The first round of the NBA playoffs is over and brings us closer to the NBA finals. The first round may have been the most entertaining being action packed. Both conferences had very different initial rounds, as the East had a total of 18 games played and the West had a total of 24. In other words, there were more one-sided series in the East than there were in the West.
This wasn’t a surprise however, as this generation of NBA players has consistently had more power-balanced teams. The fact that the East had very few power-house teams made it a bit easier to try and predict finalist teams.
In the 3rd and 6th seed rounds in the East, the Brooklyn Nets vs. Philadelphia 76ers. The teams were very verbal and both extremely competitive. Although the Nets won the first game of the series, the 76ers won the next four games, eventually eliminating the Nets. The 76ers beat the Nets by a difference of ten or more in three of the games.
In the 2nd and 7th seed round the Toronto Raptors took on the Orlando Magic. Game one was a surprising nail biter win by the Magic but would be the only win they would secure in the series. The Raptors dominated the rest of the series, cruising their way into the East semis to face off the 76ers.
In the 4th and 5th seed, the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers faced off. The young Celtics team, lead by Kyrie Irving, took control of the series quickly, holding the Pacers to less than 90 points in the first two games and continuing on to sweep the Pacers.
In the 1st and 8th seed round, the Milwaukee Bucks, led by MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo played the Detroit Pistons. It was a pretty obvious series watching the Bucks beat the Pistons by more than 15 every game. That brought the Bucks to face the Celtics in the East semis round.
Moving onto the the Western Conference, where there was a little bit more competition, the Portland Trail Blazers vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder faced off in a heated battle. This was a very dramatic series as Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook going head to head the whole series. In the end, Damian Lillard took the Trail Blazers to the next round with a buzzer beater three point shot to close out the series.
In the 2nd and 7th seed the Denver Nuggets dualed off with the San Antonio Spurs. This was the only 1st round series that spurred six more games with both teams playing very good team ball every single game. The Nuggets took out the Spurs in game seven, beating them by only four points. The Nuggets then moved onto the Western semis against the Trail Blazers.
In the 4th and 5th seed round the Houston Rockets vs. the Utah Jazz played one another. Houston, was at the time, being led by another MVP candidate, James Harden and was a fan- favorite team to win the series. The Rockets didn’t disappoint and lived up to their fans expectations, winning the first three games as well as game five. The Rockets made short work of the Jazz making their move to the next round.
In the 1st and 8th seed round the all-star Golden State Warriors vs. the Los Angeles Clippers. The Warriors ultimately won the series in the end, but the Clippers didn’t go down without a fight. Los Angeles won two games, one of them with a 30 point comeback; making it the largest in NBA playoff history. Nevertheless, the Warriors moved onto the West semis to play the Rockets which is a highly anticipated round and a big money maker for the NBA.
Here’s a brief glance at the second round: in the East, the 76ers vs. the Raptors and the Bucks vs. the Celtics. In the West, the Nuggets are set to take on the Trail Blazers and the Rockets will face . the Warriors. Looking at the new challenges that teams are creating will make this Finals matchup more of a toss up and won’t be dominated.