The NBA Playoffs begin Saturday with the Celtics visiting the Knicks and the best three months in the basketball schedule will be upon us.

We can barely contain our excitement.

So Jeff Garcia and I got together to break down the first round of the NBA Playoffs in the Crossover Chronicles Podcast Episode 2. At least, we think it is the second episode. It is the first episode of the Playoffs and hopefully there will be more to come.

In Part 1, Jeff and I talk about whether the Lakers can defeat the reeling Spurs, whether the Nuggets are this year's Pistons and can the Rockets keep pace with the Thunder.

Segment 1: Oklahoma City-Houston Preview

Segment 2: San Antonio-Los Angeles Preview

Segment 3: Denver-Golden State and Los Angeles-Memphis Preview

Part 2 will preview the Eastern Conference and will be out later today.

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The 2013 NBA playoffs are just a day away so it is time to look back at some of the best dunks from the regular season.

From DeAndre Jordan's vicious dunk on Brandon Knight, DeMar DeRozen showing why he is one of the best dunkers in the league, Gerald Henderson's sick dunk on the Lakers, LeBron James "murdering" Jason Terry to Blake Griffin being Blake Griffin, the NBA compiled some of the most memorable rim-rocking, humiliating dunks of the season.

Check out the best-of-the-best and weigh in on if a dunk was looked over. Oh and I am sure you already know who is coming in at No. 1!

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The first domino in the NBA coaching carousel dropped Thursday morning and it was a pretty significant domino.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have fired Byron Scott after his third year with the team. Scott's record over those three years was 64-166, which is a winning percentage of .278, which is the lowest of any coach in Cavs history.

According to Jason Lloyd of Akron Beacon Journal, rumors of Scott's firing intensified over the last couple of weeks after the Cavs slipped even with the return of Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters from injuries. Their defense has not gotten any better.

There were also reports that Irving and Scott were not getting along. However, Lloyd later reported that Irving was speechless and hurt by the firing and called Scott his "basketball father."

If you are a former coach for the Nets, it was not a good day for you. According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Detroit Pistons have fired head coach Lawrence Frank after two seasons. Frank's record in those two years was 54-94, but unlike last season when they finished strong, the Pistons lost 26 of their last 37 games on their way to a 29-53 record.

Making the playoffs in the Eastern Conference is not exactly the toughest thing to do. The Milwaukee Bucks slid into the eighth spot with a record of 38-44. The reward for their efforts is a first round matchup with the Miami Heat. Not exactly appealing, but there is still some honor in being a playoff team.

That is an honor the Toronto Raptors have not had since 2007 2008.

Going into the season they were a trendy pick to be the team that could exceed expectations in the East. Several months and quite a few injuries later, the Raptors finished at 34-48, four games out of the postseason.

Their season was not without a few bright spots though.

Acquiring Rudy Gay in a big trade gives the team some hope for the future. They even had three separate five-game win streaks, including the last five games of the season, all against playoff teams.

But injuries really made it tough for the Raptors to make a playoff push. Toronto guard DeMar DeRozan is the only one on the team who played in all 82 games this season. It is clear DeRozan believes in his teammates though. He is guaranteeing that the Raptors make the playoffs next year.

I know for a fact next year we’re going to be there,” DeRozan said. “With the talent that we have on this team and with the way we know we can play and the way we’ve been playing, we’re definitely going to be there.”

There is no arguing with DeRozan’s logic. The Raptors do have a pretty talented roster. If they can stay healthy and get in a full training camp as a team, I could see them going .500 next year and finishing in the top eight teams in the East.

Aside from injuries, the key for the Raptors next year is going to be focus. They have quite a few quality wins on their schedule this year against teams like the Knicks, Pacers and Clippers, but they have some pretty ugly losses as well. Having an opportunity to really gel in the offseason as a team should help a lot, so I like their chances next year.

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Boston is attempting to return to normalcy after Monday's tragic bombing at the Boston Marathon. The heart of the nation has been hanging heavily thinking about the senseless events that have left hundreds injured and three dead.

The Celtics' game against the Pacers at TD Garden on Tuesday was canceled and the Celtics traveled in earnest to Toronto to conclude their season before the Playoffs. Boston will be in New York for the first two games of the Playoffs and will not be able to play in front of their home fans in what will surely be an emotional game until possibly next weekend.

Sports can only provide a distraction and an escape from the tragedy at hand. It can also be a way for a community to rally together and show strength. That is how Boston has used the first Red Sox and Bruins games since the tragedy. These events are not going to break that city, and to a larger extent this country.

There are still plenty of need.

We are a basketball blog and there is little we can do to help aside from provide a distraction and raise money for relief efforts.

That is what the crew over at Project Spurs is doing. They have connected with several NBA artists who have agreed to donate all proceeds from the sale of their prints in April toward Boston relief funds. There are some incredible prints to choose from and they are really great pieces for basketball fans to own.

