The 2008 NBA playoffs are underway and starting today InsideHoops.com posts a brief daily summary, so in one minute flat you know everything worth knowing about each day's results. The playoff standings are on the front page of the site, on the right side of the screen.

Related NBA Playoffs Links: Game recaps | Daily previews | odds | daily stat leaders | basketball message board.

NBA Playoffs Summary for Monday, April 28

On Sunday, LeBron James (34 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists) and Delonte West (5 threes, 21 points) stepped up as the Cavs beat the Wizards 100-97. In the loss, Antawn Jamison (23 points, 11 rebounds) and Caron Butler (19 points) had decent but unspectacular games. Gilbert Arenas is hurting. The Cavs now lead the series 3 games to 1. The Suns, facing an elimination game that would have resulted in an 0-4 sweep, survived to play another day, smacking down the Spurs 105-86. Raja Bell (8-of-11, 27 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) and Boris Diaw (20 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists) stepped up in the win. Almost every Spur was well-contained in the loss. The Spurs still lead the series 3-1. A huge third quarter lifted the Pistons over the 76ers, 93-84. Detroit's four stars stepped up, and while Philly had great balance, aside from Salembert Dalembert grabbing 12 rebounds no one did anything special. The series is now tied 2-2. And the Hornets again simply looked better than the Mavs, winning 97-84. David West (24 points, 9 rebounds) and Chris Paul (16 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists) got nice balanced scoring from teammates and held the Mavs to awful 36% shooting. Josh Howard shot just 3-of-16, and Jason Kidd with 1-of-6 shooting has been totally outshined by CP3. The Hornets lead the series 3-1.

On Monday, the Raptors must beat the Magic and the Nuggets must beat the Lakers to avoid elimination, and the Hawks must upset the Celtics to avoid going down 1-3 in the series.


NBA Playoffs Summary for Sunday, April 27

On Saturday, Bosh, Howard and Lewis rocked as Magic beat Raptors (Magic lead 3-1). Nuggets couldn't shoot and lost to Lakers (Lakers lead 3-0). Team effort and Al Horford dominance led Hawks over Celtics (Celtics lead 2-1). Mehmet Okur 18r and Jazz, despite no threes and T-Mac's 23p 10r 8a, edged Rockets (Jazz lead 3-1). On Sunday, Suns must beat Spurs to avoid being swept.

2007 NBA PLAYOFFS INFO

FIRST ROUND FINAL RESULTS:

EAST: Det 4 Orl 0 Cle 4 Was 0 Chi 4 Mia 0 NJ 4 Tor 2

WEST: GS 4 Dal 2 Pho 4 LAL 1 SA 4 Den 1 Uta 4 Hou 3

FIRST ROUND SUPER-QUICK SUMMARIES:

East:

Detroit 4, Orlando 0: A Magic team that was lucky to make the playoffs was no match for the veteran Pistons.

Cleveland 4, Washington 0: Wizards stars Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler were injured, leaving Antawn Jamison alone out there. No contest.

Chicago 4, Miami 0: The defending champion Heat were unimpressive all season, even when healthy, and the Bulls rose to the occasion.

New Jersey 4, Toronto 2: The Raptors were the better regular season team but they're not playoff-experienced. The Nets have the star veterans who were able to raise the level of their game in the postseason.

West:

Golden State 4, Dallas 2: The Warriors unleashed a wild, frantic, scrambling offense and defense that made the Mavs look slow and predictable.

Phoenix 4, LA Lakers 1: The Suns have far too many weapons for Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and their bench-worthy teammates to deal with.

San Antonio 4, Denver 1: The Nuggets stole Game 1, then the Spurs stepped up and played like their championship-level selves.

Utah 4, Houston 3: As expected these squads went seven games. Houston has the bigger star power but Utah was the better team. And Carlos Boozer is no slouch.

FIRST ROUND LONGER SUMMARIES:

Coming night of Monday, May 7, 2007.

