In the first round of the playoffs, there has only been one instance of a team ranked lower than #5 sweeping a series.
That is the 2017-18 New Orleans Pelicans, ranked #6, sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers, ranked #3.
We have witnessed an NBA first this postseason in the first round!
It has been done twice before, but both times were by a #5 seed. The 2015 Washington Wizards swept the Toronto Raptors, and the 2007 Chicago Bulls swept the Miami Heat. It should be noted that the 2007 Chicago Bulls had home court in spite the #5 seed, so before this year the only true underdog to sweep was the Washington Wizards.
I guess the takeaway here is: Expect the unexpected.
That is the 2017-18 New Orleans Pelicans, ranked #6, sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers, ranked #3.
We have witnessed an NBA first this postseason in the first round!
It has been done twice before, but both times were by a #5 seed. The 2015 Washington Wizards swept the Toronto Raptors, and the 2007 Chicago Bulls swept the Miami Heat. It should be noted that the 2007 Chicago Bulls had home court in spite the #5 seed, so before this year the only true underdog to sweep was the Washington Wizards.
I guess the takeaway here is: Expect the unexpected.
For sure! I was gonna write a blog this morning about the Warriors losing the game today on purpose so that it delays the 2nd round vs the Pelicans & gives Curry more time to return. And it looks like they did just that! Not that it can be proved, but come on, like they really couldn’t close out a Spurs team with no Pop & Aldridge only scoring 22. GAME WAS THROWN!
ReplyDeleteI agree the "delay the 2nd round strategy" is what the warriors need. I could not favor the warriors if the 2nd rd started today with the way the pelicans are playing. Maybe if the pels have a week off they'll lose some momentum and have some rust but stopping Pels dynamic offensive will be a tough task. How do you stop the Brow right now?! Draymond will need to bring his A game
ReplyDeleteYep cooling off the Pelicans by delaying is also a good idea. They’re looking so damn good!
DeleteCavs even it 2-2. Now we’re talking.
ReplyDeleteI loved that game & am rooting Cavs because unlike a lot of you haters, I love Lebron!
DeleteNo, really, these are just about the best playoffs since 2011, back when Dirk ruled supreme. In the East we have three tied series and one knucklebiter in the West. That also makes it incredible hard to pick. Especially in the East. I already picked Giannis and Middleton from the Bucks and Wall and Beal (and in the right order, even) from the Wizards, and they both tied the two topseeds after being down 0-2. At least the King came through.
ReplyDeleteSo, even if just about nobody talks about their picks anymore in the comments I might start asking questions. Namely, who to pick tonight? There aren´t that many games to chose from, and originally I picked Wiggins and Teague, but I think I just have to go to the grind in the West. If Utah wins tonight, it´s Westbrook in g5 (like everybody else). But anyway I have to go there now.
As I have absolutely no idea who is going to advance I will go with the hometeam. Not quite the top pick, but I am chosing between Gobert and Rubio and right now I am banking on Rubio in front of the homecrowd. Let´s go, Ricky.
Remember when we had these discussions in the comments here a lot? That was back when the Mavericks were still playing in the end of april.
I'm going to #takenote that the Jazz are a good team, and trust that they put the Thunder into a 3-1 hole. I'm picking Paul George tonight. Russell Westbrook will be the pick in Game 5, that is if my prediction holds true. Defense reigns supreme over offense.
DeleteI won't be concerned about the East until one of the lower seeded teams wins on the road. We've seen this home and home split many times before, and the top seed historically has been alright. Reminds me of the Boston Celtics vs. Atlanta Hawks from way back. Home team always won. Boston advanced. No need to worry. Yet.
We need to get the FPS players reacting here. We got 500+ players there
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