NBA Playoff Schedule: Power Ranking and Predicting Sunday's Game 1s

The first day of the NBA playoffs on Saturday brought with it a handful of headlines, ranging from the Miami Heat's destruction of the New York Knicks to Derrick Rose's torn ACL.

The second day of the NBA playoffs won't be any less busy. There are four more games on tap, and a couple of the series that will be getting underway look like they could go the distance.

I've got predictions for each of Sunday's Game 1s. And for kicks, I've also ranked them in terms of watchability. 

4. Utah Jazz at San Antonio Spurs

Time: 1:00 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN (ESPN3)

I doubt anybody has ever accused the Spurs of being must-see TV, so this series loses a ton of excitement points simply because they're playing in it. The Jazz, meanwhile, are a team that's just happy to be in the playoffs at all.

That doesn't mean the Jazz don't have a shot at upsetting the Spurs. San Antonio is a remarkably deep and a remarkably balanced basketball team, but it was just last year that we saw the top-seeded Spurs get bounced out of the playoffs in the first round.

This promises to be a high-scoring series and the good news for the Jazz is that they definitely have the scoring punch to hang with the Spurs. If the Jazz click on all cylinders, as the Memphis Grizzlies were last year, they stand a chance of upsetting the Spurs.

An upset isn't likely, though. The Spurs have a significant home-court advantage, and they also have the Jazz beat in terms of collective experience and defensive savvy. If they don't win this series, it will be an even bigger shock than when they lost against Memphis last year.

Prediction: Spurs win Game 1, and win series in 4

3. Boston Celtics at Atlanta Hawks

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET

TV: TNT

As you may or may not recall, the Celtics and Hawks hooked up in the first round of the playoffs back in 2008, and the series ended up going the distance. The Celtics took it by winning Game 7 and then they went on to win the NBA Finals.

A lot of the players that were involved in that series are still around, but the Celtics aren't as strong now as they were then. So this series could be just as heated as it was four years ago.

The Celtics showed in the final weeks of the regular season that they are still very much a team to be reckoned with. That has a lot to do with how well Kevin Garnett has worked out at center, as well as Rajon Rondo's wizardry with a basketball in his hand.

It's too bad the Hawks don't have a healthy Al Horford. With him out for the series (per USA Today), it will be up to Josh Smith and Joe Johnson to put the Hawks on their shoulders.

I'm not sure those two are going to be enough, but the Hawks are definitely going to make a series out of this matchup.

Prediction: Hawks win Game 1, Celtics win series in 7

2. Los Angeles Clippers at Memphis Grizzlies

Time: 9:30 p.m. ET

TV: TNT

The Grizzlies ended up being one of the biggest surprises of last year's postseason. If they make it to the second round again this year, nobody will be surprised. This is a very good basketball team.

As for the Clippers, well, who knows? They're occasionally brilliant and occasionally, well, something at the other end of the spectrum from brilliant.

The Clippers can definitely win this series, though, and that's because they have Chris Paul. He's lived up to the hype in his first season in L.A., and the time is now for him to put the Clippers on his back and carry them through the playoffs.

I'd feel better about the Clipper's chances if they had Chauncey Billups. He was missed after he went down this season, and he's going to be missed in this series. 

When it comes to the Grizzlies, there's just not a whole lot to complain about. They're not championship material, but they're a solid basketball team and they're way more reliable than their adversary in this series.

Prediction: Grizzlies win Game 1, win series in 6

1. Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

TV: ABC

Now this is a series, my friends.

We all know what the Lakers bring to the table. They'll look for Kobe Bryant to carry them after he carried them for the bulk of the season and they'll also look to dominate inside with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Ramon Sessions, added at the trade deadline, will be a big-time asset making plays for teammates.

The Nuggets, however, handled Kobe very well during the regular season. If they bottle him up again, the playing field in this series is going to be pretty level.

Keep in mind the Nuggets are by no means a pushover. They're the NBA's highest-scoring team and they also lead the league in assists. They play team basketball at its finest.

Also keep in mind that Metta World Peace played pretty well against Denver in the regular season, and he'll be out of action in this series. That's yet another thing that works in Denver's favor.

It will be a close series, and a hard-fought one at that. I'm basing my prediction on my faith in Kobe to get the job done (and I don't even like the guy).

Prediction: Lakers win Game 1, win series in 7