2012 NBA Playoffs First Round: Why the Teams That Should Win, Will Win (for Now)

Even with a lockout shortened regular season, the 2012 NBA playoffs could not start soon enough.

With the first round finalized, here is a look at what to expect.

Eastern Conference

(1) Chicago Bulls vs. (8) Philadelphia 76ers

Regular Season: Bulls 2-1

Chicago and Philadelphia are one and two, respectively, in opponents' points scored. Expect a number of low scoring games in this series.

Chicago has struggled with injuries all year. Derrick Rose and Rip Hamilton look to be healthy together for the first time all season. The Bulls were sixth in offensive efficiency during the season, and with a healthy backcourt, their offense should be even more dynamic during the playoffs.

Philadelphia was not as productive on the offensive end, and they will likely find points hard to come by against the Bulls top-rated defense.

A swarming Bulls defense coupled with a healthy Rose and Hamilton will propel the Bulls to an easy series victory.

Prediction: Bulls in 4.

(4) Boston Celtics vs. (5) Atlanta Hawks

Regular Season: Celtics 2-1

The Celtics are the four seed by virtue of winning the Atlantic Division, but the Hawks had the better regular season record and will have home court in the series.

The Celtics have been playing defense as well as any team in the league over the last half of the season. The Hawks don't run a very complex offensive system, relying heavily on isolation. The Celtics should be able to eat up the Hawks on the defensive end and keep them from putting up points.

Not having Al Horford will be tough for the Hawks. Horford could have given them some size against the Celtics. Without him, the Hawks will struggle to get points near the basket and keep the Celtics off the glass. A recipe for disaster come playoff time.

Prediction: Celtics in 6

(3) Indiana Pacers vs. (6) Orlando Magic

Regular Season: Magic 3-1 (all with Dwight Howard)

Indiana has quality players at every position, but no true superstar who can carry the team. Orlando's superstar is out for the playoffs. With no Dwight Howard, this series lacks the star power of some of the other playoff matchups.

Orlando's offensive and defensive gameplans are centered around Howard. If they have any hope of winning this series, the Magic must find a way to adjust their system to find success against a deep and talented Pacers team. 

Indiana is one of the better rebounding teams in the league, and with Howard out, they should have no problems cleaning up on the boards in this series. The Pacers gained confidence by playing the Bulls tough in their first-round series last year. They should be able to carry that experience into this postseason and get into the second round.

Prediction: Pacers in 5

(2) Miami Heat vs. (7) New York Knicks

Regular Season: Heat 3-0

Miami seemed to be going through the motions at the end of the regular season. They looked like a team just waiting for the postseason to begin. With the playoffs now starting, look for the Heat to significantly step up their level of play. 

The Knicks finished the regular season as one of the hotter teams in the league. Carmelo Anthony especially played very well down the stretch. Much of this, of course, was with Amare Stoudemire sitting out. With Stoudemire back in the lineup, the Knicks will likely struggle to incorporate both him and Anthony into the offense. When Stoudemire and Anthony have both been in the lineup together, the Knicks have had trouble winning consistently. The best basketball from the Knicks this season was when one or both were sitting with injury.

Don't expect the Heat to take the Knicks lightly. It was a tiring regular season, and the less games the Heat can play in the first round of the playoffs, the more rest they can get for when the games get tougher.

Prediction: Heat in 4

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (8) Utah Jazz

Regular Season: Spurs 3-1

San Antonio would have preferred to play Phoenix in this series. Utah presents a trickier matchup for the Spurs, although not one they can't overcome.

The Spurs have struggled against teams with big frontcourts. Last year, they lost in the first round to Memphis, a team with good size up front. The Jazz can present some of the same problems for the Spurs, although the Spurs' big men are not as talented as Memphis's.

Where the Spurs will have a major advantage is in the backcourt. Both Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili should be able to run amok in this series. No one on Utah is capable of keeping those two in check.

Utah might be able to steal a game if their frontcourt is able to put together a massive performance. But it is not a team that is up to the task of beating the veteran Spurs.

Prediction: Spurs in 5

(4) Memphis Grizzlies vs. (5) Los Angeles Clippers

Regular Season: Clippers 2-1

Memphis was the surprise team of the 2011 playoffs. They beat the No. 1 seed Spurs in the first round before ultimately succumbing to Oklahoma City in seven games. At the start of April, Memphis was a favorite dark-horse pick to make the NBA Finals, but they struggled down the stretch losing to the Hornets and scrapping some close wins against non-playoff opponents.

Chris Paul is the best player in this series. And he showed against the Lakers last year the havoc he can cause when he is on his game. He has a more talented team to orchestrate this year, but it also a team that does not have much in the way of playoff experience.

Paul alone will win the Clippers a couple of games in this series, but with Zach Randolph rounding into form and a deeper bench, Memphis just has too much talent and will ultimately prevail in the best series of the first round.

Prediction: Grizzlies in 7

(3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Denver Nuggets

Regular Season: Lakers 3-1

Denver has come on late in the regular season to jump up to the No. 6 seed. Unfortunately, the Lakers are a bad matchup for the Nuggets.

Keeping Nene would have actually benefited them in this series and probably made it more competitive. With Nene gone, Andrew Bynum should have his way with JaVale McGee and the rest of the Denver frontcourt.

With Arron Afflalo, the Nuggets have someone whom they can throw at Kobe Bryant to make him work for his points. But Bryant always has a couple of games in a playoff series where he goes off, and coupled with the frontcourt edge the Lakers have, they should win this series fairly comfortably.

Prediction: Lakers in 5

(2) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (7) Dallas Mavericks

Regular Season: Thunder 3-1

Dallas gets set to start their 2011 title defense against the team most predicted to unseat them as Western Conference champions. The Mavericks knocked out the Thunder in the Conference Finals last year, so the Thunder will be looking to jump start their 2012 playoffs with some revenge.

The key to this series will be how the Thunder score against Dallas's zone. Effective use of the zone was one of the main reasons for the Mavericks' title run last year. The Thunder were one of the best offensive teams in the league overall, but were merely average against zone defenses.

In order to avoid an upset, the Thunder will have to find ways to adjust against Dallas's zone. This should be a series of close games, and ultimately the Thunder will do enough to neutralize the Mavericks zone and advance.

Prediction: Thunder in 6