Joakim Noah and the Bulls have the best record in the East. Is that enough to carry them to the NBA Finals? (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Home-court advantage and the No. 1 seeding in the Eastern Conference playoffs have not resulted in a championship the past two seasons. Just ask LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

James powered the Cavaliers to 66 and 61 wins and the No. 1 seeding in the East two years in a row, but a great regular season turned into a nightmare in the postseason. Last year was the most painful one, as the Celtics eliminated the Cavs in the conference semifinals and LeBron walked off the TD Garden floor with his head down, took off his Cavaliers uniform for the last time and bolted for South Beach.

This year, Derrick Rose has powered the Chicago Bulls to 62 wins and the No. 1 seeding in the East. Even though the Bulls have clearly been the best team in the East this season, the playoffs are a totally different challenge. Can these upstart Bulls and their soon-to-be crowned league MVP handle the immense pressure and scrutiny of the playoffs? That’s the No. 1 question facing first-year coach Tom Thibodeau.

FIRST ROUND

(1) Chicago Bulls vs. (8) Indiana Pacers
The Bulls took three of four games from the Pacers, who may be able to win one game in this series but that’s about it. Too much Derrick Rose, too much Bulls defense. Prediction: Bulls in 5.

(4) Orlando Magic vs. (5) Atlanta Hawks
Last year the Hawks were thoroughly dominated by the Magic and had no answer for Jameer Nelson. The Hawks picked up defensive specialist Kirk Hinrich at the trade deadline and he should help deal with Nelson’s dribble penetration and contest his jumpers off screen-and-rolls. However, the Hawks didn’t pick up anyone to deal with Dwight Howard in the post and that will ultimately be, again, their Achilles’ heel. Prediction: Magic in 6.

(3) Boston Celtics vs. (6) New York Knicks
Most experts feel this could be the best first-round series. From a pure entertainment standpoint? Yes. In terms of the length of the series? No. Chauncey Billups and Amare Stoudemire both have health issues, and the Knicks play way too loose on offense and defense to keep up with the highly efficient and battle-tested Celtics, who could break out of their shooting slump against a very forgiving and extremely soft Knicks defense. Prediction: Celtics in 5.

(2) Miami Heat vs. (7) Philadelphia 76ers
The Heat’s biggest weaknesses are at center and point guard. Fortunately for Miami, Philly doesn’t really have a low-post presence who can command double teams. And point guard Jrue Holiday is playing in his first postseason so don’t expect this series to be competitive. Prediction: Heat in 4.

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

(1) Chicago Bulls vs. (4) Orlando Magic
This is where the shocker of the postseason occurs. Orlando has a significant edge in the middle with Howard, and Chicago really has no one on its roster who can keep Orlando’s 6-foot-11 beast out of the paint. Joakim Noah is still bothered by an ankle injury and backup center Omir Asik will be in foul trouble throughout the series because he’s not athletic enough to stay in front of Howard. Another matchup problem for Chicago is Jason Richardson, who should win his one-on-one battles with Keith Bogans, Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer. And as good as Rose has been all year, he has yet to lead the Bulls out of the first round. Prediction: Magic in 6.

(2) Miami Heat and (3) Boston Celtics
Miami’s victory over Boston in the fourth meeting between the two teams was not only a huge confidence booster for the Heat but it was also a reality check for the Celtics. The addition of Mike Bibby gives LeBron and Dwyane Wade a true sniper who can spread the floor and be counted on in the fourth quarter. For the Celtics to win this series, three things must happen: 1) Shaquille O’Neal plays 24 minutes a game,2) Rajon Rondo makes some jumpers, and 3) Paul Pierce averages more than 20 points per game. All three will be very difficult to achieve against a Heat squad that is coming together at the perfect time. Prediction: Heat in 7.

CONFERENCE FINALS

(2) Miami Heat vs. (4) Orlando Magic
In 2009, Howard and the Magic denied LeBron a trip to the NBA Finals. This year, James has D-Wade to lean on when the going gets tough. James’ biggest obstacle the past two postseasons has been his inability to raise his game in big moments. That’s where Wade comes in. This is the series where Wade turns into Jordan and LeBron happily takes on the role of Pippen. The two teams split the season series, so that means home court will decide the outcome of the battle of Florida. Prediction: Heat in 7.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter at: twitter.com/onemanfastbreak.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Evan Turner and Derrick Favors did not have spectacular professional debuts, but they were not complete disasters either.

Turner’s Philadelphia 76ers and Favors’ New Jersey Nets anchored the first day of the 2010 NBA Summer Pro League season as the featured game at Orlando’s RDV Sportsplex Center on Monday, mainly because the game boasted two of the first five selections in last June’s NBA Draft.

Turner, the second overall pick, finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, but was just 2-for-5 from the field. Favors, the third overall selection, made just two of his eight shot attempts and finished with eight points. He did grab nine rebounds and had two blocked shots in a losing effort. The Sixers won, 84-74.

