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Derrick Rose and the Bulls will have to battle Hansbrough's Pacers for everything they get.

The NBA's Eastern Conference playoff match-ups have begin to come into focus this week. The Boston Celtics have continued to stumble down the stretch in the wake of the Kendrick Perkins trade. Last night it became official, the Miami Heat locked up the number two seed, ahead of the Celtics, in the Eastern Conference. The Chicago Bulls had already sealed up number one last week.

Strangely enough, the Celtics and Heats reversal of positions may help both teams. The Heat are lucky to avoid a match-up with the Knicks and their two high scoring star forwards. The Heat were the only Eastern Conference contender dumb enough that they might get lured into playing the Knicks and Coach Mike D'Antoni's run and gun style. No such thing will happen for the Knickerbockers against the Celtics, whose defensive will should crush the softies Melo and Amare. Rondo will make Billups look every bit of his fifty years old.

Ironically, the Heat will get a better match-up too. The Sixers cannot keep up with the Heat's offense. The Celtics low scoring ways might have allowed Philly to steal a couple of games with hustle and offensive rebounding. The Heat will simply blow Philly out of the gym on offensive talent.

Surprisingly, the toughest opponent for a Eastern Conference favorite might be the top seeded Chicago Bulls matching up with the eighth seeded Indiana Pacers. As noted in this space, the Pacers have benefited tremendously from a mid-season coaching change. They are playing smashmouth basketball and pounding it into the post with their huge front line. Roy Hibbert is a legitimate NBA center with post moves. Tyler Hansbrough is a never stop grinding, banging, hassling and hustling power forward. Danny Granger, back at his natural small forward position, is silky smooth and a match-up nightmare for most of the league because of his height. It will take Derrick Rose his full arsenal, plus a little bit of offensive help from either Boozer or Gibson, if the young Bulls are to get through the Pacers.

Labels: NBA, Predictions, sports