NBA Round 1 Recap

Was the first round of the NBA Playoffs a success? I'd argue that yes, the first round was decent. Granted, the amount of blowouts (20 point deficits or higher) were higher than average (13) but, we did see two series' go to game sevens when the widespread belief was that we might only be blessed with one game seven (probably Celtics v. Hawks). Did any of the teams that matter for championship contention get dragged further by their opponents than five games? of course not. The first round was still fun for some classic Dwyane Wade, the re-introduction of Paul George and some Craig Sager sideline interviews that would have topped anything happening on the court as the best moments of this postseason.

Western Conference

Warriors defeat Rockets in 5 games
Gm. 1: Warriors 104, Rockets 78
Gm. 2: Warriors 115, Rockets 106
Gm. 3: Rockets 97, Warriors 96
Gm. 4: Warriors 121, Rockets 94
Gm. 5: Warriors 114, Rockets 81

David J. Phillip - AP
Steph Curry's knee sprain was the only thing about this series worth discussion.

This series basically went as expected except for defending MVP Stephen Curry spraining his knee in game four. The weird footnote on this series is that game three was won by Houston despite Curry's presence. People will forget about that once this 73-9 team eventually meets San Antonio. Sure, one might say that it was a fluke game with how off the Warriors' shooting was but, with how weak Houston's defense had been all season, Golden State should have found a way to beat them. The Warriors went on to destroy the Rockets by 50+ in the post-Curry world and it seems like life might be livable for Warriors' fans for at least one Curry-less round.

MVPOTS (MVP Of The Series): Klay Thompson

Spurs sweep Grizzlies in 4 games
Gm. 1: Spurs 106, Grizzlies 74
Gm. 2: Spurs 94, Grizzlies 68
Gm. 3: Spurs 96, Grizzlies 87
Gm. 4: Spurs 116, Grizzlies 95

Frederick Breedon/Getty Images
Dave Joerger coached more players than the Spurs have had this decade in one year. Job well done.

The Spurs are who we thought they were and this series did not introduce any new ideas about what the Spurs could be. Instead, I would like to give props to Lance Stephenson (HE'S BACK!) on pulling off his greatest post-Pacer performance in game four by scoring 26 points on 11 of 19 shooting. Stephenson capped off a pretty solid series that might have been enough to convince the Grizzlies to bring him back next season. Also receiving props, Vince Carter on playing well despite his age, Zach Randolph despite being the only perceivable good option and of course, props to Dave Joerger on not letting this team drop out of the playoffs (sorry Utah) despite everyone burying them at the deadline when they were only in the #5 seed and down both of their two stars (Mike Conley and Marc Gasol). Hopefully, the rumors that have been present for the past two years that Grizzlies management disliked Joerger are not true and the head coach returns for another run.

MVPOTS: Kawhi Leonard

Thunder defeat Mavericks in 5 games
Gm. 1: Thunder 108, Mavericks 70
Gm. 2: Mavericks 85, Thunder 84
Gm. 3: Thunder 131, Mavericks 102
Gm. 4: Thunder 119, Mavericks 108
Gm. 5: Thunder 118, Mavericks 104

(USATSI)
Mark Cuban is not a superstar owner.

Superstar or no superstar, Russell Westbrook sure kicked a ton of Maverick ass in this series. Dallas seemingly refused to play defense in this series as every one of their players not named Justin Anderson is currently an AARP member. The one player in his prime on Dallas, Chandler Parsons, was absent due to a torn meniscus suffered in June and along with his meniscus, Dallas's chances of an upset were torn apart. Game 2 was the "KD and Russ miss all their shots and not even Kanter can save the Thunder" game that happens once every few weeks and the rest of the series was Dallas rolling over and waiting for the bear to get bored and leave.

MVPOTS: Russell Westbrook

Trail Blazers defeat Clippers in 6 games
Gm. 1: Clippers 115, Trail Blazers 95
Gm. 2: Clippers 102, Trail Blazers 81
Gm. 3: Trail Blazers 96, Clippers 88
Gm. 4: Trail Blazers 98, Clippers 84
Gm. 5: Trail Blazers 108, Clippers 98
Gm. 6: Trail Blazers 106, Clippers 103

(Twitter)
If an NBA team is in a situation where this man has to return to a basketball game, you know they were desperate.

Congratulations to the Clippers on finally getting most people to feel bad for them after setting new records in whining, ridiculous off-court situations and having an outmatched head coach/general manager. This series gave a whole new meaning to the "NO GOOD CLIPPERS" ad with Portland point guard Damian Lillard. Not only did Blake Griffin re-tweak his knee injury but, Chris Paul broke his hand, J.J. Redick played through an injury that hindered his game and Austin Rivers' face exploded. The coach's son lost plenty of blood and gained even more respect with his spectacular performance with his left eye barely able to open. The problem was no matter how well Rivers performed, he should not be the team's #1 all-around player even after all of the other injuries. It was a sad collapse by one of sports' most tortured franchises but, it was nowhere near as bad as last season.

