Eastern Conference match-ups in the 2008 NBA Playoffs

Yes people, the beasts of the East will collide in the postseason.

They can say everything they want about how weak the East is compared to the West but one thing they can't deny is the fact that the East has homecourt advantage throughout the 2008 NBA playoffs.

You read it people, thanks to the no.1 seed Boston Celtics and no.2 seed Detroit Pistons, the Eastern Conference have the two best teams in the league, as far as overall win-loss record is concerned. If any of these two teams reaches the 2008 NBA finals, the championship series will start in the East side of things in the NBA.

That is of course, if these two teams reach that far. And as far as the Celtics are concerned, the young Atlanta Hawks, seeded no.8, is the first of two teams looking to shock the rest of the world in the playoffs.

The Hawks, led by Josh Smith, Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby, will try to outplay the Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Unfortunately for the ATL, the Celtics were not crowned as the best team in the NBA this year for nothing.

No.7 seed Philadelphia 76ers is the second team looking to make a Cinderella run when they face-off with the no.2 seed, Detroit Pistons, in the first round of the playoffs. Led by Andre Iguodala, the 76ers have made their way back to the playoffs in the post Allen Iverson era.

However, with Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups and the rest of the Detroit Pistons waiting for them at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit, Michigan, Iguodala and the rest of the Philadelphia 76ers should have no business being in the same court with these guys. (And I'm not saying that just because I'm a Pistons fan...)

The no.3 seed Orlando Magic, after a very successful regular season, will enter the playoffs and play hosts to the no.6 seed Toronto Raptors. This should be a classic match-up between Magic star Dwight Howard and Raptors big man, Chris Bosh.

This can go either way and it will be nice to see the Toronto Raptors win this series.

Last but certainly not the least, probably the most intriguing match-up in the playoffs is that best-of-seven playoff series between the no.4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers and the no.5 seed Washington Wizards.

The Washington Wizards have been calling out the rest of the Cavaliers all week, saying how bad they want to face this Cavaliers team in the postseason. You see, Cleveland has eliminated Washington the past two years and it will be nice for them to finally put an end to this Cavaliers dominance.

For Washington's sake, let's hope LeBron James gets a flu or something.

Who will win the NBA title in the 2007-08 NBA basketball season? AcesAce Sportsbook has the odds.

San Antonio Spurs EVEN +350

Cleveland Cavaliers EVEN +1,300

Boston Celtics EVEN +450

Detroit Pistons EVEN +1,000

Want more odds? Visit Bodog for more basketball betting odds and the best betting lines on some of today's biggest sporting events.

Boston Celtics Detroit Pistons