6) Teams with a lot of the line wilting under pressure
It was not just the aforementioned Clippers and Raptors that folded earlier and much quicker than expected.
The Chicago Bulls had a disappointing season, won the first two games against the Celtics in Boston, and promptly folded when Rajon Rondo got hurt. The Indiana Pacers were facing a big offseason with Paul George a year away from free agency, and they would have wanted to show him something encouraging to convince him they could build a championship team around him. They got swept, and George’s mouth got him in hot water in the process.
These teams — as well as the Atlanta Hawks, who seemingly regress annually now — all had a lot to prove, and ended up proving little. The ramifications could be long-term.
It’s never been a secret that Isaiah Thomas is a tough player who has thrived on adversity. He’s made himself an NBA All-Star despite being drafted 60th overall and standing 5-foot-9. Nothing could have prepared him for the sudden and tragic loss of his sister, though, and it was fair to wonder how he would respond. Dealing with such an event is hard enough when you don’t have to worry about the NBA playoffs. It wouldn’t have come as a shock to anyone if he’d floundered a bit.
Thomas did not flounder.
His 53-point performance in Game 2 against Washington was nothing short of sensational, and it will likely go down as the defining performance of his playoff run no matter what. He has said he’s doing this for his sister, and the strength he’s shown is remarkable. It’s unreasonable to expect anyone to respond to such trauma the way he has — but he very much did.
8) Boston being taken to the limit repeatedly
The Celtics were seen as the team in the East most likely to trip up the Cavaliers en route to their conference coronation. They still might, but the No. 1 team in the East has sure had to work for it.
First, they fell behind 2-0 to the 8th-seeded Chicago Bulls, losing two games at home. They caught a break when Rajon Rondo missed the rest of the series and ended up reeling off four straight wins. They had to come back from double-digit deficits in the first two games of their series against the Washington Wizards, then were blown out of the building twice when the series shifted to the nation’s capital.
Boston has looked anything but convincing. If they even get past the Wizards, they have a lot of work to do to challenge Cleveland.
9) Even the Spurs have issues slowing down the Rockets
At first glance, the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs look like the perfect clash of styles. Mike D’Antoni’s high-octane Rockets and Gregg Popovich’s sturdy Spurs are definitely philosophically different. Defense wins championships, though, and if you believe in that adage, you’d have had to favor the battle-tested Spurs to slow down Houston.
The Rockets promptly came out in Game 1, dropped 126 points on San Antonio, and won by 27. The Spurs responded with two wins, but then Houston dropped another 125 in Game 4 to win by 21. It has turned into a wild, back-and-forth series filled with a lot of high-octane play, though San Antonio has reclaimed the lead up 3-2.
The style probably doesn’t suit the Spurs, and it is a little bit surprising that they haven’t been able to consistently get it under control, but it’s certainly fun to watch.
10) There haven’t been that many surprises
In the grand scheme of things, everyone who is supposed to be here at this stage of the playoff is here. The Warriors and Cavaliers are well-positioned to meet again in the NBA Finals. The best remaining teams are battling it out for the right to play them.
The biggest — and only — upset so far has been Utah upending the Los Angeles Clippers, a team that notoriously underachieves at this time of year, and even that was just a five seed over a four.
Ultimately, it’s surprising how straightforward the playoffs have been so far. It may well mean that we’re in for a wild ride in the Conference Finals, though.
