LeBron James v Paul George was the key contest in the first round of the NBA Playoffs

The first round is where you begin to find your identity.

The first round is where you learn to adapt and conquer.

The first round is where you sharpen the blade.

The first round is where boys become men.

What a first round it has been!

Eastern Conference:

Boston Celtics (1) vs Chicago Bulls (8): Tied at 2-2

This was unexpected. For everyone.

It’s easy to pick apart Boston’s shortcomings. They have struggled against playoff teams all season (20-21), have played nearly every game close till the fourth quarter until their saviours Isaiah Thomas and coach Brad Stevens deliver them the win. They are getting bullied on the boards, struggling from the arc (except for Game 3), and their bench is just about neck to neck with Chicago’s. But no one expected them to be down two games in their first round series against the Bulls. This is an aberration no matter how you look at it. They are the No.1 seed! Chicago has struggled all season, even stumbling into the playoffs by pure chance. What part of this doesn’t Lady Fate understand?

Three words: Playoff Rajon Rondo.

It was not Rondo’s numbers (11 points / 14 assists / 9 rebounds / 5 steals in Game 2) that were the story. The Rondo-Wade-Butler worked exactly the way the Bulls franchise hoped they would: Butler the star-scorer, Wade the stabilising veteran, and Rondo the driver of the nine-figure machine. It sputtered during the regular season, but sprang to life just in time for the Playoffs.

Now that driver is injured. Without Rondo the Bulls do not have anyone to manage the touches and the movement of the ball within a highly volatile offense. He is trying to make a comeback, but how effective he will be, is yet to be seen.

It’s troubling that the Celtics won just six of the 16 quarters in this series, but they still have the upper hand here, especially in light of Rondo’s injury. If they do exit (which I am predicting will not happen) expect some serious offseason moves from GM Danny Ainge.

Washington Wizards (4) vs Atlanta Hawks (5): Tied at 2-2

Wall continues his incredible run as one of the three best point guards in the NBA, and is taking on a bigger scoring load when his team struggles during a game. However, asking Wall to do it all for a full game, results in the Wizards being on the wrong side of an 18-point loss.

The rest of the Wizards have yet to show up. Beal is the only silver lining. He has been exceptional, and bounced back from the Game 3 debacle, where all but Wall scored no more than 15 points. Otto Porter and Kelly Oubre have been mediocre, Marcin Gortat is playing at regular season pace, and Markieff Morris needs to spend his energy on winning, not on confronting the Hawks’ Paul Millsap on his ability to get to the free throw line.

This series has been closer than the Wizards would like to admit.

The Hawks have been as solid as their ceiling and playoff pedigree would suggest. There’s balance in contribution at the offensive end between Dennis Schroder, Tim Hardaway and Taurean Prince. Millsap has been expectedly good, but not exceptional, averaging 23.5 points on 51% shooting from the field.

The Wizards are clearly the better team in the series, but need to understand that despite the poor playoff record, the Hawks are a playoff-tested team. They cannot afford to take a night off. Not one.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2) vs Indiana Pacers (7): Cleveland sweep the Pacers 4-0

Paul George vs LeBron James is the modern day John Starks vs Michael Jordan.

Everyone who had to guard MJ did so as part of their job that night, putting on a brave face. Starks was different. Everything about his demeanour on court, and how he stuck it to MJ, spoke volumes how didn’t care about MJ’s reputation.

With the growth of the AAU circuit on the US, player rivalry is all but vanished from the NBA.

A few remain.

Take a look at the numbers: (points / rebounds / assists / FG% / 3-PT%)

James: 32.8 / 9.8 / 9.0 / 54% / 45%

George: 28.0 / 8.8 / 7.3 / 39% / 43%

It’s important to note that LeBron James will eventually retire as one of the ten (if not five) greatest players in NBA history. That George would, not only defend LeBron for nearly the entire game, but up his PPG (points per game) by nearly 5 points (regular season average: 23.7) made this the rivalry of the Playoffs for me.

The Pacers made this a close series, and that was more than you could expect form a team that has at best a mediocre roster.

While LeBron and the Cavaliers await the winner of the Milwaukee vs. Toronto series, the Pacers have a uncertain offseason to look forward to. Is Paul George going to suit up as a Pacer next season, or is he likely to find himself in Lakers purple & gold, like he has often said he would like to.

