Tomorrow, the two teams kick off another seven-game series, this time in the Eastern Conference finals. Some of the context is the same. The Heat, now defending champions, are favored again and possess the home-court advantage. The series boasts Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Eric Spoelstra versus Roy Hibbert, Paul George, and Frank Vogel. And like last year, the overblown “war of words” has begun.

But as we would expect, there are differences this time around, too. Here are a few of the main ones:

1. The Danny Granger injury. The Pacers have been so productive without him that’s it’s easy to forget that they’re playing without their best scorer from a year ago. Granger didn’t have a great series against the Heat last year, but he did take up a lot of attention from Lebron James and the Heat, attention that this year will probably go toward the Paul George.

It will be interesting to see what kind of role the Miami Heat’s Ray Allen plays in the NBA Eastern Conference finals against the Indiana Pacers.

2. The health of Chris Bosh. Last year, as you may recall, the Heat’s center and part of “the big three,” Chris Bosh missed most of the series with an injury. It definitely made things more interesting, but the Heat were able to get enough contributions from elsewhere to get the job done. Unless something changes, Bosh will be healthy this year. Against the Chicago Bulls, Bosh played a lot of minutes, scored in double digits in every game except one, and shot four for eight from three-point range. But that doesn’t mean he can guard Roy Hibbert. The two are very different kinds of players, and it should be interesting to watch.

3. The presence of Ray Allen. A year ago, Allen was preparing to take on the Heat as a member of the Boston Celtics. This time around, he plays for the Heat. Let’s be honest, Allen isn’t what he used to but he can still shoot the rock. He averages double figures in points on 40% shooting from 3-point land. Insert that kind of specialty into a lineup with the likes of James, Wade, and Bosh, and you’ve got all sorts of problems defensively.

4. No more Larry Bird. Last year, the Indiana legend and then-Pacers President of Basketball Operations made headlines by challenging the Pacers toughness late in the series against the Heat. He then departed from the organization after the season’s end. It remains to be seen whether the absence of pressure he created will be good or bad for the team.

5. Numbers-one-through-four on this list could suggest an advantage for the Heat, but the Pacers are better than they were a year ago. Their youth is further along in their development. They’ve showcased that fact at times during the playoffs, especially in dismantling the higher-seeded New York Knicks in six games. George and Lance Stephenson, among others, are much improved. During the regular season, the Pacers beat the Heat two out of three times, largely by dominating in the paint. But obviously these games mean more. Are the Pacers ready for the big-time? We will see soon enough.

May 6, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat center Chris Bosh (1) makes a basket over Chicago Bulls small forward Jimmy Butler (21) as small forward LeBron James (6) and Bulls center Joakim Noah (left) look on in game one of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena. The Bulls won 93-86. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

With the couple of days off for the Indiana Pacers, I finally have a moment just to shoot out some thoughts on the other playoff happenings.  It’s hard to believe that every series is 1-1 right now.  Sure we’ve seen blowouts, and we’ve seen some hot shooting, but you just get this sense that any match up could go one way or the other.  We’re are seeing how each game is just a different storyline from the last game.  Let’s start with Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks, since we’re all about the Pacers here.  You had the Pacers out muscle the Knicks in game one, and get them flustered at different points.  Even as the lead got down, I never felt like the Knicks were going to come back in that game one.  Then came along game two, and we see the Knicks go on an unprecedented 30-2 run or 30 to whatever the Pacers finally scored.  Pretty much the Pacers didn’t score in almost 13 minutes, and they lost total control of what lead they had in that game.  The only thing you take away is now the Pacers have two games at home, where they’ve shown how much better they are, and we could be seeing the Pacers up 3-1 after all is said and done with the next two games.

Looking at the other side of the Eastern Conference, it’s amazing to see the Chicago Bulls were able to keep their momentum from the tough Brooklyn series to get a win game one.  Nate Robinson was stealing the show, and they probably gave the Miami Heat a wake up call as we witnessed last night.  Talking about the run the Knicks put together against the Pacers, how about that run that Miami put against the Bulls?  60-21 or close to that, to completely blow away the Bulls.  Technical fouls were handed out.  Ejections were handed out.  And the spirit of the Bulls had to be broken, and people are still asking Derrick Rose to come back.  Guess what?  If he was going to come back, he would have already done it.  Maybe I will eat my words tomorrow night as it’s been rumored, he will “dress.”  And guess what if you’re dressed, then you better play.  What’s the point of dressing and not playing if you’re a superstar like Rose?  Can you imagine the talk if Rose dresses, and doesn’t play?  The Heat will probably win this series no matter what, and then see who awaits them on the other side.

Then off to the Western Conference, where things are shaky between all four teams.  If I put a power ranking, I’d probably rank the Memphis Grizzlies as the top team right now.  Yes, you read that right. But look at how tough and physical that team is.  They probably should have won the first game, but they blew the lead.  They are able to get the victory in game two, and now head home to Memphis for two games.  Just like the Pacers, this team has that true team effort going. Personally, that’s the match up I would love to see in the NBA Finals. No one but Memphis and Indiana fans would want to see it, but I would be all about it. Memphis has a great shot at knocking off the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are playing without Russell Westbrook. Just think how much these playoffs change if all the stars are there. Ask Boston how the Celtics do with Rajon Rondo.  Ask Golden State how they do with David Lee.

Well we could talk to them right now, and I would say that’s my upset alert.  With the confidence the Warriors are playing with, they are in prime position to knock off the San Antonio Spurs. I would even say if the Warriors lose this series, they’ll gain something from it.  That experience of playing against a tough team.  Experience of what to do in close situations.  Learning how to close out games as they weren’t able to do that in game one.  Just think the talk there if the Warriors are up 2-0 against the Spurs right now.  I think this series ends up seven games unless that home court plays off for the Warriors.  They have some of the best fans in the NBA, and they feed off that energy.  Who knows what theatrics Stephen Curry has up his sleeves?

But truly, this is an exciting time for the NBA, and you’ll get back to action tomorrow night with the Chicago Bulls-Miami Heat, and the Warriors and Spurs.  We’ll have to see what team wants that edge up in the series.  I’ll go with Heat and Warriors as my picks.  The Warriors playing at home with that crowd almost have to win.  What a letdown that would be after such a great win last night.  The Heat are obviously better than the Bulls, and want to prove that by dismantling the Bulls again. I don’t know if it’s such a huge blow out like game two, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all for a double figures win by the Heat.