In the lead up to the NBA Playoffs, If someone were to have told me the Cavs and Celtics would face off once again in the Eastern Conference finals, I would’ve laughed.
With all the injuries that Boston has suffered and how bad the Cavs looked, not only heading into the playoffs but even in their 7 game Round 1 series against the Pacers, here we are.
The Celtics are one win away from knocking off the highly fancied Sixers in the Conference Semi Finals. The Cavs made sure the Raptors were the first 1 seed ever to be swept in the Conference Semi Finals.
What can you honestly say about this Toronto team? They are fool’s gold.
Every year fans think it’s going to be different, and why wouldn’t you think that, they had their best season in franchise history this season. They once again completely imploded in the playoffs (and again against LeBron James) and looked horrific in doing so.
Yes, they should’ve taken Game 1, and took a miracle shot from LeBron to win Game 3, but the fact of the matter is this team simply can’t perform in big games. Something really needs to be done in the off season, however looking at their current contracts, this team is in a world of pain moving forward.
Golden State and Houston lost a game each in their 2nd round series. It feels as though it has spurred them on. They are now on a collision course to face each other in what is sure to be an extremely exciting Conference Final series. This matchup will no doubt be the highlight of the playoffs.
There have been many disappointing showings these playoffs.
Portland. Was it their first playoff series together? It certainly looked that way. It was embarrassing to watch. New Orleans played some amazing basketball, but to be swept and convincingly so, was the biggest shock so far.
Milwaukee. They managed to take the Celtics team to 7 games. They almost looked as if they didn’t care at times. It was the most uneventful 7 games series ever.
OKC. Don’t really need to say much more do we? Carmelo Anthony was a shade of himself in the post season, and Russell Westbrook went into hero mode in game 6.
Melo is due to be paid a whopping $28 million next season. He’s also told OKC he’s not willing to take a bench role. He’s simply not a starter in this league anymore and if he is, he shouldn’t be getting paid any more than $10 million at that!!
In saying that, there were some positives to take out of these early round playoff series. We managed to see just how good the Indiana Pacers can be next season.
Victor Oladipo came alive, Domantis Sabonis showed he had some of his old man’s touch and Lance was, well, Lance!
Can Australia’s Benny Simmons create history with the Sixers and be the first team ever to come back from a 3-0 deficit? Or are we looking at LeBron leading his team past the Celtics again for another visit to the NBA Finals?
Looking at this Philly Boston series, it could just as easily be Philly 3-1 heading into Game 5. There’s no ruling Philly out just yet, and I dare say the NBA World wants to see a Philly Cavs ECF, so here’s hoping we see a little history starting Thursday morning!!
Dave Bauk