by Hunter Grona | Sports writer

The NBA playoffs are in high-gear with each team’s destiny becoming more clear each day. The first ten days of the 2012 NBA playoffs have provided excitement and disappointment for players and fans alike, with every game bringing the playoffs closer to an NBA champion.

This year’s playoffs tipped-off with high championship expectations for four teams, the Bulls, Heat Spurs, and Thunder, one and two seeds from the Eastern and Western Conference. The playoffs started as expected for each of these teams expect for the Bulls, who lost their star point guard Derrick Rose in game one to an injury. The Bulls have  subsequently lost the last of their three games against the 76‘ers,pulling off a tight win on Tuesday. Game six on Thursday had the 76‘ers winning on two last second freethrows, sending the first seeded team home for the fifth time in NBA history.  The other top seed out of the East also sealed their fate Wednesday, beating the Knicks in a five game of the seven game series. The one and two seeds in the Western Conference has faired better in the first round than their counterparts from the east, disposing of the Jazz and Mavericks in a four game sweep.

There are also other teams battling for a spot in the second round as of Thursday. In the West, the Clippers are ahead of the Grizzles 3-2, looking to finish off Memphis Friday and face the Spurs in the second round.  The Nuggets faced off with the Lakers Thursday , managing to stay alive the second game in a row and bring the series back to Los Angeles for a game seven. The Eastern conference has the Pacers disposing the  Magic in a speedy five game series. The Celtics finished their series Thursday in Atlanta, pulling out a close three point win to move on to the second round.

With the playoff picture becoming clearer each day, the teams and fans are beginning to speculate possible match-ups in upcoming series. As of now it looks as if the Spurs and Thunder will face off for the right to represent to West in the finals and the Heat and Celtics battle to come out of the East. Either way, this year has been one of the most exciting and talked about playoffs in recent memory.