The Chicago Bulls, who won six championships under Jordan, did not even make the play-offs this year.

Reggie Miller: Leading the Pacers on to glory?

Instead, the New York Knicks will face the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals, while in the Western Conference the San Antonio Spurs will meet the Portland Trailblazers.

The play-offs - which pit the top eight teams in each Conference against each other - have already had their share of surprises.

Underdogs New York knocked out the top team in the East, Miami, in the first round, winning a dramatic victory in the last seconds of the final game.

And in the West, the top seeded Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz were both defeated.

Old rivals in the East

The Eastern Conference finals begin on Sunday between two teams who know each other well.

The Indiana Pacers, led by the high-scoring Reggie Miller, defeated the Knicks two games to one in the regular season.

Latrell Sprewell: Knicks new arrival this season

They are also undefeated so far in the play-offs.

The Knicks, who barely made the play-offs after a terrible season, have shown a completely different form in their championship duels.

After defeating the Miami Heat, they swept the Atlanta Hawks in four straight games.

The Knicks' bench, including new acquisitions Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby, have been outstanding.

That has helped to make up for the difficulties faced by the Knicks' centre, Patrick Ewing, who has injury problems.

Both teams play tough defence, and the contest could go to the full seven game series - as it usually has in the past.

Newcomers in the West

In contrast, two newcomers are playing in the Western Conference finals.

The Portland Trailblazers defeated last year's conference champions, the Utah Jazz, in a hard-fought series.

They now face the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday in the best-of-seven series.

Tim Duncan: One of the "twin towers"

San Antonio's team features the "twin towers" of centre David Robinson and forward Tim Duncan, already a candidate for Most Valuable Player after only his second year as a pro.

They combined for an average of 41 points and 21 rebounds in their regular season games this year against Portland, who were defeated 3-1 by the Spurs.

And they dominated Shaquille O'Neill, the Lakers' big centre, in the playoffs, winning a 4-0 sweep against Los Angeles.

Although the underdogs,Trailblazer star Isaiah Rider will try and keep the series close, with his athletic style and spectacular dunks.

But San Antonio's momentum might prove unstoppable, while Portland just managed to defeat Utah to reach the finals.