The NBA Finals has been set since it became evident Kevin Garnett was not coming back to Boston this postseason. It is all but a foregone conclusion that it will be the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers - the deadly assassin versus the newly anointed king, the perennial champions from the land of the sun and stars versus the have-nots from America’s rust belt. Still there are 14 other teams in the playoffs, and there must be some meaning in their postseason participation besides avoiding a lottery pick in one of the worst drafts in the last decade. So, this begs the question, what are they really playing for?

Part 1, The Once Leastern Conference

The (2) Boston Celtics are playing...to show that the team is more than just the Big Three.

The Boston faithful were rewarded with an NBA title for believing in Danny Ainge’s Frankenstein-team last season. Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce were unbeatable last season, but this season the pitfall of having a team that relies on three players over the age of 30 has become evident.

Garnett is beginning to show the signs of wear and tear of a player who has been playing 82-plus games a year for 13 years. He may only be 32, but that makes his 35 in relative terms since he came out of high school. A 35 year old in the NBA is considered closer to his retirement than his prime. Pierce is only 31, but he has never been nominated for the all quick team in the NBA. That means as his body starts its physical decline Pierce will get slower and his powerful jumps will begin to land just short of the rim. That moment in the final minutes in Game 2 against the Bulls where he came inches short of a dunk and instead saw Tyrus Thomas shame him is my proof. Allen is 33, but he has been known for his sweet shot more than his physical play of his defense so he is the least likely to be truly affected by his age.

Thus, this postseason it is a chance for Rajon Rondo to show that he is not just a great complimentary player to those three. He has a chance to shine with his Parker-like quickness. Kendrick Perkins has the chance to prove he can control the paint with Garnett gone. He is a big body and could use this time to show that he is more than just weak side clout for Garnett. This playoffs could give the Celtics fans renewed hope that the Celtics may be able to come back stronger for one more season before the Era of LeBron begins and every other team and star are championship-starved for the next decade.

The (3) Orlando Magic are playing…to lose.

It may sound weird to say that a number three seed is playing to lose, but this is the path of every champion over the last two decades. The Detroit Pistons had to lose to the Celtics in the 1987 conference finals and the Lakers in the 1988 NBA Finals to find out what it took to be a two-time champion. The Chicago Bulls had to lose to the Pistons in the conference finals in 1989 and 1990 for that next step to become clear before a pair of three-peats. The Los Angeles Lakers had to get through tossed around by the Utah Jazz in the conference finals in 1998 and the San Antonio Spurs in the conference finals in 1999 before they could three-peat. Teams like last years Celtics are exceptions to the rule, but they had three All Star veterans who had been down that losing path individually to draw the same lessons.

The Magic are a young team with a young superstar in the making in Dwight Howard. It is Howard who must jump from simply knowing he must learn a post move or two to wanting one so bad he spends the offseason practicing with ballerinas to find a graceful way to move his 6-11, 265 pound athletic body in the post and get a dunk and a free throw. To get to this point the Magic have to come out of the playoffs decimated, frustrated, and driven.

The (4) Atlanta Hawks are playing…to become relevant again.

This team surprised the Celtics in the 2008 playoffs, taking the series to seven games before bowing out. The Hawks then lost Josh Childress to Olympiacos Piraeus of the Euroleague. Many basketball pundits thought that this would be some kind of a mental blow to the sternum that would take the Hawks out of the playoffs and back to the lottery where they have been since the turn of the century.

They have been rewarded for their strong play with a 47-35 regular season record and the number four seed with a roster that includes a borderline superstar (Joe Johnson), a point guard on his last legs (Mike Bibby), an athletic freak (Josh Smith), and a solid double-double wide body (AL Horford). This squad may always be a player or two short of a real championship threat, but the fans and the franchise desperately need for this team to string together some impressive over-.500, playoff-bound seasons t save basketball in football country (especially since the Falcons rebounded so quickly from Vick-gate).

