Tip-off: Sunday afternoon (May 16th), 3:30 PM ET, ABC

While the entire sports world is busy being rocked by the realization that professional basketball's greatest player may have played his last game with his current team, the rest of the NBA playoffs rolls on.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have just been bounced from the postseason in round two, much earlier than anyone expected from the league's best team. In the process, 2-time defending MVP LeBron James has played his last game as a Cavalier before he becomes a free agent. The Boston Celtics knocked out the 1-seed Cavs and now advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

While it feels like the bully of the league has been knocked out and opened the door for others to slide in, let's not forget about the reality of the situation. The Cleveland Cavaliers have NOT represented the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals in the last two seasons. That distinction goes to the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic, who both took down LeBron's bunch on their way to Finals appearances in the last 2 years.

On Sunday afternoon, these same 2 teams, not the Cavaliers, will again battle to determine the East's premier team. Maybe it shouldn't come as such a surprise. These two teams are the most complete, deep, balanced, and experienced squads in the Eastern Conference, and the battle-tested bunches are preparing for an epic matchup of distinct styles.

The Boston Celtics are the 4-seed in the East, a team that struggled mightily at times in the regular season with a veteran bunch that couldn't stay healthy for 82 games or play to their potential for a full year. But the 2008 NBA Champions knew that all they had to do was qualify for the postseason with home court in round 1, and begin to peak and play their best come playoff time. And the Celtics have done just that.

Boston has a healthy "Big 3" and a motivated, star point guard that is playing the best basketball of his career. The Celtics easily disposed of the Miami Heat in round one, 4 games to 1, and were able to split the first 4 games of their second round series with Cleveland before the instant classic beatdown in Game 5 that they handed to the Cavaliers on their home floor. The C's wrapped up their shocking series victory by winning Game 6 at home and taking down Cleveland, 4 games to 2.

Head coach Doc Rivers is doing a fantastic job at the most important time, the Big 3 (Allen, Garnett, Pierce) are all healthy and playing well, the bench play has been consistent, and their Star 1 (Rajon Rondo) is on another planet right now with his spectacular play. All in all, it looks like this Boston Celtics team has enough gas left in the tank to make another strong run at the 2010 Championship.

But Boston's opponent in the Conference Finals is no one-man team like they just got in the previous round. In fact, the Orlando Magic might be the scariest team in the league. They pose more matchup problems than any team in basketball, and won 59 regular season games on their way to the league's second best record.

"Orlando was the team coming into the season where if you wanted to get out of the East, you had to beat Orlando," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "They're the team that won the East last year, not Cleveland, and I want to make sure our guys focus on that."

Well, Boston better be focused. Because as well as the Celtics have played in these playoffs, it's nothing compared to how dominant the Magic have been.

The Orlando Magic are 8-0 in the playoffs, easily disposing of their first two opponents in convincing 4-game sweeps. The Charlotte Bobcats were clearly overmatched and could not run with the talented Orlando squad, and then the Atlanta Hawks could not touch the hustle and effort that Orlando gave in round two, let alone match their tremendous shooting and defensive effort. The Hawks are a talented team, but were nowhere near as polished as Orlando's sharpshooting bunch.

Head coach Stan Van Gundy is a maximum effort guy. He never takes one play off from screaming and shouting from the bench, let alone one half or one game off. Even up by 30 points in Game 3, he was calling timeouts and screaming at his team to play better defense. The Magic have taken on Van Gundy's personality, and are a full 48-minute aggressive team that never puts on the brakes. They attack all game long, and constantly sweat it out on defense on every possession. When you have a team loaded with All-Stars, including the league's best defensive player and most dominant front court force, that shoots 3's better than any other team, that can score at ease at all 5 positions, AND plays maximum effort team defense on every possession, you have the formula for a championship.

So far, the formula has worked to perfection. Orlando is yet to lose a game in the playoffs.

Breaking down this series could take a senior thesis-like deep analysis of each and every matchup on the floor. There are so many good players in this matchup that any of 8 or 9 guys could be the star of the show on any given night.

Rajon Rondo is averaging a near triple-double in the playoffs, including a ridiculous 11 assists to complement his 18 points per game. His counterpart at point guard, Jameer Nelson, has played exceptionally well for Orlando, averaging 20.5 points, 5 assists, and 1.5 steals throughout the postseason.

Kevin Garnett is quietly having a spectacular playoffs and averaging 18 and 8. He, Rondo, Pierce, and Allen are all averaging between 16 and 18 points per game in the playoffs and make for a dynamic 4-headed attack.

But Orlando also has 4 players averaging at least 15 points per game, and Dwight Howard is the last of the bunch. The first-team All-NBA performer is averaging 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks per game in the postseason. Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, and Nelson are all averaging more points per game, and all have been knocking down 3 point shots at a prolific rate.

And we can't forget about the benches for each team. Tony Allen and Glen Davis are doing a fine job for Boston, coming in to spell Pierce and Garnett during breaks or in times of need with team foul trouble. Allen has been an explosive wing scorer while playing tough defense, and Davis is a scrappy forward on both ends of the floor.

Mickael Pietrus is shooting lights out for Orlando off the bench and is a real threat from the perimeter. He also can shut down a perimeter shooter on the defensive end. J.J. Redick and Marcin Gortat are also giving valuable minutes, as well as key reserve point guard Jason Williams and another three-point shooter, Ryan Anderson.

Both teams are loaded with scorers and big-time players across the board. Both teams are playing their best basketball of the season. And both teams know what it takes to win this series, as they represent the last two Eastern Conference representatives in the NBA Finals.

In Game 1, anything can happen. Orlando has home court advantage and has been resting for a week, and hasn't lost a game in almost a month. Boston, though, is in a groove and feeling very confident after their recent disposal of the Cavaliers. They haven't had much time to rest, but that's probably a good thing for this healthy team that's playing their best ball of the season.

Either team can win the series, and either team can win Game 1. I'm not even going to give a prediction for this game, since I'm not confident in picking against either team, and I can see anything happening on Sunday afternoon.

Expect a hard-fought battle in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals to determine which team has the upper hand going forward.