The first round of NBA playoffs was exciting, competitve, and full of exceptional play. While the East largely panned out according to expectations, many of the West’s playoff spots were in contention up until the end of the season.
Conference Quarterfinals
In the East, the number one Toronto Raptors, headed by the high scoring Demar Derozan and the versatile Kyle Lowry, took a 2-0 series lead against the Washington Wizards, but with five of the Wizards scoring double digits in Game 3 and Bradley Beal dropping 31 points in Game 4, the Wizards tied up the series at two a piece. However, the Raptors made light work of the remaining two games to advance to the second round.
The second seed Boston Celtics fought off the resilient Milwaukee Bucks in seven games, energized by high-flying young wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, as well as Brad Stevens’ enigmatic coaching. The Bucks’ superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo’s underperformed in the series, providing only a few thunderous dunks and highlight-reel blocks in relation to his outrageous regular-season production.
While at one point the Eastern Conference third seed Philadelphia 76ers looked like they might have a tight series against the Miami Heat, they put all doubts to the side and advanced to the second round on a 4-1 first round win. The highlight of the series for the Heat was veteran Dwayne Wade’s silky 28-point Game 2, which reminded fans of Wade’s former glory. He credited his stellar play to taunts received from comedian and Philadelphia native Kevin Hart.
The fifth seed Utah Jazz and their star rookie, Donovan Mitchell, overcame the Oklahoma City Thunder in six games, a shocking result. The Thunder, whose lineup was studded with all-stars Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, and Russell Westbrook, were completely defenseless to the Jazz’s underdog roster. Former Governor of Massachusetts and Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney taunted Westbrook from the sidelines.
The Portland Trail Blazers, the third seed in the West, had a disastrous first round, getting swept by Anthony Davis and the sixth seed New Orleans Pelicans. Despite Portland’s backcourt of Lillard and McCollum shooting a high fifty seven percent, the Blazers’ defense was atrocious, giving up a combined 88 points to Jrue Holiday and Davis. Rajon Rondo of the Pelicans dazzled many with his creativity, dropping 16 assists in Game 4.
Despite concerns over an injured Stephen Curry, and center Lamarcus Aldridge’s dominant post play, including a 34 point display in the San Antonio Spurs’ Game 2 loss, the second seed Golden State Warriors cleanly pulled off a 4-1 series win, a result that the Houston Rockets matched in a relatively comfortable series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The fourth seed Cleveland Cavaliers, led by the king of the NBA, Lebron James, just managed to squeak out a 4-3 series win over the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers were led by Victor Oladipo (who can apparently do more than just sing) and steadily backed by a roster of Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, Bojan Bogdanovic, Lance Stephenson.
This first round has been a surprise to many fans. Lebron “the King” James’ playoff dominance was called into question, the heavily-favored Thunder lost, rookies shined, and Philadelphia appeared dominant.
Conference Semifinals
The second round of the playoffs took on a completely different tone.Three of the four series ended in five games, and one ended in four. The only consistency between the first and second rounds was the outstanding rookie play. In the West, the Golden State Warriors managed to quiet the New Orleans Pelicans in five games. The Houston Rockets faced the Utah Jazz, with Chris Paul and James Harden silencing the doubters and leading the team to the Western Conference Finals.
In the East, while there were whispers of a Philadelphia Sixers comeback against the Boston Celtics, no comeback occurred. The Lebron-led Cleveland Cavaliers, only the fourth seed in the East after a meandering regular season, easily swept past the top-seeded Toronto Raptors in four games, with only a young, depleted Boston Celtics team to play the Eastern Conference Finals. Lebron James decimated the Toronto Raptors so terribly that hip-hop artist Drake, a Toronto native, posted nothing on social media, Dwane Casey, head coach of the Raptors, was fired, and in all matters basketball related, the city of Toronto has been dubbed “Lebronto.”
Conference Finals
Both the Western Conference Finals and Eastern Conference Finals are underway, but the outcomes are much less predictable than in past years.
Almost unbelievably, less than a week after their dominant display against Toronto, the Cavaliers’ hopes for the season and Lebron James’ steady ascent to the pinnacle of basketball greatness, have been derailed.
The Celtics are without their two best players – talented forward Gordon Hayward suffered a gruesome, season-ending ankle injury in the first game of the season, while superstar ex-Cavalier Kyrie Irving’s impressive year came to an untimely end after emergency knee surgery. However, in a dramatic turn of events, the inexperienced Celtics have dominated Cleveland in successive games, easily turning back a 42-point performance in from James to secure a 2-0 series lead.
In the West, the Houston Rockets managed to hold on to the Golden State Warriors for a good portion of Game 1. However, James Harden and Chris Paul’s combined 64 points, 10 assists, and 15 rebounds, weren’t enough to push back the Warriors, who, on the back of Kevin Durant’s 38 points, took home-court advantage away from the Rockets in the thrilling series opener. However, Houston rallied in a strong Game 2, never allowing the Warriors to settle down and tying the series at 1-1 as the Warriors return to Oakland.
Wrap-Up
The playoffs have been enjoyable to watch this year, to say the least. There have been buzzer beaters and record breaking performances. In addition, there has been a restructuring of the teams in power in the East. The days of a murky mix of sub par teams fighting for the chance to lose to Lebron James seems to be long gone, instead replaced by young, aspiring talent, a bright future.
Some of the best play this postseason have in fact come from rookies. Jayson Tatum has shattered Celtics postseason scoring records. Donovan Mitchell scored a total of 55 points during his first two games, outdoing Michael Jordan’s rookie record by two points to set the rookie guard-scoring high mark. While the 76ers lost to Celtics in the second round, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid showed that they would be in control of the Eastern Conference very soon. It was only last year that Philadelphia went 28-54 during the regular season, this year they made it to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The question that remains for this year’s postseason remains the same as in the recent past: Can anybody beat the Golden State Warriors?
