[TyrekeJonesParticipant]

I realized after looking at the four remaining teams in the Playoffs that each and every one of those teams lost in the first round last season.

The Bulls lost to the Cavaliars 4-1

The Heat lost to the Celtics 4-1

The Thunder lost to the Lakers 4-2

The Mavericks lost to the Spurs 4-2

I found it interesting how just last season,  those four teams that lost in the first round are now competiting in the Western and Eastern Conference Finals and not one of  the last four teams from last season, the Suns did not even make the Playoffs this season, Magic lost to the Hawks in 6, Celtics lost to the Heat in 5, and Lakers got swept by the Mavericks,  I guess this is what makes the Playoffs so intense and fun to watch, you sometimes never know what to expect.

[EuroBallParticipant]

 Great observation !

[CalipariParticipant]

Great point. I had thought to myself that it seemed as if the NBA’s elite (Lakers, Celtics) from the last few seasons had fell off the map in this year’s playoffs, but I hadn’t realied that all four remaining teams were not here last year. In the Eastern Conference both teams’ sudden successes can be attributed to the free agent frenzy, though the Bulls did have continual improvement from some core pieces. The Mavericks finally got their house in order, and theThunder are beginning to realize their aspirations and develop into a championship-caliber squad. The rest of the playoffs should be great. My crystal ball says Thunder vs Bulls in Finals.

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

 @jmpedro: Before when people were saying the Thunder and Bulls would meet in the finals, I didn’t believe it because it was just the beginning of the playoffs and I didn’t think the Lakers or the Celtics would be beaten out so easily. But now after the Lakers have been swept, and the Celtics lost to the Heat in 5 games, I see the silver lining, and I now predict the same two teams will meet in the finals…Thunder vs. Bulls! Sorry for not believing other people’s predictions before. I guess what really happened proved me wrong. 

Now for some other comments that I’ve always wanted to say about this years’ NBA Playoffs:

The saying really is true…"The NBA, where Amazing happens"

This is why I love the playoffs and this years’ playoffs have definitely not been a dissapointment. They have been a thrill to watch and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

First you get a team that was ranked #1 for most of the season and rightly the #1 seed in the West lose in the first round to an 8th Memphis Grizzlies, then you see Dwight Howard and the Magic get beat by the Hawks. Just the title "Dwight Howard and the Magic lose to the Hawks is in itself surprising because the Magic are one of the "Giants" of the league because of Dwight Howard and the Hawks are one of the "shrimps" of the league! (I guess you could call them shrimps even though they are far from it) That series was just like "David and Goliath"! Then you see the defending two time champion Lakers getting swept by the Mavericks. And the Mavericks are the team that always does well in the regular season and then forgets how they got there in the playoffs and promptly bow out easily. Now they sweep the two time defending champs? Just astounding, and downright unbelievable, but that’s exactly what happened. Then you see the Lakers opponent and archenemy the Boston Celtics, who also are used to being NBA Champs just like the Lakers, lose in five games to the Heat. Then you see the Chicago Bulls the team with the MVP of the league in Derrick Rose struggle to get past the Pacers and the Hawks and just stumble into the Conferense Finals. (Wonder what will happen in the Conference Finals against the surging Heat) Then you see the Grizzlies and Thunder battle it out in Round 2 and in Game 4 a triple overtime happens with the game seeming like it will never end. Can this get any better? You bet it does, that same series between the Thunder and Grizzlies goes to 7 games (The first "7 games" in this entire playoffs, mind you). But remember in Game 6, Kevin Durant the NBA scoring champion last year struggled and posted his lowest playoff performance ever, only got 11 points. But then in game 7 he scores 39 and Russell Westbrook, the player who had been ridiculed and called a ball hog gets 12 assists in that game!

So far that’s all that has happened in the playoffs but there will undoubtedly be more astounding things in the Conference Finals and in the NBA Finals. Can’t wait to see what happens next, can you?

[Author]

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