Now that the NBA playoffs are in full swing and some of the opening round series may be reaching their halfway marks, it seems appropriate to evaluate what the playoffs have shown us so far.
To start with, the playoffs have shown us all once again that the best player in the world is still the Akron, Ohio, native LeBron James. Being the most successful player in the playoffs outside of the big three in San Antonio, James went back to work once the playoffs began Saturday. Although the King saw the Cavs’ point guard Kyrie Irving take the stage with 30 points, he made sure to show his capability with another win against the Boston Celtics in this opening round. James’ flirted with a triple double with 30 points, 7 assists and 9 rebounds. The Cavs’ have a 2-0 lead on the Celtics, but James must clean up his game. He now has 11 turnovers through two games and must end it before the inevitable second-round series against the Chicago Bulls take place.
The second lesson these NBA playoffs has for us is that the New Orleans Pelicans are slowly on the rise. They are down 2-0 to the Golden State Warriors, but Monday’s loss shows the latent potential these Pelicans have. The game was tied after three quarters, but offensive production was the issue. New Orleans only scored 16 points in the fourth compared to the Warriors’ 26. This 10-point margin was, of course, the ending difference when the Warriors won 97-87. Additionally, Pelicans’ forward Anthony Davis is averaging 30 points per game in this series, but he must learn to perform on this stage. Granted, it is just his third year in the league and first time in the playoffs, but he is the best player of this team. It is very rare for a team to win a playoff game when their star player goes 2-9 on shooting attempts in the entire second half, including 0-5 in the fourth. Davis should not let this performance haunt him but instead drive him so he may truly understand the burden being placed on his shoulders.
Now this next topic is an inevitable which goes without saying, but just for relevant purposes, Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers gave the San Antonio Spurs a statement making punch in the mouth with their series-opening win. Paul came out an assassin’s mentality. He joined James in the flirting conversation with 32 points, 6 assists and 7 rebounds. He was very efficient shooting was with 13-20 field goals. Including Blake Griffin’s 26 points and Jamal Crawford’s 17 off the bench, the Clippers seemed determined to let the Spurs know this would not be a series to coast through. However, the Spurs are the defending champs with a player who has never missed the playoffs in Tim Duncan and have Greg Popovich on the bench. This was a tough game one loss, but this series is now getting under way with the Spurs coming off a three-day break to prepare for the game two tonight.
The last thing, which could be a best-for-last scenario for genuine fans who love seeing playoff action, is the return of Derrick Rose. Whether it was making contact lay-ups or uncharacteristically pumping the crowd up, D-Rose came out and showed that he can still perform at his level in the Chicago Bulls’ opening game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Rose tallied 23 points and seven assists on 9 of 16 shooting. Rose continued his performance in game two, and although he had poor first half, he also came up just short of a triple double. He was just 4-14 shooting for the game but 15 points, 9 assist and 7 rebounds, compared to zero in game one, helps make up for a poor shooting night.
On a side not, it seem appropriate to state that Jimmy Butler continues to make his case for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. He has jumped from 13 to 20 points per game this season but has been coming up big for Chicago. The Bulls’ game two win was Butler’s second straight game leading the team in scoring. 25 in game one and 31 in game two show enough evidence that the Bulls have found the piece to complete a trio of necessary pieces to make a playoff push. Joakim Noah is the defensive man and heart of the team, Rose is the superstar who can come up big late in games, and Butler can be the top or complementary scoring option for his team. Butler’s performance moving forward will help determine how this team performs deeper into the playoffs.
It is just the first round of playoff basketball, but storyline’s form everywhere. Whether it be Rose’s return, James’ rekindling the playoff fire of the Cavaliers, or Paul showing what he can truly do in the postseason, these first round playoff games are shaping up interesting stories moving forward.