Inside the NBA | Cavs, Lakers still the favorites with NBA playoffs underway

     After just the opening weekend of the 2009 NBA playoffs, a few great storylines throughout the league are building, and glimmers of what promise to be a spectacular two months of basketball are finally emerging.
    In Cleveland, the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers stomped on the Detroit Pistons 102-84 in their opener on Friday to continue their dominance on their home court. Coming into the playoffs with the league's best record at 66-16, the Cavs flaunted their swagger and made a statement that they are on a mission to win it all. LeBron James, the frontrunner in the MVP race, was nothing short of brilliant, netting 38 points and dishing seven assists while grabbing eight rebounds.
    The Cavaliers have been practically unbeatable at home this season, and it looks like it will continue on into the playoffs. If the Pistons hope to stop the Cavaliers in Game 2 tonight at 8:00, they will need to find a way to limit James' productivity on both ends of the court. Detroit will need a better defensive effort and production from its bench if it wants to stay in the series.
    Out West, Rick Adelman's fifth-seeded Houston Rockets torched a young and inexperienced Portland Trail Blazers team, 108-81. Rockets point guard Aaron Brooks led all scorers with 27 points, and Yao Ming did not miss a shot, nailing all nine attempts from the field as he tacked on 24 points and nine rebounds.
    The seasoned and well-coached Rockets took the home crowd out of the game early, establishing their defensive prowess and limiting big man LaMarcus Aldridge to just seven points. Game 2 is tonight in Portland, and if the Blazers want to avoid going back to Houston down 0-2, they will need to improve on their 41.7 percent shooting and their abysmal 1-for-11 from three-point range.
    The third Game 2 on Tuesday night pits the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers against the streaky Utah Jazz. In the first game, the Lakers showed how deep and dangerous their roster is, defeating the Jazz 113-100. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 24 points and went 9-for-17 from the field. Swingman Trevor Ariza added 21 points and Pau Gasol had 20 points and nine rebounds.
    The Jazz are outmatched at every position except point guard, so they will need players like Carlos Boozer, who scored 27 points Sunday, and Ronnie Brewer to step up in the second contest. This Jazz squad is a classic "Jekyll and Hyde" team, going 33-8 at home this season but only 15-26 on the road. If the Jazz can steal Game 2 from the Lakers, they will have a chance at making this series tight throughout. Last year when these two teams met in the conference semifinals, the Jazz took the Lakers to six games.
    One of the biggest surprises coming out of the weekend was the sixth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers, who overcame an 18-point deficit in the third quarter on Sunday and beat the third-seeded Orlando Magic, 100-98. Andre Iguodala's fadeaway jumper with 2.2 seconds left clinched the victory for the underdogs and stole Game 1 from the reeling Magic.
    All-Star center Dwight Howard did all he could, scoring 31 points and grabbing 16 rebounds, but it was not enough to hold off the young and scrappy Sixers. Game 2 will be in Orlando tomorrow night, and the Magic will need to get more production from forwards Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu, who scored just 21 points combined in Game 1. The Magic have a very shallow bench and it showed on Sunday, as fatigue set in and they could not hold off an impressive Sixers rally.
    Meanwhile, down South, the fourth-seeded Atlanta Hawks thrashed Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat, 90-64, in the weekend's most lopsided game. Josh Smith, who dropped 23 points and notched 10 rebounds, led the young and hungry Hawks.
    Atlanta was impenetrable on defense, holding Wade to under 20 points for the first time in over a month. On Wednesday, Wade and company will need to improve on a horrible 36.6 shooting performance overall, especially from three-point land, where they were 4-23.
    In the Rockies, Chauncey Billups, also known as Mr. Big Shot, dropped 36 points and dished out eight assists while shooting 8-of-9 from three-point range in the Denver Nuggets' 113-84 win over the New Orleans Hornets in Game 1. With a healthy Kenyon Martin and confident scorers Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith flanking their championship point guard, the Nuggets could be a sleeper in the West. Chris Paul and the Hornets will look to slow the Nuggets' assault on Wednesday night and send the series back to New Orleans all squared up.
    While none of these series are over yet, if teams don't make adjustments, coming back from a two-game deficit might be too much to ask for any squad, no matter how strong its regular-season record.