A Quick Recap of the Playoffs So Far...Round 1

Okay, so this has been long overdue... let's do a rundown of the playoffs so far, which I completely neglected due to my obsession with the Bulls-Celtics--quite possibly the best first round playoff series ever.

Western Conference:

Round 1- Lakers vs. Jazz

The Jazz played their hearts out and only managed one win. And it took 22 rebounds from Boozer and a buzzer beater from Deron Williams. The Lakers were just too good. The Jazz aren't there yet...they need some more firepower. This series had the Lakers looking pretty scary to the rest of the teams out there.

Round 1- Nuggets vs. Hornets

I am so disappointed in the Hornets. Chris Paul impressed me so much last year, and this was my dark horse pick going into the year to have a chance at winning it all, especially with the addition of James Posey. They played like they didn't even care. It was shocking. The Nuggets just ran all over this team, playing extremely impressive in basically a complete rout of their first round series. It looks like the Hornets don't want to play for Byron Scott anymore. Wouldn't be surprised to see him gone soon. Congratulations are due to the Nuggets for finally getting out of the first round. It's amazing how important Chauncey Billups is. He really turned that team around.

Round 1- Mavericks vs. Spurs

Hm. It's starting to look like the Spurs odd year reign of terror has finally ended. Tim Duncan looks worn down, Ginobili's injuries doomed their season, and Tony Parker was a terror...but he can't do it all by himself. The Mavs really came on at the end of the season, and played extremely well. Dirk Nowitzki has been awesome. They were looking like they could challenge a few of the western contenders after this series. Too bad we never got to see a real series with them and the Nuggets due to the non-call on the intentional foul in Game 3 of the second round. Just another example of poor officiating in the NBA. When, if ever, will they bring in competent refs?

Round 1- Rockets vs. Blazers

Great matchup for the Rockets. The Blazers were the team that nobody wanted to play. Except, that is, the Rockets. The Blazers have no one who can stop Yao Ming, as he demonstrated in a dominant Game 1 performance. He didn't even miss a shot. The Blazers fought hard, and I love the way Brandon Roy plays. I see a few championships in his future if they can find a good big man to pair him with. I'm sorry, but Greg Oden is not going to cut it, as much as I would love to see him succeed. But I'm excited to see the Blazers next year. They should establish themselves as contenders in a short time. This series just came down to matchup problems for them. I think they would have taken out San Antonio. As for the Rockets, despite the win, this series had a dark cloud for them. Mutombo went down with a career-ending injury (at least it was time to retire anyway)... costing them 1 big body to throw at the Lakers in round 2. This hurt them badly when Yao went down later.




Eastern Conference:

Round 1- Cavs vs. Pistons

Wow. Just wow. LeBron James is that good. And the rest of the league should be very, very scared. This guy is going to dominate for years to come. The depleted Pistons never had a chance in the series from the opening tip.

Round 1- Magic vs. 76ers

The Magic choked early, Andre Iguodala had some big moments, Stan Van Gundy had some great reaction faces...seriously, it never gets old seeing Ron Jeremy coaching the Magic and losing it in crucial situations down the stretch. Finally the Magic's talent level was simply too much for the Sixers, and they took it down in 6.

Round 1- Hawks vs. Heat

What a strangely lopsided series. I originally thought D-Wade could win this series by himself. He almost did...but his supporting cast just wasn't good enough to hang with the Hawks at home in game 7. These teams had a very strange dynamic-- pretty much every game was a blowout. How does a series go 7 that way? In any event, kudos to the Hawks for playing tough (57% of the time...which as it turns out, is just enough)

Round 1- Celtics vs. Bulls

I damn near had a heart attack watching this series. This series alone made these playoffs worth it. So incredibly awesome. I didn't even detail Game 6, which was the most entertaining game I've seen all year. Joakim Noah's steal/dunk/forcing Paul Pierce to foul out, then making the ensuing free throw sequence had me jumping up in the air and celebrating. Doesn't hurt that I'm a huge Gator fan, and Noah's an alum, but that moment was absolutely spectacular. Joakim Noah won Game 6 for the Bulls. Of course, as I've detailed to exhaustion, the Bulls simply could not win that series. Wasn't happening. The Celtics are too experienced, the Bulls too prone to choking in the clutch. Look at Game 6 closer. After the Noah explosion, they tried to choke away that game. Remember Hinrich's missed layup? Absolutely terrible. Good thing for them the Celtics couldn't come through either. And just an amazing block by Derrick Rose on Rajon Rondo in the final seconds. What an incredible, incredible series. I don't know if I'll ever see anything like it again. But I can hope.

That does it for the Round 1 recap. I'll be following up soon with a quick recap of Round 2.