The playoffs are a time of constant highs and lows as every team battles to advance and ultimately win the championship. We are always treated to star performances and heated matchups, but with that comes the disappointment of every team but one actually winning it all. So far, there has been a fair share of good and bad in the infancy stage of the NBA playoffs. Let’s take a look at the biggest disappointments so far as we approach the halfway point of the first round.

Snooze-fest

While the regular season was one of the most exciting in recent memory, so far the playoffs have actually been…kind of dull. There haven’t been many close games and we haven’t had a real dominating performance yet. While the league’s best players are certainly playing well, the excitement of a close, hotly contested game has been hard to come by. Yes, the Spurs and Clippers played an overtime game, but the fourth quarter was marred by the “Hack-a-Shaq” method on DeAndre Jordan and turnovers left and right. Other than that, every other series is 2-0, and many of those games haven’t come down to the wire. It is disappointing that the early stages of the first round haven’t lived up to the regular season, but there’s always a chance that that will change quickly.

The Portland Trail Blazers

At one point this year, Portland was a legitimate contender, a top 3 seed with home court advantage. Instead, they were snake-bitten by injuries and fell to 4, where they actually started on the road against Memphis due to its better record. To add to its injury woes, Arron Afflalo missed both games in Memphis. Afflalo was expected to replace Wesley Matthews, and now we see Portland’s lack of depth and scoring options. LaMarcus Aldridge looks frustrated, and he should be. Damian Lillard is showing the holes in his game, contributing little outside of scoring ability. When he isn't scoring, he doesn't really help the team. Neither is receiving any offensive help, and the team is being knocked around by Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, and the rest of the physical Grizzlies. Portland was blown out in game one, and did not fare much better in game two. They have been the most disappointing team so far (with the Raptors a close second) given their high hopes entering the postseason.

Hack-a-Jordan

As I alluded to before, the Spurs employed the Hack-a-Shaq move on DeAndre Jordan to help propel them to victory. They also did it in game one, but it didn’t work as Jordan hit enough free throws to render the move ineffective. However, in game two he made only 6 of 17 from the line. Not only does this move kill the flow of the game, it drags the audience through an uninteresting part of basketball. It worked from a tactical standpoint, but it failed from an interest level standpoint. Also, it put the Spurs in unnecessary foul trouble. Manu Ginobili ended up fouling out with four minutes left and was forced to sit for the remainder of regulation and overtime. There is no question that game two was not the last time we’ll see Hack-a-Jordan, as it still is a legal tactic that has some merit. Doc Rivers won’t take him out because of his defense, and Gregg Popovich won’t stop fouling him because he is still allowed to. All of this leads to boring basketball, and that is very disappointing.