Last night was the perfect metaphor for the Nets’ season. After falling behind the Celtics by 19 points, the Nets rallied back behind an extraordinary effort from Vince Carter (37 points) to win 100-93 and clinch a playoff berth. It’s a good thing, too, because you’ll never see a team that was happier to lose than Toronto against Cleveland last night. You can’t blame the Raptors – Carter snoozed through the first half of the season up north. But their “effort” was futile as the Nets completed a 15-4 season-ending flourish to grab the East’s no. 8 seed.

New Jersey’s result settled the only remaining playoff question. After a six-month, 82-game slog through the NBA’s regular season, it’s finally time for the games that really matter. And there a lot of intrigue this season because there’s no clear favorite.

That’s especially true in the wild West. Both of last year’s conference finalists, Minnesota and the Lakers, failed to make the playoffs, leaving several hopefuls waiting to fill the gap. But winning this conference requires running a three-round gauntlet of the league’s top teams. Of the 10 best clubs in basketball by point differential, eight are in the West.

Phoenix and San Antonio are the favorites to meet in the conference finals, as they owned the top two records in the West all season long. The contrast in styles between the two would make for especially compelling theater. Phoenix led the NBA in scoring and is the second-best offensive team in history according to my Offensive Efficiency stat. On the other hand, San Antonio led the NBA in Defensive Efficiency for the fourth time in five years and has two contenders for Defensive Player of the Year in Bruce Bowen and Tim Duncan. First, however, those hopefuls must survive a best-of-seven first-round series. Here’s a look at the four matchups in the Western Conference:

(1) PHOENIX VS. (8) MEMPHIS

The Suns get to face a top-notch defensive team long before the showdown with the Spurs. Memphis overcame a horrid 9-15 start and the 26-game absence of star forward Pau Gasol to snag the West’s final playoff spot. They did it with tough D – Memphis’s 99.5 Defensive Efficiency rating was fifth in the NBA.

Unfortunately for Memphis, its style isn’t well suited to playoff basketball. The Grizzlies are 10 deep and like to rotate guys in and out, which allows them to survive injuries and wear down opponents during the long grind of the regular season. The do-or-die postseason, however, reduces the Grizzlies’ greatest advantage: Most teams play the starters 40 minutes, so the bench is much less of a factor.

Making matters worse, the format also diminishes the Suns’ greatest weakness. Phoenix managed to ring up the NBA’s best record despite a bench that was spotty at best, because its starting five was awesome. The key is the devastating trio of Nash, Amare Stoudemire, and Shawn Marion. Nash led the NBA in assists, shot 50% from the floor, and could win the MVP award. Stoudemire pumped in 26.7 points per game while shooting an absurd 55.9%, while Marion added 20.1 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 2.0 steals a game.

Look for the Grizzlies to try to contain Nash by using backup point guard Earl Watson. Since Watson is a vastly superior defender, he should see most of the minutes at the expense of starter Jason Williams. Up front, the Grizzlies are soft and don’t have an answer for Stoudemire, so their approach might be to fight fire with fire. Memphis coach Mike Fratello will try to get Stoudemire in foul trouble by calling Gasol’s number early and often.

Their efforts will be for naught. Memphis doesn’t have an answer for all the Suns’ weapons and faces a second straight quick dismissal from the postseason. But they’ll at least get the first playoff win in franchise history.

Prediction: Suns in five

(2) SAN ANTONIO VS. (7) DENVER

The Spurs are the best team in the NBA when everybody is healthy, but they might not make it out of the first round because Denver isn’t your typical no. 7 seed. The Nuggets made up for a terrible first half by going a sizzling 25-4 after the All-Star break – and three of the losses were to Phoenix. Since George Karl took over at midseason, Denver is 32-8. Carmelo Anthony has recovered from his sophomore slump, Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin are dominating defensively, and the Nuggets are using the altitude to their advantage, winning 21 of their past 22 in Denver.

