NBA Playoffs: 1st Round Recap

The first round of the NBA playoffs is officially over, and we are on to the semifinals. Sixteen teams fought and only eight made it through, and it was quite entertaining to watch. There were some surprises, and some not-so surprises. Let’s begin on the east coast:

No. 1 seed Boston Celtics vs. No. 8 seed Chicago Bulls

This series started out looking like it was going to be one for the record books. The Bulls got out to an early series lead winning the first 2 games, on the road, heading home up 2-0. Again…they were the #8 seed. On the flip side, Celtics star Isaiah Thomas had lost his sister in a one car-car crash the day before game one, yet he still scored 33 points. As a Celtics fan with Celtic pride, I just couldn’t give up on Isaiah and his team yet, and thank God I didn’t. They ended up winning the next 4 games and advancing to the next round. After adjustments regarding the first 2 loses, Celtics coach Brad Stevens made changes to his line-up. Robin Lopez was a big reason why the Celtics were losing, already not being the best rebounding team, but that all changed when Stevens put Gerald Green into the starting line-up to spark his team, which in my opinion was the right move. And it worked out, the Celtics will face the Washington Wizards in the semifinals.

No.2 seed Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No.7 seed Indiana Pacers

I mean, are we really shocked here. The Cavs are the defending NBA Champions, and although Indiana didn’t make anything easy, I think we all knew what was going to happen. Yup, a 4 game sweep of the Pacers and Cleveland is on to the next round.

No. 3 seed Toronto Raptors vs. No.6 seed Milwaukee Bucks

To be honest after watching the first game I thought the Bucks were going to end up upsetting Toronto, and then my mind was definitely made up when they took at 2-1 series lead. But nonetheless, that is not what happened. The playoff experience for the Raptors came in handy against the young Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo, otherwise known as the “Greek Freak” showcased his talents and proved he was a force to be reckoned with, but that wasn’t enough as the Toronto Raptors outlasted the Bucks to move on.

No.4 seed Washington Wizards vs. No.5 seed Atlanta Hawks

This one was a bit of a toss up for me, but I couldn’t doubt John Wall. In the east, he is the most explosive scoring Point Guard there is. He is up there with one of the fastest and scariest players when they make up their mind to go to the rim, like LeBron James and Russell Westbrook. He proved this as the Wizards prevailed 4-2. In game 6, John Wall had 42, combined with his backcourt mate Bradley Beal’s 33, and you have Washington shutting out Atlanta’s comeback and any hope they had in advancing.

On to the West Coast..

No. 1 Golden State Warriors vs. No.8 Portland Trail Blazers

Just like the Cavs series, are we really surprised here. Yeah, Damian Lillard is a fantastic Point Guard and definitely was playing with a chip on his shoulder after not being selected as an all-star, but in reality, Golden State is on a mission to get back to the NBA Finals and redeem themselves. They proved it in this first round sweeping the Trailblazers. Again, no surprises here.

No.2 San Antonio Spurs vs. No.7 Memphis Grizzlies

History played a role in this series. How can we forget the epic series in 2011, when the Grizzlies..THE 8 SEED beat the No.1 seed Spurs in an unbelievable 6 game series. Granted both teams are different now, but it was close to another big upset with Memphis as the winner. But alas, the Spurs overcame the toughness and grit of the Grizz, with the help of superstar Kawhi Leonard, and won the series 4-2.

No. 3 Houston Rockets vs No.6 Oklahoma City Thunder

Here we go, both MVP candidates James Harden and Russell Westbrook going at each other. What was expected to be an epic 7 game wire to wire series, ended up being a 4-1 series with Houston on the winning end. Despite Russell Westbrook doing what he did all season, averaging a triple double during the series, he couldn’t win a playoff series by himself. Don’t forget the rivalry between Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley, which played a role in this series. After they defeated the Thunder in game 5, Beverley had some shade to throw “We shot so bad … and we were still able to win a game and we’ve been doing it all series.” Even though the outcome, I still can’t deny that Westbrook deserves the MVP.

No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers vs. No.5 Utah Jazz

Now this series was a shocker. Utah comes through and advances after a game 7 win on the road, which is a hard thing to do, especially for a young team going against a veteran team. Blake Griffin sat out with a toe injury..yeah that’s right..a TOE injury. Like c’mon it’s the playoffs, step up. That’s just my personal opinion. Gordon Hayward scored 26 in the clincher, and is proving that he is a force to be reckoned with. The Clippers are again left without a finals debut, and that leaves us to think if Chris Paul will stick around.

On another note, game 7 was future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce’s final game of his career. So as a Bostonian, thank you Truth.

 
And that’s a wrap, until the semis.

Written by Kristen Connors