NBA Playoffs Recap 1 — Three Observations From Opening Weekend
The first weekend brought plenty of surprises and chaos
If I tried to recap every game from this weekend or looked at even every series closely, it would be nearly impossible. There were two many games and matchups to keep track of, but some stories still stood out above the rest. Here are three things that struck me from the opening weekend of the 2017 NBA playoffs.
The Cavaliers haven’t flipped the switch… yet
Cleveland barely pulled out a victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday afternoon, largely by trapping Paul George and forcing C.J. Miles to take the last shot. It wasn’t a terrible play for Indiana, and coming within one missed shot of stealing game one is a pretty nice outcome. Still, it hurts to lose by that little, and the Cavaliers will undoubtedly try to win the next game by a larger margin.
The bigger realization is this though — Cleveland hasn’t “flipped the switch” yet. They may not even need to during this series, since they’re better than the Pacers at nearly every aspect of the game. But, whether in this round or the second, the Cavs will ultimately be tested by someone. And we still don’t know how they’re going to respond.
A one-point victory over Indiana isn’t making anyone’s doubts go away.
Boston is in trouble
I’ll start this off by stating the obvious: what a terrible set of circumstances for Isaiah Thomas. I can’t imagine playing basketball in that situation, and I don’t think anyone will hold it against him if he has a bad series (he was great in game one, though).
The Bulls are continuing one of the greatest magician acts in the NBA, defying literally every reasonable attempt to understand this team. Their up and down act was like a mesmerizing train wreck during the regular season, and they’ve continued this wild ride with a game one victory over Boston. They don’t have the depth or talent to beat the Celtics (I think), but this opening victory means that Boston will be playing catch-up for a few games. As the top seed, that’s not what you want.
I still like Boston in this series. Thomas, if tonight was any indication, should still be able to play well, and Chicago can’t keep this up for four games. However, this opening game may be the sign of bigger problems down the road for the Celtics.
The future of the Utah Jazz is completely up in the air
Everyone who watched game one of the Jazz/Clippers series saw Rudy Gobert go down in the opening seconds. It looked like a terrible injury, one that threatened everything Utah has built toward all year (and by extension, the team’s future). Everything felt a little empty after that first moment, but the fact that the Jazz won this game shouldn’t go unnoticed.
Utah won’t go far without Gobert, but winning game one buys the team a little time. Even if the team loses two out of the next three, they can still theoretically win the series, and by that point maybe Gobert will be back. I’m personally skeptical that he’ll play in the first round, but the team seems hopeful. Per ESPN:
“I don’t think we’re ready to say today, tomorrow, a week, two weeks,” Snyder told reporters at the Jazz’s practice in Los Angeles. “I think it’s literally that wide open.”
If Gobert returns tomorrow, the Jazz would be favorites. If he comes back three games from now, they might still be if the series is even. That’s the beauty of winning the first game — the team has a little more breathing room while its best player recovers.
