Unless you’re living under a rock, you should know that the NBA Playoffs are here and it may be the first round but we’ve received nothing but heat from all the participanting teams. This is what Playoff basketball is, entertaining and competitive basketball that we so love and enjoy to watch. So let’s check out what’s going on so far in the NBA Playoffs.
Brawl of the Pitbulls
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The series between the Portland Trailblazers and the Oklahoma City Thunder was promised to deliver pure fire and so far we’ve been getting lava explosions as both teams are truly fighting bone and mail to secure a place to the second round of the Playoffs and who better to look at to deliver a fiery series between these teams than Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook. Prior to the game, Damian compared himself and his point guard opponent to a pair of pitbulls due to their aggressive and competitive ways of wanting to win. And that’s exactly what we’ve gotten from these two, an epic brawl between pitbulls stopping at nothing to get the wins. So far the Trailblazers are leading the series 2-1 and this is one series that could see a potential Game 6 or even a Game 7. But one thing I can can guarantee you is that this is the series to watch.
KD vs Pat: A series of mind games
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The Warriors-Clippers series is another classic as both teams have history of battling each other in the Playoffs where we saw the best of Stephen Curry and Chris Paul. But now it’s a battle between Kevin Durant and Patrick Beverly. And I’m not talking about a scoring battle, I’m talking about a battle of mind games consistent of trash talk, intimidation and technical fouls dished out by the referees of course. Game 1 saw both players ejected for their behaviours towards each other to which KD responded was just fun banter between the two. Game 2 when the Warriors blew a whole 31 point lead, Pat stated that he’s doing his job by guarding Kevin Durant with everything he’s got in his arsenal. And now the Warriors are leading 2-1 and it’s only fair to say the Warriors have woken up from that disastrous Game 2 but don’t count the Clippers out just yet. They may be outgunned by the superior talents of Golden State but they surely have more heart than the reigning champions. This is an interesting series.
“Can the real Boston Celtics please stand up?”
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The Celtics are bullying their first round opponents Indiana Pacers to a point where a sweep is looming over the series. The Celtics are leading their series 3-0 which hasn’t surprised many due to the absence of Victor Oladipo (Pacers). But seeing the performances of the Celtics has lead to many of us questioning if this is Thee Boston Celtics that we’ve been expecting prior to the 2018-19 Regular season. Kyrie Irving is dazzling with him scoring comfortably and playing as team player rather than putting the weight of his team on his shoulders, Gordon Hayward is beginning to look like his past Utah Jazz self and the youngsters of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are picking off where they left in last year’s Playoffs. This is a dangerous looking Celtics team that may pose a threat to the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers. And if the Celtics do achieve a sweep in this series…it may be time to start waking up to smell the coffee that the Boston Celtics are brewing.
The Freak Is Finding Ground
IMAGE CREDIT: FOX SPORTS
Giannis Antetokounmpo is an MVP frontrunner this year (FINALLY) and he should definitely not be counted out for the award. The only thing that was worrying was if he would build on the same momentum he’s built all regular season long in the Playoffs especially against a rowdy team of the Detroit Pistons. And from where I’m sitting, he’s looking more than comfortable playing in the big lights at the big stage. So far, the Pistons aren’t looking good against Giannis as they look vulnerable without All Star Blake Griffin and looking helpless against the powerhouse being Giannis. Not to mention the whole Bucks team are bullying the Pistons team with monstrous dunks and blocks set up by the Greek Freak himself. It stands 2-0 so far to the Milwaukee Bucks and from the looks of things it may be a sweep.
And there you have it, a quick breakdown of what’s happening in this year’s first round of the NBA Playoffs. First round games still commence for the next week and we should seated and tuned to everything transpiring in the explosive NBA Playoffs.
The Baseline 