With the final day of the regular season just one month away (April 13), let’s take a look at what would be the current playoff matchups in each conference if the season ended today.

Note: All seedings accurate as of the morning of Sunday, March 13th.

The Eastern Conference:

(1) Boston Celtics (46-17) vs (8) Indiana Pacers (27-38)
Season Series: Boston up 2-0. Two more meetings: March 16th in Boston and March 28th in Indiana.

Whether it’s the Boston Celtics or the Chicago Bulls in the one spot going against either the Charlotte Bobcats or the Indiana Pacers at eight, it’s hard to imagine this series going more than a maximum of five games.

As it stands Rajon Rondo and the Celtics would take on the Danny Granger and the Pacers in a battle of polar opposites. While Indiana has a chance at making the playoffs with a record of 10 games under .500 or less, Boston hopes to make it back to the NBA Finals and currently shares the East’s best record.

The Celtics have the NBA’s third-best home record at 27-6, while the Pacers are just 10-23 on the road this season — worst among current playoff teams. Combine a tenacious Boston defense giving up just 91.8 points per game with an Indy offense that isn’t exactly a powerhouse on that end of the floor, and you’re looking at a very short series.

Boston simply has too much talent for the Pacers to even compete, and it would be a shock if Indiana managed to win even one game.

Prediction: Celtics Sweep

(2) Chicago Bulls (47-18) vs (7) Philadelphia 76ers (34-32)
Season Series: Tied 1-1. Final meeting: March 28th in Chicago.

One of the hottest teams in the NBA over the last month of the season, the Philadelphia 76ers would have the unenviable task of dispatching an even hotter team in the East if the playoffs started today. The Bulls are peaking right now and may even secure the first seed in the East before it’s all said and done.

While the 76ers have been on fire, winning 16 of their last 23 games overall, the Bulls have been even better. Chicago has just two losses over it’s last 15 contests and Derrick Rose continues to excel as a leading MVP candidate.

As well as Philly has played, the matchup just isn’t in the team’s favor. Andre Iguodala and Luol Deng cancel each other out at the small forward position, but the Bulls own every other position on the floor — although the 76ers have just as deep of a bench as Chi-town.

Chicago’s stifling defense would make it hard for the 76ers to get into the series, and Rose’s ability to either finish around the basket or find an open teammate would carve up Philadelphia’s defense. This could be a breather for the Bulls as they would likely have little trouble dispatching Philly in four games.

Prediction: Bulls Sweep

(3) Miami HEAT (45-21) vs (6) New York Knicks (34-30)
Season Series: Tied 2-2.

Perhaps the most exciting matchup of the first round, the New York Knicks and Miami HEAT would meet up in a battle of the big-3′s. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh would go head-to-head with the newly formed trio of Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups.

New York handed Miami a 91-86 defeat in the only meeting between the teams with Melo and Billups in a Knicks uniform.

While the Knicks have a slight advantage in terms of the supporting cast, the HEAT’s duo of Wade and James is going to wreak havoc in the normally whistle-heavy NBA playoffs. Let’s also not discount the fact the HEAT have played a full season together and that familiarity is going to help them in the playoffs against a new-look Knicks team that will have played just 28 games together by the time the playoffs start.

An excellent first-round matchup would likely go the distance with the slightly more seasoned HEAT taking it at home in game seven.

Prediction: HEAT In Seven

(4) Orlando Magic (41-25) vs (5) Atlanta Hawks (38-28)
Season Series: ATL up 2-1. Final Meeting: March 30th in Atlanta.

The Orlando Magic made a couple of huge deals in mid-December, hoping to turn around a lackluster start. Orlando is 25-16 since acquiring Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and Gilbert Arenas, but haven’t shown the dominance that put this team in the NBA Finals just two seasons ago.

Atlanta made a deal of it’s own, acquiring Kirk Hinrich in exchange for Mike Bibby at the trading deadline to upgrade the point guard position.  The Hawks are just 4-5 since the swap, however, and head coach Larry Drew started Jeff Teague at the point in Atlanta’s last game to try and coax a spark from his struggling team.

I like this matchup because each of these teams has the talent to compete in the upper-echelon of the conference, but neither has been able to put it together this season. Dwight Howard has been a monster recently, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Magic ride him throughout the series to get out of the first round.

It would be a tightly contested series, but Orlando with Howard gives them a lift over the struggling Hawks.

Prediction: Magic In Seven

Outside Looking In:

The Charlotte Bobcats, currently tied with Indiana at 27-38, would not make the playoffs today due to the Pacers holding the tiebreaker. It’s been an up-and-down season for the Bobcats with the firing of Larry Brown after an awful start, the hiring and subsequent resurgence under Paul Silas, and then the deadline-deal sending career-long Bobcat Gerald Wallace to Portland to pave the way for the future.

But with the Pacers currently in the midst of a six-game losing streak, Charlotte still has a chance to catch Indiana without really playing that great of basketball down the stretch. The return of Stephen Jackson and Tyrus Thomas to the lineup should give the Bobcats a shot at the 8th seed with a month remaining in the regular season.

As it stands right now, neither team really seems to want the final playoff spot in the East.

