Legacy. Legacy is the word one most associates with the beginning of the NBA Playoffs on a yearly basis. Every year stars rise and fall. Expectations are exceeded or broken. Promise is either lived up to or goes unfulfilled. This is the nature of the League particularly in the modern day when every made or missed shot is captured by social media and ever larger, higher definition television. History can be made or even revised with a big playoff victory or defeat that either creates a legend or shatters one.
Let’s take a look at the first round of the playoffs.
Eastern Conference First Round
Pacers def Hawks 4-3: This series feels like it’s going 7. The Pacers are in a funk they can’t recover from and the Hawks play better than people give them credit for. Jeff Teague is a big problem for Indiana with his speed and playmaking. Still, if and when it comes to a seventh game the Pacers just have too much fire-power for Atlanta, particularly without Al Horford.
Nets def Raptors 4-2: I love the upstart Raptors. They have energy, athleticism and one of the toughest guys in the NBA in Kyle Lowry. But they have zero big game experience and that spells doom for Toronto. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett coasted through the regular season never looking fully committed to their new team. But nothing motivates these guys like playoff basketball and their deepest dreams of playing Miami one last time.
Heat def Bobcats 4-0: I was a believer in the Bobcats being able to win a game or two in this series. But their best player, Big Al Jefferson ripped his plantar fascia in the opening minutes of game 1 and is not likely to be a factor going forward in this series. That coupled with… wait a minute. We’re not breaking down this series. They’re the Bobcats.
Wizards def Bulls 4-2: The Wizards have already stolen home-court advantage from the Bulls. I was shocked at the way their big men dominated Noah and Boozer. With Derrick Rose being scared to play for the second year in a row, it just isn’t looking good for Chicago. The Wizards have big guards in Wall, Miller, Beal and Webster who will exploit the lack of size Bulls guards like Kirk Hinrich and Dj Augustine have.
Western Conference First Round
Grizzlies def Thunder 4-2: The Grizzlies took OKC’s best punch on Saturday night falling behind by 22 points at the start of the third quarter. Kevin Durant was at his absolute best hitting deep 3 pointers and slashing to the rim, playing with the seething anger that has permeated his season. But the Grizzlies shook it right off and came back to tie the game before simply running out of time. Memphis is too physical, too well-coached and too steady for the free wheeling Thunder. I love how composed Mike Conley seems to be at all times. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph are too much bulk for Serge Ibaka. Watch out for Memphis stealing game 2 and the series.
Clippers def Warriors 4-3: Like Memphis, the Clippers took their opponents’ best punch in the first game of the series. Golden State made seemingly every shot and went after every loose ball. Now it’s time for a little reality check: Blake Griffin only played 19 minutes because of foul trouble. The Warriors cannot win this series as long as they are having Klay Thompson defend Chris Paul. Without Andrew Bogut, who is injured as always, the Warriors have zero rim protection. The Warriors are trying to hide Steph Curry on defense (because he has none) and it won’t take Doc Rivers long to figure out how to exploit it. Game 7 goes to the Clips.
Spurs def Mavs 4-3: That’s right, another seven game series between these two bitter rivals. Talk about legacy. Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki are the two greatest power forwards of all time. I said it. Duncan has always been recognized as the best ever at his position. But Dirk has passed both Charles Barkley and Karl Malone on that list. He has been better for longer than either of those guys. He’s just not better than Tim. The truth is in my heart I think Dallas will win this series in seven, I just don’t have the guts to say it.
Rockets def Blazers 4-2: The Blazers won a thrilling game 1 over the weekend. Now Houston needs James Harden and Jeremy Lin to step their game up. If they get even one or two superstar games from Dwight Howard it should be a wrap. I think they will but it is the beginning of something big in Portland.
The playoffs are under way already with several upsets having taken place in game 1’s across the board.