With Philadelphia and New York clinching the final two-playoff spots this week, the eight-team Eastern Conference field has been set. The seeding of the playoff teams is the single thing that needs to be decided.

Chicago, Miami and Indiana will hold the top three seeds and they will win their divisions. After that, Boston will play Atlanta in the first round. Boston appears to be settled into the four or five seed. Following are the current playoff matchups:

1) Chicago Bulls vs. 5) Philadelphia 76’ers
2) Miami Heat vs. 6) New York Knicks
3) Indiana Pacers vs. 7) Orlando Magic
4) Boston Celtics vs. Atlanta Hawks

the Miami Heat versus the New York Knicks is the most compelling of the entire first round Eastern Conference matchups. If Jeremy Lin were not sidelined with an injury, this playoff series would be a lot more interesting; however, there is still a lot of star power and intrigue between these two teams. LeBron James will try to prove his doubters wrong and he will set out again to win his first NBA title. For the New York Knicks, Carmello Anthony and company will try to restore some pride by making a long run in the playoffs.

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Less than five points decided all of the Boston and Atlanta series games this season, therefore this series also figures to be very intriguing as well. Even though this year, Boston has taken two of three from Atlanta, the Hawks have won seven of their previous ten to make a thrust for the playoffs, and in the first round , they may give Boston all they can handle.

It will also be interesting to see how against the Indiana Pacers with star center Dwight Howard, the Orlando Magic fare. During the regular season, Orlando had little trouble beating Indiana three times but Orlando is a completely different team without Howard. While Magic may surprise some people and pull off a bit of a shocker by beating the Indiana Pacers, some fans may be pessimistic about their chances.

While the other seven teams have already locked up their playoff berths, the seeding of the teams still need to be decided and could very well come down to the final game of the regular season. The LA Clippers and Memphis are in a battle for the fourth seed as LA holds a half game lead over Memphis for home court advantage in round one. The Clippers are also only a half game back of the Lakers for the Pacific Division crown and the three seed that will come with it. Denver and Dallas are neck and neck for the sixth seed, with Denver holding a half game lead over Dallas.

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As it stands right now, there would be some very compelling first round matchups out in the west. If the playoffs started today, here is what the matchups would look like.

1) San Antonio Spurs vs. Utah Jazz
2) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 7) Dallas Mavericks
3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. 6) Denver Nuggets
4) Los Angeles Clippers vs. 5) Memphis Grizzles

The best matchup of the first round would have to be the Oklahoma City Thunder against the defending champion Dallas Mavericks. The Thunder won the season series three games to one, but there were some very close games between the two teams. It will be interesting to see how the defending champs go about their business in the playoffs against a team a lot of the media is picking to win it all.

Also, the Clippers against the Grizzles would be an interesting series to watch simply because the Clippers have not been to the playoffs in such a long time. The Clippers made dramatic changes to their roster this offseason by acquiring Chris Paul. It should be a good time watching the Clippers in the playoffs to see if their personnel moves will allow them to have continued success.

There is no guarantee Canucks supposed No.1 goaltender will be back between the pipes, although they may get its top goal scorer. Vigneault still had not told his goalies that were playing Game 4 after Cory Schneider substituted starter Roberto Luongo for Game 3.

Luongo was Vancouver’s best player to keep them in Game 1 and his .951 save percentage at even strength is among the playoff leaders. However, it was not that he played poorly in the first two contests. Surrendering the only goal to a wide-open Dustin Brown on a skipping shot rebound off the pads, Schneider was just as sharp in his start.

With Luongo just two years into a 12-year, $64-million contract with a no-trade clause and plenty of interest in the up-and-coming Schneider, the decision on who starts Game 4 will be analyzed all summer if the Canucks lose. Vigneault said he would opt for the goaltender that gives his team the finest possibility to win Game 4.

For the first time since 2001, Los Angeles finds itself in new territory trying to win a playoff series. With just three even-strength goals to get to this point, the Kings have never led a playoffs series 3-0. There are still places they can improve their 5-on-5 game offensively. At the other end, even if they have been outshot 79-35 the last five periods, there is little to improve.

Dustin Brown and Jonathan Quick are the players to watch out in this game. The Kings’ captain added a pair of shorthanded goals and an assist on the winner in Game 2 and he scored into an empty net in Game 1. He scored the only goal of Game 3. Despite facing a regular checking line matchup against shutdown center Samuel Pahlsson, his line with Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams has already combined for 11 points. Quick is continuing a regular-season trend of staying calm and often perfect. He has stopped 111 of 115 shots for a .965 save percentage, and his Game 3 shutout was his 11th of the season.

Los Angeles forward Brad Richardson will replace call up Andrei Loktionov. Richardson is expected to return from an appendectomy nine days earlier. after being injured in Game 1, Kyle Clifford is still out by a hit from behind by Canucks forward Byron Bitz. The Kings will be without forward Simon Gagne. He has suffered a concussion.