NBA Playoffs
By Esteban, Gerardo, and Miguel
This year’s NBA playoffs have yet to disappoint, and things keep getting interesting in both conferences. From the physical match ups in both conferences to teams being swept, the excitement has just begun.
The Western Conference
The Western Conference is probably the toughest conference for teams to make it the second round. The Spurs have already swept the under-manned Memphis Grizzlies which played 28 different players in the regular season due to injuries. The Spurs will host the Oklahoma Thunder during the Semi-Finals. APB senior, Kevin Hernandez said,” The Spurs will win the Championship because everyone is involved, and they are the best team at the moment”. The Thunder are being led by the triple-double machine of Russell Westbrook and former MVP Kevin Durant, and they wrapped up their physical series with a injured Dallas Mavericks team.
In the last few days, the Western Conference outcomes for the other games have changed dramatically. In the Rockets and Warriors series, the Warriors won their the series 4-1, but in game 4, superstar Stephen Curry slipped and sprained his MCL and will be out for about two weeks. Brian Rivas, basketball player, said, “The Warriors are good enough to beat the Rockets and will continue to contend for a Championship”. Consider that Steph Curry returned to the series and was not playing at his full potential due to his ankle injury which only allowed him to play the first half in game 1. The Warriors deep bench led them to a win for the series, but all they can do is hope that the Clippers and Trail Blazers series carries on to allow Curry to come back. Yazmin Trujillo basketball player, said “The Warriors will win the Championship because their team works good as a team”.
Clippers have been known to be second-round exists by many, but after game 4, they might be leaving sooner. The Clippers and Trail Blazers series is currently 3-2, but during game 4, Chris Paul broke his hand and Blake Griffin injured his left quad both will miss the playoffs. This has changed the course of the series, since the Clippers were favored to win, but now they might not win without their engine CP3. Mark the security guard, here at APB, stated, “The Clippers are done”. Portland is currently being led by Damian Lillard and most improved player C.J. McCollum, series is 3-2. The tides have turned on the Clippers and Warriors will have a easy road to the Conference finals, and the winner between Spurs and Thunder will meet them there.
The Eastern Conference
In the last five years, it seems like no team in the Eastern Conference can stop Lebron, and whatever team he is leading. Mark also added, “The Raptors can stop Lebron, but the Bulls had a better chance, but they missed out on Playoffs”. The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking great and healthy with their “Big 3” of James, Love, and Irving after sweeping an inexperienced Detroit Pistons team. At times, the Pistons found themselves beating the Cavs, but the games continued into last seconds. This series was fun to watch and did not feel like a 1st seed vs 8th seed team because the Pistons played well considering their last playoff appearance was in 2009.
The Boston Celtics were eliminated by the Atlanta Hawks who will play Cleveland at the Semi-Finals. Two remaining series remain with the Raptors vs Pacers and the Hornets vs the Heat. Raptors lead their series 3-2, and surprisingly the Hornets lead their series 3-2.