Always the cut up, Lakers' Dwight Howard was back at it again before they face the Rockets on the team's final home regular season game.

Speaking to the media, Howard gave a rousing "300" movie-speech which including shout outs to Dr. Buss, injured Kobe Bryant, yelling for Pau Gasol to put his "big boy" pants on and of course, gave the infamous "This is Sparta!" chant.

If you are a Lakers fan you like Howard is feeling relaxed but you still want him to be super-focused heading into the postseason sans Bryant.

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I don't think that Doc Rivers is afraid of anything, especially the Knicks

During his successful playing and coaching careers in the NBA, Doc Rivers has heard plenty of criticism, something to be expected as the head coach of a high-profile team like the Celtics for almost 10 years and as a player for the Knicks (from 1992-94) in the biggest city in the United States with the most rabid fans.

Simply put, Glenn "Doc" Rivers has put up with a lot of crap during his nearly 30-year NBA experience. And in that time, he has mastered the art of using said criticisms to motivate himself and his teams by saying his own out-of-the-box things as well.

In no season more than the current, Doc has heard pundits from around the country bash his Celtics squad -- decimated by injury -- for a perceived lack of effort and noted abscence of execution from his players.

Coming into the 2012-13 season, Boston -- although an aging squad still dealing with the loss of certain Hall-of-Famer Ray Allen -- was projected by many to win the East's Atlantic Division over the 76ers (who fell off a cliff this year with Andrew Bynum, the Knicks (who have stunned the NBA to win the division) and the upstart Nets (who are firmly settled into the No. 4 seed) who have thrived after escaping the wet blanket on success that was Newark and East Rutherford.

But, as is always seen in the NBA, things did not work out according to plan. And the Celtics have had a dismal season by Celtics standards, currently sitting at 41-39 with a looming 2/7 playoff matchup with the Knicks.

With the best record in the Western Conference all wrapped up, the Oklahoma City Thunder do not have anything to play for with the Milwaukee Bucks coming to town tonight. The same cannot be said for Kevin Durant, who had a (very slim) shot at winning his fourth consecutive scoring title.

Rather than risk injury and try to score as much as possible, Durant will be sitting out the last game of the regular season. He posted a picture to his Instagram earlier today that said, “SITTING OUT TONIGHT’S GAME, if you disappointed I didn’t try to go for the scoring title, oh well!!”

Durant will surely hear a few jeers from people who wanted to see him give it a shot, but keep in mind that he would have had to score 70 points to take over the top spot from Carmelo Anthony. Anthony will also be sitting out tonight, meaning he will finish with 28.7 points per game this season, compared to Durant’s 28.1.

It is a very anti-climactic ending to a season-long battle.

In an ideal world, since the Knicks and Thunder start at the same time tonight, the two would be tied going into tonight, they would both play, and both battle it out to add some excitement to a mostly boring night of inconsequential basketball (aside from a few final playoff spots). Actually, in a SUPER ideal world, the Knicks and Thunder would be playing each other tonight, Durant and ‘Melo would be tied and both teams would have something to play for. Alas, that’s not the case.

Anthony played in 14 fewer games this season than Durant because of injury. You can make the argument that is a little unfair, but who is to say Anthony wouldn’t have scored 40-plus in all of those games? Anthony closed out the season strong, averaging 36.1 points per game over his last eight games to pass Durant and take his first ever scoring title.

While I am sure both of these guys would trade the individual award for an NBA Championship, it is a nice piece of hardware to add to the shelf.

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Tracy McGrady once scored 13 points in 30 seconds against the San Antonio Spurs. It was one of the most breath-taking and amazing scoring performances in NBA history. The fact that it happened against the vaunted Spurs defense on national TV made it all the more amazing.

Things are perhaps coming full circle now. McGrady will try to get out of the first round for the first time in his career and join the Spurs for their Playoff run, signing a contract through the end of the season Tuesday with the Spurs.

At his peak, McGrady was an unstoppable scoring force and someone the defense had to pick up at midcourt. He would smoothly glide his way through defenses and pull up for a silky smooth jumper that no one could defend. He was breathtaking to watch.

Knee injuries sapped away his athletic ability and derailed his career in one of the most tragic cases of a body robbing a talented player and he faded into obscurity. Despite his willingness to play, no NBA team came calling this season after he averaged 5.3 points per game in about 16 minutes per game in 52 appearances with the Hawks last year.

It was clear McGrady was not the player he once was, but at 33, you figure he has to have something left in the tank.

With the 2012-13 NBA season wrapping up and the playoffs just days away, the kind folks over at Fox Sports Radio 1037 The Game in Louisiana invited your truly to talk what else... the NBA.

From Kobe Bryant's injury affecting the Lakers, the 2013 NBA Draft to the Spurs signing Tracy McGrady, we cover it all during this interview.

Crossover would like to thanks the fellas at The Game for the invite and make sure you visit their website for more great NBA and sports coverage.

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