Playoff Updates: Lakers, Clippers advance, Bosh hurt in Miami's win

The Lakers and Clippers finally closed out their first-round series with wins over the Nuggets and Grizzlies, respectively.

The Laker win sets up a highly intriguing "revenge" subplot for the conference semifinals against Oklahoma City. The last time the Lakers played the Thunder, Metta World Peace elbowed James Harden in the head, leaving the sixth man of the year with a concussion and earning a six-game suspension. The enforcer with the ironic name returned to the court for the Lakers' game seven win over Denver, and will be available for the next round.

Of course, the whole Kobe Bryant/Kevin Durant thing is pretty compelling too.

• Series Preview: Lakers vs. Thunder

The Clippers mounted a late charge to finish off the Memphis Grizzlies, but got very little from Blake Griffin, who is clearly still bothered by a knee injury. They'll face San Antonio in the second round. San Antonio is well-rested and healthy; the Clippers are a M*A*S*H unit, with Griffin (knee), Chris Paul (hip), Mo Williams (hand) and Caron Butler (hand) all nursing injuries.

• Series Preview: Clippers vs. Spurs

Miami opened their Eastern Conference Semifinal series with a win over the Pacers, but lost Chris Bosh to an abdominal strain in the first half. It's not clear if Bosh will be available for game two on Tuesday - or the rest of the series.

Bosh is probably the member of the "Big Three" that Miami can least-afford to lose, as the Heat are very thin in the frontcourt. Look for Erik Spoelstra to use smaller lineups featuring Shane Battier or Mike Miller in Bosh's place whenever possible... but that'll create a major size advantage for Indiana's David West and Roy Hibbert.

• Series Schedule and Results: Heat vs. Pacers

The Celtics got a triple-double from Rajon Rondo and a season-high in scoring from Kevin Garnett, taking a 1-0 series lead over the Sixers.

• Series Schedule and Results: Celtics vs. Sixers

Today's games:

The 76ers will try to even their series with the Celtics in Boston at 7:00 ET. The Lakers tip-off their series in Oklahoma City at 9:30 ET.

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Dwight Howard's Bad Back and the Eastern Conference Playoff Race

Dwight Howard could miss the remainder of the regular season with a herniated disk in his lower back. And that injury could have a major impact on the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Howard has been complaining of back pain since March 30, but the source was not discovered until yesterday. The team won't set a target for his return until they see how he responds to treatment.

For comparison, Amar'e Stoudemire of the Knicks has been dealing with a similar back problem and hasn't played since March 24; Stoudemire could be back next week.

Howard's absence could have a significant impact on the bottom half of the Eastern Conference playoff bracket. If the season ended today, the Magic would be the six seed in the East. But Orlando is 3-7 in their last ten games, three games ahead of the Knicks and Sixers. New York and Philly have identical 31-28 records, but the Knicks would be the seventh seed due to a tiebreaker.

Could the Knicks or Sixers make up that three-game deficit with seven games to play? It's certainly possible. But the Knicks have a very tough upcoming schedule; they'll play Miami on Sunday and Boston on Tuesday. If they win one or both of those games they'll be in excellent shape, as three of their remaining five opponents - the Nets, Cavs and Bobcats - aren't very good.

The Sixers are stumbling towards the finish line as well, with a 4-6 record in their last ten games, but they have an opportunity to make up ground on Orlando when they play the Magic on Monday night. Unfortunately for Doug Collins' team, the Magic game is the first of a three-games-in-three-nights stretch that includes games against the Pacers (currently the third seed in the East) and at the Cavaliers. The Sixers finish out their schedule with five straight road games... after the Cleveland game, they'll travel to Indiana, New Jersey, Milwaukee and Detroit.

Five of Orlando's last seven games are on the road: in Cleveland, Boston, Utah, Denver and Memphis. The remaining two are the head-to-head matchup with Philly, which is the second game of a back-to-back set, and what should be a gimme against the Bobcats.

I don't think the Magic will fall out of the playoffs - they're five games ahead of ninth-place Milwaukee with seven to go. But I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Howard-less Magic fall to eighth and a first-round matchup with the Bulls.

• Dwight Howard out indefinitely with a herniated disk in his lower back - Orlando Sentinel.
• NBA Playoff Format, Seeding and Tiebreakers

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