NBA Playoff Schedule 2015: TV Guide and Predictions for Monday's Matchups

On Monday, a former MVP and two future MVPs will all be in action. A top seed will take on a plucky rival, while a team that is finally healthy and showing its full potential faces a squad that not many would have expected to reach the postseason.

With two tasty Game 2 matchups on tap, Monday promises an entertaining evening of NBA postseason action. Let's take a look at the schedule and predict each contest.

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Chicago Bulls

Look out, NBA—Derrick Rose is back.

The oft-injured superstar was brilliant in the Chicago Bulls' Game 1 win, scoring 23 points and notching seven assists. It was a glimpse of what the Bulls could be, if they could stay healthy. Jimmy Butler scored 25 points. The team's frontcourt controlled the game, out-rebounding the Milwaukee Bucks 52-41, with Pau Gasol snagging 13 rebounds and Joakim Noah and Nikola Mirotic having 11 rebounds each.

Milwaukee's ascent from a 15-win team in 2013-14 to winning 41 games has been impressive, but its hope is for the future, not this season. Promising rookie Jabari Parker suffered a season-ending knee injury this season, after all, leaving the Bucks without one of their better scorers.

Chicago was already the better team coming into this series without Rose. With him—and more importantly, with him playing like the superstar who won an MVP in 2010-11 season before injuries derailed his career—the Bulls are going to be tough for any team in the Eastern Conference to get past.

Expect the Bulls to win Game 2 and take this series without much issue.

Prediction: Bulls win.

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Golden State Warriors

Don't be fooled by the 106-99 scoreline from Game 1, a Golden State Warriors win. While the New Orleans Pelicans made things interesting in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to four points in the final minute, the Warriors led by as many as 25 points in the third quarter and took their foot off the gas pedal in the fourth.

There are a number of reasons to believe the Warriors will make it two in a row.

They've won 19 straight games in their building.
Guard Tyreke Evans left Game 1 with a knee injury, and his status going forward remains unknown.
Steph Curry is really, really good.
The Warriors are the deeper, more talented team.
The Warriors don't just play exciting offense, they play the league's best defense.
Anthony Davis can't beat the Warriors on his own.

Golden State is going to win this series. Yes, it's a bit concerning that it let the Pelicans make things interesting late, but the team was so dominant for much of the game that the result never really felt in doubt. The Warriors are the real deal this season, and the Pelicans aren't going to pull off the upset, especially in Oakland.

Prediction: Warriors win.