The first round playoffs have finally come to an end, but it has been an exciting show nonetheless with a plethora of overtime showdowns, hair-raising last second performances and even predictable victories.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are the first team to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals as they swept the Detroit Pistons in a 4-0 run. Lebron James and the Cavaliers put agonizing pressure on the Pistons while having to play through chants of “MVP!”, which littered the air at the home games.
For the Lakers it wasn’t as easy to advance yet there was no comparison between them and the Jazz for aggressiveness. Kobe Bryant scored 38 points in the final game of the first round series to top the Utah Jazz. His teammates were a driving force in their key moments, with Lamar Odom averaging 17 points a game and Trevor Ariza averaging 12, while Andrew Bynum played although he was recovering from his knee injury. The Jazz’s Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams didn’t back, down both averaging 35 points a game together, which sufficed enough for 1 win in the series to claim.
With the hyped talks of a showdown between Kobe and Lebron in the finals, the most discussed 1st round series matchup was the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics. With Derrick Rose, rookie of the year, even though he played with such a young team they did not go down without a fight. This series has resulted in a NBA record of 4 overtime games in a playoff series, with 7 quarters ending in overtimes. Kevin Garnett didn’t play due to his injured knee yet the Celtics were able to defeat the Bulls in the final game of the 7 game series.
The Denver Nuggets also move on to the next round after their bout with the New Orleans Hornets. With great ball movement from Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony’s dominating power-play they have led the Nuggets to their first 1st round playoff win since 1994. They outscored the Hornets with an average 24 points even though they lost one, thanks to Chris Paul.
Without Dwight Howard in their last game with the Philadelphia 76ers, the Orlando Magic were still able to pull a victory. Howard was suspended for one game for throwing an elbow during the game. Andre Iguodala and the 76ers didn’t have what it took to stop J. J. Reddick and Marcin “The Polish Hammer” Gortat.
The San Antonio Spurs were also ousted in their first round playoff run for the first time since their 2000 playoff meeting with the Phoenix Suns. Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points, which was his 30th career 30-point playoff performance. Tim Duncan scored 30 points and Tony Parker put up 26 but it was not enough to impede the powerful Dallas Mavericks trio of Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, and Josh Howard. Manu Ginobili of the Spurs was not able to play any games due to a bad ankle.
The Houston Rockets will also advance after defeating the Portland Trailblazers. Although Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge combined for 48 points in their last game, Yao Ming & the Rockets were too much for them. Ron Artest was 37 percent from the field with 27 points and Yao Ming countered the young Blazers with 17 points and 10 rebounds. This was the first time Portland has been to the playoffs since 2003 and this was the Houston‘s first playoff series win since 1997.
The last team to advance to the Conference semi-finals was the Atlanta Hawks. They put away the Miami Heat for good in the final game 7 of their first round meeting. Dwayne Wade’s 31 point effort was not sufficient to stop Joe Johnson who scored 27 points and Josh Smith who helped with 21 points. All their games ended with a double digit margin, with those games averaging a 19 point spread.
The Eastern Semi-Finals Conference will consist of the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Atlanta Hawks, and the Orlando Magic versus the Boston Celtics. On the other side of the states the Denver Nuggets will face the Dallas Mavericks, and the Los Angeles Lakers will be up against the Houston Rockets for the Western Conference Semi-Finals. This will begin May 3, 2009.
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