Toronto Raptors (3) vs Milwaukee Bucks (6): Raptors lead 3-2

All I want for NBA Christmas (Playoffs) is to watch Giannis Antetokounmpo vs LeBron James 1.0.

The Bucks are halfway there.

The Raptors won’t go away though.

Unlike the deceptively one-sided sweep of the Pacers by the Cavaliers, the Bucks vs. Raptors series is accurately at 3-2.

The Bucks almost look like the better team in the series. They have won eight and tied three of the twenty quarters played in the series this far. They are also playing marginally better team ball with Bucks’ players scoring in double digits 23 times in this series as opposed to the Raptors’ 22. Giannis has not lost a step from his incredible season and his trusted sidekick Khris Middleton has been on point. Rookie Malcolm Brogdon who was great in Game 1 & 5 has disappeared for the other games.

After an uninspiring start to the Playoffs, including a 27-point loss in Game 3, the Raptors bullied the young Bucks in Game 4 and 5. The grit and grind that took them to Game 6 in the Eastern Conference finals last season, was on full display in front of a hostile but stunned Milwaukee crowd in Game 4.

What’s clear is DeRozan has become the No 1 option on the Raptors. This is just as much about his ability as it is about Lowry not having shown up yet. This is the second playoffs in a row that Lowry is having problems with. He still has the ability to step up big in the right moments, but with the emergence of DeRozan, does Lowry’s future with the Raptors come under pressure if they lose this first round?

Western Conference:

Golden State Warriors (1) vs Portland Trail Blazers (8): Warriors sweep the Blazers 4-0

I fully expected the Warriors to take care of business against the Trail Blazers. And the Blake Griffin injury has given the Warriors’ journey to the Finals, that much easier. But if Durant (who looked good upon his Game 4 return), Livingston and Kerr do not make it back to the sidelines by the Conference finals where the Warriors will go up against the Spurs (did I just drop a prediction there? Yes, I did), then expect trouble to find them.

The Blazers would have greatly benefited with a healthy Jusuf Nurkic in the lineup. Nurkic added a third and fairly dangerous offensive option that could do much damage if both Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are firing away. His return, though (17 minutes in Game 3), was too little too late. If I were Portland, I would not be too worried with the sweep. They have the Lillard-McCollum-Nurkic core to build around and possibly snag a 4-5 seed next season. Besides, a 4-0 sweep against a No. 1 seed 67-win team featuring two of the league’s seven best players is no shame.

LA Clippers (4) vs Utah Jazz (5): Jazz lead 3-2

Sigh.

Fate is toying with Chris Paul. Right from his trade to the Lakers being vetoed, to the untimely playoff injuries (to him or his teammates), Paul just cannot seem to catch a break.

Not like I thought the Clippers were going to make it past the Warriors in Round 2 these playoffs, and an upset against the hard-nosed Jazz was always on the cards. But playoff Paul is a beast. Despite his “choke tag”, Paul has the fifth highest PER (player efficiency rating) in NBA playoff history behind Shaq, LeBron, George Mikan and Jordan. At 31, Playoff Paul is averaging 27.0 points and 10.4 assists while shooting 53% from the field and 44% from the 3-point line. All figures significantly higher than his career playoff average.

It would still be beautiful to watch him try and eliminate the Jazz with the services of his best players, but this by no means isn’t a fair fight.

You could argue the same for the Jazz who lost Gobert in the first game of the Playoffs, and I’d agree with you. But he’s back, and from the looks of his Game 5, I’d say he sees these playoffs through. Gordon Hayward has shifted into another gear, and thanks in no small part to the absence of Griffin, will become a bigger thorn in the Clippers side.

With both Griffin out, the odds are Jazz’s favor, something that is glaringly evident as they outscored the Clippers in the paint. But, there is no doubt in my mind that with a fully healthy Gobert and Griffin in all games, this would’ve been THE series of the Playoffs.

San Antonio Spurs (2) vs Memphis Grizzlies (7): Spurs lead 3-0

Yes, yes and yes.

This is the fight I was hoping for in this series, although I predicted the Spurs having an easier time in eliminating the Grizzlies.

After drubbing the Grizzlies by a combined 43 points over Games 1 and 2, the Spurs were primed to make this a sweep and move on to face the Rockets in Round 2 with fresh legs. Then Fizdale abandoned his successful regular season experiment and brought back Zach Randolph into the starting lineup.

