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Now that the Madness of College Basketball has come to a close (quick, tell me who won the National Championship*), we are moving on to the real deal where basketball supremacy is earned via grueling 7-game series that resemble all-out brawls. There aren’t very many Stephen Curry/hot-shooting streak upsets in the NBA playoffs because the format favors the best team in the respective series.

What we have in the first round is, in the Western Conference:

* LA Lakers against the Nuggets
* New Orleans against Dallas
* San Antonio (your defending champs) against Phoenix in what promises to be one of the best first round match-ups this year
* Utah against Houston

In the East, your first round match-ups are:

* Boston/Atlanta
* Detroit/Philadelphia
* Orlando/Toronto
* Cleveland/Washington

There are a number of compelling stories to be considered when the NBA’s second (real?) season tips off on Saturday, some Mr. J.A. Adande did a great job of capsulizing. We’ll be back tomorrow with a closer look at each match-up and what you might expect from each game.

Until then, remember: NBA action — It’s FANTASTIC!!!

See what I mean?

*The National Championship question does not apply to KU fans.