NBA Update-Play-off Edition
Little over a week into the play-offs and some teams are just a win away from securing passage to the next round, for others the passage of progression is made more difficult than expected.
Almost there
Eastern Conference
The Cleveland Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic are just a win away from sealing their places in the quarter-final round of the Eastern Conference NBA Play-offs. After racing to an early 2-0 lead and threatening to sweep the Chicago Bulls, the Cavs suffered a heart-breaking 108-106 loss as last season’s Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose posted up 31 points and eight assists. However, determined to put the season to rest sooner rather than later, the Cavs capitalised on a second-quarter surge in Game 4 to blow past the Bulls 121-98. The Celtics, while being touted for being sloppy throughout the season, showed up at the right time as they gave the Miami Heat all the work to do by racing to a 3-0 series lead. With the final game of this season being potentially Dwayne Wade’s last game with the Heat, he showed sheer resilience to power his team to a 101-92 win in Game 4. He posted up a league play-off best of 46 points to secure victory.
The Magic thus far have been the most commanding team in the play-off round, refusing to give their opponents the Charlotte Bobcats any hope of advancing. Of the three games played, the Magic have recorded easy victories in all, with the closest being the 90-86 win in Game 3. Much to the surprise of the league, the danger man has not been Dwight “Superman” Howard but instead the diminutive point guard Jameer Nelson. The Milwaukee Bucks put a stop to the Atlanta Hawks’ progression if only for games after their comfortable 107-89 win away from home. The Hawks had earlier won the first two games of the season in Milwaukee but the Bucks who have been defiant all season long lived up to expectations an caused unwanted problems.
Complacency or willpower?
Western Conference
Based on talent and displays in the league, many would have expected the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns to be in a position similar to their Eastern Conference counterparts (Cavs, Celtics and Magic) in needing only one win to secure progression. That is not the case, however, as leading into this week the series of both teams was locked in a 2-2 stalemate. After racing to a comfortable 2-0 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Staples Centre the Lakers blew an early 10-point lead in Game 3 to lose 101-96 then were humiliated two days after in Game 4 110-89. In both games, Kevin ‘Durantula’ Durant and Russel Westbrook carried a bulk of the scoring and propelled their team to victory.
For the Phoenix Suns, they came from a game down to race to a 2-1 series against the Portland Trailblazers only for the return of Brandon Roy to dent their chances of closing out the series in Game 5. Based on the injuries suffered by the Trailblazers, however, the Suns should not have to fight this hard. Is it that they along with the Lakers are too complacent or are their opponents simply more determined?
After losing the first game at home, the San Antonio Spurs have rallied to take a 2-1 series lead over the Dallas Mavericks. Manu Ginobli’s continued revival in addition to Tony Parker’s return has proved to be the key factor in the race to claim the upper hand thus far. It is a similar state of events for the series between the Utah Jazz and the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets easily won the first game of the series 126-113 but the Jazz have rallied and finished last week with a 2-1 lead after defeating the Nuggets 105-93 in front their home supporters.