NBA Playoffs Weekend Review
Added on Apr 22, 2013 by Scott in
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The first weekend of the NBA playoffs is in the books. With a couple of exceptions, there was very little drama as opening game blowouts were the theme. There’s still a lot of basketball to be played, but those looking for upsets might be disappointed if things hold true to form. Here’s how the first two days of postseason action went down, and what it means going forward.
Home court advantage – All the higher seeds won. In fact, the Celtics and Warriors were the only two road teams to come close to victory. Unsurprisingly, the top seeded Heat and Thunder had little trouble disposing of Milwaukee and Houston, respectively.
Warrior down – Adding injury to Golden State’s last second defeat to Denver, power forward David Lee was lost for the remainder of the playoffs with a torn hip flexor. His production will be difficult to replace on a roster that lacks inside skill and bulk. Lee’s absence will place even more pressure on guards Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
Clippers crashing – Memphis needs to play excellent defense and win the battle of the boards to have any shot versus Los Angeles. They did neither in Game 1 as the Clippers dropped 112 and outrebounded them 47-23. Zach Randolph, in particular, needs to produce better numbers than 13 points and 4 rebounds.
Bull without horns – Speaking of bad outings, Luol Deng did a major faceplant against the Nets, totaling 6 points on 3-11 shooting and pulling down two rebounds. With Derrick Rose out, Chicago can ill afford to have Deng perform many more disappearing acts.
Low on fuel – The Rockets starters not named James Harden combined to score 28 points on Sunday. Kevin Durant netted 24 by himself, in what was a relatively quiet game for him. Houston has been a one-man gang on offense for parts of the season, but now is the time to add a couple more members.
Heat not cooling – Miami was never really challenged by the Bucks. Like every other team in the league, Milwaukee has no answer for LeBron James. This series should end in a sweep unless the Heat completely lose focus and stop playing defense.