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NBA PLAYOFFS PREVIEW INFO The 2007 NBA regular season ended Wednesday, April 18 (see final standings but the season that matters begins Saturday, April 21, the first day of the 2007 NBA playoffs. InsideHoops.com is your home for complete daily coverage. This is just initial info. Full previews, stats, matchup discussion, day-by-day schedules and much more coming tonight.

- Playoffs preview and predictions
- Daily NBA Playoffs Blog
- Fans list interesting playoff sub-plots
- Daily Playoff game previews
- series-by-series playoff schedules

These are the 2007 first round NBA Playoffs matchups.

EASTERN CONFERENCE NBA PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS

#1 Detroit Pistons (53-29) vs
#8 Orlando Magic (40-42)
Notes: Detroit won regular season series 4-0. The Pistons, who have successfully worked Chris Webber into their mix and have championship quality starters and a surprisingly good bench, should win this despite Dwight Howard's dominance on the glass. It could be a sweep or five-game series.

#2 Cleveland Cavaliers (50-32) vs
#7 Washington Wizards (41-41)
Notes: Cleveland won the regular season series 2-1. With Gilbert Arenas out for the entire playoffs and Caron Butler possibly returning if the Wizards survive for a few weeks, the Cavs should win this in a sweep or five games.

#3 Toronto Raptors (47-35) vs
#6 New Jersey Nets (41-41)
Notes: The regular season series was tied 2-2. This is an intriguing matchups, especially with Vince Carter facing his former team (though almost none of the current Raptors were in Toronto when Vince was there). This series could go six or seven games. The Raptors play better total team basketball than the Nets so we give them the edge.

#4 Miami Heat (44-38) vs
#5 Chicago Bulls (49-33)
Notes: Chicago won the regular season series 3-1, but the Heat were injured for much of the year. The playoffs, as Ben Wallace told InsideHoops.com yesterday, are a whole different season. This is the best matchup of the first round. The Bulls were the #2 seed just yesterday, but because the Cavs are in their division Chicago got bumped down to #5. This could go seven games, and it's a tossup. We have to give the edge to the Heat, though would absolutely not be surprised if the defending champs went out in the first round.

WESTERN CONFERENCE NBA PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS

#1 Dallas Mavericks (67-15) vs
#8 Golden State Warriors (42-40)
Notes: Golden State won the regular season series 3-0, but we'll throw that out and assume that the Mavs, who went to the finals last season and were this season's best squad, will rise up and win in five games. Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Jason Terry are on a mission.

#2 Phoenix Suns (61-21) vs
#7 Los Angeles Lakers (42-40)
Notes: Phoenix won the regular season series 3-1 and we think the playoffs will take a similar route. Kobe Bryant is incredible and the Lakers play good total team basketball thanks to the triangle offense, but the Suns are the ultimate offensive squad and should win this series in five games. We'd be surprised if it went six, but the greatness of Kobe could result in that.

#3 San Antonio Spurs (58-24) vs
#6 Denver Nuggets (45-37)
Notes: San Antonio won the regular season series 2-1. And while the Nuggets with the scoring punch of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson and defensive skills of Marcus Camby are definitely intriguing, the Spurs with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are a championship-level squad and should win in five or six games.

#4 Utah Jazz (51-31) vs
#5 Houston Rockets (52-30)
Notes: Utah won the regular season series 3-1 but the Jazz have been in decline and aren't playing great basketball going into the postseason. This feels like a seven game series and it's a tossup who wins. Despite the powers Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming possess, we're leaning towards the Jazz.

That's just a quick taste of InsideHoops.com's initial reactions to the first round.

Total, in-depth, complete previews coming tonight, plus full playoff schedules, brackets and more.

InsideHoops.com is the only site you need for total 2007 NBA playoffs coverage. Not only will we write everything you need to know, we'll also link to the best stuff elsewhere and sort through it all for you.

Check back later today for more NBA playoffs info.

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2006 NBA PLAYOFFS

The 2006 NBA playoffs are in the books. Congrats to the Miami Heat, who beat the Dallas Mavericks for the championship.

