Weekend Look at NBA Playoff Action

The NBA Playoffs are the best time of the year. And there are few people who would debate that fact. The second-best weekend on the calendar is the second weekend of the postseason, as things continue to heat up and teams are eliminated.

There are some big storylines emerging through the first several days of action that we’ll be dissecting through the rest of the article. It doesn’t get better than this.

Suns and Lakers Learning More About Each Other

A non-healthy Chris Paul almost takes the chances of winning for the Suns and erases them. By the time the weekend rolls around, the series score will be 2-1 in someone’s favor, likely the Lakers. We have seen many dangerous #8 seeds over the year. But has there ever been a #7 seed as lethal as LA?

With CP3 limited during game two, Cameron Payne emerged as a star. Jae Crowder was in foul trouble, so Cam Johnson picked up the slack. On the other side, both Anthony Davis and Dennis Schroder played like superstars after horrid game 1 efforts.

We are starting to see what the Lakers are truly made of, and also that they are much better when Marc Gasol gets minutes, as he is the only natural 5 that can shoot. 

Boston Getting Swept?

The Celtics are in a lot of trouble. The team is down 0-2 ahead of their Friday battle, and they have gotten very little from Jayson Tatum. Kemba Walker is now hurt. Jaylen Brown is not walking through that door. Trying to stop three superstars has got to be exhausting.

From three conference finals trips in four years to finishing at 36-36, this is not what the team expected. Injuries played a huge part in it, but you are only as good as the sum of your parts. Even LA finished above .500 with everything they dealt with.

It is going to take a perfect 48-minute effort for the Celts to take a win, and the odds don’t seem to be in their favor. Get your Brooklyn 4-0 bets in, folks. It’s close. 

Memphis Trying to Prove They are Legit?

After beating Utah in game 1, Memphis fell short in game 2. Even in doing so, second-year star Ja Morant dropped a career-high of 47 points. He was getting inside all night, and they just had no answer for them. The issue is that scoring 129 points as a squad was not enough.

You can point to foul trouble for Dillon Brooks and Jonas Valanciunas as a big reason for the loss. It’s not the only one, though. They do have a chance to make some history and become the second Memphis team in 11 years to advance as the #8 seed.

Utah got Donovan Mitchell back and gave his team a spark. The Grizzlies need to improve their defensive effort, and it will be important to them trying to get the victory. Ja and JV, along with Brooks, have to step up and not only score and rebound but lock it down on D, too.