The 2010 NBA Playoffs are upon us and it looks like a two-team race in the Eastern Conference between the Cavaliers and Magic, with the Lakers, Mavericks, Jazz, Nuggets and Spurs all being capable representatives coming out of the Western Conference.

Western Conference

Lakers Vs. Thunder

Season FIC Rank: Lakers (11th), Thunder (8th)

Efficiency Differential: Lakers (7th, +5.1), Thunder (11th, +3.7)

Offensive Efficiency: Lakers (11th, 108.8), Thunder (13th, 108.3)

Defensive Efficiency: Lakers (4th, 103.7), Thunder (9th, 104.6)

09-10 Meetings:

- March 26th: Thunder 91, Lakers 75 (-17.8)

- December 22nd: Lakers 111, Thunder 108 (+3)

- November 22nd: Lakers 101, Thunder 85 (+16.1)

- November 3rd: Lakers 101, Thunder 98 (+2.9)

Average Differential: Lakers +1.1

If there was a time for an encore of an eight seed defeating a first seed, then it would be this series. While the Cavaliers draw a Chicago team that scored fewer points than the allowed, the Lakers are undoubtedly stumbling into the postseason and matched up against an eight seed that won 50 games. Not only did the Thunder become the second ever eight seed with 50 wins, they can play defense and have a superb individual scorer, two of the primarily requisites of playing winning playoff basketball.

The decision by the Lakers to not upgrade their perilously thin roster at the deadline was understandable given the financial commitments they already are burdened with, but it makes getting out of the first round, let alone repeating a gigantic challenge.

Nevertheless, I trust the Lakers to turn the switch back on after losing six of their final nine games of the season.

The Lakers are a significantly better team when they play at a faster pace, something they should make an even greater effort to do against Oklahoma City, who struggles in transition defense. The Lakers don't need Andrew Bynum to score in the interior against the Thunder, who like the Lakers, decided not to upgrade at the deadline and would be a much more formidable playoff opponent if they had acquired Marcus Camby. Pau Gasol should have a field day offensively, as should Lamar Odom, who I like to truly dominate Jeff Green.

The Thunder have a huge advantage at point guard, where Russell Westbrook should be able to penetrate at will and also be disruptive defensively picking up his man in the backcourt. Because of Westbrook's athleticism, the Lakers will lean heavily on Shannon Brown.

Defending Kevin Durant will be the first true test to see exactly how much Ron Artest adds to the Lakers. He has studied Durant extensively and he will attempt to use his physicality to make scoring more difficult. Durant likes to run around both sides of the floor, coming off screens and just generally always be in motion, which will be the best way to limit Artest's effectiveness.

Because of the Lakers' typical bout of indifference, the Thunder will win at least one game and I think their halfcourt defense and scoring of Durant is good enough to steal a second win. However, I don't see them getting that third win, however, and certainly not a fourth.

Prediction: Lakers in 6

Mavericks Vs. Spurs

Season FIC Rank: Mavericks (6th), Spurs (5th)

Efficiency Differential: Mavericks (12th, +2.9), Spurs (4th, +5.5)

Offensive Efficiency: Mavericks (10th, 109.2), Spurs (9th, 110.0)

Defensive Efficiency: Mavericks (12th, 106.3), Spurs (8th, 104.5)

09-10 Meetings:

- April 14th: Mavericks 96, Spurs 89 (+7.2)

- January 8th: Mavericks 112, Spurs 103 (+9.6)

- November 18th: Mavericks 99, Spurs 94 (+5.1)

- November 11th: Spurs 92, Mavericks 83 (-9.9)

Average Differential: Mavericks +3.0

For the second consecutive season, the Mavericks and Spurs meet in the first round. Dallas advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals in five games and it is easy to expect the same given how much better they are following the Caron Butler/Brendan Haywood trade. Following a loss in their first game at Oklahoma City, the Mavs won 13 consecutive games and 22-7 since the deal.

But the fact that the Spurs will even meet the Mavericks again seems to be due to the choosing of Gregg Popovich, who rested Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili in the final game of the season on Wednesday. If San Antonio had won, they would have been forced to play either the Nuggets or Jazz in the first round instead, but Popovich justified the decision by simply worrying about an injury in what was a mostly meaningless game.

While the Mavs have made additions, so have the Spurs in essence because of last seasons' injury to Ginobili. He has been enjoying a second half resurgence and will need to take on a bigger offensive role with Tony Parker coming back from injury.

These two teams profile similarly in terms of overall efficiency and pace with the Mavericks being more athletic overall and the Spurs being superior on the glass.

More than any other series, I think this one will be about individual performances. If Dirk Nowitzki can get over 25 per night with a TS% around .600, then I think the Mavericks should roll easily because of the wing defense of Shawn Marion and Butler on Ginobili. Parker normally would have a huge offensive series against Jason Kidd, but I don't see that happening after the injury and Haywood should effectively contain Duncan.

