After 82 games, dozens of head-to-head battles and a handful of memorable moments, the 2008-09 NBA season has boiled down to this: Seven former Jayhawks still have a shot at hoisting the Larry O’Brien championship trophy this summer.

Those aren’t bad odds, considering the fact that just a few seasons ago there weren’t even seven former Jayhawks playing in the league.

And to think, this year, names like Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur and Nick Collison will not even be participating in the postseason. Just goes to show how tough the NBA can be and how far those guys have to go.

Anyway, now that the regular season officially has ended, here’s a look at the playoff chances for all of the former KU standouts who are preparing to tip off the second season.

The playoffs begin Saturday.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Seed: 1 Eastern Conference (vs. Detroit in Rd. 1)

Record: 66-16

Jayhawk on Roster: PF Darnell Jackson

Playoff Outlook: The Cavs take the league’s best record and arguably its best player into the playoffs, where this team will be expected to win it all. No problem. This team is full of blue-collar, hard-nosed players — which might be the reason Jackson has fit in so well — who will do anything to win. The addition of point guard Mo Williams gives this team a different dimension than the one that advanced to the Finals and was swept by San Antonio two years ago. The Cavs will be a tough out for anybody but will have a pretty tough road for a No. 1 seed. First they’ll have to get by Detroit (no easy No. 8 seed), then comes a matchup with Miami or Atlanta before finally having to knock off the defending champs (Boston) to get to the Finals.

Boston Celtics

Seed: 2 Eastern Conference (vs. Chicago in Rd. 1)

Record: 62-20

Jayhawk on Roster: SG Paul Pierce

Playoff Outlook: Injuries played a huge factor in the Celtics slipping out of the No. 1 seed in the quest to defend their 2008 title. Somehow, though, Boston still managed to win 60+ games. Yikes. If there’s one thing this team needed to fuel its run for a repeat, it was to be doubted. Age and injuries have caused people to question whether the Celtics have what it takes to repeat, but my answer is absolutely. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to do it, but I can’t think of three players I’d rather have when it comes time to really focus than Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. They’re still the best trio in the league and, with a dangerous chip on their shoulders, they’ll be out to prove that this postseason.

Miami Heat

Seed: 5 Eastern Conference (vs. Atlanta in Rd. 1)

Record: 43-39

Jayhawk on Roster: PG Mario Chalmers

Playoff Outlook: Here’s what we’ve learned through 82 games so far: When you have a player like Dwyane Wade on your team, you have a chance every single time. Wade has been sensational this season, proving that his “down years” during the past two seasons were a result of injuries and not a sign that his game had slipped. But as good as D-Wade has been, he won’t get the Heat back to the Finals by himself. He’s going to need major contributions from his teammates — that includes Mario Chalmers — particularly on the defensive end. The Heat can score. There’s no disputing that. But whether they advance or not will be determined by what kind of effort they give on defense.

Chicago Bulls

Seed: 7 Eastern Conference (vs. Boston in Rd. 1)

Record: 41-41

Jayhawk on Roster: SG Kirk Hinrich

Playoff Outlook: The Bulls made things tough on themselves with a loss in the regular-season finale. That dropped them from the No. 6 seed — where a more favorable matchup with No. 3 Orlando awaited — to the No. 7 seed where they now will have to face the defending NBA champions, who will enter the playoffs with something to prove. Truth be told, the way things looked at one point this season, the Bulls should be happy just to be in the playoffs. Making some noise would be gravy.

San Antonio Spurs

Seed: 3 Western Conference (vs. Dallas in Rd. 1)

Record: 54-28

Jayhawks on Roster: PF Drew Gooden, PG Jacque Vaughn

Playoff Outlook: If there’s one team in the entire field that knows what it takes to win in the postseason, it’s Greg Popovich’s Spurs. With three titles in the past six seasons, this team has some serious playoff experience and plenty of confidence that it can add title No. 4 in 2009. The late-season addition of Gooden was a huge pick-up for this team, as it gave them another forward who can score. It became even bigger when they discovered that Manu Ginobli will miss the rest of the season. Gooden can pick up a good chunk of Ginobli’s points. But he can’t get them the same way. Roger Mason Jr. is a nice player, but he’s more of a shooter and not near the slasher that Ginobli is. The loss of Ginobli will be too much for this team to overcome, although getting out of the first round certainly remains a strong possibility.

New Orleans Hornets

Seed: 6 Western Conference (vs. Denver in Rd. 1)

Record: 49-33

Jayhawk on Roster: SF Julian Wright

Playoff Outlook: New Orleans is a tough team to figure. First off, they didn’t follow up last year’s surprise success in quite the manner many thought they would. With that said, they still won 49 games and quietly had a pretty solid season. Despite those facts, they still have Chris Paul. And that might be the biggest reason not to count them out this postseason. The Hornets have a chance to make a similar run as last season, but they’ll need to find consistent scoring outside of CP. New Orleans caught a tough break in drawing Denver this season, as the Nuggets now feature a point guard — Chauncey Billups — who’s tough enough and proud enough to make defense a priority. With some timely shooting and defensive intensity, this team has enough pieces to make serious run.

PREDICTION TIME:

Round 1 Winners

East — Cleveland, Atlanta, Boston, Orlando

West — Los Angeles, Denver, Dallas and Portland

Conference Finals

East — Cleveland vs. Boston

West — Los Angeles vs. Denver

NBA Finals

Cleveland vs. Los Angeles Lakers (a.k.a. LeBron vs. Kobe)

NBA Champion

Los Angeles Lakers (4 games to 3)