The first round of the NBA playoffs begins this week, which might lead to a lot of water cooler talk about the NBA at your job. This will help make you the most educated person when it comes to this year's playoffs.

Eastern Conference

1 Cleveland Cavaliers versus 8 Detroit Pistons, Cavaliers win series 4-0

The Cavaliers have arguably the best player in the world, LeBron James. James has a lot of playoff experience, and the whole team has some experience having gone to the finals last year. Meanwhile, the Pistons are young and inexperienced. The Pistons have the advantage down low with the presence of Andre Drummond and Tobias Harris.

The Cavs' X-factor is Tristan Thompson, who will need to rebound and play good defense on the bigs of the Pistons. The Pistons' X-factor is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who will need to score with efficiency to help the Pistons stretch the floor for their bigs.

4 Atlanta Hawks versus 5 Boston Celtics, Celtics win series 4-2

This will be one of the most exciting games in the first round. Both teams play hard defense and play team basketball. The biggest question going into the series is, how healthy are Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas? These two are the best scorers for the Celtics, so if they aren't healthy, things could go bad for the Celtics. That being said, the Celtics have better depth than the Hawks, and are able to give many different personnel looks, which could cause problems for the Hawks.

The Hawks' X-factor is Kent Bazemore, who needs to score and make plays defensively on the Celtics' guards to have a huge impact on the series. The Celtics' X-factor is Marcus Smart, and he will need to hit his jump shots and shut down Hawks guard Jeff Teague.

3 Miami Heat versus 6 Charlotte Hornets,Hornets win series 4-3

The Hornets have been playing great basketball coming into the playoffs this year. Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lin off the bench have been part of the team's surge in the second half of the year. Miami hasn't showed up for many of their big games this year, but with the experience and leadership of Dwayne Wade, don't count out the Heat.

The Heat's X-factor is Tyler Johnson. Johnson is a high-energy player that plays exceptional defense, so if he can lock up Kemba Walker, he could put the Heat in a good position to win. The Hornets' X-factor Frank Kaminsky will need to hit his jumpshots and keep the Heat's Hassan Whiteside out of the paint.

2 Toronto Raptors versus 7 Indiana Pacers, Raptors win series 4-2

Toronto is too athletic and have too much chemistry for the Pacers to win in a seven-games series. However, with Paul George and the Raptors' tendency to collapse come playoff time, the Pacers still stand a chance.

The Raptors' X-factor is DeMarre Carroll. He's been injured all year, but if he can stay healthy and play good defense on Paul George, the Raptors will have no problem in the series. The Pacers' X-factor Myles Turner is a rim protector, and could stop the Raptors from getting to the rim, along with his unique offensive skill set.

Western Conference

1 Golden State Warriors versus 8 Houston Rockets, Warriors win 4-0

To make this short and to the point, the Rockets do not play any defense and have no team chemistry, while the Warriors won the most games in NBA history. The Rockets don't stand a chance.

4 L.A. Clippers versus 5 Portland Trail Blazers, Clippers win 4-3

The Clippers played much of the season without Blake Griffin, and now that he's back, their team has depth. The Blazers had a great second half of the year, but their lack of depth and overall playoff experience will lead to them losing. Clipper X-factor is Jeff Green. He can do it all and will need to take advantage of his mismatches when presented to him. The Blazers X-factor is Mason Plumlee, who will need to keep the bigs of the Clippers off the boards and stay out of foul trouble to have an impact on the series.

3 Oklahoma City Thunder versus 6 Dallas Mavericks, Thunder wins 4-1

The Thunder have two of the best players in the league in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, which will ultimately be too much for the Mavericks. The Thunder's X-factor is Serge Ibaka. He will be guarding Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavericks' best player, will need to play good defense and score constantly to help the Thunder knock the Mavericks out. The Mavericks' X-factor is Chandler Parsons, and he will need to score a lot of points while playing good defense on Kevin Durant to give the Mavericks a chance to be competitive in the series.

2 San Antonio Spurs versus 7 Memphis Grizzlies, Spurs win 4-0

The Grizzlies are too injured to give the Spurs a fight. The Spurs have too much experience and talent to lose to this team.