The NBA Playoffs really haven’t been all that interesting. Besides the San Antonio Spurs and LA Clippers, most series have gone the way we expected them to. Until yesterday, we expected the other 7 NBA Playoff series to be sweeps. Even the Spurs, Clippers series could go quickly after the defending NBA Champs took the Clips will in their last game.
Yesterday provided two underdogs a chance to shine, at least for one game each. The Brooklyn Nets beat the Atlanta Hawks 91 – 83 in a game that they seemed to control for most of it, except for a few Hawks spurts. Since the Cleveland Cavaliers won’t have to worry about the Hawks until the Eastern Conference Finals, if they get there, that game had little impact on our team.
The other upset, on the other hand, was impactful for the Cavs and could have a drastic impact on the NBA Playoffs. The young Milwaukee Bucks took Game 4 from the Chicago Bulls on an exciting buzzer beating layup:
While the Bulls are still up 3 games to 1, the impact of that 1 play could cause a Butterfly Effect that impacts the Cavs in a big way.
First, obviously is another game between the two is coming up. Instead of the Bulls being done with the series on Saturday, they have to at least go another 48 minutes with a young squad on Monday night. While the Bucks are not overly physical, they are a tough bunch with long arms who can run, for a long time. The Bulls have dealt with injuries all year. 48 more minutes on Derrick Rose‘s knees, Jimmy Butler‘s calf/ankle, Joakim Noah‘s everything and Pau Gasol‘s old body is not good news for the Bulls.
Second, it gives the young Bucks some hope. The Bulls seemed very confident when Rose was working his way toward a game winning shot with the game tied at 90. A steal, a timeout and that layup quickly deflated things as seen by Rose’s reaction to the loss. Giving young teams hope can really spur them on to compete hard. Could the young Bucks, with nothing to lose, steal a game on the Bulls court? If they do, that forces a Game 6, which wouldn’t tip till Thursday night. Another 48 minutes.
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Finally, it gives the Cavs a little more time to rest. If the Cavs pull off a series sweep today, which we expect, then they still have to wait until the Bulls close out their series before the 2nd round schedule is announced. Getting the Cavs’ bodies time to heal before what is sure to be a rugged series with the Bulls will be huge. The Bucks also give the Cavs more tape to watch of the Bulls at full strength. The Bulls were only able to play with their full roster for about 20 games this year. More film is better to prep the Cavs.
The NBA Playoffs have been far from interesting but do the Cavs owe the Bucks a thank you?