Playoff Fever
By Jonah Sanders
After one of the most memorable March Madnesses ever, basketball just kept getting better. Towards the end of the season, an acceptable NBA team in the Western Conference would be lucky to be in 10th place in the standings. The playoffs opened with five of eight playoff series having the lower seed win the first game. With five series reaching a game seven, this year’s playoffs have been nothing short of spectacular; series like the Oklahoma City vs. Memphis featured four straight overtime thrillers. In last year’s playoffs, there were only two overtime games -- this year there were eight in the first round alone. In the end, only three teams were able to upset their higher-seeded opponents. The second round would kick off with the two time defending champion Miami Heat destroying the Brooklyn Nets, even though the Nets won all four meetings in the regular season. LeBron James would score 49 points in Game 4, giving the Heat a three to one lead that put the series out of reach.
The Spurs, coming off a bitter end to last season, dominated the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round after beating Dallas in seven. The Clippers, after the Donald Sterling Fiasco lost to the Thunder in 6. As for the Pacers, no one was on their side--their fans booed them as they let the Hawks keep pace with them, though they eventually beat them in seven. They then beat the Wizards in six.
Going into the conference finals, both
conferences featured matchups between the 1st and 2nd seeded teams. The Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers met in the East; Miami had beat the Pacers in the previous conference finals, but this time Indiana had the crucial home court advantage. Indiana would take game 1 at home but would lose the next three games to Miami. The Pacers would win Game 5 by three points but get blown out in Game 6, sending the Heat to the Finals.
As for the Thunder against the Spurs, the tension was high. The Thunder headed home for Game 3, trailing two games to none, but this time with Serge Ibaka, they won the next two to tie the series up. However, the Spurs won the next two games to win the series.
The NBA Finals featured the San Antonio Spurs versus the defending champ Miami Heat. After a thrilling Finals last year, this year's were set to be one of the best. The two teams would split the first two games, but the Spurs played their best basketball, featuring some of the greatest ball movement ever seen, and won the next three, taking the crown. So much for the Heat’s three-peat.