This year’s NBA Playoffs have had no shortage of excitement and drama, as we are finally ready to get the 2nd round under way. The first slate of games will be Kevin Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder taking on the scrappy Memphis Grizzlies in OKC. This matchup will be followed by Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks taking on the defensive minded Indiana Pacers.
Check out our full preview and let us know your thoughts on the 2nd round matchup’s after the jump.
Maybe the biggest story of the first round of the NBA Playoffs was the Thunder’s loss of star point guard Russell Westbrook. After his injury the Thunder went from most likely sweeping the Houston Rockets to having to close it out in 6 games after back to back loses. At times in game 5 the Thunder looked like a very regular team as Kevin Durant didn’t even score in the 4th quarter of game 5. Despite all of that they bounced back in game 6 to advance. The Memphis Grizzlies had a very impressive first round as they were able to reel off four straight wins against Chris Paul’s Los Angeles Clippers, after being down 2-0 in the series. The Griz are one of the most physical teams in the league and with Westbrook’s injury many believe they have a legitimate shot not only to win this series but eventually represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. The real question in this series is if Kevin Durant has enough to take over and lead the Thunder over the physical Grizzlies. Do the Thunder have enough supporting help to win the series? Can the Grizzlies get enough scoring from other players than Marc Gasol & Zach Randolph? We will get a taste of these answers today at 1 EST on ABC.
Who remembers those great New York Knick and Indiana Pacers series from the 1990’s? Reggie Miller in the Garden chirping with Spike Lee, all out war that ensued from two teams that really didn’t like each other. Well that rivalry picks back up today as Carmelo Anthony leads his Knicks against the physical defensive minded Indiana Pacers. Both teams had a few struggles in the first round as the Knicks had a little trouble closing out the fiery Boston Celtics in six games after going up 3-0 in the series. Indiana was able to knock off the Atlanta Hawks who at times seemed like they wanted to start their off-season as quickly as possible. This series is bound to be full of excitement as the matchup’s are pretty even and most likely every game in the series will come down to the wire. Make sure you tune into game 1 of Knicks vs Pacers live from Madison Square Garden live on ABC at 3:30 EST.