NBA Making Some Playoff Noise

Hand up, I was in front of the line of bashing the product of the NBA lately. This year’s regular season, All-Star festivities, and now the playoffs have just been the NHL dummying the NBA left and right. As both leagues kicked off their second rounds of the playoffs, the NHL kept rolling, but the NBA is finally joining the party. All five games so far have gone to the underdogs outright, and on top of that, we've had some fantastic finishes. I am a honest man, and will admit when I am wrong, and for this one I am happy to be in this instance.

The second round tipped off with the Indiana Pacers beating the 1-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in an exciting Game 1. Since then, we've seen four more upsets, including three wild finishes. Of those, you had the defending champs, the Boston Celtics, leading by 20 at home only to lose in OT to the New York Knicks. Could this series keep going that direction? Hard to say...I don’t know if the Celtics are going to miss 45 threes again. With Game 2 tonight, we’ll quickly see how serious this series really is. Even down 1-0, Boston is still the heavy favorite in not only this series but the East as a whole. Tonight should be such a good game with the Celtics in a bit of a must-win siutation some are saying. Some, maybe me, maybe not, either way the Celtics are the team to beat.

The Indiana Pacers might have something to say about that, though. They’ve continued their wild run, going up 2-0 as they head home against the top-seeded Cavs. Game 2 marked the second time the Pacers erased a two-score-plus deficit in the final minute to win in regulation. Yeah, you read that right, not to force OT, but to win it before the buzzer. This is the “watch out for them” kind of team, with Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton capable of dropping 35 or 5 on any given night. Then you add in Playoff Andrew Nembhard, who didn't shoot well but still almost had a triple double in the win. Their unpredictable nature makes for pure drama. They’ve got a real shot to put this one to bed at home in game 3.

Hold up! Out West? Things are just as crazy. First, we’ve got the 6 and 7 seeds going at it, as the Golden State Warriors gave nothing easy at all to the usually high-flying Minnesota Timberwolves to take a 1-0 lead, Anthony Edwards didn't even make a shot in the 1st half. The big question is the health of Stephen Curry, as he was just ruled out for at least game 2 with a hamstring strain. With him, anything’s possible for the Warriors. Without him, they’ll need Herculean efforts from the side characters.

Then there’s the heavyweight showdown: Denver vs. OKC. And it did not disappoint. The Nuggets came storming back to steal Game 1 from the top-seeded Thunder. Stars all over the court, but one side has guys who’ve been there and done it, while the Thunder are still figuring out how to win in the playoffs. They’ll need to learn fast before Jokic and Jamal Murray will the Nuggets into the Western Conference Finals. This series has serious potential, if the Thunder can wake up and close games.

Look boys, we’ve been waiting for the NBA to wake up...and it has. So we need to take notice and tune in. Tonight we’ve got two more matchups that could bring the heat. Both favorites are in near must-win territory, and I expect them to play like it. I’ve been on the NBA all year for its weak product, so credit where it’s due, it’s finally giving us some playoff drama.