Since my last update, the MLB season has commenced and there are countless stories and topics to discuss. Before I post anything about that, though, lets shed some light on the NBA playoffs!
Don't worry! We won't talk about this bigoted moron:
Or this one:
Instead, I'd like to focus on the excellent basketball we've been privileged to see so far this post-season. Even the biggest of NBA fans must have been a little concerned at how these playoffs were going to pan-out when in Game 1 of the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors series, stars Andre Iguodala and Blake Griffin fouled out pretty quickly on some questionable calls. Blake only played 19 minutes! Since those first games, the refereeing has not been too bad. The flagrant foul charged to Chandler Parsons in overtime of Game 4 on Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge certainly shows just how soft the league has become. Aldridge did a solid job of selling the call, but even after replay the flagrant still stood. These foul calls are a part of the game now. The days of Bill Laimbeer are behind us. To casual sports fans, this can be distracting. Even to the most diehard of NBA fans, the incessant amount of fouls called by officials can sometimes be overbearing. Fortunately, for those who have actually been watching, the NBA playoffs have been an incredible treat.We all remember Kevin Durant's 4-point play with only 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter...
... but these NBA playoffs have been even better than simply "oh my gosh" moments. The Memphis Grizzlies have more than held their own against Durant's Oklahoma City Thunder. Each game of the series, so far, has gone into overtime except Game 1. The Western Conference's one-seed, the San Antonio Spurs, are also being pushed to the limit by the eight-seed Dallas Mavericks. The Dallas vs. San Antonio series included this game winning shot by dunking-legend Vince Carter in Game 3:
All NBA fans most likely predicted the Portland Trail Blazers vs. Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Clippers series' to be great, and they have not disappointed. In the Eastern Conference, there was the only sweep in the first round of the playoffs. LeBron James' Miami Heat took out the Charlotte Bobcats in four games. The games in that series, however, were closer than the scores would indicate and fans were treated to some excellent basketball not only from the Heat but from Charlotte's center, Al Jefferson. The Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors are knotted in their series with two wins a piece, in a series that looks destined for seven games. The Spurs are not the only one-seed struggling with an eight-seed. The Indiana Pacers are down 3-2 in their series with the Atlanta Hawks. Indiana's play has been inconsistent, to say the least, over the last two months and they may pay the ultimate price with a first round exit. Such an event would mark only the sixth time in NBA playoff history in which an eight-seed eliminates a one-seed.
...which kind of makes you wonder - if the chances are so rare, why even have eight teams in both conferences make the playoffs? Because... money! Right Donald?
Either way, credit to Atlanta for pushing the Pacers to the brink.
The playoffs last season, which were also tremendous, gave fans an Eastern Conference Finals for the ages. The reigning NBA Champion Heat were pushed to seven games against Indiana. The Heat ultimately won the series, but many believed that such a series set the stage for the 2013-14 season to be hotly contested between the two juggernaut squads. Early in the season, it definitely looked that way. The Pacers were on a torrid pace and their defense was unstoppable. By the end, however, both the Heat and Pacers finished on mediocre notes. Roy Hibbert, the Pacers' center, has been especially terrible. Since the end of the regular season, the Heat won their series against the Bobcats and the frequently-rested Dwyane Wade looked healthy and ready to go deep in to the playoffs. The Pacers, however, have come out flat and quite honestly put - bad. It is tough to see, even if the Pacers manage to get by the Hawks, any team in the Eastern Conference stopping LeBron James from reaching his fourth-straight Finals.
