The NBA playoffs began this past weekend and are off to a great start.
Last year’s postseason turned out to be a bit of a downer, as the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers predictably met in the finals for the third-straight season. Both teams easily forged through their respective conferences, and the Warriors just as easily disposed of Lebron James and the Cavs in 5 games.
However, fast forward one year later, and all of a sudden, the outlook of the NBA playoffs is different.
The Houston Rockets now have Chris Paul and were able to surpass the Warriors during the regular season in terms of record. As a matter of fact, the Rockets were so good at full strength, they only lost two games the entire year when their best three players in James Harden, Paul, and Clint Capella were all in the lineup. Whether or not this translates to success in the postseason is a different story, but finally, it seems as if there is a real threat to the Warriors in the West.
Speaking of the Warriors, what about Stephen Curry? Just how hurt is he, and when is he coming back? Curry is ruled out for the entire first round, and his status after that is still to be determined. The Warriors struggled mightily down the stretch of the regular season without Curry in the lineup, and finished the season in especially poor fashion losing by 40 points to the Utah Jazz. However, the Warriors seem to have regathered themselves after an impressive game one performance against the San Antonio Spurs.
What about the Spurs? For nearly two decades, they have been one of the primary contenders in the West and were expected to be so again. However, Kawhi Leonard only played in nine games this season, and the Spurs seem to be in some sort of weird rift with their best player. Leonard was cleared by team doctors for months now, but refuses to play and there is no timetable for his return.
The Oklahoma City Thunder is another interesting team out west. Last season, Westbrook was a one-man wrecking crew, averaging a triple-double and winning MVP, but his team did not have enough help around him and OKC was easily dismissed in round one. Things have changed as the Thunder went out and added Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to the mix. The trio has not been a perfect fit, and has had their share of struggles throughout the year, but have looked better down the stretch and opened strong in game one against the Jazz. If they can get the chemistry right, there is enough talent on their roster to challenge the Rockets.
The biggest surprise of this year’s NBA playoffs is the Eastern conference. For the first time in what feels like forever, it seems like some team other than the one Lebron plays on can actually get to the finals. The Cavs have dealt with turmoil all season long, and ultimately underachieved, finishing with the fourth-best record in the conference. You have to go all the way back to the 2008 season to find the last time a Lebron-lead team finished lower than a three seed in the East, and that year they were eliminated in the second round.
Could history repeat itself 10 years later? The Cavs are already off to a rocky start losing at home by 18 to an underdog Pacers team. If the Cavs are able to bounce back and win their first-round series against Indy, there is a very good Toronto Raptors team potentially waiting on them which seems to have a different feel than the Raptors teams that underachieved in the playoffs in years past. This year, the Raptors finished with the best record in the East, and were one of the top offensive and defensive teams in the league. Toronto also has the best bench in the NBA.
Then there is the upstart Philadelphia 76ers who finished the regular season on a 15 game winning streak to ultimately pass the Cavs and take the 3 seed. With Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward both out for the Celtics, the path looks clear for Philly to advance all the way to the Eastern Conference finals, and anything can happen from there.
Ultimately, if Curry returns healthy, I believe the Warriors will win the championship again. I also believe Lebron will find a way to get to the finals, which means I expect to see Warriors/Cavs part four. However, I am not totally confident in this, and things just seem a lot more interesting. Welcome back NBA playoffs, we missed you last year.
