See Dwight Howard in the cover photo above? He’s having a grand old time… not because he didn’t perform well last year against the Portland Trail Blazers, but because his team is controlling a first-round series. This offers a starting point for a comparison between the 2015 first round and the opening round of last year’s playoffs.
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Naturally, the 2014 NBA Playoffs provided an unforgettable first round, very possibly the best first round in the history of the league. The San Antonio Spurs faced their toughest series on the road to a title, being taken seven games by the much-better-than-this-year Dallas Mavericks. Four other series — Memphis-Oklahoma City, Brooklyn-Toronto, Atlanta-Indiana, Golden State-Los Angeles Clippers — went seven games. Yet, the best series of them all was probably the one involving Dwight Howard, who did his level best but had nothing to show for it.
Damian Lillard nailed a buzzer-beating three to turn a homecourt Game 6 loss into the Trail Blazers’ first playoff series victory in over a decade. In one moment, Howard and the Rockets went from “We’re going to Game 7 at our place!” to “…………………….. [insert sad-faced emoticon here]……………………..”
Portland, on the other hand, was able to “Win one for Jack,” paying exquisite tribute to the universally beloved Dr. Jack Ramsay, who had died just days earlier.
That the first round of the 2014 playoffs unfolded against the backdrop of the Donald Sterling firestorm made the basketball that much more of a sweet escape from the off-court ugliness that permeated the country. Yet, even if the Sterling situation hadn’t emerged, we’d have been talking about the quality of basketball and theater on display in that first round. No hoophead could turn away from those two weeks of competition… not if s/he wanted to retain good standing as a basketball diehard.
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It doesn’t need to be explained at length that the 2015 NBA first round is… well… not the 2014 edition. What’s worth noting, though, is that the storylines remain intriguing… just not in the form or package many of us might have expected.
The Washington Wizards continue to win road playoff games under Randy Wittman, widely acknowledged as a deficient coach. That’s a plot twist, even if Toronto’s no-show (especially from Kyle Lowry) has certainly helped the Wizards’ cause.
Josh Smith made his team better in the playoffs Tuesday night. The folks in Atlanta and Detroit are furious that Smith is playing such blended and selfless basketball after being Mr. Black Hole with the Hawks and Pistons, but the bottom-line truth remains the same: It’s very much a story to see Smith show a different side of himself and write a positive chapter in his career.
Last year, Houston was a big story because of the enormity of its failure. As harsh as this might sound, failure often makes a great sports story, especially when the athletes or teams were expected to do great things. In this year’s first round, though, the Rockets are becoming a story because of the extent to which they’re meshing — and succeeding — on the court, without the pieces (Chris Bosh and Chandler Parsons) that were supposed to make them a lead title contender.
The Cleveland-Boston series could very well end in a sweep, but the basketball on display has been fun to watch. Boston is earning respect in defeat, and while Cleveland is cruising to victory in that series, the Cavs are unconvincing enough to raise questions about future playoff rounds. Atlanta and Chicago are very much in the same boat.
Golden State might sweep away the New Orleans Pelicans, but Game 2 was a gripping and contentious contest for 47 of 48 minutes. Seeing Anthony Davis gum up the Warriors’ offense for much of the night offered a tantalizing taste of what’s ahead for the Pelicans’ franchise. Similarly, seeing the Milwaukee Bucks — some very young Bucks indeed — learn playoff lessons against the tested veterans from Chicago only shows how high a ceiling that particular franchise could have in the next several years.
Even in the midst of possible sweeps (five-game series at most), the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs has opened the door to new vistas of potential and promise. That’s pretty neat to watch.
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Yes, it’s not a point of debate: The 2014 first round was far more compelling and thrilling than the 2015 first round. Yet, it’s not as though the 2015 first round should be viewed as a bust. In addition to everything that’s been said above, the smooth progression of higher seeds through the bracket should mean added rest for top players, and for guys such as Nikola Mirotic who need more time to heal before the second round. A first round stuffed with short series should give us better matchups and even better basketball — particularly from the stars — when the conference semifinals arrive.
The 2015 first round might not give us a single Game 6, let alone a Game 7.
Yet, in a larger context, that’s perfectly okay… as long as the subsequent rounds develop the storylines that have emerged the past few days.
