Is it ever too early to discuss the NBA Playoff picture? No way! Not when we are a quarter into the season and most teams in the NBA have separated themselves as competitors or destined for the lottery. Plus, several potentially entertaining matchups await - Amare Stoudemire battling Dwight Howard? A potential Bulls vs. Celtics playoff rematch? LeBron James and Dwyane Wade taking on Danny Granger and the Pacers? Mavs and Spurs duking it out again?

How about a Boston Celtics - Dallas Mavericks NBA Finals?!

Each quarter of the season after posting the NBA Power Rankings I’m going to break down the current NBA Playoff picture and predict the outcome of those series - I know we’re just a quarter of the way into the season and many of these teams have yet to play each other or peak but stay with me on this!

I’m basing my predictions based on how teams are currently playing and what they’ve accomplished in head-to-head matchups.

Below is how the NBA Playoff brackets would look if the postseason began today and I’ve proceeded to fill out the rest of the bracket:

(NOTE: Playoff seeding for each team is accurate as of December 13, 2010)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

(1) Boston Celtics

VS.                  (3-1) Boston Celtics

(8) Milwaukee Bucks

(4-2) Boston Celtics

(4) Chicago Bulls

VS.                  (4-2) Chicago Bulls

(5) Atlanta Hawks

(4-2) Boston Celtics

(2) Miami Heat

VS.                  (4-2) Miami Heat

(7) Indiana Pacers

(4-1) Miami Heat

(3) Orlando Magic

VS.                  (4-3) New York Knicks

(6) New York Knicks

WESTERN CONFERENCE

(1) San Antonio Spurs

VS.                  (4-1) San Antonio Spurs

(2) Portland Trailblazers

(4-2) San Antonio Spurs

(4) Oklahoma City Thunder

VS.                  (4-3) Utah Jazz

(5) Utah Jazz

(4-2) Dallas Mavericks

(2) Dallas Mavericks

VS.                   (4-1) Dallas Mavericks

(7) Denver Nuggets

(4-3) Dallas Mavericks

(3) Los Angeles Lakers

VS.                   (4-1) Los Angeles Lakers

(6) New Orleans Hornets

**NBA FINALS - **CELTICS DEFEAT MAVERICKS 4-2

PLAYOFF BRACKET NOTES:

  • I believe that this is the year the Lakers are dethroned as Western Conference champs after a three-year run. The Mavs are playing inspired ball right now and defensively they are much more sound than in years past. They also match up well with the defending champs.

  • The Heat won’t defeat the Celtics this year - Doc is going to make sure that his guys are fresh and the old veterans will hold off the Heat super-friends. Maybe not next season, but definitely this year.

  • I have the Knicks upsetting the Magic in the first-round - if the Magic make a trade and acquire some help offensively I might change this pick by midseason but right now they are in a funk where Carter and Lewis are simply not earning their gargantuan paychecks.

  • We’ll see a classic Spurs vs. Mavericks series in the Western Conference Finals and I think the Mavs will prevail.

  • In the Finals the Celtics will suffocate the Mavs defensively and Garnett will cause Dirk Nowitzki to shoot far below his season percentages. Rondo will make Kidd look slow and while the Mavericks will defend well they’ll have no answer for a healthy Ray Allen. Celtics in six.

Of course, all this could look different by the time February rolls around. The Knicks could fall back to earth, the Celtics could sustain injuries, Dallas could stop playing defense, and Andrew Bynum coming back are all scenarios that could affect our next playoff picture.

Let’s see how this stacks up at the All-Star break.

Your thoughts?