Eastern Conference 1st round playoff matchups

Since No. 23 hung up his Air Jordans for the last time as a member of the Chicago Bulls back in 1998 after breaking the hearts of Utah Jazz fans in Salt Lake City, the Eastern Conference has been seen as inferior to its western counterparts — with good reason.

This year, for instance, five Western Conference teams won 51 or more games — including Dallas and Phoenix, which had more than 60 wins apiece. By comparison, only Detroit, which finished 53-29, had more than 50 victories from the East.

That doesn't mean, however, that the NBA champ is guaranteed to come from the West. In two of the last three years, of course, the Eastern Conference champion has won the whole thing — last year with the Miami Heat and the 2004 Pistons. So while the West certainly offers more intriguing first-round match-ups, the next NBA champ may just be from a city on the other side of the Mississippi River.

Well, probably not. But someone has to win the East and there could be some good games played along the way.

Here's a closer look at each first-round series:

No. 1 DETROIT PISTONS vs. No. 8 ORLANDO MAGIC

Records: Pistons 53-29; Magic 40-42

Season series: Detroit won 4-0

About the Pistons: Detroit got off to a slow start to the season — perhaps as the fallout to underachieving in the playoffs last spring and then losing Ben Wallace to the Bulls in free agency. But the battle-tested Pistons rallied to become the best team in their conference once again. The midseason acquisition of veteran Chris Webber only made them stronger and deeper. They are the heavy favorites to emerge as the the Eastern Conference's representative in the NBA Finals.

About the Magic: Orlando is led by center Dwight Howard, one of the best young players in basketball. He became an All-Star this season when he averaged 17.7 points and 12.3 boards per game. After a fast start to the year — the Magic was 13-4 at one point — they settled into mediocrity the rest of the way. Grant Hill gives the team some veteran leadership, but that won't likely be enough.

The skinny: Detroit is simply too well-rounded to lose this series. In fact, with a tough second round opponent up next, Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince and Richard "Rip" Hamilton should be looking to sweep the Magic in order to get some rest before facing either Miami or Chicago.

The prediction: Pistons in five

No. 4 MIAMI HEAT vs. No. 5 CHICAGO BULLS

Records: Heat 44-38; Bulls 49-32