NBA Playoffs Round Up
Written by: Andrew Felton
With round one of the playoffs complete, let's take a look at who advanced into the conference semifinals.
Eastern Conference:
Philadelphia 76ers vs Washington Wizards
The Philadelphia 76ers showed why they were the best team in the Eastern Conference this season, beating the Washington Wizards in convincing fashion. The hype before the game between Westbrook and Embiid did not show through in this series, and the 76ers were able to win, even without their star Embiid, thanks to huge games from Ben Simmons scoring a triple-double, Seth Curry, setting a playoff career high 30 points and Tobias Harris, adding 28 points, to clean up the series and advance into the conference semifinals.
Result - Philadelphia 76ers win the series 4-1
Atlanta Hawks vs New York Knicks
The New York Knicks fans will want to forget the day that they booed Trae Young during the first game of this series, with fans spitting at Trae whilst on the court. This led Trae to be the star of the series scoring 30+ points on three occasions, helping the Hawks to win the series. This said, the Hawks ability to shut down the Knicks offense deserved much of the plaudits, with the Knicks looking to strengthen and come back next season for another playoff bid.
Result - Atlanta Hawks win the series 4-1
Miami Heat vs Milwaukee Bucks
This result had to be one of the most shocking, with the Bucks managing to sweep last year’s finalists in four straight games, with only the first game being close during this series. The Miami Heat will look to rebuild over the summer, adding to their young core, to be sure to reach playoffs next season, with the Bucks looking to reach the NBA playoff finals and Giannis desperate to win his first NBA championship.
Result - Milwaukee Bucks win the series 4-0
Boston Celtics vs Brooklyn Nets
This super team the Nets have built did not disappoint in their first playoff games, beating the Celtics fairly comfortably, with only one slip up thanks to Jayson Tatum dropping 50 points. However, with the big three dominating this series, Irving, KD and Harden will look to continue to brush past any opposition, with only one thing in mind, to win the NBA championship.
Result - Brooklyn Nets win the series 4-1
Western Conference:
Memphis Grizzlies vs Utah Jazz
The Memphis Grizzlies put up a hell of a fight not only to reach the playoffs but to show what they can do as a team and earn the respect of NBA fans, showing they can challenge the very best. This however, was not their year, with the best team in the NBA this season taking the series and advancing to the conference semifinals with Mitchell and Morant taking most of the headlines.
Result - Utah Jazz win the series 4-1
Dallas Mavericks vs Los Angeles Clippers
Deja vu from last season's round one playoff game between these two teams, seeing the LA Clippers once again knocking out the Dallas Mavericks, even with Luka Doncic once again doing everything in his power to try and beat this very strong side. Overcoming a 2-0 deficit, could we see Kawhi Leonard win another championship by putting this Clippers team on his back and carrying them to the finals?
Result - Los Angeles Clippers win the series 4-3
Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trailblazers
With this series looking like it could have gone the distance, it was not to be for Damien Lillard and the trailblazers, as nothing the superstar could do would be enough to take down this Nuggets side. With another loss in the playoffs for Dame and the supporting cast not being there to help him, will he decide to cut ties? with much speculation about him going to join Lebron and AD at the Lakers. With this said, keep an eye on this Nuggets team as they have the fire power to push and reach the conference finals at the very least.
Result - Denver Nuggets win the series 4-2
Los Angeles Lakers vs Phoenix Suns
With the Phoenix Suns putting in fantastic performances all throughout this NBA season, another one came by beating the reigning champions four games to two, sending an upset Lakers franchise packing. The Lakers have not had the season they would have liked struggling with injuries to Lebron James, with questions being raised was he fit enough for these finals? AD who suffered an injury missing game five and causing him to leave game six early. Is it time to rebuild and bring in bigger stars from other teams following the foot-steps of other teams such as the Brooklyn Nets.
Result - Phoenix Suns win the series 4-2
コメント