Saturday gave us a great start to the 2018 NBA playoffs, and we're in for another treat on Sunday. We'll get our first look at LeBron James and the Cavaliers as they take on the surprising Indiana Pacers. We'll also get to see James Harden and Chris Paul, teaming up for the first time in the playoffs against Jimmy Butler and the Timberwolves.
As you can see, there's no shortage of interesting matchups. Our CBS Sports' NBA experts take a stab at who advances -- and who doesn't -- along with an explanation as to why they think so.
Here are your CBS Sports expert picks for every first-round series:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
No. 1 Toronto Raptors vs. No. 8 Washington Wizards
Reid Forgrave: Perhaps this is giving too much credit to the team with the best bench in the NBA, and how that bench will affect a playoff series. I don't think so. The Raptors, despite ending the regular season a mediocre 7-6, are the best team in the East, and by a wide margin. Prediction: Raptors in 5
Brad Botkin: It's tempting to take the Wizards here. Toronto is not playing well and John Wall is back. From a talent standpoint, this feels like a conference finals series. I'll give the Raptors the benefit of the doubt as they've been a consistent, top-five offensive and defensive team all season and they have a super bench. But I'll tell you what: If Wall and the Bradley Beal outplay Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, which isn't a stretch at all, this could have the makings of a major upset. I'm just too big a wimp to pick it. Prediction: Raptors in 7
James Herbert: I'd be surprised if this was as one-sided as a typical 1-8 matchup, but the Raptors are the more well-rounded team, with a deeper roster and a stronger identity. The Wizards are certainly talented enough to get out of the first round, but they have limped into the playoffs and have not been nearly as cohesive as their first-round opponents. Prediction: Raptors in 6
Colin-Ward Henninger: This might have been the worst possible matchup for the Raptors in the first round. The Wizards have struggled this season, but their playoff pedigree is there and John Wall and Bradley Beal could be the best two players on the court on any given night. The edge goes to the Raptors, but it'll take a gutty effort in a home Game 7 to get there. Prediction: Raptors in 7
Jack Maloney: The Raptors have a history of under-performing in the playoffs, and the Wizards are talented enough to make this series interesting. Still, the Raptors are the better team, and should be able to take care of business here without too much trouble from John Wall and Co. Prediction: Raptors in 6
Chris Barnewall: The Raptors are just a better team than the Wizards. This should finally be the year where Toronto looks good in the first round. That is, unless the Raptors somehow manage to lose Game 1 again, because if that happens then all bets are off. Prediction: Raptors in 5
No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. No. 7 Milwaukee Bucks
Forgrave: Brad Stevens is a genius; Brad Stevens is not a magician. Even if the shorthanded Celtics get past the Bucks, this team is not making the Eastern Conference finals. This will take MVP-level Giannis, but I'm expecting MVP-level Giannis. Prediction: Celtics in 7
Botkin: The Celtics are hobbled and without Kyrie Irving, yes, but the Bucks don't have anything that scares anyone beyond Giannis Antetouknmpo, and with Brad Stevens designing something as we speak for him, the Celtics are just too disciplined to get beat by one guy -- unless that guy is LeBron James. Prediction: Celtics in 6
Herbert: Now that Malcolm Brogdon is back, the Bucks have more than enough weapons to do some damage here. I just don't trust them to execute like the Celtics do. If Boston can stop these guys from running, I like its chances of winning a tough series. The Celtics have been making the best of difficult situations all season. Prediction: Celtics in 7
Ward-Henninger: On paper, an injured Celtics team should have problems with a young, athletic Bucks team, but it's pretty clear that something's just not right in Milwaukee. Brad Stevens will devise a plan to at least slow Giannis Antetokoumpo, and Al Horford, Jayson Tatum and Terry Rozier are enough to carry the offense through the first round. Prediction: Celtics in 6
Maloney: The excitement about this series was drained by the news that Kyrie Irving won't be participating. With the Celtics' injuries, the Bucks have a real chance to win their first playoff series since 2001, but they're just too untrustworthy. The Celtics have just enough talent left, and will take this matchup. Prediction: Celtics in 7
Barnewall:Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to be the best player on the floor at all times, but the scheme around him is going to fail him. The Bucks just can't defend a team that executes as well as Boston does. Prediction: Celtics in 6
