With the shortened NBA regular season coming to a close this week, the NBA playoffs will get underway this Saturday with some intriguing Game 1 matchups right out of the gate. Three of the best all-around teams in the league with the best chances of reaching the NBA Finals both in the Eastern and Western Conference will tip-off their postseason on Saturday. The Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder will get the festivities underway as they try to pave their way to the Finals.

As of right now, the Bulls are set to face one of two teams as the number one seed in the East. It will be a challenge for Derrick Rose and company with the Bulls potentially facing the up-and-coming Philadelphia 76ers or the resurgent New York Knicks in the first round.

As the second seed in the East, the Heat will also be waiting to see how the final games for the 76ers and the Knicks as they will be facing the one team of the two that finishing just a bit higher in the standings. It would be safe to say that both the Bulls and the Heat are hoping to avoid the Knicks in the first round.

Out West, the Thunder will also be playing the waiting game with the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks or the surprising good Denver Nuggets being their first opponent. Whichever of these two teams finishes at the 6^th seed will end up facing the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

Along with the Lakers taking on the Mavs or the Nuggets on Sunday, the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs will face the 8^th seeded Utah Jazz. The Memphis Grizzlies will also face the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday and the Boston Celtics will get their postseason started against the Atlanta Hawks.

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