Now that the traffic has cleared, the NBA playoffs feature four heavyweight teams ready to slug it out.
The first round of this postseason was fun. The Milwaukee Bucks took at good run at Boston Celtics and the surprising Indiana Pacers pushed the Cleveland Cavaliers to the brink. Some new faces basked in the playoff limelight.
Then came the second round and the end of suspense. Each series was a bit of a letdown. Cleveland, Boston, Houston and Golden State raced to quick series victories, losing just three games between them.
So now it gets real.
LEBRON’S LAST STAND IN CLEVELAND?
It took a superhuman effort, but LeBron James has willed the patchwork Cavaliers into the NBA’s Final Four. For the moment, Cavaliers fans have quit fretting about where LeBron might end up after this season.
Look at LeBron’s absurd averages in this postseason: 34.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game.
“He’s been doing this for a long time,” Celtics forward Marcus Smart told reporters. “He’s, if not the greatest, one of the greatest to do it. What better way than to go up and compete against a guy that’s got statues and things like that.”
The Celtics will have to run several players at James defensively. “We know where the head of the snake is and we know what we have to focus on,” Celtics center Aron Baynes said, “but he’s got a lot of great role players around him and some other guys that can really create as well.”
Even through the Celtics hold the home-court edge in the Eastern Conference Finals, Las Vegas likes the Cavaliers — who two of three games from Boston during the regular season.
And due to season-ending injuries suffered by forward Gordon Hayward and guard Kyrie Irving, the Celtics aren’t as imposing as they were supposed to be this spring.
“Obviously guys have been going down all year. It’s like you never know who’s going to go down, things like that, but we find a way,” Celtics point guard Terry Rozier told reporters. “We pull together.”
ROCKETS AIM TO TOPPLE WARRIORS
The Warriors won the 2017 NBA Championship with a 16-1 sprint through the postseason. They paced themselves a bit this season and Stephen Curry’s injury could prove to be blessing, since his six weeks on the injured list could leave him with fresher legs.
Not surprisingly, they are favored to win still another title this season.
Rockets star James Harden had a dismal 5-18 career playoff record against the Warriors. But now Harden has Chris Paul at his side in Houston, just as Stephen Curry has Kevin Durant as a running mate with Golden State.
So after falling to Golden State in the 2015 and 2016 playoffs, the Rockets have a real shot at interrupting the Warriors’ NBA dynasty.
They have the home-court edge in the Western Conference Finals and they are better equipped to match Golden State’s pace and perimeter shooting with Paul helping Harden run the show.
And like the Warriors, the Rockets have played tenacious team defense in these playoffs.
“This team is going to be hard, it’s going to be a fight,” Rockets center Clint Capela told reporters. “There’s going to be a lot of adjustments after every game. It’s going to be a chess game. Of course, we’re going to be ready. They’ve been to The Finals three straight years. So we’re just excited. Everybody’s excited about it. I’m sure all the NBA fans are excited about it, too.”
The Warriors used their smaller, more versatile lineup to dominate New Orleans in their last two victories of that series. Expect to see Curry, Durant, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green play extensively as a unit against the Rockets.
“Both teams are going to try to force their will,” Iguodala told reporters. “I think defensively both teams are playing really well. Their defense doesn’t get enough credit and Utah tried to take away the three from them, but Houston was able to establish themselves defensively and get stops, and not having to rely on those three-point baskets. It’s going to be a pretty good series.”
