Sooooo…..
The playoffs have begun. The top 16 teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences have squared off.
The Matchups are as follows with current results
Western Conference:
Golden State vs New Orleans; Golden State won series 4-0
Houston Rockets vs Dallas Mavericks; Houston leads 3-1
Los Angeles Clippers vs San Antonio Spurs; series tied 2-2
Memphis Grizzlies vs Portland Trailblazers; Memphis leads 3-0
Eastern Conference
Atlanta Hawks vs Brooklyn Nets; Atlanta leads 2-1
Washington Wizards vs Toronto Raptors; Washington won series 4-0
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics; Cleveland won series 4-0
Chicago Bulls vs Milwaukee Bucks; Chicago leads 3-1
The playoffs so far have been a sweep fest within the western conference having the top teams sweep early to get rest. In the eastern conference however two out of the eight teams have already ended their series and are now resting waiting for their opponent. If you have been watching playoffs so far which teams have surprised you? Which teams did you know were going to sweep? For me the teams that have surprised me thus far are Brooklyn with how dominant they are playing and Washington with how strong they played in their series. I am a die hard Wizards fan and the fact they swept Toronto is a testament to the hard work on and off the court as well as the coaching staff and leaders of the team in John Wall , Bradley Beal, and Paul Pierce. Otto Porter,Drew Gooden III, and Ramon Sessions have also been great pieces to this Washington team. I am excited to see how far they will go this year. They have to take it one game at a time. In the west, I was not surprised at Golden State sweeping but I was surprised at how close they came to losing Game 3. Stephen Curry stepped up big for his team dropping 40 points and willing his team to a overtime victory that would have been won at the end of regulation had the refs called the foul while Curry shot the three and made it to force game into the extra period. It will be fun to see how far the Warriors will go with the expectations placed upon them.
Notable News:
Some key injuries and suspensions may cause some adjustments to be made within the Cleveland squad. During Sunday’s Game 4 victory multiple injuries and physical play boiled over into the game. Kevin Love left the game early in the first quarter due to a dislocated shoulder and will miss the entire Eastern Conference Semi-Finals which can hurt Cleveland as they try to make a run deep in the playoffs. On the flip side of things, a injury to Boston’s Jae Crowder caused by JR Smith could hurt Cleveland as well because he will be suspended for two games.
Overall, I am really enjoying the playoffs as it comes on the heels of my semester winding down. We are in the last week of classes with finals being the following week.The playoffs often indicate to me that summer is right around the corner and I can spend time with my family. I am very excited to get a much needed break from school and really enjoy the playoffs and root for my teams!!.. Although my blogs have been required for a class project assignment, I will continue to blog each week about different basketball topics and the impact it will have on my life in the long run. So I really do appreciate all the love and support and feedback from reading my blogs. Please if you have any suggestions or topic suggestions please tweet me @bballmypassion 🙂
See you next week….!!
*Pictures/Videos Courtesy of Youtube & Google Images*
