The second-round of the NBA playoffs is nearing an end as three teams have punched their tickets to the Conference Finals and we wait for the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks to wrap their series up.
The team making the biggest news out of the second-round has to be the Oklahoma City Thunder as they were taken out by the defensive-minded Memphis Grizzlies. The Miami Heat finally lost a playoff game as they dropped one to Chicago before reeling off four straight wins to take that series in five games. The San Antonio Spurs were challenged by the upstart Golden State Warriors before they closed that series out in six games.
With three series in the books and the second-round winding down it is time to take a pause from the on-court action to offer reflection on what we have bared witness to. Through the second-round of NBA playoff action, here are five things I’ve learned thus far.
#5- Of all the teams who have conceded victory during playoff action, there has been no team who has shown as much heart as the Chicago Bulls did in their series with Miami. While dealing with injuries to Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng the Bulls still managed to put up quite a fight in the series. Heading into next season the Bulls have a legitimate shot at winning the Eastern Conference. Their salary cap situation is favorable and their on-paper talent might just be the best in the East. Count this playoff run as a character builder and the 2013-14 version of the Bulls are going to be a very scary bunch.
#4- The New York Knicks are a fantastic regular season squad that is not put together right for playoff success. The series against Indiana has exposed glaring weaknesses in the Knicks offense as the reliance on Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith to knock down jumpers is just too great. The Knicks offense just can’t match playoff defensive intensity and Anthony cannot lead a team when he shoots a measly .380 from the field. Despite finishing second in the Eastern Conference, drastic changes are needed in New York before any playoff success is experienced.
#3- Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder need Russell Westbrook. The absence of Westbrook simply puts too much offensive pressure on Durant. As much flack as Westbrook takes from the media and fans for his questionable shot selection and trigger happy approach to launching jumpers; it is all needed. Westbrook alleviates so much of the workload off of Durant that it allows Durant to play within his game, take fewer shots and shoot a higher percentage. The Thunder have the luxury of having two supremely talented basketball players; however, the glaring weakness for the team becomes the lack of depth when one of them goes down.
#2- Stephen Curry is absolutely worth every penny of the next four years on his contract. It is clear that Curry can be the backcourt centerpiece for the Warriors as they move forward. With a healthy David Lee returning to action next year this Warriors squad will be the hot-team to watch. Curry has propelled himself to star status with these playoff performances. He is easily the hardest working guy on the court at any given time and he logs heavy minutes despite having recurring ankle concerns.
#1- The Miami Heat remain the team to beat as they took down the Bulls in a five game series. As the heat move forward, they must be hoping for a gruelling seven game series between the Pacers and Knicks. The longer that series goes the more those two teams wear each other down. Ideally the Heat would likely prefer to play the Knicks in the Conference Final as they match up better against them. The Pacers can present some defensive difficulties as Roy Hibbert and Paul George are very solid defensive players. The Pacers will challenge the Heat as they are a good rebounding team and they have enough depth on the roster to rotate guys into the lineup. The Heat would like to take advantage of a couple extra days rest in hopes of healing Dwyane Wade, as he will be called upon to contribute should the Heat wish to advance to the finals once again.