It pays for a team to finish off your best-of-seven series in the National Basketball Association playoffs in the shortest possible time.

In doing so, a team acquires some much-needed rest in preparation for its next best-of-seven assignment and also gains valuable healing time for players that are nursing injuries.

The Orlando Magic, the NBA’s lone undefeated playoff squad with a 8-0 record, whitewashed the Charlotte Bobcats (4-0) in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs then blanked the low-flying Atlanta Hawks in the second round (posting an average winning margin of 25.3 points for the most lopsided four-game sweep in NBA playoff history) to earn a rest of eight and five days, respectively, between series.

It also marked the first two 4-0 playoff sweeps in Magic history.

In the best-of-three East final series, which gets underway tomorrow (Manila time) at the Amway Arena in Florida, it will be Orlando against Boston, which upset back-to-back NBA regular-season leader Cleveland, 4-2, in second-round action.

Out in the West, the surprising Phoenix Suns and defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers also made short work of their respective opponents in the conference semifinals to earn much-needed rest between series.

The Suns blasted the San Antonio Spurs in a minimum four games to gain a one-week layoff while the Los Angeles Lakers also turned in the same trick against the undermanned Utah Jazz to secure a six-day time-off.

Now, the Lakers and Suns face each other in the best-of-seven Western finals – starting Tuesday morning (Manila time) at the Staples Center – for the right to represent the conference in the 2010 NBA Finals early next month.

Orlando is favored to qualify for the NBA Finals for a second straight year. But while Boston (8-3) is clearly the underdog in the series, the Celts certainly are no pushover, judging by their stunning series victory over LeBron James and the Cavs that included impressive road successes at the tough Quicken Loans Arena in Games Two (104-86) and Five (120-88 – the worst home loss in the Cavaliers’ playoff history).

Coach Doc Rivers has to be satisfied with the work of the Celtics’ aging but relatively healthy Big Three (playoff stats in parentheses) – Kevin Garnett (17.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg), Ray Allen (17.4 ppg) and Paul Pierce (16.3 ppg, .396 FG shooting).

But like all other NBA followers, Rivers also knows that it’s really the performance of lightning-quick floor general Rajon Rondo (team-best 18.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 11.1 apg and 2.09 spg) that will determine the Celtics’ fortunes against the Magic.

The Big Three will be there all throughout, starting center Kendrick Perkins (6.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and substitutes Glen Davis (7.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg), Tony Allen (7.5 ppg) and Rasheed Wallace (5.1 ppg) will spring a surprise once in a while, but it’s Rondo whom the Celtics Nation will revolve around.

Credit also must be given to Celtics assistant coach Tom Thibodeau, who devises the club’s defensive strategies. He is probably the reason why LA Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant could not get his game going during the 2008 NBA Finals and why back-to-back NBA MVP James was off-and-on during this year’s Celtics-Cavs playoff series. (Add this to the fact that uncrowned King James also played with a bothersome right elbow injury.)

The Magic have a number of three-point assassins and own five double-figure playoff scorers in comebacking guard Jameer Nelson (team-high 20.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 19 three-pointers)), Vince Carter (16.9 ppg), Rashard Lewis (16.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, club-best 24 threes), two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and the club’s Superman Dwight Howard (15.4 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 3.88 bpg) and Frechman Mickael Pietrus (10.3 ppg, 21-for-41 from three-point territory.

Anchored around Howard, Orlando’s suffocating defense is also a strong suit. What the Magic have to guard against are overconfidence and complacency, a couple of negative vibes that led to Cleveland’s playoff downfall in the last two years.

In the end, I pick Orlando to beat Boston in six games to reach the NBA Finals for the second year in a row.

Out West, expect the Lakers-Suns series to be a high-scoring affair.

While the two clubs run a high-octane offense and employ an up-tempo style, the Lakers also are comfortable in an halfcourt set.

Coach Phil Jackson’s troops enjoy huge length and size advantages when pounding the inside with twin 7-footers Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum and 6-10 chief speller Lamar Odom.

Phoenix, just like old times, like to run a lot, collecting many transition points from streak-shooting guard Jason Richardson, hulking frontliner Amare Stoudemire, and ageless playmaker Steve Nash, the straw that stirs the Suns’ drink.

To their credit, the Suns now also play better team defense under bench boss Alvin Gentry. During the time of coach Mike D’Antoni (now with the sad-sack New York Knicks) and his seven-seconds-or-less offense in Phoenix, the 6-10 Stoudemire could not even spell the word “defense.” Now, he is exerting real effort to play “D.” shadow his defender.

Expect also a lot of three-pointers being hoisted during the West final series.

In this year’s playoffs, the Lakers’ trifecta bombs have come from Bryant (15), defense-oriented Ron Artest (12) and guards Derek Fisher (19), Jordan Farmer (9) and Shannon Brown (6).

The Suns, on the other hand, rely heavily on Richardson (34), Nash (13), Channing Frye (20), Slovenian guard Goran Dragic (12), Jared Dudley (14) and Brazilian guard Leandro Barbosa for their avalanche of threes.

Unquestionably, Kobe Bryant will be assuming much of the scoring load for the Lakers, who are bidding to reach the NBA Finals for a third year in a row.

Through LA’s first 10 playoff contests (8-2), Bryant has registered averages of 26.9 points (on a decent .457 (95-for-208) FG clip), 3.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists an outing.

However, the 6-7, 31-year-old son of former NBA journeyman player and current Japanese pro league coach Joe Bryant was brilliant offensively in the second-round series against Utah following a six-game struggle against Oklahoma City in first-round play.

During the stunning 4-0 thrashing of the Jazz, Bryant fought through injuries to his knee, ankle and shooting right hand to score 32.0 ppg (31-30-35-32) and shoot .523 from the field.

Aside from Bryant, the Lakers’ other productive performers in the postseason are Gasol (20.2 ppg, 13.1 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.9 bpg, .564 (75-for-133) FG pct.), Fisher (10.6 ppg, 3.2 apg), Bynum (10.3 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.00 bpg), Artest (9.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg), Odom (8.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg) and Brown (6.6 ppg).

For the Suns (8-2), who did not even make the playoffs a year ago, Richardson is their No. 1 point-producer with a 21.9-point clip. Stoudemire (20.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and Nash (17.8 ppg, 9.0 apg) also are scoring in double digits.

In addition to J-Rich, Stoudemire and Nash, Phoenix also has five other players averaging at least seven points a game. They are Grant Hill (9.5 ppg), who has been transformed into a defensive stopper at age 37; Frye (8.7 ppg), Dragic (7.7 ppg), Barbosa (7.6 ppg) and Dudley (7.4 ppg)

The Lakers, who beat the Suns, 3-1, in their head-to-head duels during the regular campaign and have a 7-2 edge since Gasol joined the team in February 2008, are favored to beat the Suns.

With a hungry Bryant, I expect the Lakers to defeat the Suns in six games during their West final series.

Coach Phil Jackson is 47-0 when his teams (Chicago and LA Lakers) win Game One of a playoff series. The Lakers also are 40-1 in franchise history after capturing the first two games of a seven-game series (the only loss came during the 1969 NBA Finals against Boston when the Celtics beat them 4-3).