Three Thoughts Midway Through The First Round
We’re halfway through the first round of the NBA Playoffs
and some things aren’t exactly what we thought they would be while some were
exactly what we thought they’d be.
That being said, here are three thoughts as we go into the
backend of the first round:
THOUGHT #1: Can anyone beat the Cavs?
Right now, it’s looking like no one can. Lebron James and
his cohorts have been able to find ways to win, even though it hasn’t been
pretty. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love have their moments but the Cavs are fueled
by the will of King James and right now, no one can match him.
Extra thought: Kyle Korver was supposed to be the piece that
would make the Cavs near invincible. So far, he’s been outplayed by the likes
of Richard Jefferson and Iman Shumpert.
THOUGHT #2: Can anyone beat the Warriors?
See thought above. However, what makes the Warriors scarier
is that they haven’t fully deployed Kevin Durant yet. So they’ve got an extra
MVP-level gear that is currently resting and getting healthier everyday, while
their potential competitors are still beating each other up. That being said,
the Warriors benefit a hell of a lot if the OKC-Houston and San Antonio-Memphis
match ups get extended, given that the Spurs and Grizzlies rely a lot on
veterans who are getting worn down with each game and the Thunder and Rockets
rely on one transcendent star who is wearing down with every game.
THOUGHT #3: Who’s the standout star of the first round?
We could go with Lebron James (see Thought 1). Or the usual
suspects like the Warriors’ Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Kevin Durant, the
Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard, the Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas, the Clippers’ Chris Paul and Blake
Griffin. Or some often-overlooked but deserving stars, like the Grizzlies’ Mike
Conley and Marc Gasol, the Hawks’ Paul
Millsap, the Pacers’ Paul George, or even the
Raptors’ DeMar Derozan. But instead, we’re going with the Greek Freak,
Giannis Antetokuonmpo, who is currently averaging 21.3 ppg, 10 rpg, 4.5 apg and
3 highlight reels per game. Considering this is a very young Bucks team missing
a very crucial piece (Jabari Parker), Antetokuonmpo has put the team on his
back and made them dangerous enough to snare some Raptor scalp.
Or follow me
at
Twitter:
@PMVBalo
Instagram:
patrickmichaelbalo