The NBA playoffs are off to a crazy start, but fans have yet to see big upsets.

In the Western conference, teams such as the 2nd seeded-Memphis Grizzlies have
cemented themselves as a team to watch for the title. With a tough matchup against their
Minnesota rivals, Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and others showed up big to win the series 4-2.
They moved on to the Western Conference Semifinals to face the Warriors, the 3rd seed in the
West.

The Warriors, led by Jordan Poole, Steph Curry, and Andrew Wiggins, who played the
injury-riddled Nuggets, and handled the MVP led team (Nikola Jokic), winning the series at
home in 5 games (4-1). The Warriors also won their first game against Ja Morant and the griz,
holding off a last second shot.

In the 4-seed vs. 5 seed matchup of the 4 seed Dallas Mavericks vs the 5 seed Utah
Jazz, Jalen Brunson and Luka Doncic of the Mavs beat the overrated Jazz in 6. Despite the
Mavs missing Doncic for a few games, Brunson, the team’s point guard, showed up to score 28
ppg.

Up to the 1-seed Suns and 8 seed Pelicans. In the series many viewed as the Suns
could win in 4( a sweep) the Pelicans surprised everyone and won two games, but fell 4-2. In
the absence of Devin Booker, the Suns showed their vulnerability, but moved on to face the
Mavericks( and now have a 1-0 lead on their 4th seed rivals. )

In the Eastern Conference, the one that I believe the finals winner will come from, there
were few upsets, but fun matchups to watch nonetheless.]

In the 2nd seed vs the 7th seed matchup of the Boston Celtics vs Brooklyn Nets, Jason
Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart showed up. Against the team many saw as title
contenders from the East, the star-studded Nets, led by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the
Celtics defense made it very hard for the Nets to score. I saw this as a 6 game series with
Boston winning, but the Celtics showed up and won in 4.
Now to the Bucks and Bulls matchup. The 3 seed Bucks, led by Giannis and Jrue
Holiday, dominated their 6 seeded Bulls rivals, winning in 5. Despite the absence of Kris
Middleton, the Bucks showed that they can play with the top teams in the league. The Bucks
moved on to play the Celtics, and won the first game.

The 4-seed 76ers and 5 seed Raptors played in a tough matchup, but the ‘6ers beat
their Toronto rivals in 6. Led by Joel Embiid and James Harden, the Philly faithful destroyed a
tough Raptors team.

Now, to the last matchup of the first round of the playoffs, the 1st seed Miami Heat
played their 8th seed rivals of Atlanta, the Hawks. A team led by Trae Young, and not much
else, the Hawks were utterly dominated. The heat, led by the veteran Jimmy Butler, who
averaged 30 ppg, won in 5 against the young star, “Ice Trae” Young. The Heat, who just played
last night, dominated the Sixers, with Point Guard Tyler Herro scoring 25 off the bench.

Overall, the first round of the NBA playoffs were exciting to watch, and I can’t wait to see
who will win it all. Will the Celtics bounce back and beat the Bucks, and then beat the Heat? Will
the suns prove their strength, or will the Warriors make it out of the West? Both are very
intriguing questions, and I recommend watching as much as you can.