On Monday night, the Rockets and Jazz took commanding leads in their respective first-round series, joining the Warriors among the Western teams holding a 3-1 edge. In the fourth Western Conference series, the Pelicans have already advanced, so barring an unlikely comeback by the Timberwolves, Thunder, or Spurs, it looks like we may not get much more drama out west in round one.
The same can’t be said for the Eastern Conference though. Heading into Tuesday night, three of four series are tied at two games apiece, and the Sixers/Heat matchup – where Philadelphia holds a 3-1 lead – has also been entertaining and competitive.
While the Raptors, Cavaliers, and Celtics are still the favorites to advance to the second round, there are areas of concern for all three clubs heading into Game 5. The Raps fell back on same old playoff habits in Game 4 when they failed to move the ball as effectively as they have for much of the season; the Cavs’ supporting cast around LeBron James has been inconsistent; and the C’s have just been hit hard by injuries, though Marcus Smart‘s return appears imminent.
Meanwhile, the opponents in those three series are flawed, but dangerous. The Wizards are led by a pair of All-Stars in John Wall and Bradley Beal, and that backcourt can be hard to stop when it gets going; the Bucks have one of the NBA’s best players in Giannis Antetokounmpo; and the Pacers are a deep and well-coached squad headed by a potential All-NBA guard in Victor Oladipo.
We’ve essentially got a trio of best-of-three series on our hands in the East, and while it’s still possible that we won’t get any upsets, the underdogs have proven that they’ll make things difficult for the conference’s top seeds.
What do you think? Will the Raptors, Celtics, and Cavaliers all survive their first-round scares or will one or more of those teams get bounced in the first round? Vote below in our poll, then jump into the comment section to share your thoughts!
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Man if the Celts which I dont think they will lose this series 4 straight meaning Bucks in 6, how does Stevens live that down? I don’t want the injury excused hes getting outcoached by Prunty.
Prunty is an awful coach, winner of the series has nothing to do with it, as Stevens is clearly better and is keeping this series close with an inferior team
Take Giannis and Middleton out of the Bucks lineup and let me know how the series goes. Excuses or reality?
Indiana in 6, Lebron is going to choke.
Unfortunately the league won’t let them lose in round 1. They already handed them game 2 with a slew of BS calls to keep Oladipo from being able to play significant minutes.
I don’t think Lebron will have the same luck this time around.
Lebron doesn’t choke. I am not even a cavs fan. If they lose, it will be because of his supporting cast.
Thats been the narrative for 15 years he never has any help. It’s his responsibility to take over games and be great period, he supposedly didn’t have help 2007 yet every game was close against the Spurs with Game 2 being the only game which was lost by double digits 103-92. Lebron was terrible all series averaging only 22, had he played to his potential the Cavs could have pulled that off. Great player but stop the excuses.
his responsibility to take over games? basketball is a team sport dude. nobody can win a game by themselves
It’s not about winning it on your own but if he’s the best in the game you’ve got to be willing to do all it takes to win. Can you really say Lebron gives it his all on defense and offense? I do not think so, if the situation calls for you to score 40-50 points you do just that. That’s the problem with you Lebron apologists, the media makes it out like he never has enough to win. That team he has now has some of the best shooters in the game in Love,Smith, and Korver yet he has no help? Give me a break, the problem is none of those players can get in rhythm because Lebron always has the ball. Lebron doesn’t want to compete, if he could have it his way he would have Anthony Davis,Giannis,Harden, and Curry on his starting lineup. That’s pathetic, he wants to win but doesn’t want to do what it takes to win.
Factually, he already has won. And Smith is not nearly what he was and Korver is a parttimer and Love is battling injuries. Also there is more than shooting needed to win… Cavs are bad on D.
Dionis is all over the place on Bron.
Oopsie. Dionis is wrong once again.
Lets go Wizards! In 7!
The 76ers are so good no one talks about them.
They’re also the only team up 3-1, which gives them WAY better odds than the other three teams at advancing, so I felt like it probably wasn’t worth including them in this poll. But yeah, they’ve looked like the team to beat in the East so far this postseason.
I don’t care which teams win as long as the Cavs aren’t one of them.
I voted Boston, but it looks like they got the win. JParker got 17p, 8r but was 2-7 from 3… Why man. Maker got 2pts, 2tens in 17 min… truly a star. Not.
Sixers are going to have it easy in the 2nd round no matter who wins the Celtics/Deer series.
Cleveland will have a more difficult time against either Toronto or DC. Either are far better than the Cs/Deer.
So it’ll be difficult for the Cavs to get back to the finals as the sixers will be flying high after sweeping their next series and having lots of rest compared to a very tired LeBron James.
However, there other slant on this is it’s giving the new Cavs members and those that have missed substantial time due to injury more time to understand the offense/defense. What it’ll come down to is the veterans vs the rookies.