In addition, San Antonio must contend with a major problem. Tim Duncan might be the best player in the NBA, but he sprained his ankle a month ago and only returned to action this week. As a result, he still may be gimpy during the first few games of the series. Obviously, if he isn’t playing at 100%, it radically alters the odds in this series.

Fortunately, the Spurs have enough talented players that they managed to go 9-7 without Duncan this year. Athletic freak Manu Ginobili made the All-Star team for the first time despite averaging less than 30 minutes a game – look for that number to increase significantly in the playoffs. At the point, Tony Parker took another step forward by averaging 16.7 points on 48.3% shooting.

But the biggest factor for the Spurs is defensive ace Bruce Bowen. Matched up against Anthony, he’ll use his outstanding lateral movement to try to frustrate the Nuggets’ star. If Bowen succeeds, it could be a long series for Denver. We already know Martin can’t score against Duncan (does 3-for-23 ring a bell, Nets fans?), and Camby is 50-50 to be on the injured list by halftime of Game 2. Because of Bowen, the Spurs will survive. Barely.

Prediction: Spurs in seven

(3) SEATTLE VS. (6) SACRAMENTO

How unfair is it that one of these teams gets to advance to the second round while the Nuggets or Spurs go home? Neither the Sonics nor the Kings achieved anything noteworthy during the second half of the season. The Sonics got off to a torrid 35-13 start before faltering down the stretch as Rashard Lewis, Antonio Daniels, Danny Fortson, and Vladimir Radmanovic missed big chunks of time. Radmanovic still isn’t ready, but the others should be back in uniform for the first round.

The Kings face a similar predicament. Thanks to injuries, they’ve been a .500 team in the second half after starting the year 27-11. Starting center Brad Miller broke his leg in March and still hasn’t been cleared to play, while sixth man Bobby Jackson is trying to return from a wrist injury that halted his season after 24 games. The news got worse this week when sharp shooting forward Peja Stojakovic suffered a strained groin. His availability for the Sonics series remains in doubt.

All the uncertainty surrounding each team’s starters makes it difficult to predict a winner in what should be an entertaining series. In any case, expect to see a lot of offense. Seattle ranked third in the NBA in Offensive Efficiency, while Sacramento ranked fourth. Additionally, neither team is capable of stopping their opponent – both clubs finished well below the league average in Defensive Efficiency.

Ultimately, two factors stand out in the Sonics’ favor. First, they have home court advantage. Second, the Kings have more lineup question marks than do the Sonics.

Prediction: Sonics in six

(4) DALLAS VS. (5) HOUSTON

Denver’s late-season push under George Karl grabbed all the attention, but Dallas’s play under Avery Johnson has been just as impressive. Since Johnson took over, the Mavs are 15-2, thanks to increased focus at the defensive end. Dallas built a reputation as an outstanding offensive team that pays little attention to defense, but that’s an outdated concept. The Mavs rank eighth in the NBA in Defensive Efficiency, nearly as good as the Rockets.

Better yet, the Mavs match up well against the Rockets’ two best scorers. Perimeter stopper Josh Howard will get the assignment of containing Tracy McGrady, who finished the year strong after snoozing through the first month. At 6-foot-9, McGrady is used to shooting over smaller guards, but Howard is 6-foot-7, and should be able to bother McGrady with his long arms. In the paint, Erick Dampier provides a physical presence that Dallas lacked in past seasons. He’ll have to contend with Houston’s 7-foot-6 Yao Ming and avoid foul trouble since Yao has torched backup Shawn Bradley throughout his brief career.

The bad news for the Rockets is that they don’t match up nearly as well with the Mavs’ top scorer. As a 7-footer with a deadly 3-point shot, Dirk Nowitzki is a matchup problem for nearly everyone. But this is especially true for the Rockets, who lost Juwan Howard for the season. Nowitzki should put up huge numbers as he beats on pups like former Knicks scrub Clarence Weatherspoon and defensively challenged Scott Padgett.

Prediction: Mavs in six