The Memphis Grizzlies have had a solid regular season, but they don’t possess the experience and moxie to go anywhere in the playoffs. They'll play Dallas, who isn't invincible. The Grizzlies could give the Mavs a first-round tussle because they give up the fewest points in the NBA, and a defensive-minded club always has a chance.

However, the Grizzlies are lopsided. They’re among the bottom five in points scored. After you get past Pau Gasol, there isn’t anyone else who can be counted on to provide consistent scoring night after night. The Mavericks aren’t perfect, of course, but with Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and the home court, they should send the Grizzlies back to Graceland.

The Kings are indeed an improved team with Ron Artest. But they didn’t improve enough to get themselves out of the No. 8 hole, which promises a first-round encounter with San Antonio. Artest will go quietly, which heretofore was believed impossible. The Spurs are just too formidable on both ends.

In the East, the upstart team with the best shot at beating a higher seed is undoubtedly the Wizards, who play the Cavaliers in the first round. The Cavs will have home court, but the Wizards not only made the playoffs last year — which Cleveland did not — but they experienced some success. They knocked off the Bulls, 4-2, in the first round before getting swept by Miami.

With Gilbert Arenas leading the way, the Wizards should be able to pull off the mild upset of LeBron & Co.

The same can’t be said for the Bucks, Pacers and Bulls, all of whom are underwhelming playoff entrants.

Forget the Bucks. They’ll be eliminated by the time the first national anthem is sung. Their likely first-round foe is the Detroit Pistons, who have the best record in the NBA. The gap in experience is too vast for the Bucks to have a prayer of winning one game, let alone the series.

The Pacers haven’t been right all season. Some of that can be attributed to the Artest circus, some to Jermaine O’Neal’s groin injury that caused him to miss almost two months. They have enough to give New Jersey some resistance in the first round, but they aren’t sound overall, they’re not completely in sync and they reek on the road.

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As for the Bulls, they’re a work in progress. And that progress figures to be halted unceremoniously in the first round, probably by Miami. Everybody who hasn’t had a chance to see Andrew Bogut play yet will get another opportunity. But they’d better not blink.

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