NBA Playoffs Game 1s

With the first couple days of the playoffs done, it's already been exciting and surprising.

The Bulls squeaked by the Pacers who went ice cold the final two minutes.
Hansbrough played great for Indiana and Danny Granger came alive in the 2nd half but their choked down the stretch to give the game to the Bulls. I feel like that was their best shot to steal a game, and now they wont get any closer than that.

The Heat got all they could handle against the 76ers.
The Sixers came out firing, but Miami settled in and hit big shots. Philly came back but it just wasn't enough. AI did a great job on LeBron. I could see this being a pretty exciting series if Philly can keep LBJ under control and make it a D-Wade focused game.

The Celtics needed late game heroics to be bailed out against the Knicks.
The Knicks had this one in the bag but Ray Allen was huge all game and hit the game winner. NY can't dwell on such a heartbreaking loss and come back next game. Very physical game. Should be a great series.

The Magic got manhandled by the underdog Hawks.
Dwight Howard did everything he could and more in this matchup. 31 points in the first half and still being down? I don't know what the rest of his team was doing. If they continue to play so one-dimensional they will get swept. They're a versatile team, though, so I expect them to come out strong next game.




The Spurs came back in the clutch, but the Grizzlies ultimately took it back with a Shane Battier 3.
Matt Bonner came up huge with back-to-back 3s in the final minutes, but Battier's triple proved to be the decider. Richard Jefferson got as good a look as you're going to get in this league to tie the game but he hit back iron. I knew it was going to be a struggle for San An. Memphis is tough, but when Ginobili comes back it's over.

The Lakers got stomped by the Hornets and CP3s amazing performance.
No defense by these Lakers. Got pushed around in the paint all day. Pau Gasol is going to need to play better on both ends of the court if they want to win this series, and that's exactly what I expect him to do.

The Mavericks toughed it out against the Blazers in the 4th thanks to Dirk and J-Kidd.
After struggling all night, Dirk was extremely aggressive in the 4th and went to the line 13 times and nailed all 13 of his free throws. 18 points in the 4th and the dagger 3 from Jason Kidd iced this game for Dallas. The Mavs went almost 11 minutes without hitting a shot. If they can play that poorly and Dirk can shoot that poorly (7-20) and they STILL win the game, Portland is in trouble. Dallas did everything they could to give them the game and they couldn't take advantage. This series is as good as over.

The Thunder and Nuggets traded blows until OKC came out on top.
I feel like these two teams will be scoring in triple digits often. Great game by both teams and especially by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. This young duo is exciting as any to watch and if they stick together and do some real damage in the future. They're already going to do a good amount this postseason.