Daily Recap | Schedules | Playoff Standings | Daily Previews | Playoff Rosters | NBA Playoff Stat Leaders

Playoffs Starters: General Preview | Predictions | Web-wide Previews

NBA Playoffs The Finals: Miami 3, Dallas 2 Conference Finals: EAST: Mia 4 Det 2 WEST: Dal 4 Pho 2 Conference Semi-Finals: Mia 4 NJ 1 Det 4 Cle 3 Dal 4 S.A. 3 Pho 4 LAC 3 First Round: Det 4 Mil 1 Mia 4 Chi 2 NJ 4 Ind 2 Cle 4 Was 2 Dal 4 Mem 0 LAC 4 Den 1 S.A. 4 Sac 2 Pho 4, LAL 3

2006 NBA FINALS SCHEDULE:

Game 1 - Thu June 8 Miami at Dallas 9:00PM ET ABC/R/TSN
Game 2 - Sun June 11 Miami at Dallas 9:00PM ET ABC/R/TSN
Game 3 - Tue June 13 Dallas at Miami 9:00PM ET ABC/R/TSN
Game 4 - Thu June 15 Dallas at Miami 9:00PM ET ABC/R/TSN
Game 5 * Sun June 18 Dallas at Miami 9:00PM ET ABC/R/TSN
Game 6 * Tue June 20 Miami at Dallas 9:00PM ET ABC/R/TSN
Game 7 * Thu June 22 Miami at Dallas 9:00PM ET ABC/R/TSN

*If necessary


ROUND 3 (CONF FINALS) NBA PLAYOFFS:

MAVERICKS 4, SUNS 2:
Game 1: PHX 121, DAL 118
Game 2: DAL 105, PHX 98
Game 3: DAL 95, PHX 88
Game 4: PHX 106, DAL 86
Game 5: PHX 117, DAL 101
Game 6: DAL 102, PHX 93

HEAT 4, PISTONS 2:
Game 1: MIA 91, DET 86
Game 2: DET 92, MIA 88
Game 3: MIA 98, DET 83
Game 4: MIA 89, DET 78
Game 5: DET 91, MIA 78
Game 6: MIA 95, DET 78


ROUND 2 (CONF SEMI-FINALS) NBA PLAYOFFS:

Conference Semi-finals

MAVERICKS 4 SPURS 3:
Game 1: SAS 87, DAL 85
Game 2: DAL 113, SAS 91
Game 3: DAL 104, SAS 103
Game 4: DAL 123, SAS 118 OT
Game 5: SAS 98, DAL 97
Game 6: SAS 91, DAL 86
Game 7: DAL 119, SAS 111

SUNS 4 CLIPPERS 3:
Game 1: PHX 130, LAC 123
Game 2: LAC 122, PHX 97
Game 3: PHX 94, LAC 91
Game 4: LAC 114, PHX 107
Game 5: PHX 125, LAC 118 2OT
Game 6: LAC 118, PHX 106
Game 7: PHX 127, LAC 107

PISTONS 4 CAVALIERS 3:
Game 1: DET 113, CLE 86
Game 2: DET 97, CLE 91
Game 3: CLE 86, DET 77
Game 4: CLE 74, DET 72
Game 5: CLE 86, DET 84
Game 6: DET 84, CLE 82
Game 7: DET 79, CLE 61

HEAT 4 NETS 1:
Game 1: NJN 100, MIA 88
Game 2: MIA 111, NJN 89
Game 3: MIA 103, NJN 92
Game 4: MIA 102, NJN 92
Game 5: MIA 106, NJN 105


ROUND 1 NBA PLAYOFFS RESULTS:

