Much like the Western Conference, the teams you expected to still be playing in the East make up the Eastern Conference Semifinals. But while the Cleveland Cavaliers were expected to come out of the East since LeBron left the Miami Heat for the team in eastern Ohio, the absence of Kevin Love, the two-game suspension of J.R. Smith, and the strong play of the Chicago Bulls make the task of even reaching the Conference Finals tougher than ever.

It'll be interesting to see the kind of aggressiveness James comes out with to open the series. He will have to put his fingerprint on the game early as they play without two of their starters that leave their already short bench, even more suspect.

Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol have been consistently playing well for the Bulls, but it will still be worth seeing just how much Derrick Rose still means to this team. Rose has alternated showing the type of explosiveness that made him a former league MVP with rough shooting nights. If the series comes to a grind, it'll be interesting to watch how much the Bulls lean on his play to get past Cleveland.

In the other bracket, the Washington Wizards are still undefeated after snatching home court in Game 1 against the suddenly vulnerable Atlanta Hawks. The Wizards' backcourt duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal have been steady for the Wizards, who are 5-0 in the playoffs so far, but it has been the play of veteran Paul Pierce that has been key for Washington. Pierce hit clutch shot after clutch shot against the Toronto Raptors and came out starting the series against Atlanta with 19 points.

In Game 1, the Hawks started out displaying the type of pace and space ball that got them the best record in the East, but in the second half they suddenly stopped doing what they do best, settling for isolations that played right into the hands of the Wizards defense.

It'll be interesting to see what adjustments the Hawks make in Game 2, and with the surprising play of the Wizards since the playoffs began, this series could just be the toughest one to predict.