Day One of NBA Playoffs, and it was Fire

Basketball, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Day one of the NBA playoffs has come and gone and was fire. Although no big upset came about the games were as good as expected. The day started off with the Orlando Magic making an appearance in the playoffs after many years of watching as they headed to Cleveland. The night ended with the Lakers headed to the mile-high city for another showdown with the Nuggets.

Game one saw the Magic head to Cleveland for th first trip to the playoffs for this young group. The Magic surprised everyone by getting the 5th seed and all season they have shown they can play with anyone. Banchreo showed up strong in his first playoff game giving 24-7-5 and doing all he can to help them win. The Cavs though have also been on fire this season and at home they are even better.  They came out and just put it on the Magic from the start putting them behind early. Donovan Mitchell led the way for the Cavs with 30 points as he led the way with four starters in double figures.

Cleveland showed they are strong and will be a handful for the young Magic to contend with. The Magic will need to find better defense and rebounding as they went through a stretch where it was one-and-done with the shots and it hurt them. This one will go 6 so sit back and enjoy as the Magic will come alive.

The second game of the day saw the Suns and the Timberwolves take to the court for their first-round kick-off. Again, the outcome was not a shock but this one is far from being a rout yet. The game was much better than the score (120-95) and you know KD will not this be anything but a long series. Anthony Edwards led the way with 33-9-6 and in the fourth quarter just took the game into his hands. He looked unstoppable and let it be known as he told KD And whoever was on him about it when he scored.

The Suns had their issues and the chippiness was there for sure. If this is a sweep it will be a rough sweep. I can see the Suns making a run after they get home. This one goes 6 as well.

Next up were the Knicks and the Sixers. A series we know will have more than just basketball going on. Two teams that could not play nice no matter what. With Sixers star Joel Embiid back from a knee injury, he looked as good as ever, well for a while anyway.  Embiid went down with just over 2 minutes to the half, Knicks up 6. He did return later in the second half but by then this game was in the hands of the Knicks. If Embiid is not healthy enough to play at top level the SIxers will go down 4-1. This Knicks team is a good team and has a great defense, If you let them get up, it makes for a high climb back. Maxie gave 33 and Embiid gave 29 in a good effort that was just not enough.

The Final game of the night gave us the defending champions, the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers. A rematch of the Western Conference finals a year ago, but what we saw was Deja Vue. The Lakers came out hot and put the pressure on the champs as they took a 12-point lead. But in the second quarter, the Nuggets turned on the switch, and their defense came alive. The Lakers went up by three at th half with a long logo shot by James at the buzzer.

The second half was all the Nuggets as they came out looking like the defending champs. With the Laker up by one with just over 7 minutes to go James took a quick logo three that missed. The Nuggets took that miss and ran down and Porter hit a three giving the Nuggets the lead. From there it was all Nuggets as they amassed a lead of 15 and never looked back. The Lakers went cold and had only 23 points in the half up till the 7:46 mark of the fourth.  Jokic had 32 and Murray 22 to lead the Nuggets and James and AD led the way for the Lakers. Gam two Monday night in Denver.

All in all day one of the NBA playoffs was a success. The games kept you involved and you know they will only get better. Stay with EDF Lifestyle for more great NBA content.

Spread the word. Share this post!