Saturday NBA Playoff Preview

The Garnett-less Celtics must deal with a pesky Derrick Rose.
(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

The NBA Playoffs officially kick off tomorrow with four games in action. Let's take a closer look at Saturday's Match-ups...

Chicago at Boston (12:30 PM ET, ESPN)

The Quick and Dirty: The Garnett-less Celtics must go to bat with what they have, no slight to Paul Pierce or Ray Allen, against an untested but peaking Bulls squad.

What to Watch For: While you have to wonder how much confidence the Bulls have been given knowing the fact that they won't have to deal with KG in the paint, the Celtics, as they are, should be able to take care of business with home court advantage. You can never dismiss the desire play-off tested players have to prove themselves in times of doubt, all the questions surrounding KG's absence and how it will affect the team might be used to fuel the team, at least for a few games.

Celtics Bottom Line: The performances of Rajon Rondo and Glen 'ticket-stub' Davis will determine how far this version of the C's can go. Rondo has had an unbelievable year, but his game will have to be at the highest level for the C's to advance deep.

Bulls Bottom Line: All eyes will be on Derrick Rose and how he carries himself in his playoff debut--he's certainly risen to the challenge thus far. Chicago fans have to be thrilled, considering where they were last year without their sensational rookie PG.

Detroit at Cleveland (3:00 PM ET, ABC)

The Quick and Dirty: After a laboring season complete with an A.I. meltdown that infected the entire team, will the Pistons be able to muster anything against the hardly containable Cavs?

Cavs Bottom Line: If you were to tell me at the start of the season that Cleveland would be in a comfortable situation with a first round match-up against Detroit, I would've thought you were nuts, just based on the history.

Pistons Bottom Line: They'll have to pull it together and fast against the King of the East, huge performances for the surprising Will Bynum could potentially become an X-factor, but everything must click for the Pistons to have any chance.

Dallas at San Antonio (8:00 PM ET, ESPN)

The Quick and Dirty: The inner-state rivalry will be renewed with the veteran Spurs trying to will themselves, despite losing Manu Ginobili to injury, past a Mavs team that has looked better and better down the stretch.

Spurs Bottom Line: While it's easy to discount San Antonio as a championship contender with Ginobili, don't forget that Coach Pop doesn't care about any of that and they still have Tim Duncan and Tony Parker as well as the major addition of Roger Mason. That being said, they still have plenty to prove against Dallas.

Mavericks Bottom Line: Dallas has to be feeling good grabbing the sixth seed when no more than a few games ago it appeared they were destined to face the Lakers in the first round. Props to them for getting a better match-up, now we'll see if Nowitzki, Kidd and Terry have something left in the playoff tank.

Houston at Portland (10:30 PM ET, ESPN)

The Quick and Dirty: The Rockets will need to shake off losing out on their first division title in 15 years and quick if they want to get that elusive first round victory over the young but extremely talented Blazers.

Blazers Bottom Line: Portland has to be extremely happy to grab the four seed and the home advantage, as they thrive in the Rose Garden. They're playing their best basketball of the year at the right time and although Brandon Roy, Travis Outlaw and LaMarcus Aldrige are the stars of the team, the Blazers wouldn't be where they are if not for Rudy Fernandez's 3-point shooting ability and the emergence of Joel Przybilla as a Top-5 rebounder. All that will have to continue against a sound Rockets squad, but seriously, who could possibly be looking forward to playing this team in a series?

Rockets Bottom Line: For everything they've gone through the Rockets are an extremely solid team. Most of Houston's regular season line-up issues have been resolved thanks to excellent coaching by Rick Adelman. They won 5 of their last 6 going into the playoffs and their roster is full of savvy veterans hungry for playoff success. Ron Artest as usual becomes an X-factor based on how good his decision making is that night, he's proven he can shoot the Rockets both in and out of games.