2017 NBA Playoff Stories and Recaps

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The 2017 NBA Playoffs move on and so do the Cleveland Cavaliers. With their 115-94 beatdown of the Toronto Raptors, the Cavs take a ho-hum 3-0 lead in their series. Kyle Korver came off the bench to put his two cents in on a series that was over before it began. LeBron James is averaging just under 37 points per game and Kyrie Irving shows no let up from last year’s playoff run. The Raptors are just not getting any help from anyone other than Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan and that just will not beat the Cavs anytime soon.

The San Antonio Spurs lost veteran Tony Parker and the did not miss a beat. After a game one victory for the Houston Rockets, the Spurs are looking like themselves again. Kwahi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge have done their part. In game 2, Leonard had 34 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Last night, Aldridge did his damage with 26 points of his own to match Leonard. The question here is can the Spurs win this series without Parker? The answer is pretty simple. This team has shown the doubters how to win for more than a decade now. With Greg Popovich as their head coach keeping the same mindset going in the locker room, the chances of the Spurs letting up a slim to none.

How good are the Golden State Warriors? So good that the initial talk on the series is about the lack of nightlife in Utah. The Jazz comes off a big series win against the perennial let down’s, the LA Clippers. They find themselves down 2-0 to a Warrior team looking to get back to the NBA Finals. The task is large and Gordon Hayward will not get the job done on his own. The Warriors just have too much in Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. They are winning by getting steady play from a group that does not need a career night from anyone. At least the Jazz will be able to avoid another plane ride as a return of this series to Ca. is highly unlikely.

A series that may go well for the fans is the Celtics-Wizards series. Boston PG Isaiah Thomas has just lost his mind and is playing at the level that got the C’s the top seed in the East. Games one and two were all Thomas as he scored 33 and 53, respectively, to give the Celtics a 2-0 lead in the series. In Game 3, he was held to 13 points while Washington had six players in doubles figures to cut the Boston lead to 2-1 in this series. Expect these two teams to battle evenly for the most part and do not be surprised to see this series go the full seven.

So let’s continue to enjoy the games we can while we await the conference finals. The Cavs and Warriors are expected to get there. Who their opponents will be is the storyline that has yet to be determined.