Lowry plus the occasional 51-point game from Terrence Ross have put the Raptors back in the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Prediction: The Nets' veterans have been there and won that too many times to let the Raptors upstage them. Nets in six.

4. CHICAGO

48-34 (Home: 27-14; Road: 21-20)

vs. 5. WASHINGTON

44-38 (Home: 22-19; Road: 22-19)

Season series: Washington, 2-1.

Key stat: Chicago's defense is again the best in the NBA, allowing only 91.8 points per game.

Outlook: Nobody shrugs off injuries to superstars and the departures of fan favorites better than the Bulls, who persevered after losing Derrick Rose to another knee injury early in the season and watching Luol Deng leave via trade in February. They still clinched homecourt advantage in the first round against the emerging Wizards, who featureprocedural history
Immediately following his injury, Reed consulted with Dr. John Schuhmacher, who performed a lumbar laminectomy and continued to treat Reed until September 15, 1993, when he found that Reed had reached maximum medical improvement and released Reed to return to work with some restrictions. Between the time of Reed's injuries in May of 1992 and the time that he was released to return to work in October of 1993, defendant State Farm Fire and Casualty Co., Direct Installers' workers' compensation insurer, paid Reed $146.67 per week, calculated on the basis of his average weekly wage of $220. Thereafter, Diana Guevara, senior rehabilitation specialist with Intracorp, identified some jobs available in the New Orleans area which were consistent with the restrictions imposed by Dr. Schuhmacher, on the request