Playoffs Are Here

The NBA playoffs have finally come and are almost into the second round.  Some teams have already clinched berth for thenext round such as the Boston Celtics.  Some of the teams are struggling and are down in their series. It would be a miracle for them to come back, like our home team, the Magic, Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, and Philadelphia 76ers.  Some are tied, like the Lakers and Hornets, Mavericks and Trail Blazers.  The teams that are in control are Miami Heat, Memphis Grizzles,  Atlanta Hawks, and the young and explosive Oklahoma City Thunder.

The NBA playoffs have been going on for a long time. They started in 1947.  Some of the teams that won the championship in the past 10 years are the Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, and the Los Angeles Lakers, who won it 5 times, and the San Antonio Spurs who it 2 times .  The Boston Celtics have won the most championships with 17 championships.

All the teams that are in the playoffs have had superb seasons.  But the shocker of the season was the number 1 seed in the East, the Chicago Bulls.   Their season was a success with Derrick Rose playing a big part in that with their record of 62 wins and 20 loses.  The Indiana Pacers have made a surprising playoff push for the 8th seed.  With the help of Danny Granger and Daren Collison they had a record of 37-45. 

 The Denver Nuggets made a blockbuster trade by sending their  best player, Carmelo Anthony, to the New York Knicks, who improved their record to 50-32. 

The Orlando Magic have also made a blockbuster, trading Vince Carter, Marican Gortat, and Mikael Pietrus, to the Phoenix Suns and they also sent Rashard Lewis to the Washington Wizards.  They acquired Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkgolu, Earl Clark and Gilbert Arenas.  That improved their record to 52-30. 

 As you can see these playoffs have been surprising.  A huge upset happened on April 28 when the Atlanta Hawks beat the Orlando Magic by ending the series.  The San Antonio Spurs extended their series between them and the Memphis Grizzlies, their next game is at Memphis.  The Dallas Mavericks have also ended their series against the Portland TrailBlazers.

                                     By:Keith B.