Playoff Prediction by ESPN

John Hollinger provides this breakdown.

Here is the one-minute summary:
(1st round) Boston in 4, Detroit in 5, Orlando in 6 and Washington in 6 in the East, and the Lakers in 5, New Orleans in 7, Utah in 6 and Phoenix in 6 out West.
(2nd round) Boston in 4, Detroit in 7, and the Utah in 6, New Orlean in 7 out West.
(Conferene Finals) Boston in 5 and Utah in 7.
(NBA Finals) Boston in 6.

As to the addicted fans, here is the long version.

In the 1st round, the reasoning on Phoenix (over Spurs) is mainly that they've built their team to face the Spurs. Shaquille O'Neal has done extremely well defending Tim Duncan over the years. And Phoenix has shown that they could beat Spurs in the regular season.

In the 2nd round, the Utah-Lakers series should be the true conference finals. Based on offensive efficiency rating, Utah is the second best offence team in the league. They have a winning record of 37-12 in 2008. And they have won an astounding 18 games by more than 20 points.
For the Hornets-Suns 2nd round matchup, New Orleans might be even more exhausted after going seven against Dallas, but Phoenix doesn't match up nearly as well with the Hornets -- and New Orleans has home court. This is another series that looks to be about dead even.
That sets up Chris Paul vs. Deron Williams in the conference finals. Even though Paul might get the better of the matchup individually, but Williams has better teammates, so Utah rolls to the Finals in six.

Back East, Detroit will win over Orlando in a grueling seven. Meanwhile, the suffocating defence of Boston will dismiss Washington in four. That sets up a much-awaited conference finals battle between Boston and Detroit. Both teams match-up well in most aspect, with a slight edge to Boston's bench and Sam Cassell. Boston will win in five easier-than-expected games.

The 2-3-2 format and Utah's dominance at home will keep things interesting for a while, but mostly it will allow the Celtics to celebrate a title on their home court after knocking off the Jazz in six.