NBA Playoff Schedule Set as Superstar Showdowns Dominate First Round

Kobe Bryant will be staring down Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki will be in a showdown with Tim Duncan, Carmelo Anthony squares off against Carlos Boozer and Kevin Garnett and Dwyane Wade will do battle as the NBA playoff schedule is now set and the opening round promises to deliver some of the most attractive showdowns in recent memory.

In the Western Conference in came down to the final day of the regular season to decipher the matchups but with everything now in place teams can get ready for a seven-game series. Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are the number one seed and they’ll be hosting Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder when their series gets started on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks snagged the number two seed and will have home-court advantage in their series with Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs have plenty of veteran leadership and could prove to be a tough out for the Mavs but Dallas has been playing solid down the stretch. Their series starts on Sunday at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire led the Phoenix Suns to the number three seed in the Western Conference and now they’ll have home-court advantage when they take on the Portland Trail Blazers who could be playing without their superstar Brandon Roy. The series starts on Sunday 10:30 p.m. ET.

The best matchup of the opening round could be the fourth seeded Denver Nuggets and the fifth seeded Utah Jazz. Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets limped toward the playoff line but still managed to get home-court advantage in the opening round but they could face trouble with Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams. The series starts on Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET.

In the Eastern Conference the matchups are just as strong with the LeBron James hoping to get the Cleveland Cavaliers their first NBA title. LeBron will have to deal with a Chicago Bulls team that battled all the way down to the final game of the season to earn the eighth seed and have really come together. Much has been made about LeBron James sitting out the final regular season games for the Cavs and the return of Shaquille O’Neal but Cleveland should be ready. Their series starts on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. ET.

While the Cavs have been getting a lot of attention many expect the Orlando Magic to be the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. Dwight Howard will be leading the Magic in an opening round series against the Charlotte Bobcats who have plenty of talent but might not have the answer for Orlando’s big man. Their series begins on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET.

The Atlanta Hawks have flown under the radar for much of the year, getting their due for collecting wins but never really being considered a legitimate contender in the East. As the number three seed they could be playing with a chip on their shoulder and they’ll have the fortune of playing a banged up Milwaukee Bucks team that’s without Andrew Bogut in the middle. Their series starts on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Just like in the West the most interesting matchup in the East could be the 4-5 matchup as the Boston Celtics take on the Miami Heat. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo pose a formidable challenge to the Heat but Dwyane Wade has proven in the past that he can lead his team past better opponents. Their series begins on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET.

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