One wildcard in the series for Dallas will be rookie Rodrigue Beaubois who can absolutely score in bunches off the bench, averaging 20.4 points per 36 minutes with a TS% of .617.

Prediction: Mavericks in 5

Suns Vs. Blazers

Season FIC Rank: Suns (7th), Blazers (10th)

Efficiency Differential: Suns (6th, +5.1), Blazers (10th, +3.7)

Offensive Efficiency: Suns (1st, 115.3), Blazers (7th, 110.8)

Defensive Efficiency: Suns (23rd, 110.2), Blazers (15th, 107.1)

09-10 Meetings:

- March 21st: Suns 93, Blazers 87 (+6.5)

- February 10th: Blazers 108, Suns 101 (-7.5)

- December 17th: Blazers 105, Suns 102 (-3.2)

Average Differential: Blazers +1.4

If this turns out to be Amare Stoudemire's final playoff run in Phoenix, it will at least get out of the first round. The Suns drew the easiest matchup in the Western Conference due to the late season injury to Brandon Roy, which will leave an already injury-plagued Blazers team even thinner.

Steve Nash and the Suns are the best offensive team in basketball by a wide margin and should comfortably get past Portland, provided they don't get suckered into low scoring affairs. The Suns don't play quite as fast as they once did, but they still like an up and down game, which the Blazers will attempt to prevent as the slowest paced team in the NBA.

The Suns are horrible on the defensive glass, which is something the Blazers must exploit since they will struggle for their buckets due to the absence of Brandon Roy. Marcus Camby is nearly as good as it gets on the offensive glass and his ability to keep possessions alive will give Andre Miller, LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Rudy Fernandez and even a little Jerryd Bayless second chance opportunities.

But Stoudemire has become STAT again since the deadline and the Suns are 12-2 over their past 14 games

Prediction: Suns in 5

Nuggets Vs. Jazz

Season FIC Rank: Nuggets (13th), Jazz (3rd)

Efficiency Differential: Nuggets (8th, +4.3), Jazz (3rd, +5.7)

Offensive Efficiency: Nuggets (3rd, 111.8), Jazz (8th, 110.7)

Defensive Efficiency: Nuggets (16th, 107.5), Jazz (10th, 105.0)

09-10 Meetings:

- February 6th: Jazz 116, Nuggets 106 (-9.6)

- January 17th: Nuggets 119, Jazz 112 (+6.6)

- January 2nd: Nuggets 105, Jazz 95 (+10.1)

- October 28th: Nuggets 114, Jazz 105 (+9.0)

Average Differential: Nuggets +4.0

Without question, this should be the best matchup in the first round and the one who survives will also be in the best matchup of the second round when they meet the Lakers. The Nuggets and Jazz both draw a ton of fouls, so not only should this series go seven, the lengths of the games will also be extremely long.

I believe either of these teams are capable of getting out of the Western Conference, provided they are close to 100% health-wise.

The Jazz are a top-10 team on both sides of the floor, which is generally a requirement for any title contender, while Denver isn't too far off defensively and can score with any team in the NBA. Both teams score at the rim, though they do so in opposite ways, with Utah living off the assist and the Nuggets creating individually off the dribble.

Denver dominated Utah this season, even without Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups, but the Jazz have been a much better team since their most recent meeting.

Both teams have valuable bench pieces, with Paul Millsap, C.J. Miles and Kyle Korver for Utah and J.R. Smith, Chris Andersen and Ty Lawson for Denver.

The health of Andrei Kirilenko is of utter importance to the Jazz, as he continues to be one of the game's best defenders and will be needed to defend Carmelo.

The Wesley Matthew/Smith matchup will be an underrated storyline to watch, given the presence of obviously great ones in Deron Williams/Billups, as well as how Carlos Boozer, Memhet Okur and Millsap contend with Nene, Kenyon Martin and Andersen.

There are a ton of unpredictable pieces in this series and unfortunately the loss of homecourt for Utah really hurts their chances and tips things in favor of the Nuggets.

Prediction: Nuggets in 7

Eastern Conference

Cavaliers Vs. Bulls

Season FIC Rank: Cavaliers (1st), Bulls (16th)

Efficiency Differential: Cavaliers (2nd, +7.1), Bulls (18th, -1.8)

Offensive Efficiency: Cavaliers (6th, 111.2), Bulls (27th, 103.5)

Defensive Efficiency: Cavaliers (6th, 104.1), Bulls (11th, 105.3)

09-10 Meetings:

- April 8th: Bulls 109, Cavaliers 108 (-1)

- March 19th: Cavaliers 92, Bulls 85 (+7.5)

- December 4th: Cavaliers 101, Bulls 87 (+16.2)

- November 5th: Bulls 86, Cavaliers 85 (-1.1)

Average differential: Cavaliers +5.4

The Bulls earned the right to be Cleveland's sacrificial lamb in what will be their equivalent of a second preseason. LeBron James sat out the final four games of the regular season, but more importantly, Shaquille O'Neal hasn't played since February 25th. Since he last stepped on an NBA floor, Shaq enjoyed his 38th birthday and 350 pound man nearing middle age needs more than a few games to get his motor running again, something Mike Brown needs him to do, preferably by the Boston series and definitely for the Magic series.

