NBA Playoff Schedule 2012: What to Look Forward to on Sunday
The 2012 NBA playoffs are scheduled to start on Saturday, but Sunday's games have quite a bit more intrigue.
Take a look at the opening two-day schedule:
Saturday, April 28
Chicago Bulls vs. New York Knicks or Philadelphia 76ers
Miami Heat vs. New York Knicks or Philadelphia 76ers
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks or Denver Nuggets
Indiana Pacers vs. Orlando Magic
Sunday, April 29
San Antonio Spurs vs. Utah Jazz
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Dallas Mavericks or Denver Nuggets
Boston Celtics vs. Atlanta Hawks
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Here's a look at what to keep your eye on for Sunday.
Can the Spurs avoid last year's fate?
Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs do this every year. Everyone always think they are over the hill, but they constantly prove they are one of the best teams in the league.
This year, the Spurs once again put together the best regular season record despite constantly resting their starters.
Heading into their matchup with the Jazz, it's clear that Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and others are well-rested, but will that be enough?
The Spurs were in this same situation last season when they got upset by the No. 8 Grizzlies. It will be interesting to see if Pop's unique coaching style will get them past the first round this year.
All-Stars vs. No Stars
As it stands right now, the Lakers are set to play the Memphis Grizzlies, and it will be an astounding clash of styles.
Los Angeles is led by Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, all legitimate top-three players at their positions.
The Nuggets, on the other hand, have an amazing assortment of role players.
Ty Lawson is Denver's leading scorer, and he's been terrific this season, but you won't hear his name in the talk of the best point guards.
Throw in Arron Afflalo, Danilo Gallinari, Al Harrington, JaVale McGee, Kenneth Faried, Andre Miller and Corey Brewer.
A lot of really solid players, but no real stars.
It's worked pretty well so far for George Karl, and it's the formula the 2004 Detroit Pistons followed, so it will be interesting to see if it works for the Nuggets.
Best series of the first round
I'll admit that the Heat-Knicks series really intrigues me, but I'm of the opinion that the Grizzlies-Clippers is going to be the best of the first round.
The Grizz enter as the No. 4 seed, but it's quite possible they are the most underrated team in the league right now.
Marc Gasol has had a career year, and if you pair him with a healthier-by-the-day Zach Randolph, Memphis has an imposing frontcourt.
In the backcourt, Mike Conley, Tony Allen and Rudy Gay have all been terrific. Memphis plays really good defense, but they can get out on the break and score with anyone, too.
Also, O.J. Mayo leads a very good bench.
The common theory is that no team wanted to match up with Memphis in the first round.
Nonetheless, Los Angeles has a point guard named Chris Paul. You might have heard of him; he makes everyone he plays with 10 times better and leads an exciting "Lob City" offensive attack.
Paul-to-Blake Griffin is as exciting as it gets, and if you throw in all of Los Angeles' deadly shooters, it's clear this is going to be an awesome series.
