The first round had some high expectations with a few interesting moments, but ultimately I was a little let down as a fan. As the second round begins, I've been wildly impressed with the competition of the first few games. The injury ladened Milwaukee Bucks have come out strong against the favored Boston Celtics. Despite missing Khris Middleton and George Hill, the Bucks dominated in the Garden. The Warriors look like they are back to old form with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson drilling threes and Draymond Green drilling players. Ja Morant maybe the NBA's most exciting young player right now. The finish to that game was the most exciting playoff game that I've seen this season. Last year's playoffs left me hopeful and this year is paying off. Why? The grind-it-out style of the East and the run-it-up style of the West.
The Defense is Better
If you enjoy defensive battles, the Celtics and Bucks series is the one for you. Both teams played excellent defense, but the Bucks' physicality overcame the Celtics enough to put them away. Giannis Antetokounmpo is still the most dominant player in the NBA and his Bucks are still the defending champs. The young Celtics are going to have to overcome the Bucks' tenacity and bench depth to beat the Bucks. This should be a fun series to watch. I don't expect too many more blowouts like the one on Sunday.
The Evenly Matched Teams
To be honest, I was surprised by the Grizzlies' ability to play defense and compete throughout the entirety of the game. Ja Morant leads a young and hungry team against the veteran Warriors team that seeks to prove that they can still contend for titles. This game had multiple runs and the game's ending stayed up in the air up until the buzzer. Both teams had great moments and blunders. This series, one that I had written off as a Warriors' runaway, could end up being the best of the four second-round series.
The Other Two
While both these games were wildly different than I had predicted, I still expect Miami to run away against the 76ers without Embiid. Phoenix and Dallas should be a lot of fun, though. The now-healthy Suns should present a tough challenge for the Mavericks, but as always, I expect them to fight. Luka Doncic and company should be able to extend the series to at least 6.