Editor’s Note: Throughout the NBA playoffs, Kyle Ratke and Dane Mizutani will be taking a look back at the action going on in the NBA playoffs. We are hoping that we can write about the Wolves being there soon. Until then, we’ll discuss the other teams. This piece does not reflect the views of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Cleveland Wins … And Also Loses
A series that was hardly a series at all came to a merciful end over the weekend. LeBron James finally exorcised demons from his past as the Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the Boston Celtics from the onset en route to a 4-0 series sweep. James was incredible throughout the series and already appears to be in playoff mode with 12 wins to go.
Kyrie Irving is also firing on all cylinders right now while playing 40-plus minutes per game. Then there’s Kevin Love — the player everyone thought would put the Cavaliers over the top — who dislocated his shoulder and is expected to miss a couple weeks of action. Though he gets more hate than almost any player in the NBA, Love is an integral part of the team and an integral part of the championship aspirations. Love provides a dynamic inside-outside threat and is consistently the best rebounder on the floor. He’s also the best player in an incredibly thin Cavaliers frontcourt. It looks like the Chicago Bulls are well on their way to facing Cleveland in the next round. Though James will be the best player in that series by a mile, the Cavaliers need Love to provide some sort of a post presence.
And The Bloodbath Continues
It’s lived up to the hype so far and more than likely we’re going to get three more games of this. In what was essentially a must-win game for the Los Angeles Clippers against the San Antonio Spurs on the road last night, Chris Paul balled out scoring 34 points to lead his team to a win and a 2-2 series tie heading back to the West Coast. Paul wasn’t fair last night as he managed to do things like this at times when his team needed him most.
Paul has a reputation of being a complainer and always seems a little bossy on the court. He’s also an incredibly gifted player and will need to be at his best if Los Angeles wants to steal this series from the defending champs. Kawhi Leonard was great again for the Spurs in the loss and it’s really tough to bet against Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan in a series like this. So we’re not going to make any predictions in what has become a best-of-three series. We might be witnessing the most entertaining series of the playoffs. Enjoy.
Wizards Leave Absolutely No Doubt
It was clear from the beginning of this series that the Washington Wizards were a good team and the Toronto Raptors weren’t on the same level. A week or so later the series is finished, the Wizards are moving on, and Drake is feeling like this.
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Washington is a dangerous team moving forward as John Wall and Bradley Beal might be the best backcourt not comprised of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Marcin Gortat has also been stellar this postseason and could pose matchup problems moving forward. As for the Raptors it might be back to the drawing board. They’re a good team. They’re not a great team. They have enough talent to play at a high level. They don’t have enough talent to compete for a title. It’s going to be a big offseason for Toronto and a lot of changes could be coming.
Dallas Finds A Way, Extends Series
And the Dallas Mavericks aren’t dead yet. They managed to best the Houston Rockets last night even though Dwight Howard turned into Superman early in the night.
While that was about as flashy as a play as there was all game, there wasn’t a ton of substance to the Rockets last night. James Harden only, yes we’re saying only, scored 24 points while Josh Smith and Corey Brewer were the next leading scorers with 23 points and 22 points, respectively. Monta Ellis was spectacular for the Mavericks and finished with 31 points while JJ Barea poured in 17 points and 13 assists to push Dallas to victory. Barea provided a viable option off the bench and the team was plus-22 with him on the court. That said it’s hard to see the Mavericks winning three more games in this series, especially with the series heading back to Houston in a couple days.