The result? Grizzlies come back to tie the series at two all.

Despite the No 2 defense in the league during the regular season, the Spurs often faced trouble against teams that had a bigger presence in the paint (they finished 7th in opponent points in the paint). It took Fizdale two games to recognise the advantage he had, but better late than never.

Conley is the unheralded hero of the series this far. He’s the best point guard in the series and is milking the advantage as evidenced by his 35 points / 8 assists / 9 rebounds performance in Game 4.

All the greatest players had another gear for the playoffs. Jordan, Magic, Bird, Kobe, James. Everyone is glad that Leonard has, and found that gear. His numbers (31.6 ppg on 58-54-98 shooting splits) are greatly overshadowed by the fact that he plays for the great Spurs. Make no mistake though, the Spurs will make the Conference finals on the shoulders of the mighty Kawhi Leonard.

Houston Rockets (3) vs Oklahoma City Thunder (6): Rockets beat the Thunder 4-1

In many ways, I am glad this series was about Harden vs Westbrook. This isn’t the tightest MVP race in NBA history, but it definitely is the most contentious. Harden’s team-ball vs. Westbrook’s hero-ball.

The 4-1 series win is deceptively one-sided. Westbrook and the Thunder gave the Rockets all they could. They wrapped this up 4-1, but just barely looked like the favourites. They haven’t shown the kind of commitment they ought to show in playoff basketball, but that isn’t surprising. Expectedly Patrick Beverley, Clint Capela and Trevor Ariza are the only ones sincerely trying on defence. They’ve been scared at least thrice in the five games, and if the Rockets believe this has to be their year, they absolutely need to play (even average) defence to sustain the run.

Westbrook took a ton of criticism for his 50-point triple double which ended up in a loss. He trusted his teammates in Game 3. They rewarded him with a win. This reward, though, doesn’t help Westbrook’s MVP case. Why? Because it’s clear that he has a competent team. A team that he should’ve relied on during the regular season to deliver them more wins. A team that he could’ve trusted more if he and the organisation were not obsessed with the Westbrook’s F-U season. He didn’t trust them in Game 5. See what happened?

Best of Week One:

Performance of Week One: Russell Westbrook vs Rockets, 51 points / 13 assists / 10 rebounds

The more said about this performance, the less it seems. For me, it’s up there with Jerry West winning the 1969 Finals MVP as memories that are skewed by reality. West is the only player to ever have won the NBA Finals MVP despite being on the losing team. Similarly, Westbrook’s monster game, the first (and possibly the only) 50-point triple double in NBA playoff history, will go down in history as one of the greatest performances despite it coming in a losing effort. That being said, we ought to be grateful to be able to watch Russell Westbrook, the most athletic star of this generation, unleash unholy hell on opposing defences. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Game of Week One: Game 4, Memphis Grizzlies vs. San Antonio Spurs, 110-108

Had to wait till the end of the week for this one. The Grizzlies made some changes and are managing better against the Spurs. But the Spurs are, well, the Spurs. As much as the Grizzlies hoped to run away in this game, the Spurs, led by a monstrous 43 points from Leonard, kept it close. The Grizzlies, led by Mike Conley’s equally significant 35 points, survived by the skin of their teeth with Gasol hitting the running jumper, in a game that could find itself among the five best games of the 2017 NBA playoffs.

Player Of Week One: LeBron James 33.7 points / 10.7 assists / 9.7 rebounds / 55% FG% / 47% 3P%

Take a look at those numbers again. He ‘s almost breaching his career high in points, is averaging a career high in assists and is blowing away his career 3-pt%.

And then you realise he’s 32 and currently has 1100 games on his legs in the past 11 seasons. The Cavaliers are on the verge of sweeping the Pacers, who despite their less talented team will fall to the mighty King and his Cavaliers. Yes, the Cavaliers finished the season 23-23, but as long as they have LeBron James, they are title contenders.

Team of Week One: Milwaukee Bucks

Wait a minute. There are two teams with perfect records and I have a team tied two-all as the team of the week? No, I have not lost my mind. We expected the Cavaliers to up on the Pacers and the Warriors to thump the Blazers. But no one in their right mind expected the Bucks to steal Game 1 on the road and then blow out the Raptors by 27 in Game 3. Keep in mind these kids are going up against a former Eastern Conference finalist that have gotten better since last season. If the franchise stays smart, the bucks are here to stay in the Playoffs.