35,000 fine Phil Jackson paid to the NBA a couple of days ago for his comments regarding Kevin Durant was useless, think again. Jackson is in the heads of the Thunder and more importantly, the heads of the officials. Watch to see how close Durant gets to his league-leading average of 10.3 free throws per game in this series. It’s a good thing Brooks has Mo Cheeks sitting beside him. Experience counts and this is the time of year the Lakers have played for all season. That’s right OKC, its not just another Tuesday night in February.

Prediction:Lakers in 6.

Dallas (2) vs. San Antonio (7)

Let’s renew old acquaintances shall we?

This will be a hard-fought series. The Spurs epitomize the old adage that says at the end of the regular season "you are who you are," and they are a team that had potential but for whatever reason was just not able to put it all together. And that will be San Antonio’s downfall in the series. That, plus the fact that the Mavs have better talent and are playing well together as they have playoff and NBA Finals experience with players hungry for another trip to the title series.

Prediction:Dallas in 6.

Phoenix (3) vs. Portland (6)

The Suns could not have hand-picked a better opponent.

It says here that the Suns were bound to be a first-round casualty if they had finished in the bottom half of the conference or had drawn any other of the following teams (San Antonio, Utah, Denver or Dallas). With Brandon Roy out due to surgery, the Trail Blazers will be missing their best player and come playoff time, you need to hitch the cart to someone who can haul it. The Blazers are limping, literally, into the playoffs while the Suns are playing well.

Don’t ever underestimate what it does for a team’s confidence to be playing well heading to the playoffs.

Prediction:Phoenix in 5.

Denver (4) vs. Utah (5)

This will be a classic matchup of a talented and at times disorderly Denver squad against a disciplined, system-oriented Utah team. The biggest questions are 1) Is Utah healthy enough to survive (Carlos Boozer is a game-time decision for Game 1 and you know he won’t miraculously get healthy over the course of six or seven tough games and 2) Can Denver keep it together to overcome the breakdowns that will occur against a team that does not deviate from the coach’s game plan?

It should make for good theatre, and if Denver head coach George Karl had been present, the Nuggets would have finished the season with a higher seed and not been in this predicament.

Get ready for a long series and when in doubt, I’ll take the talent.

Predicition:Denver in 7.

Don’t hold me to it because I’ve been wrong before, just ask my famil, but I will say your Finals match up, at least today, will be a re-run of last June with Orlando and Los Angeles.