Luol Deng has had a bounce back season on both ends of the floor and will be assigned to defend LeBron, something that will need to be a group effort. With nothing to lose and likely his final stand as head coach of the Bulls, Vinny Del Negro should throw every unorthodox defensive look imaginable at LeBron. The Cavaliers struggle to score if the offense doesn't go through LeBron either as a scorer or as a passer and I'd also generously use my fouls, as the Cavs are the worst free throw shooting team in the league at 72%.

(Sidebar: It is fascinating that the Cavs and Magic, the two teams I think have the best chance of winning the 2010 Finals are ranked 29th and 30th in free throw percentage.)

LeBron can impose his will offensively no matter what, but as much as possible, the Bulls must force Mo Williams, J.J. Hickson and Antawn Jamison to be the primary offensive players for Cleveland.

This series will never be in doubt, but the Cavaliers will have one bad game getting things going again and hopefully for Chicago it will coincide with another electric offensive performance in the playoffs from Derrick Rose.

Prediction: Cavaliers in 5

Magic Vs. Bobcats

Season FIC Rank: Magic (2nd), Bobcats (14th)

Efficiency Differential: Magic (1st, +8.1), Bobcats (15th, +1.8)

Offensive Efficiency: Magic (4th, 111.4), Bobcats (24th, 104.4)

Defensive Efficiency: Magic (3rd, 103.3), Bobcats (1st, 102.8)

09-10 Meetings:

- March 14th: Bobcats 96, Magic 89 (-8)

- January 23rd: Magic 106, Bobcats 95 (+11.1)

- November 16th: Magic 97, Bobcats 91 (+6.5)

- November 10th: Magic 93, Bobcats 81 (+13.2)

Average Differential: Magic +5.7

Out of the four low seeds in the Eastern Conference, the Bobcats are specifically the team I wouldn't want to face. The two-way ability of Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson on the wings makes this series an absolute chore for Vince Carter, who will need to be better in the playoffs than he was in the regular season for the Magic to get back to the Finals.

The Bobcats will play junkyard, scrappy basketball and really make Orlando work for everything in what will be a grueling series no matter how many games are played.

But the Magic have Dwight Howard and the Bobcats don't and Stan Van Gundy has his team playing excellent basketball to close the season.

As much as the 2010 Playoffs are about LeBron finally getting his ring and Cleveland finally winning a title it has long craved and deserved, I see the secondary story being exclusively on what kind of offensive player Howards chooses to become. If he becomes that alpha dog offensively, the Magic have the perfect blend of interior and perimeter scoring to go with everything Howard also brings defensively to win the title.

Jameer Nelson also finished the season strongly and I'm surprised that his return this season isn't a more discussed issue since this time last year it was the Rafer Alston show.

A Larry Brown coached team hasn't been swept from the playoffs since 1999 when they lost 0-4 to the Pacers and it shouldn't happen this season even if their odds of getting the series back to Charlotte for a game six are long.

Prediction: Magic in 5

Hawks Vs. Bucks

Season FIC Rank: Hawks (9th), Bucks (15th)

Efficiency Differential: Hawks (5th, +5.2), Bucks (14th, +1.8)

Offensive Efficiency: Hawks (2nd, 111.9), Bucks (23rd, 104.9)

Defensive Efficiency: Hawks (13th, 106.7), Bucks (2nd, 103.1)

09-10 Meetings:

- April 12th: Hawks 104, Bucks 96 (+8.9)

- March 22nd: Bucks 98, Hawks 95 (-3.5)

- February 28th: Hawks 106, Bucks 102 (+4.0)

Average Differential: Hawks +3.1

This could have been the best first round series in the Eastern Conference, but Andrew Bogut's injury negates that possibility. The Hawks have too much superior talent, particularly in the frontcourt for the Bucks to adequately contend. The Bucks were 8.1 points per 100 possessions better with Bogut on the floor and the difference between him and Kurt Thomas is predictably vast.

The only thing separating Atlanta from reaching the Finals is Joe Johnson. The core of Al Horford, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and Mike Bibby with Jamal Crawford coming off the bench is so good that they would be the absolute favorites to win it all if you could trade out Johnson for LeBron obviously, but also Dwyane Wade and possibly Carmelo Anthony. Johnson is a lower efficiency scorer and a glorified second scorer. I like his game a lot, but his career trajectory would have been far more interesting had he remained in Phoenix.

