With one-seeds tied up with eight-seeds and a team owner being banned for life from all NBA activities before his team played Game 4, the 2014 NBA Playoffs have proven to be extraordinary and have shocked basketball fans from across the nation.
It was predicted early on in the NBA season that the Miami Heat would three-peat this year, and so far, they have been the only team to actually do what has been expected of them. Going into the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the second-ranked Heat were matched up to play the seventh-ranked Charlotte Bobcats in the first round. Forward LeBron James and the Heat showed up and showed out as they had a perfect 4-0 sweep of the Bobcats.
The rest of the Eastern Conference teams have not played to their ranking, especially the top-ranked Indiana Pacers. The Pacers ended their season in a slump, which has unfortunately carried over to the playoffs. Playing the eighth-ranked Atlanta Hawks, the Pacers are down 3-2 in the series, with their next game being played on the Hawks’s home court. Indiana’s main weaknesses seem to be figuring out a way to stop the Hawks’s three-point game, headed by shooting guard Kyle Korver, and finding someone who can check point guard Jeff Teague.
The Western Conference is not proving any better, as the one-seeded San Antonio Spurs are currently tied up 2-2 in the series with the eighth-ranked Dallas Mavericks. Both teams are loaded with highly skilled veterans, though it was the game-winning three from 37-year-old Vince Carter in Game 3 that has been the highlight of the series so far.
One of the most interesting matchups in the West is between the second-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder and the seventh-ranked Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis holds a 3-2 lead over OKC as the Grizzlies take home court for Game 6. Making NBA Playoff history, OKC and Memphis are the first teams to go into overtime in four of their five first-round games.
The series getting the most attention in this first round is between the third-ranked Los Angeles Clippers and the sixth-ranked Golden State Warriors. All the hype is not coming from their physical play and their apparent hatred for one another. Instead, it is coming from an appalling discovery from inside the Clippers organization. The night before LA took the court in Golden State for Game 4, a tape released by TMZ revealed Clippers Owner Donald Sterling making inexcusable racist remarks. The next night before warming up, the Clippers gathered at half-court, took off their warm-ups and tossed them to the floor in unison. Underneath their warm-ups, they wore inside-out T-shirts so the "Clippers" logo could not be seen. The Clippers seemed to be too distracted by emotions to play to their full potential as they dropped Game 4 and Golden State tied up the series 2-2.
While the Clippers were set to play Game 5 on Tuesday night, many were wondering if they should play if Sterling remained in office. It was around 2 p.m. when new NBA Commissioner Adam Silver would seal his legacy in the league forever. After only holding office for 88 days, Silver brought the hammer down hard on Sterling, banning him for life from all Clipper and NBA affiliations and giving Sterling a $2.5 million fine. The league was completely behind Silver’s decision and praised his immediate action on such a terrible offense.
The Clippers were then able to take home court on Tuesday night with great pride as they ran out onto the court, greeted by a standing ovation. LA played collectively as if a weight had been lifted off their shoulders, and it showed as they defeated the Warriors 113-103 to lead the series 3-2.
With only one sweep in the first round, seven teams will advance with many excruciating win-or-go-home games and without a lot of recovery time. The Heat clearly have the advantage in the East. However, the champion of the West is a toss-up. Will top-ranked San Antonio make it back for a rematch against the Heat, or will second-ranked OKC make it to the finals, giving forward Kevin Durant a chance at revenge against reigning MVP James? Will the Clippers go on a tear fueled by the emotions surrounding their team, or will Portland rise as the underdogs in the West?
Either way, these playoffs are turning out to be ones for the history books.
