Kobe Bryant and the Lakers get another chance to finish the job against the Suns. The Chicago Bulls try again to knock out the Miami Heat in the first round.

The NBA’s second season is all about second chances – and the Dallas Mavericks hope to get theirs in the NBA finals after their collapse against the Heat last year.

“There’s only one champion,” Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said. “No matter what you do in the regular season, at the end of the day you’ve got to try to get it done in the playoffs. It’s not like you are playing against your ‘B’ team, where you are guaranteed to have the ring. There are other teams that have some say-so in this. It’s not an easy task.”

The playoffs begin Saturday afternoon, starting with Vince Carter going back to Toronto in the opener of the Nets’ series against the Atlantic Division champion Raptors. That’s one of two high-profile returns in the first round, the other coming when Don Nelson leads Golden State into Dallas for the start of the Warriors’ first postseason in 13 years.

Also Saturday, Miami visits Chicago in the rematch of a tense first-round series from a year ago; top-seeded Detroit entertains the Orlando Magic; and Utah travels to Houston for a matchup of former West powers back in the postseason this year.

On Sunday, Cleveland welcomes Washington in yet another first-round rematch; the Lakers head back to Phoenix; the Denver duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson takes on San Antonio, and the league-best Mavs host the Warriors.

The NBA had one of its most exciting postseasons in 2006, with a record 10 games going to overtime. This one brings back three of its most competitive series from a year ago.

The Suns and Lakers also met in the No. 2 vs. 7 series. Los Angeles had a 3-1 lead before the Suns won the next three games, with Bryant managing only one point and three shots in the second half of Phoenix’s 121-90 Game 7 rout.

“It haunted me all summer long,” Lakers forward Luke Walton said. “It’s not like we forgot about it. It’s definitely in our heads. We have a lot of guys with a bad taste in their mouths. Hopefully, we will have a chance to redeem ourselves.”

It won’t be easy. The Lakers had an advantage in the middle last year. This time, Phoenix has both Amare Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas, possibly negating the interior advantage Los Angeles exploited.

“On paper, they’re a better team with Stoudemire, a more powerful team,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “We just can’t go inside against them like last year and change the course of the game by doing that. Stoudemire does have a presence.”

The Suns’ Raja Bell was suspended a game in that series for a hard foul on Bryant – but that’s nothing compared to the bad blood between Chicago and Miami.

James Posey was suspended a game for knocking Kirk Hinrich to the ground, and Udonis Haslem has been tossed twice against the Bulls in his career. The Heat think the Bulls, particularly Hinrich, are too aggressive against Dwyane Wade, and Chicago surely will want to test Wade’s sore shoulder and knee.

And Cleveland-Washington was a thriller last year, with three one-point games.