Florida Today

If March Madness is the crown jewel of college basketball, the playoffs are the lifeblood of the NBA.

The playoffs are where legends are created and legacies cemented. Magic vs. Bird was certainly special in the 1979 NCAA title game, but it became the end-all, be-all when they collided at the end of the NBA postseason.

And the quality of the basketball in the playoffs is what any purist lives for.

ONLINE POLL

In the NBA Playoffs, which team do you think will win the Eastern Conference? The West? Which of these teams will win the NBA title? Give us your predictions.

Sacramento versus Dallas? Shaq versus Yao? New York-New Jersey? I'll take those over Gonzaga-Maryland anytime.

The NBA playoffs begin this weekend with four first-round series beginning today and four more getting underway on Sunday.

So sit back, hunker down for the next two months and enjoy the best basketball has to offer. Here are 10 things to watch for this postseason:

1. Can the Los Angeles Lakers check their baggage and win again?

Kobe Bryant deals with a sexual assault trial, slices a finger, ponders his impending free agency and says he doesn't necessarily like coach Phil Jackson. Karl Malone hurts a knee. Shaquille O'Neal fusses about the refs, and Gary Payton gripes about the triangle offense. And still the Lakers coast to a cushy No. 2 seed.

Just another boring season in La-La land. The Lakers, with all of their drama, make The Apprentice look like a drab PBS special. Can they put all the bickering and back-stabbing away long enough to win it all? The talent on their roster (four future Hall of Famers) says yes. History and a gauntlet of Houston, San Antonio and Sacramento says no. Regardless, it will make for compelling viewing.

This may be the year Kevin Garnett gets Minnesota to the Promised Land. (AP photo)

2. Is this finally Kevin Garnett's season?

Every indication is that Garnett is living a charmed life this season. Ownership finally got him some help, adding gutsy veterans Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell. He's elevated his all-around game. And the Timberwolves played tremendously down the stretch, giving themselves a great chance at doing major damage in the playoffs.

But there is a rite of passage in the playoffs, and a team can't go from crawling to running in a year's time. So the T-Wolves will be one-and-done in the playoffs, but Garnett most certainly will be a playoff fixture for years to come.

3. What teams can pull upsets?

Upsets certainly are less likely in the NBA since the best team usually wins over the course of a series. And that's especially true now that the league stretched the first round out from five games to seven.

The underdogs capable of pulling off shockers are both No. 5 seeds. New Orleans is the league's most confounding team, one loaded with size, scoring punch and defensive grit, yet the Hornets are a dysfunctional mess. If they can get it together, an upset of No. 4 Miami isn't out of the question.

Dallas is also capable of beating No. 4 Sacramento, but it's debatable whether that would be an upset.

4. Where are the rest of the league's stars?

If they hold the playoffs and Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, LeBron James, Scottie Pippen, Ray Allen and Jerry Sloan aren't invited, will anybody mind? McGrady and Iverson finished 1-2 in the scoring race, but were surrounded by mediocrity this season, meaning neither will bring their offensive arsenals to the playoffs.

5. What should you watch besides the games?

There's not a more entertaining postgame show than TNT's.

Ace analyst Charles Barkley is the Simon Cowell of the NBA. While his remarks are sometimes off color and overtly harsh, they are usually right-on-the-money accurate. Kenny Smith deftly plays the role of straight man, Magic Johnson lends credibility and Ernie Johnson keeps the circus in line.

Their bit from a couple of years back about Barkley not being invited to the "Champions Club" still ranks right up there as one of the funniest moments in basketball history. And Smith's Gone Fishin' skit for eliminated teams is still hilarious regardless how many times you see it.

6. Can Carmelo Anthony do it again?

Can Carmelo Anthony (left) do it again, as he did last year in leading Syracuse to a national championship? (AP/file photo)

Magic Johnson was the last player to win an NCAA title one year and a NBA championship the next. That is the feat that Anthony is trying to accomplish now after leading Syracuse to last year's title as a college freshman.

