The First Round of the NBA Playoffs Have Gone as Expected, Except for One Series

Every NBA playoff series has played 2 games so far. I have some quick takes on all of them, then a very hot take on what is going on between the Bulls and Celtics. Lets look at the West first.

Golden State is doing exactly what everyone thought they would do. In the first game, both CJ McCollum and Damien Lillard went off, McCollum had 41 and Lillard had 34. The rest of the team scored 34 points. The game was close, then the Warriors pulled away late in the fourth. Last night, with Durant out with a calf strain, the Warriors throttled the Blazers. The Blazers gave the Warriors their best in game 1, and they lost by double digits. This is a sweep.

San Antonio may be getting a lot of calls, go watch David Fizdale's rant, it is tremendous, but the Spurs are clearly the better team. Memphis is old, and Mike Conley is really the only guy that has showed up. Marc Gasol has been rendered moot, Tony Allen is injured, Vince Carter is old and no one else is doing anything. The Grizzlies had a decent run, but with this as their nucleus, they will not win a title, and they won't get out of the first round this year. Kawhi is a beast and he is dominating this series, as expected.

Houston and OKC has not had the excitement that I expected. The Rockets smoked OKC in the first game. Last night was better, but even with Russ having a 51 point, 10 rebound and 13 assist game, it didn't matter because no one else is showing up for the Thunder. James Harden has been great, and this series has even furthered my belief that Westbrook is the MVP. Harden has a much better supporting cast, and it is showing. I still think OKC will win 2 games, but I do not think it will go 7. Guys like Enes Kanter, Steven Adams and Victor Oladipo need to start playing much better if they have any shot at pulling an upset.

The Clippers-Jazz series is very hard for me to get a grasp on. When Rudy Gobert went out in game one I figured the Jazz were done. Then, they won. The other night, the Clippers came out blazing, but the Jazz made it close, then Chris Paul made some big shots to pull out the win for the Clippers. I don't know if Gobert is coming back, but I don't think it matters. Blake Griffin looks awkward, DeAndre Jordan isn't doing much, but Chris Paul is the best player in the series. Gordon Hayward has been ice cold, George Hill cannot guard Chris Paul, and without Gobert, the low post is wide open for the Clippers.. I still have the Clippers in 7.

Now, the East. I'll save the Celtics-Bulls for last. So, lets look at Cleveland-Indiana. Cleveland is up 2-0, and it looks like they will sweep. I know the Pacers had a shot to win game one, and the final score of game 2 looked close, but I do not feel like the Pacers are any threat. And what's with Paul George calling out his teammates all of the sudden? Sure, he should usually get the last shot, he is their best player, but CJ Miles, who was wide open and is a good shooter, took the right shot in game 1. George should have never publicly called him out. Then, to throw the whole team under the bus after game 2, that was wild. He clearly wants out of Indiana. The Cavs are still horrible at defense, but I still see them winning in 4 or 5.

So far the best series of the first round, in either conference, has been the Milwaukee-Toronto series. It's tied at 1-1, and both game shave been good. Game 1, Milwaukee used a great, great game from Giannis Antetokoumpo and pulled away late to win by double digits. Game 2 came down to the very end, but Kyle Lowry hit a big shot to help the Raptors pull away late in game 2. There are good players all over the floor. Thon Maker has been playing great for Milwaukee. Giannis is cementing himself as a bona fide star and the rest of the team is doing their jobs. Kyle Lowry was horrible in game one, but bounced back in game 2. DeMar DeRozan has been steady. Serge Ibaka has been good and PJ Tucker is doing what they brought him in to do. This series is going 7, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Bucks or Raptors won. But, the Bucks look like they will be a very, very good team in a season or two, especially if this core stays together. This series is their coming out party. They are a ton of fun to watch.

The Wizards have looked better than the Hawks so far. Well, I should say that John Wall has looked better than anyone in the series so far. He is a man on a mission and he is showing out. I picked the Wizards to sweep, and I still feel like it could happen. John Wall is on fire right now and he just looks unstoppable.

Now, for the most surprising first round series. The Bulls and Celtics has not gone accordingly. I assumed that the Celtics were going to cruise. They had a better team, a better coach and are the one seed. The Bulls came in with a plethora of problems. They were a mess to be honest. Fred Hoiberg looked like a coach begging to be fired. Rajon Rondo was barely playing and looked disengaged. Dwayne Wade was coming off an injury. Jimmy Butler was disgruntled. This looked like an easy 5 game win for the Celtics. Then, tragedy struck. Isaish Thomas' sister died in a one car accident one day before game one. I cannot imagine the pain and sense of loss that he is feeling right now. This is a horrific, terrible tragedy. I am shocked that he is out there playing. And what Charles Barkley said, and I love Barkley, was wrong and insensitive and mean and uncalled for about Thomas crying on the floor during shoot around. Thomas can cry and grieve however he wants anywhere he wants. He lost a sibling. That being said, he is the only Celtic that has shown up. He is doing exactly what he has done all year. He may have had a subpar game 2, but he is facing double and triple teams, and no one is making open shots when he passes the ball. Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley are ice cold from three. In fact, they can't seem to hit a shot from anywhere. Then, the Celtics frontcourt has been an abomination. This was the thing that all Celtics fans worried about the most, their rebounding, but the Bulls are crushing them on the glass. I was listening to "The Lowe Post" podcast this morning, and Tom Haberstoh said that Rajon Rondo has grabbed more offensive rebounds than Tyler Zeller, Kelly Olnyk and Amir Johnson combined. That is appalling. The Celtics are being exposed. They are a poor defensive team, they can't rebound, Isaish Thomas is scoring, but can't defend anyone and they look like they have already been beaten. Jimmy Butler is clearly the best player on the floor. Playoff Dwayne Wade has shown up, and that is the best Wade. Rondo has all of the sudden remembered that he is a good point guard. And the Bulls front court, mainly Robin Lopez, are dominating the Celtics frontcourt. I am shocked most by this series of all the first round series.

With all this being said, all of these are best of 7, and a lot can change over the course of 5 more games. These are just my takes from the first 2 weeks of the never ending first round of the NBA playoffs. Most of my predictions are still in tact, minus the Celtics-Bulls, and I cannot wait to see where we go from here. I love the NBA playoffs.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest NBA writer on this planet we call Earth.

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