NBA Playoff Series Change Venues and Things Will Heat Up

Every NBA playoff series has played their first two games. Three series are at 2-0 while the remaining five are locked up at 1-1.

I always think Game 3 of any series is vital. For the teams up 2-0, it is a great chance to stomp out your opponent. No NBA team has recovered from an 0-3 deficit ... so the teams down 0-2 know that their season is on the line. A win by the trailing team puts a ton of life back in the series.

For those locked in the 1-1 battles, obviously a win gives them the series' lead. For the teams heading home, a win puts a lot of pressure on the better seeded team.

So I want to check out my excitement level of each of the eight playoff series:

1-Celtics at Bulls: Great, great series thus far. The Bulls could easily be up 2-0 right now (so, too, could the Celtics). Great performances so far. Now Chicago gets to host the C's and a tight series could get even tighter. A Chicago win will bring out all the people screaming down Boston.

2-Blazers at Rockets: I knew this would be a great series, I just didn't know if I'd want to really watch these games. Um, yes I do. Despite getting the tough time slot on Saturday and being relegated to NBATV for Game 2, I've loved watching it. Now, will Houston be as wild as Portland was??

3-Hawks at Heat: This is a scary series. Atlanta just dominated Miami in Game 1 while Dwyane Wade got off in Game 2. So which team has the advantage? This has the makings of going the full seven games.

4-Nuggets at Hornets: This is the one series where I'm surprised about the domination of one team. Denver has pounded New Orleans in each of the first two games and has a ton of momentum heading to Louisiana. Still, the Hornets can turn this around at home. The fans will be rabid and I'd like to see how the Nuggets deal with the road. They haven't held a 2-0 series lead since 1985.

5-Spurs at Mavericks: Old. This series just seems old to me. I've seen these two before and there is nothing injected into the series. We need a good ol' fashioned duel between Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan circa 2006. Parker has been magical but the rest of the series just seems stale.

6-Magic at Sixers: This has been a decent series, but one that I just can't get with. It just doesn't interest me. Orlando seems like the better team (they built up huge leads in both games) but have been exposed a bit.

7-Lakers at Jazz: I think the Lakers roll in this series, but I can see Utah giving them some trouble. The Jazz are a great home team and the Lakers haven't enjoyed their trips to SLC. What I want to see here is Los Angeles' killer instinct. The team obviously tried to cruise in the first two games and will have to put together a full 48 to win Game 3.

8-Cavaliers at Pistons: Yes, the Detroit scrubs made a valiant comeback on Tuesday night. But this hasn't been close and probably won't get close. LeBron James seems to be on a mission to crush the Pistons and I think this series has the least amount of drama.