EAST: PISTONS 4, BUCKS 1: Game 1: DET 92, MIL 74 Game 2: DET 109, MIL 98 Game 3: MIL 124, DET 104 Game 4: DET 109, MIL 99 Game 5: DET 122, MIL 93 HEAT 4, BULLS 2: Game 1: MIA 111, CHI 106 Game 2: MIA 115, CHI 108 Game 3: CHI 109, MIA 90 Game 4: CHI 93, MIA 87 Game 5: MIA 92, CHI 78 Game 6: MIA 113, CHI 96 NETS 4, PACERS 2: Game 1: IND 90, NJN 88 Game 2: NJN 90, IND 75 Game 3: IND 107, NJN 95 Game 4: NJN 97, IND 88 Game 5: NJN 92, IND 86 Game 6: NJN 96, IND 90 CAVALIERS 4, WIZARDS 2: Game 1: CLE 97, WAS 86 Game 2: WAS 89, CLE 84 Game 3: CLE 97, WAS 96 Game 4: WAS 106, CLE 96 Game 5: CLE 121, WAS 120 Game 6: CLE 114, WAS 113

WEST: SPURS 4, KINGS 2: Game 1: SAS 122, SAC 88 Game 2: SAS 128, SAC 119 (OT) Game 3: SAC 94, SAS 93 Game 4: SAC 102, SAS 84 Game 5: SAS 109, SAC 98 Game 6: SAS 105, SAC 83 SUNS 4, LAKERS 3: Game 1: PHX 107, LAL 102 Game 2: LAL 99, PHX 93 Game 3: LAL 99, PHX 92 Game 4: LAL 99, PHX 98 (OT) Game 5: PHX 114, LAL 97 Game 6: PHX 126, LAL 118 (OT) Game 7: PHX 121, LAL 90 CLIPPERS 4, NUGGETS 1: Game 1: LAC 89, DEN 87 Game 2: LAC 98, DEN 87 Game 3: DEN 94, LAC 87 Game 4: LAC 100, DEN 86 Game 5: LAC 101, DEN 83 MAVERICKS 4, GRIZZLIES 0: Game 1: DAL 103, MEM 93 Game 2: DAL 94, MEM 79 Game 3: DAL 94, MEM 89 Game 4: DAL 102, MEM 76

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2005 NBA Playoffs Results

INITIAL SEEDINGS
East 1-Mia 2-Det 3-Bos 4-Chi 5-Was 6-Ind 7-Phi 8-NJ	West 1-Pho 2-SA 3-Sea 4-Dal 5-Hou 6-Sac 7-Den 8-Mem

NBA Finals SA 4 Det 3 East Round 3: Det 4 Mia 3 Round 2: Mia 4 Was 0 Det 4 Ind 2 Round 1: Mia 4 NJ 0 Det 4 Phi 1 Was 4 Chi 2 Ind 4 Bos 3

West Round 3: SA 4 Pho 1 Round 2: SA 4 Sea 2 Pho 4 Dal 2 Round 1: Pho 4 Mem 0 Sea 4 Sac 1 SA 4 Den 1 Dal 4 Hou 3

The 2005 NBA playoffs were pretty thrilling, as teams like the Suns, Mavs and others made things fun and interesting. The NBA finals came down to the two teams who really deserved to be there; the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons were the best overall teams in their respective conferences. Detroit had a worse regular season record than the Miami Heat, but in the playoffs, the better team won. Though, the Heat were hit with tons of injuries that led to their doom. Still, injuries, and staying healthy, is part of the game. And although the Finals were a defensive struggle that was not always pleasing to the eye, the individual matchups were extremely interesting, and there were plenty of storylines that added to the intrigue. Bottom line, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons in seven games, and are a deserving champion.

2005 NBA PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE

All series are best-of-seven. All times are p.m. and Eastern

2005 NBA FINALS RESULTS

Game 1: SAS 84, DET 69
Game 2: SAS 97, DET 76
Game 3: DET 96, SAS 79
Game 4: DET 102, SAS 71
Game 5: SAS 96, DET 95 (OT)
Game 6: DET 95, SAS 86
Game 7: SAS 81, DET 74



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ROUND 3: NBA PLAYOFFS CONFERENCE FINALS

PHOENIX (1) vs. SAN ANTONIO (2)
Gm 1: SAS 121, PHO 114
Gm 2: SAS 111, PHO 108
Gm 3: SAS 102, PHO 92
Gm 4: PHO 111, SAS 106
Gm 5: SAS 101, PHO 95

