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It's that time of year again, the onset of the greatest basketball in the world, the NBA Playoffs. Let's use Part 1 to handicap the series beginning on Saturday.

Boston Celtics (2) vs. Chicago Bulls (7)

Conventional wisdom is that this is not the series where the loss of Kevin Garnett is fatal to the Celts. In fact, it may tighten the focus of a ballclub that allowed Atlanta to hang around for seven games in the first round last year. Pierce, Rondo and Allen are all studs, and it's hard to envision the Bulls winning more than one out of five. But let's try. Kendrick Perkins is foul prone and Leon Powe is only recently returned from injury. Mikki Moore? Baby Davis? Meanwhile, the Bulls have size in Miller and Noah and also secondary size in the Thomas twosome and Salmons. They got the ROY awaiting his postseason star turn, a deadly outside shooter in Ben Gordon, and a team that collectively hit more than 38% of its treys this season. Nearly every shot Chicago takes should either be an aggressive layup or a long-range bomb--inside/outside is their only real shot at an upset. But I'm thinking Pierce remains cold-blooded, Rondo too often reveals the rookie in Rose, and the odds of the Thomas twosome being a net positive is a tad too steep to be seriously talking upset. More than a couple of the games will be close, but the Celts will still win most of them.

Boston in 5. 

Cleveland Cavaliers (1) vs. Detroit Pistons (8)

The odds of a Cavs sweep are about 50-50. Tayshaun Prince cannot be expected to slow the LeBron steamroller and put up more than a dozen points per game, and Mike Brown's defensive schemes are worthy of a Pops disciple, so 'Sheed Wallace is going to have to be huge--both from behind  the arc and in the paint--for Detroit to have a chance. I think Rodney Stuckey will rebound some from a subpar season, at least better than Will Bynum, but the Pistons of the Aughts are now wheezing like a fish too long out of water here at the end of the decade. And the Cavs are frisky.

Cleveland in 4.

San Antonio Spurs (3) vs. Dallas Mavericks (6)

Whoever wins this gets either the Nuggets or the Hornets in the second round, which certainly looks like the easy draw to the conference finals. I've never liked the Mavs but they've been impressive this past month or two. Making Jason Terry a sixth man was a masterstroke--his arrogance is the second coming of Sam Cassell, and that's a good thing. If everyone hadn't overhyped Dirk Nowitzki back in that NBA Finals-cum-NBA best record period, we'd all be gushing about his MVP potential this season--the best of his career. And Jason Kidd, who has been overrated for at least four years now, is playing very well for his age.

But this series is set up to remind us all of how fabulous Tony Parker plays in the postseason. Kidd can't stay with him, and the absence of Ginobili plus Tim Duncan's balky knees makes SA more of a one-man team than at any time in their Duncan Dynasty (and it isn't even Duncan). Dallas can still make it interesting by keeping it a high-scoring affair  and getting what should be monster games from Dirk and Jet, but equally important is what kind of defense they receive from their glue guys, including Josh Howard on the perimeter swingmen, Barea on Parker, and Dampier and Bass in the paint. If Duncan is less than 75%, the Mavs could win this in 6 or 7, because their arsenal of point-producers runs a lot deeper than the Spurs. In any case, the sheer offensive magnificence of Parker and Nowitzki, with some crunchtime J's from Terry and bankers from Fundamental on the side, will make this a highly entertaining show.

San Antonio in 6 or 7.

Portland Trailblazers (4) vs. Houston Rockets (5)

More than any other series, Portland-Houston boils down to a single matchup: Roy against Artest. Each player is the heart and soul of his team's personality, the man who makes things tick. Roy is incredibly clever, cool, has broad court vision and operates best working through his teammates. Artest is incredibly energetic, passionate, has a laser focus and operates best when his teammates work through him. Whichever player is best able to impose his inimitable will on the game makes his team the big favorite. The problem is that it's easy to imagine winning scenarios for both of them. The bruising tenor of playoff hoops is right up Artest's alley. Just as tall and quick as Roy but more than 50 pounds heavier, he presents a formidable physical challenge in a seven-game series that could encroach upon the cerebral majesty of Roy's style. On the other hand, Roy is a hard guy to bet against--he shows every indication of being in the Bird/Isiah/Magic mold--a multifaceted playmaker who can beat you by whatever means necessary.

The supporting casts aren't too shabby either. Houston is lucky Portland lacks a dominant low-post scorer to expose Yao Ming's wretched defense against pivotmen who go right at him in the paint, but in Oden and Przybilla they've got a pair of defenders who might bedevil Yao--already saddled with the pressure of never having won a playoff series--into a stumblebum performance. The forward matchups are a classic case of perimeter quickness and range against staunch physicality, with the rook Batum against the great vet Battier and the lithe marksman Aldridge against the gritty Scola. The point guards are full of questions--Steve Blake spit the postseason bit two years ago running the show for the Melo-Iverson tandem in a first round loss to San Antonio, and Rudy Fernandez and his last international experience may wind up being the better bet (with Sergio Rodriguez also in the mix). The other squad sports a pair of jitterbugs splitting time at the point, with Aaron Brooks more reliable than  Kyle Lowry. And both benches are deep. No outcome would shock me--a sweep for either side or a seven-game nailbiter. But if I boil it down to thug versus finesse, the former has the advantage in the playoffs.

Houston in 6.