NBA Playoffs to begin Saturday

The Dallas Mavericks ripped through the NBA regular season with a league-best 67-15 record, but could they be ripe for an opening-round upset?
The Mavericks easily posted a franchise-record for wins and with Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Jason Terry leading the way it would seem they'd be hard to stop. That is if they weren't playing the Warriors.
Golden State secured the eighth and final playoff spot, moving to the postseason for the first time since the 1993-94 season with a blowout win at Portland on the final night of the regular season. Now, Baron Davis and Co. get to face a team they went 3-0 against this year.
The Mavericks, in fact, have lost five straight regular season games to the Warriors, but now come the playoffs. Golden State hasn't won a postseason series since 1991, while Dallas hopes to make the next step after losing to Miami in the NBA Finals a year ago.
The NBA playoffs start Saturday with four games, three of them in the Eastern Conference. The Mavericks begin their best-of-seven series Sunday night.
The Central Division-champion Pistons, who were beaten by Miami in the East finals last year, are the top seed in the conference and will take on the Magic, starting Saturday night. This is Orlando's first trip to the playoffs since 2003, when they were beaten by Detroit in the first round. The Pistons dominated the Magic this year, winning all four meetings.
LeBron James leads the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Washington Wizards in the first round, beginning Sunday afternoon. The Cavs beat Milwaukee on the final night of the regular season to edge Chicago by a game for the second seed. This marks the second straight year the Cavs and Wizards will meet in the opening round. Last year, James led his team to a victory in six games, with the Cavaliers winning three times by a point, including in the final two games. Cleveland then lost to Detroit in the East semifinals.
The Wizards, who secured the seventh seed by beating Indiana on Wednesday, enter the playoffs shorthanded due to injuries to Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler. Butler broke his right hand, but hopes to be ready possibly for the second round, if Washington gets that far. Arenas tore his left knee and needed surgery, and likely will be out for the entire postseason.
Toronto, the Atlantic Division champs, takes on New Jersey in the first round, starting Saturday afternoon. The Raptors are back in the postseason for the first time since the 2001-02 season when they were beaten by the Pistons in the first round. The Nets are making their sixth consecutive trip to the postseason and it will give Vince Carter a chance to play in the playoffs against his former team.
Even though the Heat are seeded fourth and won the Southeast Division, they will not have home-court advantage in the first round against the Bulls because Chicago finished with a better record. It's been a long and winding road to the regular season finish for the Heat, who had to endure injuries to Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade, but their two superstars are geared up for the postseason.
"It is great to wear the crown all year and to be rewarded at different places we go," Wade said. "It is great to be recognized as the champions wherever we went. It was also tough being the ones who are hunted for night in and night out. It was also tough not having Shaq for 40 games this year and not having me for 30. It was a tough year. But it is a different season now and we are looking forward to defending our crown."
The Bulls are trying to avoid being bounced in the first round for a third straight year. Their last playoff series win was over Utah in 1998 in the NBA Finals. One advantage, the Bulls won three of the four meetings this year against the Heat.
The Heat-Bulls series starts Saturday afternoon.
The Pacific Divison-champion Phoenix Suns, who attained a 61-21 record, are seeded second in the West and will play Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs for a second straight year. The series begins Sunday afternoon. The Suns rallied from a 3-1 series deficit last year to win in seven games, the season in which Steve Nash won his second straight MVP. The Suns are trying to overcome losing in the conference finals the last two years.
Allen Iverson gets his first taste of the playoffs as a Nugget, as Denver and Carmelo Anthony take on third-seeded San Antonio, starting Sunday evening. The Spurs posted 58 wins during the regular season, and with Tim Duncan in the middle and Tony Parker controlling the tempo, provide an interesting matchup with the Nuggets. Denver won 100-77 over the Spurs on the final night of the regular season, but reserves saw action most of the game.
The Nuggets haven't won a playoff series since 1994, while the Spurs are trying to get back to the NBA Finals for a third time in five years.
The 4-5 matchup in the West will be between Utah and Houston. Even though the Jazz won the Northwest Division, they will not have home-court advantage as the Rockets finished with a better record. Utah beat Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady's Rockets in three of the four meetings this season.
The Jazz-Rockets series starts Saturday night.