by Hunter Baylous/Staff Writer

Photo Caption: The head of the snake for all 12 Playoff teams Source: https://chswingspan.com/17808/sports/2023-nba-playoffs/

With the NBA playoffs in full swing and the first round has officially ended, it is about that time where sports media goes crazy as the storylines enhance for teams flying to Cancun, and teams fighting for that hardware. Whether it is Hall of Famer Isaiah Thomas mocking Memphis Grizzlies Small Forward Dillion Brooks (who averaged a career low field goal percentage this year) stating, “You asked for 40. Here’s your 40.” Or it’s the media explosion after the 1st ever 50 point game in a game 7 by the Baby Faced Assassin, Stephen Curry. The sports media and sports fans die for the drama that comes with the NBA Playoffs.

Let’s start with the most fun and entertaining series first. The Kings and Warriors battled hard which led to a win or go home game 7 (The only one in the 1st round this year). The Kings are one of the youngest playoff teams this year averaging around 26 years old per player, while the warriors are almost 28 years old on average. The series had such a high viewership due to the Kings finally making the playoffs again. Their last appearance was in the 2005-2006 NBA season. Another reason was due to the Golden State Warriors being the defending champions and one of the most viewed teams in the league in general. 

However, it was the games itself that proved more interesting than storylines. In the first game De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk (bench player) combined for 70 of the Kings 126 points. De’Aaron Fox ended up with the second highest scoring game for a playoff debut. The kings also stole game 2 which  led to the kings holdin a 2 – 0 against the defending champs. The game itself ended with an event the media had exploded due to. Causing every basketball analyst, commentator, and even some players to give their 2 cents. Draymond Green stomps on Domantas Sabonis Sternum which results in a Sternum Contusion and causes an ejection on and a 1 game suspension for Green and a technical foul on Sabonis. After this Sabonis did play in game 3 despite the injury but the warriors took the next 3 games to go up 3 – 2 in the series and the kings took game 6 to force game 7. In game 7 no one could have predicted the performance Stephen Curry would have. The first ever 50 point game in a game 7 in NBA history. An exciting ending to an exciting series. 

The Lakers and Grizzlies series was entertaining but great for one team and disasterful for another. The Los Angeles Lakers ended up winning in 6 games but there were outstanding performances in Game 1 Anthony Davis had 22 points, 17 rebounds and 7 blocks. In game 3 where the Memphis Grizzlies played horribly but Ja Morant dropped 45 points, 13 assists and grabbed 9 rebounds. As well as LeBron James the next game dropping 22 points and 20 rebounds in an OT win. Aside from those 3 performances there wasn’t any game that was very exciting. 

There was also the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks series where Jimmy Butler turned into a prime Micheal Jordan during that series dropping 56 points in game 4 and also beating the number 1 seed 4 – 1. The Knicks and Cavaliers series was also an interesting series due to the Cavs losing in 5 and their all star caliber big Jarret Allen saying the lights were too bright for them along with a Jalen Brunson masterclass for those games. The L.A Clippers and the Phoenix Suns series had potential to be amazing. However, Kawhi Leonard suffered an MCL tear and Paul George suffered a season ending leg injury. However the series was fun to watch at least with Russell Westbrook looking like he was still in 2017 with his athleticism and his ability averaging 23.6 points 7.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists along with Devin Booker averaging over 37 points for the series and Kevin Durant being Kevin Durant.

GCHS Interviews

With the NBA playoffs everybody has an opinion on it, even the staff at GCHS so why don’t we hear from them?

Q: What was your overall opinion of this year’s 1st round series? (Was there a specific series that jumped out at you?)

Mr. Potter (Gov and Econ teacher): I loved the first round of the playoffs this year. I don’t know if we’ll ever see an 8 seed and a 7 seed advance in the same season again. I love parity and upsets so it was a breath of fresh air to watch Miami go out and dominate Milwaukee the way that they did. The added drama from the Grizz/Lakers series gave the first round a bit of extra flare as well which was interesting to follow off the court.

Coach Meredith (boy varsity basketball head coach): Warriors vs. Kings series was very entertaining. Stephen Curry dropping 50 points in game 7 is legendary stuff!

Q: If you were to rate the excitement or enjoyment of the 1st round on a scale of 1-10, what would you rate it?

Mr. Potter: I would rate this year’s first round an 8/10. My main sticking point that kept it from being a 10/10 was the lack of game 7s. I enjoyed the Sunday afternoon showdown between the Kings/Warriors but I could always go for more game 7s. All of the series had their own energies and nothing (outside of Brooklyn getting manhandled) seemed to be a guaranteed win.

Coach Meredith:1st round 8 of 10…rest of playoffs are heating up 10/10

Q:What was the most unexpected upset (Team or Player wise) you have witnessed this year?

Mr.vPotter: It’s really all about Miami right now. What Jimmy Butler did to not just the Bucks was unbelievable. The way they’ve supplemented their roster with castaways from other teams gives me hope that my mediocre NBA team can pull it off too!

Coach Meredith:Miami Heat and Jimmy Buckets Butler upsetting the 1 seed Bucks

Q:Which players do you think will thrive in the playoffs this year?

Mr.Potter:  I think there are a lot of players who have something to prove this year who will silence a lot of critics. Jokic has been slandered a lot over the last year or two and I think he’ll play with a big chip on his shoulder. My more controversial opinion going into the playoffs was that James Harden would go off. I feel like the media and fans online have gotten out of hand calling him washed and he has something to prove in order to secure his big contract this summer.

Coach Meredith:

Stephen Curry

Jokic

Kevin Durant

Jalen Brunson

Q:What upcoming series are you the most excited for?

Mr. Potter: You just have to love the Golden State/LA matchup. I’ve never watched a better series than the Cleveland/GS NBA Finals a handful of years back. I’m hoping to see some of the same fireworks we did then with a long tough series. I also am crazy about the Miami/NYK matchup. It just feels like a series from 2003 where bodies will be flying and the refs will let them duke it out. I’m expecting some ejections and intensity by the end of this one.

Coach Meredith:Warriors vs. Lakers

Q:If you had to choose your 2022-2023 NBA Champion who would you HAVE to choose?

Mr. Potter: In all honesty I had chosen Milwaukee to win it all before the playoffs so I’m hoping my new guess works out. I’m going with the Nuggets to win it all this year especially with how well their role players have been playing. All I really hope for is an entertaining wrap-up to the season!

Coach Meredith: Boston Celtics (Hoping for Warriors, but I think this is the Celtics’ year.)