Thoughts from the opening weekend of the 2014 NBA Playoffs - Part 2

By Ryan Rodriguez

The playoffs are finally upon us, and what a weekend it was. Five games went down to the final two minutes, at some points it seemed like we were watching the NHL with only three home teams winning (coincidentally, they are the top three title contenders), and there was one stellar performance that officially ushered in the start of the playoffs. Here’s part two of my thoughts (you can check out part one here) on each of the opening games.

Dallas Mavericks @ San Antonio Spurs

Manu Ginobili #20 of the San Antonio Spurs drives around Jae Crowder #9 of the Dallas Mavericks in Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2014 NBA Playoffs at the AT&T Center on April 20, 2014 in San Antonio, Texas

Lets just cut to the chase with this game, there is 7:45 left in the game and Brandon Wright has just hit a free throw to put the Mavs up 10. In what has been a throwback to an early 2000s playoff game, the Mavs seems to be hitting their offensive stride and look like they will continue the current trend of road teams winning in the opening game of their series, when a thought keeps lingering in my mind, “The Spurs are going to win this.” After everything I have seen from the Tim Duncan-led Spurs, I fully expected them to close the gap and have a chance to win at the very end, simply because they are the Spurs.

Fast forward three minutes and it is a tie game, fast forward another two minutes, and, after a marvelous spinning layup and 13-foot-jumper from Tony Parker, the Spurs had just completed a 14-0 run and regained complete control of the game.

Needless to say, they closed it out, got brutally efficient games from Parker and Duncan as well a hint of playoff Manu, and showed people why they are on the shortest of lists for title contenders. The Mavs will undoubtedly get better games from Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis (combined 8-28), but the Spurs are the Spurs and they won 62 games for a reason. They will not mess around in this series, and if a game is close on their floor, you will face an onslaught and probably get buried. NBA, you have been warned.

Charlotte Bobcats @ Miami Heat

Chris Bosh #1 and Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat celebrate against the Charlotte Bobcats during Game One of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals of the 2014 NBA playoffs at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida on April 20, 2014

It 100% sucks that Al Jefferson further injured his plantar fascia in the first half of this game, as the only hope the Bobcats had to make this series go 5 or 6 was flushed down the drain. Anyone who was the slightest bit worried that the Heat would not take this series seriously after they sleepwalked through the first 18 minutes or so had all those fears silenced when the Heat unleashed the most Heatsian of runs to close the first half, going on a 21-4 run to firmly grab control. When the ‘Cats made another run in the second half, the Heat played around some, and then went up by 20, as if to say, “Yo Pacers, we laugh at your struggles with the Hawks.”

The Bobcats, with a hobbled Jefferson, are now the Heat’s toy, and you never want to be their toy when they decide it’s time to start gearing up for real basketball. Kemba Walker is a tough player, huge heart, never afraid of anything, can get by on moxie when he isn’t the most talented, but there is almost something sad about seeing him do battle against the Heat.

Almost like the little brother swinging away, trying to hit his older brother, while the older brother just holds him away, hand on the little one’s forehead, waiting for him to tire. What this game showed us is the Bobcats will fight like hell, but when you get dominated by Dwyane Wade while he seems to have a phobia of going to the free throw line, you know you are in for a tough series.

Washington Wizards @ Chicago Bulls

Washington forward Nene (42),left, steals the ball from Chicago center Joakim Noah (13) and goes for a 2nd half score as the Washington Wizards defeat the Chicago Bulls 102 – 93 in game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarter finals at the United Center in Chicago IL, April 20, 2014.

Damn do I wish I had the guts to pick Washington in this series!

I love the Bulls and everything they stand for, but when I picked the Wiz as my Eastern Conference team to watch this year, I did so because I thought they had a chance to advance in the putrid East. I believed in John Wall making the leap, I had been on the Bradley Beal bandwagon since college, thought they had some good shooters, and felt Nene and Marcin Gortat would make a good big man pairing.

However, this talent always seemed to be undone in close games, games I feel a strong playoff team might lose but definitely won’t blow all the time like the Wiz seemed to do. For this reason, I was pro Bulls, drinking the national media Kool-Aid of experience, been there before narrative, and my own love for Joakim Noah and thought they would advance.

Well game 1 had all these narratives, as the Wiz talent got out to a lead, which gave way to the gritty Chicago comeback, which gave way to the Wizards comeback, which gave way to the Wizards collapse. Except that last thing didn’t happen, instead the Wizards came through in the fourth, holding onto their lead and emphatically closing out a big game 1 win. They got massive contributions from Nene, who was the best big on the floor, and the professor, Andre Miller, before watching their young guards close the game out from the line. They didn’t let Randy Wittman derail them this time and showed that talent can overcome coaching and experience deficiencies. The Bulls might bounce back from this loss and win the series, but if game one is any indication, talent has come to win this series.

Portland Trailblazers @ HoustonRockets

LaMarcus Aldridge #12 of the Portland Trail Blazers backs in on Terrence Jones #6 of the Houston Rockets in Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2014 NBA Playoffs at the Toyota Center on April 20, 2014 in Houston, Texas

As the first quarter closed and LaMarcus Aldridge was finishing up with a 12 and 8 for the quarter, I came across a tweet that said he had averaged 29 and 19 in the last three games against the Rockets. The only reason I stumbled on this tweet was because our esteemed Rockets fan and colleague, Parker Ainsworth, made sure to point out that the Blazers had only gone 1-3 against the Rockets this season, suggesting that it was futile or irrelevant for Aldridge to dominate so thoroughly. Even though I wanted to comment back about how the losses didn’t hide the fact that LMA was a massive problem for the Rockets, I decided to let the game play out and see if my point was proven.

Well let’s just say, after LMA posted what some are saying is the best individual performance in Blazers playoff history (46 points, 18 rebounds, and two unexpected threes), the Rockets have a Texas sized problem with the big man. Combine this with the clutchness of Bay Area native (rep for the region big dawg) Damian Lillard, and the Blazers are gonna provide massive problems for a Rockets team that sometimes lapses in defensive concentration and goes through lulls when 3s aren’t falling (like last night).

This was jam-packed with runs, big shots, big free throws (Dwight made like five straight clutch free throws, my mind is still blown), and overall intensity that is befitting of a wildly promising 4/5 match-up. This game could have gone either way (the 6th foul on Dwight with 10 seconds left and the Blazers up 1 in OT was dubious to say the least), but it was fitting that the Blazers pulled this one out for LMA while he sat on the bench having fouled out himself. He played the best and owned the first weekend of the playoffs. I sure hope we get seven out of this one.