As the NBA regular season comes to a close tonight, 28 teams will be in action. And with the playoffs beginning on Saturday, there is a lot to process. Some players will be packing up their lockers, as free agents leave the arena talking to their agent on their BlackBerry. Others will be preparing to go to battle as their team gets set for the postseason. So with tall that in mind, here are five things to watch for tonight.

1. Who sits?
The only people that should be worried about starters taking the night off are the fans that paid to see the A-listers. Other than that, true fans should understand that while they’d love to see Kobe, LeBron, etc. dunking in the open court, they should just wait until this weekend. When it counts.

2. Say goodbye
Tonight will mark the end for an onslaught of NBA players tonight as they enter the offseason not knowing where they’ll be suiting up next year. I’m sorry Pistons fans, but there is a possibility that Kwame Brown might not be back. Can you handle that? While exit interview will let players know where they stand with their respective clubs, roster spots 6-15 probably won’t fill out until after all the max-contract guys find homes.

3. Coach job security
Just like the players, there are coaches that should be just as scared about finding work. For example, while John Kuester is said to be back coaching the Pistons next season, that could change next week. Also, with uncertain futures of Doc Rivers, Don Nelson and Larry Brown, that’s thousands of wins that could me moving around next year (or out of the League).

4. Walk with swagger
How will the playoff teams show up tonight? For some, a win or a loss doesn’t matter in their playoff seeding, but success breeds success. Also, for a team like the Nets, with nothing to lose, will they go into Miami and get the W? It will be interesting to see how older teams like San Antonio and Boston approach tonight’s game, because the playoffs are here. There’s no time for excuses.

5. Future hostility
There are a couple matchups on the schedule tonight that we could see in the next few weeks: Bucks/Celtics, Cavs/Hawks, Spurs/Mavericks and Suns/Jazz. Just like the Kings/Lakers back in the day when they were brawling in the preseason, let’s see if anything starts here tonight. Hard foul? Cheap shot? It’s all fair game in the playoffs.

What do you think? What are some things you’ll be watching for tonight?

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