Every year, the end of March Madness marks the countdown to the big boy playoffs of basketball, as the eyes of the roundball world shift from the frenetic, featherweight collegiate bouts to the hard-hitting heavyweight, professional slugfests. Yes, folks, we’re talking about the National Basketball Association playoffs. The playoff field is almost set, though the seedings will fluctuate until the very last day of the regular season, especially in the ’80s-spandex-tight Western Conference. Pioneer sportswriters Jay Gold and Bidnam Lee tackle some of the biggest questions around the league going into what should be an eventful 2010 NBA Playoffs.

Which Western Conference team has the best chance of defeating the Lakers?

Jay: As much as I’d hate to hear what Mark Cuban would have to say afterwards, I’ll have to go with the Mavericks. With new additions Brendan Haywood, Caron Butler and Shawn Marion, they match up exceptionally well with the Lakers. They have great length up front and multiple solid perimeter defenders to throw at Kobe.

Bidnam: On paper, the Mavericks, but last time I checked, these games don’t happen on paper. Thus, the team with the best chance to beat the Lakers is the Spurs. Combine the coaching genius of Popovich with the incredible scoring knack of Ginobili and the all-around presence of the Big Fundamental, Tim Duncan, and you have a team with enough experience and savvy to take down the Lake Show in a long series.

How about the East? Can the Cavaliers overcome the Magic this year? And does anyone else really have a chance aside from those two powerhouses?

Jay: Now that they’ve added an aging, but still effective behemoth in Shaquille O’Neal and an athletic and crafty combo forward in Antawn Jamison, the Cavs will be able to counter Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and the rest of the Magic far better than last year. Shaq and Zydrunas “Big Z” Ilgauskas are pick-and-roll defense tragedies, but I’m still inclined to say that the Cavs are now the favorite to come out of the East. It’s hard to go against LeBron and his much-improved supporting cast.

Bidnam: If the Cavs and Magic meet, it’s a toss up, evidenced by the 2-2 mark in their four regular season meetings this year. At the same time, though, as old and decrepit as the Celtics have looked throughout the year, I feel like there’s a chance, albeit small, that they could simply become an entirely different team come playoff time. It’s certainly counter-intuitive and counter-history, but they’re the underdogs this season and they might just have enough fight in them after using none of it in the regular season to simply will their way out of the East.

Who or what is the biggest X-factor in this year’s playoffs?

Jay: I know that I said the Mavericks have a better chance of beating the Lakers, but if J.R. Smith can keep his erratic light switch flipped on consistently, the Nuggets can beat anybody. He can be maddeningly undisciplined and he has serious problems with consistency, but he has the ability to single handedly win games for his team. The same is true of Atlanta’s Jamal Crawford.

Bidnam: Following the Celtic flavor of my last answer, Rasheed Wallace has the ability to dominate a game on both ends of the floor, but has rarely shown that in the regular season, allegedly because he is “bored” with non-playoff games. Well, now it’s time to put his money where his mouth is and prove that he can be the catalytic presence that the Celtics envisioned when signing him this past summer.