Western Conference
The reigning NBA champion and this year’s 73 win Golden State Warriors took on the Houston Rockets in a series that went to five games. They got straight down to business, winning every game by a wide margin besides game three. They lost leading scorer and 2015 NBA MVP Steph Curry to a sprained knee in game four but the rest of the team picked up their scoring output in his absence. Curry is hopeful to return sometime against their current opponent, the Portland Trailblazers.
The Portland Trailblazers won against the Los Angles Clippers in a first round series that went to six games. The Blazers are now looking to redeem themselves of last years western conference semi-final sweep at the hands of the Spurs with all new starters except for Lillard. Now they must face the defending champion Golden State Warriors, a team they defeated once in the regular season behind Damian Lillard’s 51 point explosion on February 19th. Golden State won the regular season series 2-1.
The Oklahoma City Thunder squared off against the Dallas Mavericks in round one of the playoffs. The dynamic duo of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant powered the Thunder through the series, dominating the Mavericks in five games. The Thunder are now moving on to face a familiar playoff foe, the San Antonio Spurs. They last met in the 2014 Western Conference Finals, a series that the Spurs won in six games.
The San Antonio Spurs faced off against the depleted Memphis Grizzles in a quick four game series. The deep San Antonio Spurs are a balanced team with a mixture of old and new players, still led by Gregg Popovich. The playoff-experienced Spurs are going for their 6th NBA championship under Popovich and the next hurdle for them are the high-powered Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs were able to win the regular season series against Oklahoma City, 2-1.
Eastern Conference
The top seeded Cleveland Cavaliers made quick work of the Detroit Pistons with a clean sweep. LeBron James and company are on a mission, looking to bring the city of Cleveland their first NBA championship. Next up for the Cavaliers will be the Atlanta Hawks, in a rematch of last years Eastern Conference Championship. The Cavaliers will be looking to sweep the Hawks just like they did in the 2016 regular season.
The Atlanta Hawks who escaped the comeback bid of the Boston Celtics in the first round of this year’s playoffs are now getting ready to go up against the reigning Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers. Coach Mike Budenholzer is returning the same core as last year, minus Demarre Carroll, who signed with the Toronto Raptors this past offseason. The Hawks are looking for revenge as the Cavaliers beat them in six games in last years Eastern Conference Finals.
The Miami Heat are coming off of a seven game scare against the Charlotte Hornets with the help of Dwayne Wade’s game seven heroics. Looking to become more consistent and experience playoff success post-LeBron, they are now ready to go up against the Toronto Raptors, a team they have never met in the playoffs before. The Raptors swept the regular season series.
The Toronto Raptors also are coming off a seven game series, just narrowly escaping the red-hot Paul George and the Indiana Pacers to advance to the conference semi-finals for the first time in team history. The Raptors backcourt of Kyle Lowry and Demar Derozan struggled mightily in the Pacers series and are looking to shed their label of playoff no-shows and return to regular season form against the Miami Heat.
