2009 NBA Playoffs: The Greatest Ever

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

I’ve been a basketball fan for all of my life, with most of the coming from the Jordan Era. Here lately though, things have seemed dull and mediocre. I do look forward to the NCAA Tournament every year, but the big problem is with the National Basketball Association.

The NBA lacked that extra spice that it needed to fascinate me like it use to.

What is the simple solution to my boredom? Enter the 2009 edition of the NBA playoffs.

So far, I have yet to not be amazed by every game in every series. Let me break it down as to why its just so great.

FIRST ROUND

Two series in this round personally helped me to start to get into the NBA mood. I’m talking about Hawks-Heat and Bulls-Celtics. Dwayne Wade looked to make his claim at the Most Valuable Player Award, while the Hawks looked to continue their momentum from last season. Atlanta grabbed their early 1-0 lead, but Miami stormed back to take the next two games.

However, the Hawks grabbed two in a row as well, putting the Heat’s backs up against the wall. Proving he was in the MVP discussion, Dwayne Wade delivered 41 points at home to take the series to the seventh and deciding game.

However, the Heat would be extinguished by the Hawks, 91-78, allowing Atlanta to win the series and move on to the second round.

No other series in the first round could sum up the playoff excitement I’ve had here lately like the Bulls-Celtics match up. After losing Kevin Garnett for all of the postseason, the Celtics knew they had their backs up against the wall. It made it even more difficult when they played the spunky, young Bulls.

Chicago would immediately make an impact in Game 1, as we saw the first overtime game of the series. The Celtics charged back to take two games in a row and a 2-1 series lead. The next three games would help to establish the record for overtime games in a NBA playoff series.

Those three games had me glued to my tube to see who would come out victorious. When it was all said and done though, the Celtics continued the defense of their title in Round 2.

CONFERENCE SEMI-FINALS:

Boston once again made the playoffs exciting in the second round. Once again, not having Kevin Garnett would hurt the Celtics in their quest for their eighteenth championship in franchise history.

It didn’t stop them from competing and going the distance in their series against the Magic. There wasn’t nearly as much drama as their series against the Bulls, but both teams traded blows in each of their games. In the end, the Celtics ran out of energy and the Garnett loss would end their championship defense.

The Rockets-Lakers series showed many things. It showed two teams who were championship caliber. It showed two teams who had little consistency from game to game. It also showed an ugly side that reared its head many times throughout the series.

Who could forget Game 2 with Ron Artest being ejected for getting into Kobe’s face? Or that same Game 2 where Derek Fisher threw a hard elbow at Rocket’s forward Luis Scola? That game helped to spark what was an emotional series that went seven games.

Speaking of emotion, how could we forget the Game 3 confrontation between Maverick’s owner Mark Cuban and the mother of Nugget’s forward Kenyon Martin. MasterCard should make that a commercial because it was simply priceless.

CONFERENCE FINALS:

It is early in this round, but we’ve got two great series so far. Both series are tied 1-1 right now. The Lakers were able to salvage Game 1 with a close win, but the Nuggets took a dramatic victory in Game 2 to even up the series as it heads to Denver to continue their epic grudge match (sorry Vinny Mac, but I had to get that one in).

The most stunning game for me would be Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, as the Magic knocked off the Cavaliers at home off of the three-point stroke of Rashard Lewis. More shocking is the end result of Game 2.

LeBron drilled a game-winning three point shot as time expired to defeat the Magic, 96-95/ However, if not for that shot, the Cavaliers are down 2-0 and heading into Orlando. Simply amazing.

So there you have it. The NBA has finally become Not Boring Anymore. It’s really about the best of the best going toe-to-toe in chase of the Larry O’Brien Trophy. All this and we are only to the Conference Finals.

I’ve got the feeling that we have yet to see the very best games and moments in this 2009 NBA Playoffs.

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