No. 3 Philadelphia 76ers vs. No. 6 Miami Heat
Forgrave: A gentleman's sweep for the hottest team in the NBA. The Sixers have won 16 in a row, the final seven without Joel Embiid. With or without Embiid, the Heat won't be able to keep up. Prediction: 76ers in 5
Botkin: The Heat scrap like hell, but the Sixers are just flat-out better. Nobody on Miami can contend with Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid, who could be back by Game 2, and Philly is a terrific defensive team that should have its way against a Miami offense that is the worst of all the playoff teams. Prediction: 76ers in 6
Herbert: It's hard to make a prediction without knowing when Joel Embiid is coming back, but I'm going to be optimistic about it. Philadelphia's best is better than Miami's best, and I'd like to imagine that the Sixers will play to their potential, even with Erik Spoelstra throwing all kinds of different looks at them. Prediction: 76ers in 6
Ward-Henninger: The Heat probably shouldn't hang with this Sixers team for seven games, but experience, coaching and grit will keep them around. Ultimately, the Sixers are just too talented, particularly if Joel Embiid comes back healthy, to lose to a Miami team that lacks a true No. 1 option. Prediction: 76ers in 7
Maloney: Philly will be without Joel Embiid for at least Game 1, but with how the 76ers have been playing lately, that shouldn't matter much. They are the more talented team here, but they're still young and the Heat have Erik Spoelstra guiding the way. Miami will take a few games, but the Sixers will advance. Prediction: 76ers in 6
Barnewall: This series will go longer than expected because the 76ers will need to learn how to play in the playoffs. Once they've figured it out though, then it should be smooth sailing as long as Joel Embiid is healthy. Prediction: 76ers in 6
No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Indiana Pacers
Forgrave: I mean, LeBron in the playoffs. Let's not overthink this. Prediction: Cavs in 6
Botkin: LeBron James. That is all. The Pacers are a nice story and all, but can you really see a team whose best player is Victor Oladipo taking out LeBron James, who hasn't lost a first round game since 2012? Yeah, me neither. Prediction: Cavs in 6
Herbert: LeBron James rarely loses first-round games, but this is not a normal Cavaliers team and the Pacers are better than James' normal first-round opponents. That Cleveland-Indiana series last year was closer than you remember -- yeah, it was a sweep, but every game was close -- and the gap between these two teams is smaller now. Prediction: Cavs in 6
Ward-Henninger: This is probably the best matchup the Cavs could have asked for. The Pacers are up and coming, and Victor Oladipo could have a field day against the porous Cavs defense, but they're not ready to beat a LeBron team in the first round quite yet. They'll get a game at home, which is enough for a team that's already playing with house money just by making it to the posteason. Prediction: Cavs in 5
Maloney: The Pacers were one of the best stories in the league this season as Victor Oladipo led them to the No. 5 seed in the East. Unfortunately for them, that earned them a matchup with the Cavs. The math here is pretty simple: The Cavs have LeBron James, and the Pacers don't. Prediction: Cavs in 5
Barnewall: Do not doubt LeBron James in the first round. Ever. He's never lost there before and he isn't going to start now, which is a bummer for the Pacers, because they're a fun team that just ran into a buzzsaw. Prediction: Cavs in 5
WESTERN CONFERENCE
No. 1 Houston Rockets vs. No. 8 Minnesota Timberwolves
Forgrave: Kudos to the Timberwolves for ending the NBA's longest playoff drought in dramatic fashion. Now they get to play the best regular-season team in the NBA, the one who smoked the Wolves by an average of 16 points in four games this season, and whose style of play plays right into the Wolves' worst tendencies. I'm giving the Wolves one win because of Luc Mbah a Moute's injury. Prediction: Rockets in 5
Botkin: With two top-15 players in the league, Minnesota is not your typical No. 8 seed. But the Rockets are just too much. Minnesota doesn't play much defense at all, and it was particularly terrible guarding Houston's pick and rolls in losing all four games to the Rockets this season. James Harden is going to torch the Wolves. This will go five at the most. Prediction: Rockets in 5
Herbert: I am terrified for the Timberwolves. The Rockets are a juggernaut, and Minnesota is going to have to make impossible choices on every single defensive possession. Prediction: Rockets in 4
Ward-Henninger: Houston has been waiting for this all season -- a chance to prove that it's not
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