This year's NBA playoffs have lived to up to all expectations after a terrific regular season that saw no fewer than 7 teams have a legitimate shot winning the NBA crown. With the first two rounds all but over and the Conference Championship Series set to begin next week it appears we have a thrilling fortnight or two of basketball before us.
The Eastern Conference has shaken down much as people expected it to with the Orlando Magic bowing out early to Atlanta, Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls making relatively easy work of the 5th and 8th seeds and of course the 2nd round showdown between the Miami Heat and Boston. I must admit that the Heat have impressed with their 4-1 series win over the Celtics. It should be noted that the Celts did not appear to play up to their usual standard of playoff excellence as they appeared old and injured and sorely missed Kendrick Perkins' presence in the middle. Having said that LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, with a little help from Chris Bosh, elevate their game from the regular season and basically beat the Celtics playing 3-0n-5. I was most impressed with Miami's 16-0 run to close out game 5 and win the series, they dominated the Celtics late and LeBron even hit a big 3 late to seal it. The Chicago-Miami matchup should prove to be one of the best Conference Finals we've seen in recent memory.
The Western Conference playoffs have seen a changing of the guard as the top-ranked but aging San Antonio Spurs were bounced in the first round by the surging Memphis Grizzlies who battle for their lives tonight against the Thunder in game 6 facing elimination. However more surprising than the Spurs fall or the Grizzlies elevation was the demoralizing performance of the two-time defending champion LA Lakers who were unceremoniously swept at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs exceeded expectations all year long but stepped their game to a new level against the Lakers and showed the rest of the league that they aren't as soft as they used to be. Fueled by resurgent play from Jason Kidd, the star-power of Dirk Nowitzki, the physicality of Wilson Chandler as well as 6th Man Jason Terry who is playing some of the best ball of his career right now (he went 9-10 from 3 in game 4 against LA).
If the Thunder can play their game than we should have two great series to watch as the Bulls, Heat, Mavericks and Thunder battle for a trip to the NBA Finals. I still maintain my prediction that the Thunder and Bulls will play for the Championship but even if I'm wrong this should be fun to watch.
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