The fact that I'm contemplating the career decisions of Joe Johnson instead of looking at Brandon Jennings, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Luke Ridnour and John Salmons tells you everything you need to know about what I think of Milwaukee's chances. The Hawks are good, but not dominant enough to sweep.

Prediction: Hawks in 5

Celtics Vs. Heat

Season FIC Rank: Celtics (4th), Heat (12th)

Efficiency Differential: Celtics (9th, +3.9), Heat (13th, +2.5)

Offensive Efficiency: Celtics (15th, 107.7), Heat (19th, 106.6)

Defensive Efficiency: Celtics (5th, 103.8), Heat (7th, 104.1)

09-10 Meetings:

- February 3rd: Celtics 107, Heat 102 (+5.4)

- January 6th: Celtics 112, Heat 106 (+5.8)

- November 29th: Celtics 92, Heat 85 (+7.8)

Average Differential: Celtics +6.3

The Celtics would be vulnerable in the first round if they drew Charlotte or even Chicago again, but playing a team without much depth in the Heat should almost guarantee a second round matchup with the Cavaliers.

Dwyane Wade will get his points and Michael Beasley will also get his while drawing Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace out to the perimeter, but I don't see how the Heat will be able to find enough scoring in other areas to even match their relatively mediocre offensive numbers of the regular season.

Meanwhile, Rajon Rondo should absolutely dominate Miami's point guards and the depth of having better talent at center (Kendrick Perkins) and small forward (Paul Pierce) makes the Celtics a more consistent and balanced team that doesn't need to be perfect to win.

For a team like Boston, preservation is paramount and they cannot afford another seven-game series in the first round.

Prediction: Celtics in 6

Briefly Looking Beyond The First Round

Second Round

Lakers Vs. Nuggets

A rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals and the Lakers are still the better team, but they will need Bynum fully healthy for this one to have anything more than a slight edge. I like the Artest matchup on Carmelo for the Lakers, so they must merely make sure they neutralize Billups.

Prediction: Lakers in 6

Mavericks Vs. Suns

This could become the final playoff meeting between Nash and Dirk given the uncertainty that awaits Phoenix this summer. For the Suns, if only Amare was healthy like he is now for that 05-06 Western Conference Finals. The Mavericks simply have too many weapons to throw at Phoenix and this becomes a quick and painless series. Dallas clearly has the easiest road to the Conference Finals of any team in the playoffs.

Prediction: Mavericks in 5

Cavaliers Vs. Celtics

The only chance Boston had to get past Cleveland was to play them in the second round before the old age fatigue of the second season began to kick in. Man for man, the Celtics have superior talent, but LeBron needs to count for two and a half men and whether or not Paul Pierce has enough left in the tank to defend him will determine if they can take it to a seventh game. The Celtics have unfairly been written off this season and I would much rather meet Atlanta in the second round if I were the Cavaliers.

Prediction: Cavaliers in 7

Magic Vs. Hawks

The Hawks will steal one, maybe two, but they don't have enough answers for Howard on either side of the floor and scoring efficiently will be problematic.

Prediction: Magic in 6

Conference Finals

Lakers Vs. Mavericks

If they played this series tomorrow, I would have Dallas as a 65% favorite or so, but I expect the Lakers to get back to playing the kind of basketball we have come to expect. The key to this series will be Lamar Odom, who turns the Lakers into an excellent team instead of a very good one, whenever he plays at his highest level. The Lakers have enough skilled defenders to throw at Kobe, so Odom, Gasol and Bynum inside is the real difference-maker. Fortunately for the Lakers, Jason Kidd will be unable to fully exploit their biggest weakness.

Prediction: Lakers in 7

Cavaliers Vs. Magic

I'd much rather see the LeBronvaliers in the Finals, but I have sincerely begin to believe in the Magic. Orlando and Cleveland both made significant moves since last year's playoffs and I thin the additions of a healthy Nelson, Carter and Matt Barnes are enough to compensate for Shaq, Jamison and a second-year Hickson. I don't see Cleveland defending the pick-and-roll very well and the combo of Barnes and Mickael Pietrus on LeBron will be constantly agitating and frequently effective.

Prediction: Magic in 6

The Finals

Lakers Vs. Magic

The Magic would have homecourt advantage this time around and I think everything has come together for them, while the Lakers are unavoidably vulnerable.

Both of these teams have a closing window on a certain level, because you have to assume LeBron will put himself in a situation to have every bit of an excellent chance to win titles the way Michael Jordan did with the Bulls in the 90s and the Western Conference superpowers are only getting better for the Lakers to get past.

Prediction: Magic in 6

Chris Reina is the executive editor of RealGM. Click here to follow his Twitter feed.