The Western Conference:

(1) San Antonio Spurs (54-12) vs (8) Memphis Grizzlies (36-31)
Season Series: Spurs up 2-1. Final meeting: March 27th in Memphis.

Just as with any first-round matchup in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies figures to be a battle. Unfortunately for the Grizz this ain’t San Antonio’s first rodeo, and it won’t be easy taking down Tim Duncan and the four-time NBA Champion Spurs.

All-in-all, this could be the most talented Spurs team coach Greg Popovich has had at his disposal during his tenure. Along with mainstays like Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili the Spurs can deploy newcomers like Gary Neal and DeJuan Blair to wreak havoc on opposing defenses.

Memphis, led by interior forces Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, won’t go easily — especially with Rudy Gay back come playoff-time. An already deep team got even more depth with the addition of Shane Battier, who will help the Grizzlies with his excellent perimeter defense and leadership abilities, especially in the playoffs.

The Grizz could give San Antonio a scare in the first round, but the Spurs are simply too good and have the skins on the wall to prove it.

Prediction: Spurs In Six

(2) Dallas Mavericks (47-19) vs (7) Portland Trail Blazers (37-29)
Season Series: Dallas up 2-0. Two more meetings: March 15th and April 3rd, both in Portland.

{AUTHOR_BOX}With the Dallas Mavericks, no first-round series is safe. No matter how good they look during the regular season, they have the perplexing ability to look just as bad when the postseason starts. This makes it hard to use any regular-season stats as a basis for deciding whether or not Dallas will advance.

On the other side, by adding Gerald Wallace at the trading deadline the Portland Trail Blazers now have the ability to bring (with Brandon Roy) two bona-fide starters off the bench to throw at an opponent over the course of a series. The Blazers are still trying to forge an identity at this point of the season, with LaMarcus Aldridge taking over as the team’s best player, but perhaps they can get it together by the postseason.

Portland’s squad could take out the Mavs in the first round, but the edge needs to go to Dallas here with the series going the duration. The addition of Tyson Chandler has turned around the Mavericks’ play on the defensive end, and Dirk Nowitzki is as good a closer as anyone in the game.

Nowitzki always puts up monster stats in the playoffs. This year his teammates are going to have to show up and, if they do, arguably the deepest team in Mavericks history may be able to get out of the first round for just the second time in the last five seasons.

Prediction: Mavs In Seven

(3) Los Angeles Lakers (47-20) vs (6) New Orleans Hornets (39-29)
Season Series: Lakers up 3-0. Final meeting: March 27th in L.A.

The defending-champion Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in the third spot as of today, but are currently just a half-game back of the Mavs for second and hold the tiebreaker as a division winner. L.A. has had it’s share of turmoil this season, but most believe the back-to-back champs are just coasting until the playoffs.

A healthy Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets have rebounded from last year’s lottery team into a team battling the Denver Nuggets for the fifth slot in the playoffs. Paul is one of the most explosive players in the league and has the ability to take over a playoff series.

Unfortunately for the Hornets, they’re taking on the Lakers and Kobe Bryant who has made his living taking over playoff series during the course of his career. L.A. should be playing at a dominant level come playoff time and should top the Hornets, or whoever they face, relatively easily.

Prediction: Lakers In Five

(4) Oklahoma City Thunder (41-23) vs (5) Denver Nuggets (39-27)
Season Series: Tied 1-1. Two more meetings: April 5th in Denver and April 8th in Oklahoma City.

Along with the Knicks-HEAT matchup, this is another one of those first-round playoff series NBA fans salivate over. Both of these teams are in the top five in the NBA in points scored and enjoy deploying the exciting run-and-gun style of basketball.

Last year in the playoffs the Oklahoma City Thunder proved their mettle with a hard-fought, first-round matchup against the L.A. Lakers that ended in six games. Now Kevin Durant and the Thunder are back with another season under their belt, hard-charging towards home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The addition of center Kendrick Perkins at the trading deadline is going to pay dividends over the course of the playoffs.

After shaking things up by trading Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to the New York Knicks for a haul of talented players, the Denver Nuggets look like a more energetic and all-around deeper team a month away from the postseason. With a record of 7-2 since the deal, everybody is getting touches on the offensive end, with Nene showcasing an impressive offensive arsenal in the post to lead the way.

Nuggets’ coach George Karl asked earlier this season why a team stocked full of good players couldn’t beat a team with one or two great ones; we would find that out if the playoffs started today.

A fun series goes the distance with home court advantage being the deciding factor.

Prediction: Thunder In Seven

Outside Looking In:

While a 10-game under .500 team could make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, two teams in the West would miss the playoffs with a record over .500 if the postseason started today.

Even with a vastly different roster now from what they started the season with, the Phoenix Suns are just a game back of the Grizzlies for the final playoff spot in the West.  Steve Nash has put the team on his back and the Suns have won six of nine games since the All-Star break to remain in contention.

In a tailspin and having trading away Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Derrick Favors and Devin Harris, the Utah Jazz have lost 10 of their last 13 games overall. Utah went from fifth in the West to the lottery in a matter of weeks and there are no signs things will be getting better anytime soon.