A Review of This Season

What an awesome season this year has been for the league. The lockout cut 16 games and meshed 66 into a very tight schedule, increasing the prone to injury (Derrick Rose, Ray Allen, Al Horford, Stephen Curry, Amare, Jeremy Lin, Melo, Rubio, etc) and thus making tons of interesting and boring lineups that made some NBA fans turn their head and try to delve into the minds of the coaches and the front office of teams. The lockout helped some teams while being detrimental to others, or it had no effect at all (Spurs, Bobcats). There was plenty of debate whether it was beneficial or not, you can take your pick depending on which teams you root for.

And now, after a crazy regular season, there were even more headlines for the playoffs.

From the Western Conference:                                                                                                                                                             

The Spurs were again a #1 seed and easily made it into the Western Conference Finals but fell to the younger, more exciting Thunder. Did anyone else expect these guys to come back like this after being blown out by the Grizzlies last season? I didn't.

D-Fish and Kobe going at it, except this time it's not at practice.

The Lakers showed inconsistency and lack of teamwork when Kobe kept jacking up jumpshots while being triple-teamed. Despite not understanding the triangle offense to its fullest degree, I wish that came back. 

The Clippers ended their postseason drought in 6 years! Led by CP3 and Kia spokesman Blake Griffin.

 

Diaw moving to the Spurs. And there was much rejoicing.

OKC breezed by the Mavericks, struggled against the Clippers, and demolished the Lakers and Spurs. These guys beat the only three teams that have represented the western conference in the finals. What studs.

Memphis Grizzlies showed signs of positive progress as this was their second straight year in the playoffs, but could not close out against the Clippers. I would have loved to see a rematch of the Spurs and Grizzlies.

Hey, didn't Golden State head coach Marc Jackson promise his team that they would make the playoffs in his first year? But to be fair, his stellar, baby-faced, quick shooting Curry was injured. Oh yeah, and your team just trades away your star player, Monte Ellis.

Clippers looked amazing...at least on paper.

From the Eastern Conference:

Derrick Rose got injured against the Pacers, which allowed the Pacers to secure a second round fairly easily.

D-Rose still making millions with Adidas despite his injury.

Boston Celtics made noise in the playoffs despite their age and was one game away from clinching another berth into the NBA Finals.

The Big Four. What an amazing group of players.

The Heat played fairly well without Bosh as D-Wade and LeBron continued to carry the team without a consistent bench and constant critics calling James out. When Bosh came back, he was very effective.

Orlando Magic were out of sync with the drama surrounding coach Stan Van Gundy and their star center Dwight Howard and lost to the Pacers.

The Knicks were without Linsanity and won only one game against the Heat. Their playoff struggles continue for another year.