Regardless of what happens in the playoffs, what Anthony has done in his rookie season has been phenomenal. He changed his diet and his body, shedding 25 pounds and becoming more athletic. That allowed him to put together one of the most dazzling rookie seasons (21 points, 6.1 rebounds a game) since Michael Jordan. And his impact was arguably greater than that of LeBron James as he lifted the Nuggets from 17 wins last season to 43 this year.

Anthony is headed for frustration, though, as Minnesota will bottle him up with its 3-2 zone.

But we know enough about Anthony to realize that the NBA's future is in good hands.

7. Kill or be killed?

Dallas was in the Western Conference finals last June so you know owner Mark Cuban won't react kindly to getting bounced in the first round. And Sacramento has been in free-fall for weeks. It's almost as if the Kings could see their window of opportunity slamming on their fingers, unable to do anything about it.

If Dallas loses, Cuban won't wait long to tear the team apart. Antawn Jamison and Antoine Walker, the players foolishly brought in when the Mavs needed defense, had better be renting. And Cuban just might let free-agent guard Steve Nash walk.

The Kings were rolling at 43-15 when Chris Webber returned to the lineup from a serious knee injury. Since then, they are just 12-12, including a loss to Golden State on the last night of the regular season that cost them the No. 2 seed. If the Kings fall, Webber will take the brunt of the criticism. That's just part of it when you have a $122 million contract and a penchant for getting suspended.

8. Rick Carlisle versus Larry Brown.

Detroit did the unthinkable last spring when it unceremoniously gave Carlisle the boot following back-to-back 50-win seasons in his first two years as coach. But Brown has certainly delivered with the Pistons, bringing his disciplined offense and defensive intensity to a team that was already pretty good.

Carlisle wasn't out of work - or the playoffs - long. Indiana's Larry Bird dumped Isiah Thomas for his good buddy, and Carlisle won a league-best 61 games this season.

Because New Jersey is too banged up (Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin are hobbled with bad knees), Carlisle and the Pistons are on a collision course in the Eastern Conference Finals. The old coach beat his former team in three of the four meetings this season. Undoubtedly, nothing would make him happier than to deny the Pistons a chance to get back to the NBA Finals.

9. What are the best one-on-one battles?

The NBA built its business on one-on-one battles, and business is still good. Here are the five best:

• Stephon Marbury vs. Jason Kidd: Marbury has the sizzle to make Madison Square Garden electric again. But the New York Knicks can't be down 2-0 by the time they get there.

• Shaquille O'Neal vs. Yao Ming: It's King Kong vs. Godzilla, and whoever gets tired of that? What makes the matchup so great is that they are so different. Shaq is strong and powerful and a showman; Yao is towering, finesse and understated. It's a shame their primes won't come at the same time.

• Lamar Odom vs. Bourbon Street: Odom's lurid past has been well documented, but he's stayed clean this season. He was everything the Miami Heat hoped for when they gambled and gave him a $65 million contract. But Bourbon Street and its many demons will be calling.

• Ron Artest vs. Paul Pierce: Just for sheer step-on-your-throat, killer instinct, this matchup gets your blood boiling. Artest bullies foes with his strength and wackiness. Pierce not only won't back down, he'll come right back hard.

• Chris Webber vs. Dirk Nowitzki: Just once in the series you hope these two 7-footers venture into the lane for a post-up rather than floating on the perimeter and settling for jumpers.

10. And the winner is ...

Everyone talks about the Lakers as if they are the defending champions. Everyone talks about the Timberwolves as if they've been on top of the Western Conference for years. Everyone talks about the Kings as if they have actually ever won anything.

The Spurs are rolling again, playing like they did en route to the title last June. San Antonio is peaking at the right time, having won its last 11 games of the regular season. The Spurs are big, athletic, deep and playoff hardened. And most importantly, they have no fear of the Lakers.

Blab all you want about Kobe, KG, Shaq and Kidd, but it's Tim Duncan who's the game's best all-around big man. Until someone beats him, the Spurs are the favorites. Spurs over Pistons in 6.