March Madness was fun, but now its time to enter May Madness.
The playoffs have not been with us long, but they may already be the best and most entertaining installment of the NBA's postseason since the glorious days of NBC ended in 2002. The first round has been wildly intriguing all across the board thus far, and the possibilities for future rounds continue to intrigue. The subplots and themes have already been well-developed only a week into things.
Strong Lower Seeds
Some, but not all, of this is a result of the NBA's new divisional and seeding system. Three divisions instead of two, and all division winners, regardless of how weak, are guaranteed to be seeded one through three. Fair? No. But interesting? Of course. In the NBA, a league where the favorite is more likely to win than in any other sport and upsets come few and far between, the Lakers, Kings, Bulls, Clippers, and Pacers are all six, seven, or eight seeds that managed to at least tie their series at two against seemingly superior opponents.
The Clippers
Did you ever imagine seeing those wonderful-but-tragic red and blue jerseys with the script lettering dominating the action in late April and May? While Kenyon Martin was confirming to us that he is in fact the ticking time bomb we all knew he can be, and star forward Carmelo Anthony once again played the first round as if someone braided his cornrows too tight, L.A.'s other team hit on all cylinders with their newfound nucleus.
While two members of that core are late-blooming superstars (Corey Maggette and Elton Brand), one more closely resembles E.T. (Sam Cassell), while the other resembles an Unfrozen Caveman (Chris Kaman) — if I may borrow from The Sports Guy himself. And yet it works. The Staples Center was going wild, only this wasn't the Staples Center we knew of. The lane was red, the sidelines, blue. And yet a capacity crowd was cheering wildly just the same. Their team dominated four of five games against the young-and-hungry Nuggets, and was going to the second round. Was this an alternate universe?
This also goes to show that the Clippers did in fact make the wise choice by tanking that odd regular season finale in Memphis. The Grizzles wanted to lose, but the Clips wanted it more. As a result, Memphis has been swept once again and the Clippers are headed for round two with plenty of rest.
Lakers vs. Suns: The Marquee Series
Steve Nash versus Kobe Bryant. MVP versus MVP snub. When was the last time a 2-7 matchup got this much attention and had this much solid play? Game 1 featured Steve Nash hitting a huge three to hold off the Lakers in the Arizona desert. Bryant answered that with a nasty Darryl Dawkins-style "yo mama!" dunk over a stumbling Nash. It only got more personal as it got to L.A. in Game 4, where the nightmare seemed never-ending for No. 13. The Suns had the game won twice, the series tied twice, and Nash managed to cough it up twice.
Meanwhile, Kobe had the answer both times. An impossible yo-yo lay-up over the top of Boris Diaw to force overtime and a be-like-Mike jumper over two Suns at the buzzer that caused bedlam not seen since Robert Horry versus Sacramento four years earlier. That shot prevented a 3-1 series, this shot created one. And the Lakers are now a single win from an improbable seven-seed vs. six-seed Staples Series in L.A. That's right: Clippers/Lakers, winner take all. Just as long as the Lakers don't let the dangerous, freewheeling Suns off the mat.
Kobe had also answered many critics' cries that he wasn't a team player. No. 8 shared in the victory with Lamar Odom, Smush Parker, and Luke Walton, all of which played huge roles in this improbable Laker comeback. It's also worth noting that while Bryant hit the tying and winning baskets, he was not the Lakers' leading scorer in that game, Odom was. Perhaps Phil Jackson has done it again. Perhaps Odom has finally figured out how to be Scottie Pippen. And remember years ago when the Lakers were winning titles and everyone claimed Kobe was the second coming of Michael? After this season, who's to say he still isn't?
For the Suns to have any chance, they will have to conquer their demons: Phoenix is the only playoff team in NBA history to not win a single game decided by three points or less. With a blowout home win in Game 5, Phoenix has a chance, but I predict they will have to win one nail-biting affair if they are to pull off the NBA's version of a 7-10 split and make the comeback.
LeBron
Drop to a knee and genuflect. The long-awaited arrival of the King is finally at hand! With a triple-double to announce his coming in his first-ever playoff game, he battled Washington's challenger-to-the-throne, Gilbert Arenas, to a duel in the final minutes of Game 3. LeBron thrust the sword through the Wizard with an impossible power move in the low-post. While he found himself trapped in mid-air, unable to release a shot in traffic, he patiently waited until an instant before his feet hit the ground to let fly an up-close bank-shot winner with three seconds remaining. It would be the new No. 23's first playoff game winner.
Yet Arenas has been here before, just a year ago, playing without home-court to the highly-touted "Baby Bulls" and they surprised many in winning in six games. While LeBron may be more talented than Arenas, Gilbert has a stronger supporting cast, as Washington can be seen as a three-headed monster of Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler. They have split the first four games of this series and it may very well be up in the air. However, home-court advantage in the NBA playoffs is often the defining factor in an even series. I would put the money on LeBron's Cavaliers in seven games and say the Wiz can't do it two years in a row.
Buzzer-Beaters
Last, but not least, the NBA is giving this year's stellar NCAA tournament a run for its money. Game-winners are pouring into the nets like coins at the arcade. Honestly, how many of you had heard of Kevin Martin — no, that's not a misprint ... Kenyon Martin was in street clothes — before Game 3 of the Kings/Spurs series?
Well, that second-year no-name player just dropped a stunning reverse lay-up over Tim Duncan at the buzzer to keep Sacramento alive. The shot may have recalled memories of Denham Brown's circus heroics for UConn only a month earlier in the NCAA regional finals, only Martin's shot won the game.
This was just an answer to Brent Barry's trick-shot three pointer that found every corner, including the top of the backboard, before dropping through in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime in Game 2. LeBron had an aforementioned game-winner, Kobe had a game-saver and a game-winner in the same contest. Dirk "Diggler" Nowitzki had a gutsy three-pointer off a rebound that forced overtime and ultimately put the Grizzlies to early hibernation.
And yet Carmelo Anthony, the most likely source for a game-winning shot in the regular season, could not join the party. Stay tuned, though, the first round of the playoffs is not over. We could be in store for something truly special.
Now if only we can get the NBA back on NBC where it belongs...
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