“It was just a learning experience, learning all the NBA rules,” Favors told NBATV’s Steve Smith. Favors, who played only one season at Georgia Tech, also struggled with the way the game was being officiated as the 18-year-old power forward was called for seven personal fouls. No player can foul out in the summer league.

Favors, listed at 6-foot-9 and 246 pounds, looked strong at times but also looked tentative. He is not an explosive leaper, so he gobbled up most of his rebounds on sheer upper body strength. He definitely has a long ways to go, especially on offense, but he should thrive under new Nets coach Avery Johnson, who knows how to develop young players.

Turner started off slow and didn’t make his first field goal until very late in the second quarter. He was just 1-for-4 from the field and had four points and four fouls in the first half, playing mostly at the shooting guard.

“I thought I did all right. [Playing shooting guard] is something I have to get used to,” said the Ohio State first-team All-American. “My first couple of years in college I was off the ball. Last year, I was on the ball so I just have to learn on how to read things.”

Turner showed flashes of brilliance, especially when he was given space near the free throw line. He got the majority of his points at the free throw line, where he was a perfect 8-for-8, and did not shy away from contact. At 6-7 and 210, Turner used his size and strength to get to the rim against shooting guards, and took the small forwards off the dribble, displaying a nice spin move.

The Sixers made a strong run in the fourth quarter when they went with a smaller lineup with Turner at small forward. He made a nice end-to-end play in the fourth quarter when he grabbed a rebound, went behind his back twice before finishing with his left hand over two defenders to tie the game at 64.

“As the game worn on, I got a little bit more comfortable. It’s fun out there after a while,” said Turner, who deferred to last year’s first-round pick, Jrue Holiday, to do most of the ball-handling.

Holiday was easily the Sixers’ best player on the floor, as he finished with a game-high 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting. The former UCLA standout has greatly improved his handles, and his game-high eight assists showed new Sixers coach Doug Collins, who was in attendance, that he is capable of playing point guard full time.

Second-year pro Terrence Williams led the Nets with 23 points, including two powerful dunks.

Popularity: 4% [?]

The Boston Celtics are not optimistic about Kevin Garnett's injured knee.

When Paul Pierce was asked which team was the toughest to eliminate in the Celtics’ road to winning their 17th championship, he said, without any hesitation, “Cleveland.”

The Cavaliers pushed the Celtics to seven grueling games in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals, and when the series was over, the Celtics and pretty much every team in the East said that if Cavaliers management provides LeBron James another all-star player to play with, look out!

When Mo Williams joined Cleveland this season, the Cavs soared to the best record in franchise history and claimed home-court advantage throughout the NBA playoffs.

News of Kevin Garnett to likely to miss the entire playoffs was so devasting that Boston GM Danny Ainge suffered a mild heart attack.  Garnett was tabbed very, very questionable by Coach Doc Rivers after watching KG struggle in practice. Though Boston will not be the same without its quarterback on defense, the Celtics are still the champs and they still have two studs in Pierce and Ray Allen.

Orlando did not finish well and is still vastly untested in the playoffs. As good as Dwight Howard has been during the regular season, there are still doubts about his ability to consistently carry the Magic on his broad shoulders when it matters most. He still lacks a killer instinct. He’s just too nice. And if Orlando gets in any type of trouble, it will be interesting to watch whether Coach Stan Van Gundy pushes the panic button.

OneManFastbreak.net analyzes and predicts the winners of the Eastern Conference playoffs:

FIRST ROUND

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (8) Detroit Pistons – In a rematch of the 2007 conference finals, this should be a one-sided affair. Cleveland will not overlook Detroit. CAVALIERS IN 4.

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Chicago Bulls – The Bulls will make it close but the Celtics have enough pride to avoid getting bounced in the first round. CELTICS IN 5.

(3) Orlando Magic vs. (6) Philadelphia 76ers – Orlando swept the Sixers during the regular season and there is no reason why the Magic can’t do the same in the playoffs. MAGIC IN 4.

(4) Atlanta Hawks vs. (5) Miami Heat – NBA scoring champ Dwyane Wade is good enough to extend this series to the max. But in the end, home-court advantage will be the difference. HAWKS IN 7.

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (4) Atlanta Hawks – Size will matter in this series. Can the undersized Hawks keep up with the bigger Cavs? The answer: too much Ilgauskas, Varejao and LeBron. CAVALIERS IN 6.

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Orlando Magic – With or without KG, the Celtics are still better than the Magic. Boston won 62 games and most of it was done without Garnett. CELTICS IN 6.

CONFERENCE FINALS

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (2) Boston Celtics – When Boston was completely healthy last season and LeBron was basically by himself, it still took the Celts seven games to knock off the Cavs. This season, Cleveland clinches the series in Boston. CAVALIERS IN 6.

Popularity: 8% [?]