By Eric Vallen
The NBA playoffs is where the season truly begins. Where fans get their answers, whether they like them or not. As of April 17, the NBA play-in has ended, and each first round series has seen its first game concluded.
As for the play-in, no teams have been more disappointing than the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers. Of course, for teams of their stature they were bound to be disappointing anyway, yet missing the playoffs still stings just the same. The Cavaliers were special in the regular season, injuries and inexperience have put them to the sideline. For the Clippers, Covid managed to infect the infamous Paul George, otherwise known as Pandemic P. With both of their star players injured, the Clippers fell to the New Orleans Pelicans, thankfully ridding the playoffs of any Los Angeles basketball teams.
Unsurprisingly, the West Coast’s playoffs have been exceedingly interesting without the Clippers or Lakers. In the 2 vs 7 series, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies matched up almost perfectly, down to “the equipment guys” per Timberwolves’ guard Anthony Edward. As of April 17, the 7th seeded Timberwolves hold a 1-0 series lead, having demolished the Grizzlies in game one. It’s too early to call, but this series may be one of the best of the first round with the potential for quite an upset.
Our hometown Golden State Warriors hold the third seed, facing off against the Denver Nuggets and the reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic. In all honesty, Jokic has been carrying the Nuggets on his back for two years now, and based on the Warriors blowout win just yesterday, that back might be giving out. In all seriousness though, the Warriors have arguably one of their deepest rosters ever, with the big three and several budding young role players. MIP candidate Jordan Poole, all-star starter Andrew Wiggins, Defensive Team candidate Gary Payton III, and more may just put the Warriors over the hump this year.
Similar to most years, the 4 vs 5 matchup may be a snooze fest. Dallas Mavericks coaching staff decided to imitate the Chicago Bulls methods from 2011, playing their superstar player in a meaningless game while being up massively. Obviously, Luka Doncic was injured for game one, and the Mavericks lost to the Utah Jazz. However, in typical Jazz fashion, they managed to make it a close game, despite literally playing against only role players. If Luka is to come back healthy, the Jazz are sure to be trounced yet again in the playoffs.
Lastly, as for the 1 vs 8 matchup, the Phoenix Suns have not shown signs of choking yet, and it remains doubtful that they will. The New Orleans Pelicans made the playoffs, but without their massive, high flying O-lineman/power forward Zion Williamson, they will make it nowhere else.
The same goes for the Atlanta Hawks. In their first matchup against the one-seeded Miami Heat, Ice Trae melted, only scoring eight points, with efficiency percentages alike to that of Barry Hirshfeld’s test scores. Even if the Heat brought out a lineup of Alonzo Mourning, Udonis Haslem, Adam Sandler, Barack Obama, and Tyler Herro, they could still beat the Hawks. Enough said.
Speaking of Barry, his favorite team might be in cold water. Yes, the 2 seeded Boston Celtics did in fact win game one, but it was in all parts a miracle. Renowned scoring machine Kevin Durant went 9-24 from the field, and every other player on the Brooklyn Nets under-performed except Kyrie Irving. Even with these advantages, the Celtics only won with a miraculous last second layup from Jayson Tatum. Furthermore, Al Horford’s corpse decided to resurrect itself, magically giving the Celtics 20 & 15. That’s not going to happen every day. If Kevin Durant has an average game, the Celtics will lose. If the Nets convince Ben ‘Crybaby’ Simmons to play, it’s over.