Second Round of the NBA Playoffs 2017

I have not been sounding off on the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. Although, these two NBA teams sound invincible, don’t be surprised if these two particular teams meet again in the 2017 NBA Finals. Cleveland might be able to get by Boston, if the Celtics beat the Washington Wizards in the East semi-finals. It will be a powerhouse match up if the Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics meet again. Don’t look hopeful, if the San Antonio Spurs can beat these star-studded Golden State Warriors, be prepared for a Spurs-Cavs showdown.

NBA Playoffs Approaching

With the 2016 NBA playoffs approaching, the Chicago Bulls are in trouble of meshing with the Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards for the 8th seed. If the Bulls are successful of holding onto the 8th seed, they will meet the Cleveland Cavaliers who are having chemistry issues with Lebron James and Kyrie Irving not clicking on all cylinders and not on the same page playing basketball. Things will get tough for Chicago in the off-season, trying to trade these star Bulls and their massive salaries such as Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose.

NBA Recap November 7, 2015

Stephen Curry scores 24 points and the Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings last night. The Kings were trying to pressure Curry to miss shots, thanks to Rajon Rondo’s pesky defense on Curry. It was to no avail. The Warriors recovered in time to seal the win. The Atlanta Hawks beat the Washington Wizards on this night also. Tiago Splitter has turned up with the Hawks and his defense and rebounding has sparked Atlanta. Also, the Houston Rockets beat the L.A. Clippers last night.

NBA Conference Finals

The Cleveland Cavaliers finally left the East semifinals, leaving the Chicago Bulls behind and sending Tom Thibodeau’s squad home. The Cavaliers will be facing the Atlanta Hawks and this will be a showdown between Lebron James and the run-fast up-tempo game that Mike Budenholzer implanted on these Hawks players. Lebron James will have to pick his poison on who to defend on the Hawks whether it’s Jeff Teague or Paul Millsap. The Atlanta Hawks dispatched of the Washington Wizards in six games. The Golden State Warriors, led by NBA league MVP Stephen Curry, will be taking on the winner of the L.A. Clippers and Houston Rockets.

NBA Semifinals

The Chicago Bulls took care of business with Cleveland in Game 1, winning it 99-92. Derrick Rose led the way and Pau Gasol was behind him. Cleveland is without Kevin Love and J.R. Smith. It hurt them. That’s why the Cavaliers lost the game. The L.A. Clippers beat the Houston Rockets 117-101 and they were fresh off their Game 7 victory over San Antonio plus they did win Game 1 with Houston without their star point guard Chris Paul. The Atlanta Hawks bounced back from their Game 1 loss with a Game 2 victory with the Washington Wizards. If the Hawks can withstand a Wizards half-court offense with Marcin Gortat and Nene and play up-tempo basketball, they will have a chance to win the series. Otherwise, a low-post presence will hurt these smaller Hawks players. In Game 1 between the Wizards and the Hawks, the Wizards dominated because they had size and height over Atlanta. The Memphis Grizzlies also bounced back to beat the Golden State Warriors and will go to Memphis with the series tied at one game apiece. In Game 1, the Warriors were playing perfect basketball and in Game 2, the emergence of Mike Conley came back and helped Memphis regain control of the basketball game and the series.

To the NBA Conference Finals!

So the Indiana Pacers finally threw off the bug that’s been hanging around on their back. They beat the Washington Wizards 93-80 in Game 6 to advance to the East conference finals. Then, in the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Clippers in Game 6 104-98 behind Kevin Durant who got into a bit of foul trouble, overcame it, and came through for his team in the clutch. Now it’s the Heat traveling to Indiana for these crucial games in the East final. The Thunder will be playing in San Antonio for Game 1 of the West final.

Game 5s

The Washington Wizards starve off elimination convincingly and I mean convincingly, they came out to play. Marcin Gortat and John Wall teamed up for the Wizards and win Game 5, 102-79. The Indiana Pacers don’t seem stunned, but they do know they needed to play with a passion, and the Wizards had more of it than Indiana did. Oklahoma City wins Game 5 in OKC, 105-104, down by seven points in the final seconds, and coming back to win it, boy, what a game! The Thunder overcome points by Chris Paul and Jamal Crawford to win this game.

Thunder/Clippers and Pacers/Wizards

The Clippers win ugly 101-99 and tie the series 2-2. Chris Paul wasn’t expecting a pretty victory, considering he had to defend Kevin Durant in the final minutes of the game. The Pacers win Game 4, going up 3 games to 1, 95-92 and they will think of the memories that brought them here as they end their series with Washington. Paul George is looking like the former self that is leading these Pacers. A lot of these kids from the Wizards, Bradley Beal and John Wall are growing up and Paul George is commenting on how they remind him of himself when he was entering the league. Now a veteran, George is showing Beal and Wall how to play basketball in these playoff games.

Game 3s under way

The Indiana Pacers travel to Washington D.C. to play the Wizards. It was a low-scoring game, as Indiana brought their defensive plays that Frank Vogel designed for them. The Washington Wizards score 63 points and the Pacers a whooping 85 points. In the West, another Game 3 coming up, the Oklahoma City Thunder made 118 and the L.A. Clippers 112 and there were words between Chris Paul and Kevin Durant as they bumped into each other. Anyway, the Thunder win Game 3 and they lead the series 2 games to 1.

 

East and West Semifinals

The Pacers rebound from their Game 1 loss to win Game 2, 86-82. The Wizards came close in the final minute to try and tie it or try to win it. In the end, Indiana held on to win. Kevin Durant nearly posted a triple double and Russell Westbrook posted a triple double as Oklahoma City won 112-101 against the L.A. Clippers. The Thunder tie their best of seven series at 1 game apiece as the series shift to Los Angeles for games 3 and 4. This is exciting basketball for Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Who knows what to expect if OKC does win the 2014 NBA title?