NBA Playoffs 2012: Ranking the Best Remaining Second-Round Matchups

One top title contenders is fighting for its postseason life while another is on the verge of elimination. The new favorite has won eight straight games. Two middle-of-the-pack Eastern Conference contenders are in the midst of a bar fight, as Kevin Garnett might say.

The NBA playoffs are definitely living up to the hype this year.

The Spurs have already swept the Clippers out of contention, but two of the three series still in progress have been bona fide nail-biters all the way through. And as for the Lakers…Well, the end has to come sooner or later.

Here's a look at the best matchups remaining as the second round of the NBA playoffs chugs along.

3. Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
OKC Leads 3-1

Count me among the people who thought Kobe Bryant was primed for another title run this postseason. As we've seen from the Heat's performance, however, one player can't win it all by himself.

Bryant has certainly made an effort, though. After the Lakers went down 2-0 to Kevin Durant and Co., the urgency finally kicked in and Bryant responded the way all superstars do: by putting up 36 points, seven rebounds and six assists and shooting 18-for-18 from the free-throw line in a 99-96 home-court must-win.

His performance had fans hoping that perhaps LA was ready to turn things around, but the next night, in Game 4, the Thunder reminded the Lakers exactly what they're dealing with. Bryant's numbers were just as good as they were in Game 3—he had 38 points, eight boards and five assists—but he couldn't defeat OKC's lethal Durant-Russell Westbrook tandem, and LA's bench (10 points) has never been able to contend with the Thunder's.

The Lakers look gassed, and the Thunder look far too deep to be defeated. Monday's Game 5 could very well be the last of LA's season.

2. Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics
Series Tied 2-2

Who expected an eighth seed to be giving Boston this much trouble? Certainly not the Celtics, who got embarrassed in the second half of Friday's 92-83 Game 4 loss. Boston held a 42-31 halftime lead but was outscored 61-37 over the final two periods, and instead of heading home ready to clinch the series, they'll have to continue searching for a way to stave off a Sixers team that just won't die.

The turning point of Friday's game came with just over 1:30 left with the score knotted at 83. Andre Iguodala hit a jumper to put Philly up, and on the ensuing possession, Thaddeus Young registered the block of the game on a Rajon Rondo layup attempt. After the Iguodala shot, the Sixers proceeded to score seven more unanswered points to take the win.

The Celtics have been far too inconsistent to be threatening in this series. One day, they leave the Sixers' heads reeling with a 107-91 road win, and the next game, they look unstoppable for a couple of quarters before completely falling apart. Is the fatigue catching up to them? Do they lack the depth required to win a title? To officially prove that those questions—which have plagued them all season—are irrelevant, they need a huge win at home on Monday night.

3. Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat
Series Tied 2-2

It looks like whatever the Heat did on Friday instead of practicing worked. They still have a little bit of fight left in them.

The world was waiting for Miami to fail in Game 4 coming off an embarrassing 94-75 defeat in Game 3, but LeBron James and Dwyane Wade proved the doubters wrong with a resounding 101-93 road victory. Instead of heading home down 3-1 in the series, the Heat are right back on the path to a title.

James was obviously good against the Pacers on Sunday—he had 40 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists—but Wade was the one who really had something to prove. Coming off performances in which he missed the potential game winner in Game 2 and went 2-for-9 in Game 3, he needed to have a huge game, and he did with 30 points, nine boards and six assists.

In Game 4, the Heat proved that when James and Wade are both on, there is no one who can beat this team. If the two of them keep playing out of their minds like they did on Sunday, the Pacers are done.

But that all-important caveat is a long way from a sure thing.