Another interesting mix of game ones. Definitely surprising along the way.
It started out with Thunder and Grizzlies on Sunday afternoon. The Grizzlies definitely outplayed the Thunder, which I'm sure caught them by surprise. Zach Randolph surpassed his career high and finished up with 34 points. Kevin Durant tried to hold his own with 33 points. But the Grizzlies just outhustled the Thunder, and are showing they are for real after beating the Spurs. This should be a wake up call for Oklahoma City, and they should be ready to go tonight and I'm going with Thunder by 10 tonight. Durant will have his usual game, and Westbrook should come around to show off his game.
Next game up was the one everyone is most interested in, Heat and Celtics. This almost feels like it should be a Conference Final with the winner going to the NBA Finals, but we get this series now, and it looks to be a great one. This game one was important for the Heat to win, so their psyche didn't get hurt. I think it was even more important for Lebron to will his team to this win since Boston has his number. But it was Wade leading the way for the Heat in this game, and he finished up with 38 points. That probably helped take some pressure off Lebron because I know this has to be in the back of his mind. Just like Jordan had to get through the Pistons to earn his stripes, Lebron will have to go through these Celtics to prove himself. Game 2 is tonight, and I think we'll see some of the same effort from both teams. I think it will get even more physical after Pierce got the boot out of last game, and these teams just have some intensity built up in this series. This is what the NBA should be all about. Guys going out there, and giving it their all, and not worried about being all buddy buddy with each other, but that's another discussion.
Now we're at Monday night. Two games up that definitely are intriguing. The Hawks at the Bulls up in Chicago. And the first ever meeting between Dirk and Kobe, Mavs at Lakers.
The Hawks take the first game of the series from the Bulls in a game that Joe Johnson showed he's becoming a closer type for them. He put up 34 points shooting 12-18 AND 5-5 from three point land. So much for John Hollinger's pick of the Bulls in 4 games. Looks like this Hawks team wants to get out there and show they're for real. One of the stories coming out too is that Derrick Rose might have tweaked his ankle. Who knows how much this series could change if Rose is hurt by that ankle. The Hawks went on a 15-2 run in the third quarter to put themselves in good position to win this game. They shot 51% from the game, which is always a good ingredient for a game one upset. Just reading online, it looks like Rose will be announced MVP today, and the trophy will be presented tomorrow night at game 2. Will he show up and play like a true MVP in game two, and will the Bulls show they want to put away this Hawks team?
The final game one was another anticipated match up. I hadn't realized the Mavs and Lakers hadn't played each other in the playoffs with Dirk and Kobe on their respective teams. Seems like these two teams always make the playoffs, but usually the Mavs flame out, and the Lakers move on. That's probably why we haven't see this matchup. But the Mavs didn't choke out last night even after being down 16 points, and Kobe had a chance to win the game, but has missed his past 5 game winning shots in the playoffs. Sign of things to come? Dirk put his team on his back and had 28 points and 14 rebounds. He also hit a shot to put the Mavs ahead. They take game one in LA, a place they have struggled to win in. Can the Mavs keep this going or will the Lakers show up and get to their usual home in the Finals?
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