With the regular season ending last night, the seeds have been determined and the playoffs will soon be under way. Most of the time, first round match ups can be forgetful, but this year there are some interesting story lines to watch out for.
In the Eastern Conference, we have the Celtics and the Bulls facing off, which pits Rajon Rondo against his former team. Rondo was a hero in Boston and loved for his pass first attitude and was one of the most important players on the 2008 championship team. After brief stints in Dallas and Sacramento, Rondo has landed with the Bulls in hopes of redeeming the second half of his career. Not only do the Bulls have a former Celtic, but they have a potential future Celtic in Jimmy Butler. Butler was one of the most talked about trades during the trade deadline, with Boston being his forecasted home. To the frustration of Celtics fans, he never made it. Now he will have a chance to show the Boston faithful what they were missing.
In the Western Conference, the most intriguing match up of the first round looms in the distance. When fans think of the 2016-17 season, they will think of the battle for MVP between James Harden and Russell Westbrook. As luck has it, they will be facing off against each other in the first round. Unfortunately, we won’t find out who wins MVP until AFTER the championship (that’s a whole different story). Can you imagine if Harden won the MVP and he had to play against Russ? I think Westbrook might average a quintuple-double, with a made up stat for how many 1-on-5 dunks he got. Even still, these players know the MVP race is between the two of them. It should bring out supreme basketball talent and excitement to an otherwise bland first round.
Most of the other first round match ups are fairly straightforward. Memphis will most likely lose to San Antonio, the Cavs should beat Indiana, so on and so forth. The second round could see the Wizards and the Celtics tee off, which would be the most hyped up series without a doubt. Could we see the Wiz arriving to the game in a hearse? Would the Celtics don Grim Reaper masks? Who knows! In today’s NBA, anything is possible.
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