NBA Playoff Takeaways: Round 1
Photo by Ronald Martinez from Getty Images
Some series were absolute snooze fests. Some were absolutely incredible.
The NBA Playoffs are off to an excellent start, and now we head towards round 2.
Here is what we learned.
Cavaliers defeat Heat 4-0
The Cavaliers set an NBA record for the highest point differential in a playoff series against the Heat, outscoring them by 122 over the four games.
It was a demolition.
Celtics defeat Magic 4-1
Two teams learned a lot in this series.
The Magic learned that they, once again, just need some shooting. All the other pieces are there, but their outside shooting is very poor.
And the Celtics learned that teams are not just going to roll over and play dead against the defending champs.
It was a lot of whining from Celtics players about how hard the Magic were playing and how they were being very physical.
Hopefully they learned to deal with it better, because if it keeps them off their game, they’re in trouble.
Knicks defeat Pistons 4-2
Jalen Brunson is a star. Karl-Anthony Towns had a great series. The Knicks are moving on.
And yet, it feels like the Pistons have a better outlook going forward after this series.
This Knicks team was supposed to be title contenders with the talent at their disposal, and the Pistons almost forced it to 7 one year after one of the worst seasons in their history.
The Knicks feel like they have a ceiling. The Pistons feel like their future ceiling can exceed that.
Pacers defeat Bucks 4-1
Giannis may be gone this summer. Damian Lillard could possibly be done for his career after an Achilles tear. The Bucks have no draft capital to build for the future.
It feels like a very, very dark time in Milwaukee basketball is coming.
Thunder defeat Grizzlies 4-0
I can’t decide if I’m proud of the Grizzlies for fighting hard against a dominant Thunder team, or should mock them mercilessly for getting torched in game 1 and blowing a massive lead in game 3.
Maybe a little bit of both, to be honest.
Warriors defeat Rockets 4-3
The Rockets have good coaching and good defense.
All they need is scoring, and considering the Pistons 2021 draft pick Cade Cunningham is playing like a star, Rockets 2021 draft pick Jalen Green is underperforming massively.
He’s still young, but the Rockets are ready to contend now.
They may not be so patient.
Timberwolves defeat Lakers 4-1
I picked the Lakers to win it all. That’s on me.
And it’s on me, because I still believed in the old NBA, where two superstar players were what you needed to win a title.
That’s no longer the case.
LeBron was great. Luka was great. None of it mattered.
Because the Timberwolves were better, and deeper, than the Lakers.
We’re back to the NBA of my childhood. Depth reigns supreme.
Even last year’s Boston Celtics won the title despite their best player not having his best series.
The depth took over, and none of it mattered.
LeBron and Luka would win a title 4 or 5 years ago.
Now, they need more.
A lot more.
Nuggets defeat Clippers 4-3
Everyone knows James Harden struggles in the playoffs, but this year I didn’t think it would be that important due to Kawhi Leonard leading the charge.
But when you look at the series, it’s obvious where the fault lies again.
15 points in a game 4 loss.
11 points in a game 5 loss.
7 points in a game 7 loss.
Even worse, he took 11, 9, and 8 shots in those three games.
He became trigger shy when the Clippers needed him the most.
Once again, it’s simply not good enough for a player of Harden’s caliber.
