The Weekside: The NBA Playoffs First Round Hasn’t Been Pretty

Being Thankful for Curry, Dwight and LeBron

While watching all the games this weekend, I chatted with Shane Young of HoopsHabit. Here are some of our thoughts as we watched the league’s best teams (and the Raptors) face off. Read more work by Young at HoopsHabit and follow him on Twitter.

Jared Wade: Steph Curry isn’t real, is he? That comeback, that shot, the five made 3-pointers he is averaging per game. Voting is complete, and I do presume he won the MVP award. But, man, will it look silly if he somehow didn’t.

I’ve been joking all month about the Warriors going 16-0 in the playoffs, but it really feels like they can’t be beat. Even down 20 on the road — down fifteen with five minutes left — they came back and won against a team led by a guy, in Anthony Davis, who might win the next eight MVP awards.

Shane Young:  I swear, what we’re seeing from Curry is something from Mars or Jupiter. It certainly isn’t skill born on this Earth. Just think about this: He has surpassed the designation of being “just a 3-point shooter,” yet Steph is already the most reliable and deadliest shooter in clutch situations that I’ve ever witnessed. I caught the end of Reggie Miller’s career and I saw Ray Allen’s sharpshooting days, but the fear that Curry puts into your mind when he launches a shot is unmatched. You could just see the despair of Pelicans fans as he sized Davis up in front of New Orleans’ bench and drilled the game-typing 3-pointer while falling into the players.

Anyone matching the 2001 Lakers (which went 15-1 in the playoffs) seemed unrealistic in this era. Teams have become better on the road, and injuries are ruining most teams’ chances. Nevertheless, it’s difficult to picture this balanced Warriors team losing more than two games in a single series. Once you get the best of them, a dominating response always follows. Stylistically, Memphis is the team to try and slow Golden State down and beat them up, but nobody outside of Grizzlies supporters would give them even three wins over this beast.

Wherever you stand on comparing the Warriors to the best teams in memory, one thing is clear: They belong in the conversation. You can’t take that away from them.

Wade: I caught every playoff game Reggie ever played and — no pun intended — he wasn’t on Steph’s level. The way Curry shoots off the dribble, off picks, standing still, in a box, with a fox, in any situation is unparalleled in the history of this game. It’s so special

Coming into the playoffs, the two best challengers to Golden Stater were obviously the Spurs and Cavaliers. The Cavs are facing an uphill battle to even make the NBA Finals now that Love is likely out for a while with injury and J.R. Smith about to suspended.

I’ve been joking all month about the Warriors going 16-0 in the playoffs, but it really feels like they can’t be beat. Even down 20 on the road, they came back and won against a team led by a guy, in Anthony Davis, who might win the next eight MVP awards.

But given what we saw with the bounce-back play from the Clippers, you have to put them in that category now, too. It’s absolutely nuts that either San Antonio or Los Angeles won’t make the second round. With three games left in that series, and CP3, Blake, Kawhi and Timmy all playing out of their minds most of the time … who you got? Is there even any way to predict or should we just sit back and enjoy whatever unfolds? That series has been tremendous — both in terms of Xs & Os and pure theater — so far.

Young: What’s ridiculous is that one of the Clippers or Spurs will be bounced in the same round as the Mavericks and Pelicans — easily the two worst playoff teams in the West. Since we’re both confident this series is going seven games, I’m sure Popovich is going to take his team out to dinner the night before Game 7 and hope that they take understand the significance. This is a chance to repeat as champions, which is something they’ve failed to do since the marriage of Duncan and Pop began. If you think about it, there aren’t many things the Spurs haven’t done, so checking this off the list will finish their story.

I’m definitely taking San Antonio, since this series just turned into a best-of-three. One reason: Doc Rivers likely got the luckiest game out of his bench he’ll have in these playoffs. And of all people, it was his own flesh and blood! Austin Rivers nearly scoring at a point-per-minute basis (16 points in 17 minutes) was enough to give Los Angeles a double-digit lead and that proved too much of a hole for San Antonio to climb out of. If he’s finally snapped out of the terrible struggles he has had since joining the team — and really his whole career — Rivers can be a difference-maker back in Hollywood for Game 5. Then again, I don’t think the outcome of Game 5 will keep this series from going the distance.

Wade: No matter which team survives, does this Houston team have a shot against them in the next round? I would have said no before the playoffs given all the injuries. But if this Dwight Howard is the Dwight Howard we see all series? Well, then, Houston can beat just about anyone — especially if we see some more 2009-era Josh Smith cameos beside Superman in the co-starring role.

The biggest key for Chicago to stop LeBron’s rampage of five straight Finals appearances is Jimmy Butler … It’s the two-way King from Cleveland up against the Bulls’ new best player.

Really, while Steph being God-like and Love getting hurt are the biggest stories from the first round, the most uplifting news so far has been the return of Dwight and Rose. It almost makes the outcomes of the games secondary. I just love to see former MVP candidates who I thought were broken down run amok on a basketball court again. Perhaps that is just because it makes my old bones feel a bit younger, but regardless of the impetus, it has been enough to make even a withered, cold heart like the one beating in my chest light up like the Grinch’s when he first perceived Christmas joy.

Young: Since Dwight is playing physically — not being “soft,” like Kobe labeled him on opening night — Houston really has all the tools to win a title. I never thought they could go that far, especially when Portland rained on their parade last postseason. But when you think about this current league, you need reliable 3-point maestros (nearly the whole Houston roster), a superstar (Harden), a terrific bench, and then a constant force to deliver you boards (Dwight). Though that’s just my personal criteria of what it takes, there is no arguing all four of those components are needed.

In what world did we think the East’s first round would be equally as exciting as the West? To me, it’s been about even. Brooklyn is the epitome of garbage, but Atlanta can’t close the dumpster lid. Milwaukee is a young group of studs, but Chicago is too seasoned under Tom Thibodeau. Then, tempers started flaring yesterday in Boston, because nobody admires LeBron there.

I’m actually slightly ticked we can’t have Chicago vs. Cleveland as the East Finals. I don’t know about you, but the storylines there are too powerful and mean way more than Hawks/Bulls or Hawks/Cavs. The biggest key for Chicago to stop LeBron’s rampage of five straight Finals appearances is Jimmy Butler. The last series these two met in, LeBron was aggravated by Butler’s defense, but that was it because Butler couldn’t score like a machine back then. Now, it’s the two-way King from Cleveland up against the Bulls’ new best player.

I haven’t picked this series yet because it’s too dependent on Kevin Love’s shoulder, but there’s no way I can lean towards Cleveland right now. Chicago is too hungry, and they’ve waited in the crapshoot East for too long.

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