The (5) Miami Heat are playing…to give Dwayne Wade a reason to stay.

Dwayne looked at like a career Miami Heat player after winning the Finals MVP in 2006. Since then the team struggled to find that magic again. Shaq was a shell of his former self and was traded last year to find some other player that could help Wade. Shawn Marion did little but play out of place without Nash to make him look like the true X-Factor. Jermaine O’Neal has been an even lesser O’Neal than Shaq. Wade needs a partner on the court to ensure that he does not have to put up MVP-type numbers (30.2 ppg, 7.5 apg, 2.19 steals, 1.34 blocks, 5 rpg) just to get the Heat in the playoffs like this season.

The impending franchise fiasco gets worse when considering that Wade is part of the coveted free agent class in 2010 that every team is clearing its payroll. While Wade has to be happy that the franchise is hell bent on creating a team around him, he needs to see some sort of evidence that Pat Riley’s efforts are not in vain. The Heat need a strong team performance this postseason to help tip Wade in favor of staying after next season.

The (6) Philadelphia 76ers are playing…to figure out what they are doing.

Every successful team seems to have some sort of identity in the NBA. The Lakers are Kobe Bryant’s team, the Celtics are the Big Three, the Spurs are Tim Duncan’s squad. Who are the 76ers? Is Andre Igoudala the focus of the team? Should I bother to learn to say and spell his name correctly? Is this really Elton Brand’s team, if he ever returns for more than 20 games in a season? Who are Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams?

This team seems capable of winning (41-41 regular season record). This postseason is something akin to the government stress test for the banks. The front office is getting to watch what parts of this team actually work and what parts only work against lottery teams.

The (7) Chicago Bulls are playing…just to have fun.

Some may look at the final month of regular season play and the first two games of the playoffs and think differently. They may think the team is playing to give Ben Gordon a chance to redeem himself and earn a ludicrous contract. They may think that the trade for Brad Miller and John Salmons was an edict that this team needs to make it to the second round. Many may think this is a chance for Derrick Rose to break through as a superstar.

These people all have short term memories. The Bulls were not supposed to make the playoffs, even with Rookie of the Year D-Rose and especially not with rookie head coach Vinny Del Negro. Yes Rose is getting a chance to play in a postseason atmosphere, which is great, but nothing can really be expected from this young team that is trying to rebuild in the post-Skiles years. The Bulls are showing some incredible potential and that is enough for most of the fan base and should help John Paxson feel confident that he has at least one more year as the general manager.

The (8) Detroit Pistons are playing…prove that the title in 2004 was not an aberration.

It seems silly, but the Detroit Pistons reputation as one of the best teams in the NBA over the last five or six seasons has come under attack. Despite reaching the NBA Finals twice and winning once (and taking the losing series to seven games) I am still listening to doubts over the legitimacy of the team.

This would be the second time Detroit, a city desperate for some kind of positive reputation (thank you Lions and the flailing American car industry), could have its championships disregarded. The Bad Boys in 1989 and 1990 have been statistically ravaged by sports historians. They have been considered one of the lesser champions, a simple bridge from the days of Magic and Larry to Michael.

The failure of the Pistons to repeat as champions has been this team’s issue. The success of Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, Ben Wallace, and Antonio McDyess has bee attributed to an easy path through the weak Eastern Conference and an opponent (the Los Angeles Lakers) beleaguered by two feuding stars (Shaq and Kobe) and a battered by a difficult path through the superior competition of the Western Conference.

Though it would seem that the play of the team five years later would have little influence over the legacy of the team that put the Lakers dynasty to rest, it is somehow true. Critics seem to jump on the slow descent of the team over the past five years as proof that the team in 2004 was a single season Cinderella. Joe Dumars trade of Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson, the ultimate team point guard for the ultimate one-on-one player, has only added to that charge. A strong showing against the Cavs would help put some of those arguments to rest.

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