It’s a special time for sports fans nationwide. The basketball fever just won’t die down during this period as the end of March Madness transitions to the NBA playoffs. As of press time, 15 teams have playoff berths while two Eastern Conference teams (The 39-41 Chicago Bulls and the 38-42 Toronto Raptors are battling for the 8th spot. No matter which matchups will be made, it will definitely be an exciting race to the NBA finals.

As usual, the Western Conference boasts a very strong field of teams with the favorite being the defending champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, led by superstar Kobe Bryant. Teams aiming to knock the Lakers out of the playoffs include the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets seeded #2 and #3 respectively. All three aforementioned teams boast star studded lineups and will most likely make it quite far in the playoffs.

While the West may have been the stronger conference in the past few years, the East boasts three dominant teams: The Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, and Boston Celtics.  The Cavaliers, led by the NBAs biggest superstar, Lebron James, are seeded at #1 and have their sights set on taking the title this year. They will face stiff competition as Orlando’s Dwight Howard, Boston’s “Big Four” (Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Rajon Rondo) and the youthful and energetic Atlanta Hawks stand in their way.

The playoffs will begin on April 17th and will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV. May the best team win!