MVPOTS: Mason Plumlee

Eastern Conference

Cavaliers sweep Pistons in 4 games
Gm. 1: Cavaliers 106, Pistons 101
Gm. 2: Cavaliers 107, Pistons 90
Gm. 3: Cavaliers 101, Pistons 91
Gm. 4: Cavaliers 100, Pistons 98

Jason Miller - FOX Sports
Stanley Johnson may have been in Lebron's head. I doubt it but, it's certainly possible he thought about him.

Every game in this series felt awfully similar besides game one. Game one may have just caught much of the audience off guard by how well coached the Detroit Pistons were and what a fight they gave Cleveland night in and night out. Games two through four were all the exact same fight only, with the same exact results every game. At the end of the day, Lebron was more passive than he will be in future rounds. He will only get more aggressive because his team needs it. His team did not need to him to be AGGRO-BRON this series and the result was a fun-to-watch, well-played series by both squads. Detroit probably does not appreciate being swept but, they will get over it and maybe win a playoff series next year with an easier opponent or an improved young nucleus.

MVPOTS: Lebron James

Raptors defeat Pacers in 7 games
Gm. 1: Pacers 100, Raptors 90
Gm. 2: Raptors 98, Pacers 87
Gm. 3: Raptors 101, Pacers 85
Gm. 4: Pacers 100, Raptors 83
Gm. 5: Raptors 102, Pacers 99
Gm. 6: Pacers 101, Raptors 83
Gm. 7: Raptors 89, Pacers 84

Nathan Dennette - Associated Press
The breakout of Norman Powell was a deciding factor in Toronto's dramatic series win over Indiana.

After watching the fourth quarter of game seven, I can't believe either team was allowed to advance. The Raptors must be elated to advance to the second round of the postseason for the first time in 15 years and yet, there is no way they actually wanted to win with how poorly played and coached those last five minutes of game seven were. The 6's team lucked out by facing the least competent offense in the playoffs in the Pacers and Paul George was the only player to lead them in scoring for six of the seven games (Game 4 featured 22-point performances from both George Hill and shockingly enough, Ian Mahinmi). Even though the future of duo Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan doesn't look too bright, the futures of Cory Joseph and Norman Powell really brightened an otherwise bleak series for Toronto.

MVPOTS: Paul George (despite the loss, this was the best representation of his return to being a top ten NBA superstar)

Heat defeat Hornets in 7 games
Gm. 1: Heat 123, Hornets 91
Gm. 2: Heat 115, Hornets 103
Gm. 3: Hornets 96, Heat 80
Gm. 4: Hornets 89, Heat 85
Gm. 5: Hornets 90, Heat 88
Gm. 6: Heat 97, Hornets 90
Gm. 7: Heat 106, Hornets 73

How DID Michael Jordan get Charlotte Hornets popcorn in Miami? Did he just bring incredibly stale popcorn?

After the Heat won the first two games of this first round series, Hornets forward Nicolas Batum injured himself and head coach Steve Clifford decided that this should give guys like Frank Kaminsky, Jeremy Lin and Courtney Lee more playing. That strategy ALMOST paid off as Buzz City went on to win three straight before dropping two to Miami thanks to the re-emergence of Dwyane Wade and the defensive prowess of Hassan Whiteside rearing it's head again. It won't be entirely tears for crying MJ and the crew as they were not thought of as a playoff team as the weird matches of Kaminsky, Hawes and Zeller were presumably going to tear this team apart and instead, they made it to a game seven in the first round for the first time since they were formed as the Bobcats.

MVPOTS: Dwyane Wade

Hawks defeat Celtics in 6 games
Gm. 1: Hawks 102, Celtics 101
Gm. 2: Hawks 89, Celtics 72
Gm. 3: Celtics 111, Hawks 103
Gm. 4: Celtics 104, Hawks 95 in overtime
Gm. 5: Hawks 110, Celtics 83
Gm. 6: Hawks 104, Celtics 92

AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
Paul Millsap's dominant game 4 was wasted thanks to the Celtics superior overtime defense.

Game one made this look like a best of seven that could use all seven games. Game two made us all second-guess the readiness of Brad Stevens' Celtics. Game three reassured everyone that Isaiah Thomas is a lightning bolt of a player that can score 42 in four quarters like it was no big deal. Game four took Paul Millsap one step closer to being a household name with 45 points and 13 rebounds but, also saw Boston shut down every other Hawk, leading to an overtime win. After that game, the Hawks took over and never looked back despite a solid effort put forth by the younger Celtic team.

MVPOTS: Isaiah Thomas (The only player to show any consistency for all six games)

Round 2 Picks
Note: My Spurs-Thunder & Warriors-Blazers picks were made prior to Game 1.
Warriors over Trail Blazers in 4. (With or without Curry)
Spurs over Thunder in 7. (Not looking great after game one)
Cavaliers over Hawks in 6. (Still won't be seeing AGGRO-BRON)
Heat over Raptors in 5. (I would take all five of Miami's starters over all five of Toronto's right now)

My finals pick from the preseason still stands.

Good luck to all the players. May they all stay healthy for competition's sake and may all series end in game sevens!