Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images Derrick Rose led the Bulls to the home-court advantage in the N.B.A. playoffs.No. 1 Chicago Bulls (62-20) vs. No. 8 Indiana Pacers (37-45)
The Bulls finished with 62 wins, the most since Michael Jordan left the organization. The Bulls captured championships in the five other seasons they captured at least 60 wins. Those teams were all led by Jordan. Derrick Rose, who will probably become the league’s youngest M.V.P. winner and would be a college senior at Memphis had he stayed, leads one of the N.B.A.’s most balanced rosters, anchored by the solid defenders Joakim Noah and Luol Deng under the first-year coach Tom Thibodeau. Indiana faces long odds in trying to become the fourth team to beat a top seeded team. The Pacers are in the playoffs for the first time in five years and are the only qualifiers with a losing record, but can still be considered a mild threat. They rallied after firing Jim O’Brien and attaching Frank Vogel as interim coach. Danny Granger is one of the league’s quality wing players, Darren Collison is one of the league’s quickest point guards and the center Roy Hibbert provides scoring and length.
No. 2 Miami Heat (58-24) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (41-41)
Miami, the team that celebrated in the summer when it created a stir about free agency and power teams, enters its first playoff in the LeBron James-Dwyane Wade-Chris Bosh era as an unknown. Will Miami be the team that dominated in winning 21 of 22 games in one stretch or the one that went 3-8 against Boston, Orlando and Chicago and failed to close late games? Like the Knicks, they have enough stars to win a series when all else goes wrong. The Heat experienced its regular season under the microscope, a lens that will only increase as the playoffs advance. The workman-like 76ers are coached by Doug Collins, who revitalized the franchise in his first year. They spread the offense and the responsibilities. Elton Brand is the team’s leading scorer with 15.1 points per game. Brand’s average ranked 48th in the N.B.A. Philadelphia’s bid at an upset will also be hurt if the valuable reserve Louis Williams (strained hamstring) is not healthy.
No. 3 Boston Celtics (56-26) vs. No. 6 Knicks (42-40)
The Celtics went a pedestrian 15-12 to end the season after trading their defensive anchor and eternal scowler Kendrick Perkins and showed signs of age, boredom and contentment. Sound familiar? With the same issues (minus Perkins’s departure) facing Boston last season in a 27-27 finish to their season, Boston rallied and forced the Lakers to seven games in the finals. The Celtics are again tempting that fine line a team loaded with experience and one that can hold a joint retirement party after the playoffs. Even so, the Celtics handled the Knicks in all four of their meetings this year, including twice since the All-Star Game break. The Knicks hopes lie in Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups all catching fire at least four times in seven games. The Celtics offer the Knicks mismatches. For example, if Mike D’Antoni chooses to guard Rajon Rondo with Landry Fields or Toney Douglas instead of Billups, will Billups be up to chasing the sharpshooter Ray Allen through the myriad of screens that Boston will set? Shaquille O’Neal, who will be available after missing chunks of the season with right leg injuries, also poses another challenge that the Knicks simply cannot match.
No. 4 Orlando Magic (52-30) vs. No. 5 Atlanta Hawks (44-38)
Atlanta closed the season with six straight losses, the most of any playoff team and nine fewer victories than last season. Atlanta did not improve on its win total from the previous year for the first time in six seasons after hiring Larry Drew to replace Mike Woodson and signing Joe Johnson to a questionable six-year, $119 million contract. But Atlanta drew a favorable matchup with Orlando. The size of the Hawks offered Orlando trouble and contributed to the Magic’s three losses in four regular-season games against Atlanta. The Magic will hope that a major off-season shakeup when they acquired Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Gilbert Arenas will pay off in the postseason. Here is the playoffs’ biggest present to Orlando: All technical fouls are reset and Dwight Howard is on an even plane with the rest of the league. Players earn a one-game suspension with their seventh technical in the playoffs.
