April 8, 2008 - The jumbled picture that is the Eastern Conference playoffs just got a little less cloudy. With Boston, Detroit and Orlando clinching the conference's top three seeds, only the minor issues of seeding and Atlanta's clinching the eighth and final playoff berth remain.

The Boston Celtics clinched the No. 1 seed in the East and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs with a win over Charlotte on Saturday night. Although the East is perceived to be the weaker of the conferences, the Celtics are very much a championship contender. And not only do they have the best record in the league, but they own a 25-5 record against the Western Conference this year. The Celtics now have 37 more wins than they had last year, the biggest turnaround in NBA history.

Also clinching a playoff seed on Saturday was the Orlando Magic. They locked up the No. 3 seed with a 101-86 win at Cleveland. Therefore, Detroit, the East’s other big hitter, is firmly locked into the No. 2 seed.

Another team secure in its playoff spot is the Atlanta Hawks. With five games left, the Hawks are sitting comfortably in the eight playoff spot, having a three-game lead over the Pacers and a four-game-lead over the Nets. The Hawks have won 10 of their last 13 and are playing some of their best basketball in the second half of the year.

The fight for the fourth through seventh seeds is not so melodramatic. With five games left to play, Cleveland has a two-game lead over Washington for the all-important No. 4 seed. The streaking 76ers are only a game back of the Wizards for the fifth seed, and the Raptors are not far behind, only a game back of Philadelphia. The 76ers play the Wizards on Saturday and the Cavs on April 14, in games that are certain to have serious playoff implications.

Sure, these teams' records may be lackluster and hovering around .500, but the drama and intrigue are still there for an exciting sprint to the finish.

College Stars Plan to Leave for NBA
With the NCAA Tournament coming to an end, many college underclassmen have already announced their intentions to enter the NBA Draft. The first wave of early entrants includes California’s Ryan Anderson, Arizona’s Jerryd Bayless, Louisville’s Earl Clark and Derrick Caracter, Indiana’s Eric Gordon and Stanford’s seven-foot twins Brook and Robin Lopez.

Headlining this list of early entrants is Gordon, who was the first Hoosier to average more than 20 points per game as a freshman, and Bayless, who averaged 19.7 points while shooting 40.7 percent from 3-point range. Both are potential top-five picks. With other prominent underclassmen like UCLA’s Kevin Love, Memphis’ Derrick Rose and Kansas’ Brandon Rush still expected to declare, this year’s draft will once again be highly influenced by underclassmen.

Larry Brown is Bored
Being executive vice president for the 76ers and a frequent visitor at Villanova University basketball practices apparently isn’t enough for Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown. Brown has said that he is bored and would like to return to coaching either in the NBA or NCAA next season. He hasn’t coached in nearly two years, and his most recent stint was a failed experiment with the New York Knicks. Brown is the only coach to win an NCAA and NBA Championship, and is the only coach to lead seven different NBA teams to the playoffs.

Mourning Contemplating Another Comeback
Another iconic basketball figure thinking of making a comeback is Alonzo Mourning. Zo told the Palm Beach Post that he is still about four or five months away from making a decision, but still has the desire to play. The 38-year-old Mourning would want to return for the Heat where he played 11 of his 16 seasons. The seven-time All Star won a championship with Miami in 2006, and is Miami’s all-time leading scorer.