PISTONS, HEAT, PACERS, CAVS, SPURS, SUNS, CLIPPERS, MAVS DRAW FIRST BLOOD

 

 

So the playoffs are on. Some first round game 1s have been predictable, some interesting and some have made my predictions look very stupid indeed.

First stop's going to be Detroit, where the Pistons faced off against the Bucks. Flip Saunders's crew, all conquering in the regular season, looked to be cruising over the oppisition at one point only for the visitors to fire in a 19-4 runs which closed the gap to 68-64 early in the fourth quarter. However the home side simply went up a gear to reply with an 11-0 run and the final score was 92-74.

Next stop Miami and both the Heat and the Bulls lost two players each during their game 1(including Wade for the Heat due to cramps). Other than that the first half was generally a tight affair untill a Heat surge just before half time only for the Bulls to hit the comeback path in the third and took the lead in the fourth only for a pre-cramp Wade to explode with six straight points. Game over, final score 112-107 Heat.

The biggest upset in the East happened in New Jersey where the Nets faced the Pacers. Indiana were in no mood to hang around ended the first quarter up 30-24. The home side gradually rallied to take the lead 65-64 at the end of the third only for Jermaine O'Neal to get his act together in the fourth as the Pacers retook the lead. Vince Carter drew the Nets level with a slam to tie the match at 88 only for Austin Croshere to hit a buzzer beater. The defeat's going to be a bummer for New Jersey but Nets fans will remember that their side lost Game 1 of the '02 series and went on to reach the finals.

In Cleveland LeBron James was making his playoffs debut for the Cavs against the Wizards and it was Washington who got battered. There was only ever one side in this match and only really one player, LeBron hitting a triple double and even Wizards coach Eddie Jordan admitted that his side crumbled after four minutes. The final score was 97-86 and if James is going to be in this sort of mood, this series is over already.

Out West, the Spurs matched up against the Kings in San Antonio, the Kings soon remembering Dennis Rodman's line in Double Team, "strong offence wins the glory, strong defence wins the game". No defence against the defending champions on their turf means that you're always going to get cleaned out and the final scoreline of 122-88 pretty much said it all.

In Phoenix, the round's heavyweight tie between the Suns and the Lakers got underway. Match these two offensive side against each other and you're going to get fireworks with Steve Nash leading the Suns to a 39-29 first quarter lead. The second quarter was an LA show though and the Suns didn't really come allive again still late on with the lead down to 98-95. Once again it was Nash that stopped the rot though and Phoenix picked up Game 1 to the tune of 112-107.

The Clippers on the other hand, came out of their first game a lot happier. Firstly, they had home court advantage for this tie due to their better preseason record than the Nuggets(doh!), secondly, they pulled off their first playoff win since 1993! The Nuggets didn't make things easy though, particularly in the fourth quarter when they looked to pull off a late overhaul only for Elton Brand to block a late shot from Carmelo Anthony to secure a 89-87 win.

Finally, in Dallas, the Mavs took on the Grizzlies and the visitors found that they had no way of handling the combination of Dirk Nowitski and Erik Dampier. The Mavs easily ran the first half mainly due to their domination of the rebound scene. The Grizzlies had a third quarter surge to narrow the gap to two points but the Mavs pulled it out 103-93.

One down(at least) three to go.

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