NBA Playoff Schedule 2012: Most Intriguing Matchups in the First Round

As the 2012 NBA playoffs get set to tip off on Saturday, there's more than one potential first-round series that, at least on paper, is very intriguing.

That doesn't mean there will be an upset, but we should at minimum see at least a well-played series with plenty of storylines across the board.

Out of the eight potential first-round series, here's a look at the four most intriguing.

No. 4 Memphis Grizzlies vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers

The seeds here can still flip-flop depending on what Memphis does Thursday night against Orlando, but either way, this stands to be one of the most exciting first-round series.

It's Lob City against last year's Cinderella playoff team. Both are young and athletic and entering the postseason playing good basketball. Memphis has won 10 of its past 12, while the Clippers have won 14 of 19 overall.

The intriguing issue though is Memphis. It won't be sneaking up on anyone this postseason. Let's see if it has similar positive results when it isn't the big underdog.

As for the Clippers, there's intrigue to see if the Chris Paul trade will pay off with postseason wins. There's some doubt that the Lob City attack will be successful in the playoffs, so we will see if the Clippers can adjust and have success in their half-court offense.

No. 2 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 7 Dallas Mavericks

Make no mistake about it, Dallas will not go down without a fight, which makes this series very intriguing. Dirk Nowitzki and the defending NBA champs match up very well against the Thunder, and this could turn into a very long series.

The Thunder have had playoff success the past couple years, but this time, they have a target on their back. It's a little bit different when everyone expects you to reach the finals instead of playing with no pressure on your shoulders.

Nowitzki and Kevin Durant will wage war on each other, but in the end, the Thunder likely have too much talent.

Dallas isn't locked into the No. 7 seed just yet, though, as it can still move up to No. 6 with a win at Atlanta and a Denver loss at Minnesota.

No. 2 Miami Heat vs. No. 7 New York Knicks

When I talk about playoff intrigue, how can I not bring up the name of LeBron James?

Sure, he's the likely MVP, but everyone wants to see what LeBron will do in the postseason.

The Knicks need to defeat Charlotte Thursday night to claim the No. 7 seed, but to renew a playoff rivalry against the Heat will be big for both teams. I'm sure we'll see Jeff Van Gundy hanging onto Alonzo Mourning's leg more than once in the upcoming weeks.

It's Miami's "Big Three" against the Knicks' "Big Three."

New York has Carmelo Anthony playing better than anyone in the NBA during the month of April (29.7 PPG), and he is capable of leading a very deep Knicks team to a series upset.

But everyone wants to see what LeBron will do, especially late in games.

This is a must-watch series from beginning to end.

No. 4 Boston Celtics vs. No. 5 Atlanta Hawks

Doc Rivers got his starters some rest during the past week and it will be very interesting to see if Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have one last deep playoff run left in them. 

It's a matchup of a good Atlanta offense against a Boston defense that very well could have been the best in the NBA since the All-Star break.

Atlanta actually has home-court advantage here, but don't count the veteran Celtics out from having a lengthy playoff run.