NBA Western Conference Playoffs Preview
Drastic changes in the playoff picture
The furore of the regular season has died down. This is the time when the NBA finally gets down to business, when teams come out of regular season hibernation and start taking things seriously. A time when the pace of the games reduces almost to a crawl and things start getting chippy.
It has been a delight watching the Western Conference for the past few years. It has always been stronger than the Eastern Conference, but the disparity keeps growing larger and larger. How else would you explain the fact that Oklahoma City Thunder, which at 45-37 missed the playoffs in the Western Conference would be playing as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference?
The bloodbath in the West this year has been unprecedented. With the possible exception of the Golden State Warriors, who have been the runaway league leaders since almost the beginning of the season, the rest of the playoff seeds in the West from second to seventh have a difference of six games between them.
A single loss made the San Antonio Spurs, the defending champions this year, fall from the second seed to the sixth seed in the playoff picture. But the things that give nightmares to head coaches is probably the best thing that can happen to basketball fans. How else do you explain the matchup of the Spurs and the Los Angeles Clippers, which quite frankly can easily be a Western Conference Finals encounter, occurring in the first round?
Spare a thought for Russell Westbrook
You obviously feel a pang for the Thunder who in spite of the Russell Westbrook storm could not make the playoffs. But if you stop and think about it, it might be a blessing in disguise. Carrying a team day in and day out takes a toll, and no other player has carried his team more than Westbrook this season. He literally morphed into a basketball Greek god since Durant's injury and that sort of wear and tear puts an insubordinate amount of pressure on one's body.
He needs rest, even though he will never accept it. It is better to sit out the playoffs than tear your Achilles trying to get one win against the juggernaut that is the Warriors. With all this in mind, let us examine the matchups that form the correctly hyped super competitive first round of this years' playoffs. This first round might well turn out to be the best we've ever seen.
4. Portland Trailblazers vs Memphis Grizzlies
This matchup might probably be the least heralded one of this years’ first round. Both teams have struggled to get to their last season form, with a string of injuries to either side. The untimely Achilles tear to Wes Matthews of the Trailblazers came as a major blow to their playoff hopes and lingering injuries to LaMarcus Aldridge haven’t helped.
The trade getting Aaron Afflalo as a backup to Matthews may have fallen flat on its back since he got pushed into a starter role almost immediately upon arrival. Had it not been for the Blazers winning their division and garnering an automatic fourth seed, they would have been languishing at number 6 facing the prospect of facing the Clippers. But as luck would have it, they face Memphis instead.
It will be a battle of the front court between these two teams, with Robin Lopez and Aldridge having a go at Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. It would be safe to assume that this series will have its fair share of technical fouls and it won’t come as a surprise if the team that prevails comes out more bruised than usual.
3. Houston Rockets vs Dallas Mavericks
Call it karma or give it any other name you prefer, but you can be sure that Daryl Morey and the Rockets never thought they would be facing Chandler Parsons with so much on the line so soon. This right here is the Battle of Texas.
The Mavs and the Rockets already have a bit of bad blood between them, with Mark Cuban, the owner of the Mavs taking pot shots at Morey over the handling of the Parson’s free agency and the Dwight Howard signing. The details could very much be the subject of a different article, but to be concise, this is a battle of front offices, more than the battle of two teams.
Cuban and Morey legitimately hate each other with both completely disagreeing on every decision the other person makes. On the court, however, the Mavs and the Rockets seem to be evenly matched, with Houston perhaps having a slight edge. Parsons will be itching to prove his value to Houston, who for some reason chose not to match the offer sheet the Mavs put before him citing the team was in a “better place” without him.
This series can very well go either way, down to the wire or a blowout. Howard is not getting any younger and it is time for Harden to make the proverbial leap and get to the conference finals. The Mavs have had issues of their own this season with the Rondo trade not going exactly to plan and chemistry issues throughout the roster.
It will be fun to see Parsons and Harden have a go at each other, both trying to prove a point. And then of course there is Dirk Nowitzki. There is no telling what he might conjure from his old bag of tricks.