The 2024 NBA playoffs have been a letdown. Now before Celtics and Mavs fans come at me, hear me out. It has nothing to do with what teams have been advancing or what players have been doing well. I am strictly looking at this from a competitive standpoint and being an unbiased viewer with no real rooting interest.
A majority of these series in the 2024 NBA playoffs have not been close. Every other series you turn on has been a 3-0 series lead at one point. I have been watching the NBA for a long time and can’t remember when it was this lopsided. Maybe in 2017, the Warriors and Cavaliers collision course could rival this year, but you’d be hard-pressed to find another in the last 10-15 years.
Celtics fans may claim that their team is so much better than everyone else but it hasn’t just been the series they have played in. It’s been across the whole playoff field.
Why is that the case?
2024 NBA Playoffs Recap
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Alright, let’s dive into what has gone on in the 2024 NBA playoffs. Round 1 had every series over in five games or less except for three. And out of those three, only one series went to a Game 7; the Cavs and Magic. Not a great start.
Round 2 was the best we got. Out of the 4 series, 3 of them went a least 6 games. The Celtics dominated the Cavs but the other three were all instant classics. The Mavs outlasted an upstart Thunder team in six games. Then we had two road teams win Game 7’s (Wolves over Nuggets and Pacers over Knicks). This was the best part of the 2024 NBA playoffs.
The conference finals were lopsided in both the Eastern and Western conferences. The Mavs took out the Wolves in 5 games and the Celtics swept the Pacers. To be fair, most of these games were close, but the same team kept winning so neither series was ever in doubt. Now we are in the NBA finals are it’s the same old story with the Celtics up 3-0 on the Mavs.
Memorable Moments
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Let’s be a little more positive now and shine some light on the most memorable moments of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. One that comes to mind is each of Jamal Murray’s game-winners in Games 2 and 5 to send Lebron James and the Lakers home. Then we had an epic game 3 in Bucks Pacers with Khris Middleton making big shot after big shot until Tyrese Halliburton made a game-winning floater in OT. And you can’t talk about the first round without mentioning all the fantastic finishes in the Knicks Sixers 6 game series, and the rise of Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Maxey.
We have also seen the rise of Anthony Edwards. His being able to lead his team over the defending champion Nuggets and Nikola Jokic was incredible. Then we saw a fun OKC team take on the Mavs in an epic game 6, where the Mavs just squeezed by at the end.
In the conference finals, the Jaylen Brown game-tying 3 and the Celtic’s wild comeback over the Pacers in game 1 essentially ended the series. The same can be said for the Luka Doncic stepback over Rudy Gobert for the Mavs to take a 2-0 series lead.
2024 NBA Finals
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Now here we are in the finals with the Celtics up 3-0 over the Mavs. Celtics are the better team and I fully expect them to get it done tonight or in-game back 5 in Boston. Game 3 was a heck of a game, but Luka fouling out and the Celtics hitting big shots down the stretch got the job done.
The 2023-24 Boston Celtics have been the most dominant team I have seen since the Warriors with Durant, Curry, Thompson, and Green. If Boston wins to cap off the 2024 NBA playoffs, it will be the culmination of a team led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown that has been on the NBA Finals doorstep for 7 years.
About the Author
Cory is an Oregon Duck alumni from the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been playing, watching, and following basketball + baseball his whole life. Follow Cory on X @cory_pappas1 for more breaking stories and game previews.
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