Upsets? Only in the West. After the 1st round of the NBA playoffs, there were only two upsets. The #7 Golden State Warriors overcame the #2 Houston Rockets in game 7 of the series, and the #6 Minnesota Timberwolves got the best of LeBron and the #3 Lakers in 5. Everything else turned out according to plan, the #4 Nuggets advanced and the #1 Thunder as well.
Moving to the Western Conference, the #1 Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Heat in 4. The #4 Indiana Pacers curb-stomped the Milwaukee Bucks except for game 3 to advance in 5. The #3 New York Knicks overcame the #6 Detroit Pistons to win in 6, and the #2 Boston Celtics took over the #7 Orlando Magic in 5. After very limited drama in the first round, will there be more in the 2nd?
The second round kicked off on Sunday May 4th as the #4 Indiana Pacers and the #1 Cleveland Cavaliers faced off in a round 2 Eastern Conference matchup. The Pacers were the underdogs as they were playing a Cavs team that had over 60 wins on the season. That didn’t faze them. They came into Cleveland and stole game 1 against the Cavs. Indiana leads the series 2-0 after a miraculous comeback in the 4th quarter and a Tyrese Haliburton game winning three to win 120-119.
The Knicks on the other hand were losing by over 20 to the Celtics in both game 1 and 2 but were able to overcome the crowd noise and the deficit to win them both. New York leads 2-0 after Jalen Brunson hit 2 free throws to win it 91-90 in game 2.
Back to the Denver Nuggets, who in round 2 were losing by 10+ points in the 4th quarter of Monday’s game, but a late run put them in the driver’s seat to upset the Thunder 121-119. Game 2 was a different story though. The Thunder absolutely steam-rolled the Nuggets with a commanding 149-106 final to even up the series 1-1. This is also the first time a top seed has won in this year’s 2nd round.
Staying in the West, the #7 Golden State Warriors were able to get the better of the #6 Minnesota Timberwolves with a game 1 final of 99-88. Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, and Buddy Hield helped the cause for the Warriors as those three scored for a combined 62 out of the Warriors 99 points. Game 2 is tonight.
“The Cavaliers, very overrated, the Thunder, not sure yet because they’ve played two decent teams,” says Alta freshman Tatum Lindsay. “Not only are the Cavs overrated, but they are also without 3 of their key rotational players. Evan Mobley(ankle), Darius Garland(toe), and De’Andre Hunter(thumb) all were out in game 2.”
Donavon Mitchell was also showing some agony in game 2 while battling a calf strain. He was also folded in half after Pacers PF Aaron Nesmith put back a missed free throw and proceeded to land on Mitchell.
As for underdogs, the Indiana Pacers were ranked among the bottom of the field for the NBA championship race, but have shown signs that they will not go down so easily. The Pacers knocked off the Bucks in round 1 on a game winning lay-up from Haliburton. That Tuesday night, the Indiana Pacers made history, being 1-1,647 teams to come back from a 7 point deficit in the last 40 seconds of a playoff game to win since recording started in 1997, but it doesn’t end there.
The Pacers were down by 7 with 41 seconds remaining against the Cavs in a game that looked like it was all but over. The Pacers made history once again. The Pacers rallied together and won to make it 2-1,648 teams to have done that since records started. The Pacers are both of those two, and they did it in a one week span, but it gets even crazier! Recording started in 1997, yes? On May 7, 1995, Reggie Miller for the Indiana Pacers scored 8 points in 9 seconds to win the game against the Detroit Pistons in the Playoffs. That kind of rally has only ever happened 3 times on record, and all 3 times were the Indiana Pacers.
The Golden State Warriors on the other hand have been up to something as well. Coming into the playoffs the Warriors had the 2nd worst odds to win the NBA title, now they are in the 2nd round and are up 1-0 on the Timberwolves. Coming off of an incredibly entertaining series between the young and upcoming Rockets and the veterans in the Warriors, the Warriors have some momentum in their favor now. Knocking off the #2 seed in game 7, they sure look like they have hit their stride. Old Curry, old Green, and veteran Jimmy Butler look like they may have one final shot at the Title.
Now, as the 2nd round starts to hit the midway point, and teams are traveling to each other’s courts, the top seeds need a miracle. Two favorites are currently 0-2 in their series, and all top seeds have at least one loss. Can the Cavs, Celtics, Thunder and Timberwolves pull off a miraculous comeback, or will the underdogs in the Warriors, Knicks, Pacers and Nuggets advance a little bit closer to hoisting up the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy?
