The Milwaukee Bucks won the season series and have the greater postseason experience, but the Indiana Pacers hold the home-court advantage when the rivals tip off an Eastern Conference first-round best-of-seven playoff series Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis.

The Denver Nuggets didn't win the NBA Cup in December, but the tournament gave them a chance to secure home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Clippers.

On their way to making the playoffs for the third straight season and the fourth time in five seasons, the New York Knicks had multiple up-close encounters with the massively improved Detroit Pistons.

The season series seems to show the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves are even heading into their first-round playoff series although the reality is something much different.