The NBA Playoffs are underway. The best take on the best and only the strong survive. Here’s a recap of what went down on the opening day of the postseason.
Paul Pierce is still clutch
We certainly learnt that the Brooklyn-Toronto match-up is going to be a lot of fun. Toronto are an exciting young team, while Brooklyn are full of veterans with a wealth of Playoffs experience.
The Nets jumped out of the blocks early and were leading 29-21 after the first quarter. Toronto worked their way back in the second quarter and it was a tight tussle the rest of the way.
Toronto hit the lead and the playoff-starved Toronto fans went crazy when Greivis Vasquez drained a three-pointer with just over five minutes remaining in the game.
This stung Brooklyn into action. Joe Johnson and Kevin Garnett hit the next two shots, and then Paul Pierce happened. Pierce went on to score the next nine Brooklyn points and give the Nets a seven-point lead with under a minute remaining. That was enough for the Nets as they won 94-87.
That nine-point stretch by Pierce in a two-minute time frame is exactly the reason Brooklyn traded for him in the off-season. I think this is a sign of things to come for Pierce and Brooklyn. They will be a tough beat for anyone in the East.
Chris Paul isn’t as clutch
Many penciled in the Clippers-Warriors first round match-up as the one you can’t miss. After Game 1, I’d say that is spot on.
Game 1 was crazy. The refs were terrible. Blake Griffin threw a drink on a Warrior fan (YouTube it for a laugh). Steph Curry and Andre Iguodala didn’t have the impact everyone thought they would. And Chris Paul didn’t come up in the clutch.
Paul has never made it past the second round of the Playoffs. For a player many consider to be a superstar, that just isn’t good enough. One thing I don’t understand is why he doesn’t get as much heat for not having a ring as Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant.
Admittedly, Paul did hit two huge three-pointers in the final few minutes, but when he went to the line with his team down by three with twelve seconds remaining he bricked both free throws. This immediately let Golden State off the hook and they got away with the 109-105 win over LA.
Indiana can’t turn it on just because it’s the Playoffs
The Pacers clinched the top seed in the East, and progressing past the first round is usually a pretty straightforward task for the top seed. This won’t be the case for Indiana.
Indiana had a terrible finish to the regular season, winning just 10 of their last 23 games. They’d done the work earlier in the season by banking a lot of wins so that finish didn’t affect their seeding, but their form certainly can’t be ignored.
Roy Hibbert has forgotten how to rebound. He has recorded double-digit rebounds in only seven games since the New Year. Somehow, he was an All Star this season.
In Game 1, Atlanta totally outplayed the Pacers. The Hawks looked hungrier and the Pacers had no answer for Jeff Teague, who finished with 28 points, five assists and only two turnovers. The Pacers have handed not only home-court advantage to the Hawks, they’ve given them belief.
All Indiana players need to lift, and that should start with Paul George, Roy Hibbert and David West. If they don’t lift, their season could be over in April.
That Kevin Durant guy is pretty good at basketball
This isn’t something we learned yesterday, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to talk about it. Durant finished Game 1 with 33 points on 50 per cent shooting from the field, eight rebounds and seven assists.
If you don’t enjoy watching KD play basketball, you simply don’t like basketball.
Durant can do everything now. His assist numbers are at a career high level (5.5apg), as is his scoring is (32ppg). When Durant gets in the zone, there is no one in the game who can defend him.
Serge Ibaka could be the difference for Oklahoma City this year. His constant improvement over the course of his career has been great for the Thunder and he is playing career-best ball this season. We always knew he could block, but his extra scoring has added a new depth to OKC’s offensive game.
Memphis are a tough team, and there is no way they will go down quietly. But I just can’t see them stealing a game on the road against this Thunder team.
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