By: Dan Massar, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer

The NBA Playoffs officially began on April 17, but make no mistake, for the Celtics and Cavaliers the real postseason starts Saturday when the epic 2^nd round series between the two Eastern Conference heavyweights tips off.

Both teams dispatched their first round opponents in 5 games.  While some thought the Heat would pose a challenge to the Celtics, a much better Team Green showed up for the series then the one that stumbled through the regular season.  The Celtics could have swept the series and were the much better team showing more balance, poise and depth then the Heat.  Meanwhile the Cavs were also far superior to the Bulls, where all they really needed was home court and LeBron James to have the obvious advantage.

But now these two contenders are facing off.  The Cavs are the East’s top seed and it’s championship or bust with James becoming a free agent after the season and his future a giant question mark.  The Celtics are the 4 seed but they still have the same starting 5 that won the title in 2008 and they appear to be peaking at the right time.

But who has the edge?  Two years ago during the Celtics title run the two teams met in the 2^nd round with the Celtics prevailing in 7 games.  The Celts were the top seed then and now the roles are reversed.

This is the first series in the KG era that the Celtics haven’t had the home court advantage.  For the second series in a row the Celtics opponent has the best player in the series.  It was Dwyane Wade in the first round now it’s LeBron James.  Containing LeBron is the toughest task in basketball and there really is no answer for him.  But LeBron alone can’t beat the Celtics. He tried to in 2008 and it didn’t work.  The key for Cleveland will be the supporting cast.   The Cavs need to get production from Antawn Jamison, Mo Williams, Delonte West, and Shaquille O’Neal.

The key for the Celtics will be their defense.  In the Heat series the Celtics had flashes of the dominant defense from the 2008 championship team.  If they can be consistent with their defensive intensity, they have a chance in the series.  They will also need Rajon Rondo to have another strong series.  He’s clearly the best point guard in the series, if he can dominate the backcourt it gives the Celtics a great advantage.  And the Celtics need Paul Pierce to be able to not necessarily match LeBron shot for shot, but at least stay in the same zip code offensively.

So who’s going to move on to the Conference Finals?  Before the playoffs began you might have thought this would be an easy series for the Cavs.  They were the strongest team in the regular season and the Celtics were one of the most inconsistent.  But the Celtics had made a cautious believer out of me.  They match up well with the Cavs and this series appears to be a 7 gamer.  But in the end LeBron should be able to get the Cavs to the Conference Finals.  If he doesn’t, Cleveland should be very nervous about resigning him, and Celtics fans can start thinking about banner #18.  But the prediction is Cavs in 7.

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