The defending-champion Cleveland Cavaliers remain the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference despite stumbling since the All-Star break and dropping down to the No. 2 seed. The Cavaliers will begin their title defense by hosting the seventh-seeded Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the first round on Saturday.

The Toronto Raptors finished the regular season with four consecutive victories and aim to keep the momentum going when they host the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday in the opener of the Eastern Conference first-round series. Third-seeded Toronto is looking to reach the conference finals for the second straight season while the sixth-seeded Bucks are aiming to win a playoff series for the first time since the 2000-01 campaign.

The San Antonio Spurs weren't very sharp while ending the regular season with three straight losses and four in the past five games. However, second-seeded San Antonio is known for being sharp in the postseason and expects to begin a turnaround when it opens the first-round Western Conference playoff series against the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.

The Los Angeles Clippers have plenty of momentum and loads of motivation for a long playoff run as they enter a best-of-seven first-round matchup with the Utah Jazz, beginning with Game 1 on Saturday night at the Staples Center. The fourth-seeded Clippers enter the postseason with an NBA-high seven straight wins, which helped them stave off the Jazz for home-court advantage in the first round, and have won 11 of 13 overall.