Handicapping the first NBA playoff game inevitably involves some guesswork, given the stakes and magnitude will certainly impact the outcome.

Milwaukee and Indiana kick off their Central Division showdown Saturday. But the Bucks still will be without star Damian Lillard. Will he return?

For the second year in a row, the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks are meeting in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Pacers, who knocked the Bucks out last year, enter as the higher seed and the favorite this year against their Central Division rival.