The Biggest Surprises of the NBA Playoffs So Far
With the second round of the playoffs underway, this postseason has been full of surprises. Let us take a look at some of the ones that stand out to us the most.
LeBron Eliminated in the First Round
via the Associated Press
For the first time in his career, a team led by Leron James has been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The Lakers blew a 2-1 series lead to the Phoenix Suns. Part of the reason was due to the injury to star player Anthony Davis. Another part was that for the first time in the past couple of years, James finally began to look his age. His box score numbers looked solid, 23 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, but he did not take over crucial games as he did just a couple of seasons ago. Davis’ injury deterred their hopes to repeat, but I expected James to do what he does best, which was to take over the series when it was needed. Now it is not known whether that’s just father time coming for him, or the ankle injury slowing him down. We will have to wait to see next season to find that out but for now, the Lakers will be watching the rest of the playoffs from home.
The Clippers Make the Comeback
via Adam Pantozzi/Getty Images.
After the first two games of the series, the Clippers were down 0-2 and looked as though they had no answers to stop the Dallas Mavericks offense for the second year in a row. In Game 3, the Clippers finally flipped the switch on the defensive end of the court. From Game 3 on, the Mavs cracked 110 points just once and they were held under 100 two times. Ty Lue’s adjustments and Kawhi Leonard’s spectacular play led to them taking four of the last five games in the series.
After all the scrutiny the Clippers faced after blowing a 3-1 lead to Denver during last year's playoffs and then going down 2-0 this year, they managed to overcome some of those demons that they have had.
Milwaukee Sweeps Miami
Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports
After the Bucks lost 4-1 to the Heat during the regular season, many were expecting a competitive series when the two faced off in the first round. With the addition of Jrue Holiday and P.J Tucker, I believed that the Bucks would be able to take the series in six. After the Bucks barely managed to win Game 1, it looked like we were in for a good series. Over the next three games, the Bucks proceeded to obliterate the Heat by 34 and 29 before having a “close” game that the Bucks won by 17 points to complete the sweep. With the way the Heat looked in the bubble last year and the game plan they had to limit Giannis, to lose this badly was definitely a surprise.
The Young Guns Have Taken Over the Playoffs
via NBC Sports
The future of the NBA is now, the young guys have been putting up spectacular individual performances in these playoffs. Jayson Tatum put up 50 on the Brooklyn Nets in Game 3, and for the series, he averaged 30 points per game. Ja Morant just got done putting up 30 on the team with the best record in the NBA in the first round. Devin Booker averaged almost 30 against the number one ranked defense and the defending champions in the Los Angeles Lakers. Trae Young is embracing the role of the villain as he has been dominating the playoffs so far, especially in the first round against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. Luka Doncic has probably been the most impressive of the bunch this postseason as he basically single-handedly pushed the Clippers to seven games.
The NBA is in good hands going forward. With players such as LeBron, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry all getting older, the NBA will have players like Tatum, Doncic, Young, Booker and Morant to provide entertaining games for fans for seasons to come.