MIAMI (1) vs. DETROIT (2)
Gm 1: DET 90, MIA 81
Gm 2: MIA 92, DET 86
Gm 3: MIA 113, DET 104
Gm 4: DET 106, MIA 96
Gm 5: MIA 88, DET 76
Gm 6: DET 91, MIA 66
Gm 7: DET 88, MIA 82



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ROUND 2: NBA PLAYOFFS CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

MIAMI HEAT vs. WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Gm 1: MIA 105, WAS 86
Gm 2: MIA 108, WAS 102
Gm 3: MIA 102, WAS 95
Gm 4: MIA 99, WAS 95

DETROIT PISTONS vs. INDIANA PACERS
Gm 1: DET 96, IND 81
Gm 2: IND 92, DET 83
Gm 3: IND 79, DET 74
Gm 4: DET 89, IND 76
Gm 5: DET 86, IND 67
Gm 6: DET 88, IND 79

PHOENIX SUNS vs. DALLAS MAVERICKS
Gm 1: PHO 127, DAL 102
Gm 2: DAL 108, PHO 106
Gm 3: PHO 119, DAL 102
Gm 4: DAL 119, PHO 109
Gm 5: PHO 114, DAL 108
Gm 6: PHO 130, DAL 126

SAN ANTONIO SPURS vs. SEATTLE SUPERSONICS
Gm 1: SAS 103, SEA 81
Gm 2: SAS 108, SEA 91
Gm 3: SEA 92, SAS 91
Gm 4: SEA 101, SAS 89
Gm 5: SAS 103, SEA 90
Gm 6: SAS 98, SEA 96



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ROUND 1: NBA PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND

EASTERN CONFERENCE

No. 1 Miami vs. No. 8 New Jersey
Gm 1: MIA 116, NJN 98
Gm 2: MIA 104, NJN 87
Gm 3: MIA 108, NJN 105
Gm 4: MIA 110, NJN 97

No. 2 Detroit vs. No. 7 Philadelphia
Gm 1: DET 106, PHI 85
Gm 2: DET 99, PHI 84
Gm 3: PHI 115, DET 104
Gm 4: DET 97, PHI 92
Gm 5: DET 88, PHI 78

No. 3 Boston vs. No. 6 Indiana
Gm 1: BOS 102, IND 82
Gm 2: IND 82, BOS 79
Gm 3: IND 99, BOS 76
Gm 4: BOS 110, IND 79
Gm 5: IND 90, BOS 85
Gm 6: BOS 92, IND 89
Gm 7: IND 97, BOS 70

No. 4 Chicago vs. No. 5 Washington
Gm 1: CHI 103, WAS 94
Gm 2: CHI 113, WAS 103
Gm 3: WAS 117, CHI 99
Gm 4: WAS 106, CHI 99
Gm 5: WAS 112, CHI 110
Gm 6: WAS 94, CHI 91

WESTERN CONFERENCE

No. 1 Phoenix vs. No. 8 Memphis
Gm 1: PHO 114, MEM 103
Gm 2: PHO 108, MEM 103
Gm 3: PHO 110, MEM 90
Gm 4: PHO 123, MEM 115

No. 2 San Antonio vs. No. 7 Denver
Gm 1: DEN 93, SAS 87
Gm 2: SAS 104, DEN 76
Gm 3: SAS 86, DEN 78
Gm 4: SAS 126, DEN 115
Gm 5: SAS 99, DEN 89

No. 3 Seattle vs. No. 6 Sacramento
Gm 1: SEA 87, SAC 82
Gm 2: SEA 105, SAC 93
Gm 3: SAC 116, SEA 104
Gm 4: SEA 115, SAC 102
Gm 5: SEA 122, SAC 118

No. 4 Dallas vs. No. 5 Houston
Gm 1: HOU 98, DAL 86
Gm 2: HOU 113, DAL 111
Gm 3: DAL 106, HOU 102
Gm 4: DAL 97, HOU 93
Gm 5: DAL 103, HOU 100
Gm 6: HOU 101, DAL 83
Gm 7: DAL 116, HOU 76


See 2003-04 NBA playoffs results.