COLUMN: Five big reasons to love the NBA playoffs

    Ah, finally, the playoffs are here. After six months of regular season action, fans finally get to kick back and watch the awesome spectacle that is the post-season. The playoffs, as usual, have already brought some great moments, and with so much action left to go, I’ll give you my top five things to watch for this postseason.

    1 – Derrick Rose. Need I say more? Rose had a stellar season, averaging 25 points and 7.7 assists while leading the Bulls to a league best 62-20 record. In his first game against the Pacers, Rose dropped 39 and then followed that up with 36 points in game two, both times pretty much single-handedly leading the Bulls to victory. But besides all that, Rose is just soooooo fun to watch. The kid can jump out of the gym, he’s got a first step like nobody else in the league and when you combine that with his killer cross over and improved jump shot, he is nearly unstoppable. It might be a little blasphemous to say, but with how he’s been playing, comparisons to a certain former Bulls player, number 23 I believe he was, might not be too far off.

    2 – Oklahoma City and Denver. This could be one of the better first round match-ups. On one hand you’ve got Denver, who since the Carmelo Anthony trade have been really good and have been surprising quite a few people. Then on the other hand you got the Thunder, a team that nobody really wants to face with its two headed monster of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. So who wins? A team with a bunch of really talented players, or a team with two superstars and a bunch of not quite as talented role players? Well, I guess that’s what makes it fun to watch.

    3 – The Miami big three. How could they be excluded after all the hype they received this season? But see this as the proving ground. This is where they potentially turn skeptics into believers and haters into… even bigger haters. The performance of the big three is easily one of the top stories in these playoffs. Will they turn on the jets and blow past everybody on their way to a championship, or will they struggle and flop in the early rounds? Well, after watching their first two games, especially game two, I’ve got to go with the former option. In game two against Philadelphia, LeBron James scored as many points as all of the Sixers starters combined and the Heat played really good basketball, stomping Philly by 21. Personally, I think these three guys are all going to crank it up to the next level, and this could be a deep run for the Heat.

    4 – How good is Boston? This past month, there has been a lot of talk surrounding the Celtics. Just before the trade deadline, GM Danny Ainge pulled the trigger on a deal that sent center Kendrick Perkins to the Thunder for forward Jeff Green. The move has been highly criticized, and for good reason. Without Perkins, who’s going to play center for the C’s? Shaq? Um, he’s almost 40. Jermaine O’Neal? Only as long as the other team promises not to breathe on him or he might get hurt. Nenad Krstic? Wait, who? Without Perkins, some of that Celtic chemistry is lost, and I’m not sure they can get past that. Their first two games against the Knicks were case in point, as both were nail biters, not a good sign especially since they were in Boston. With Boston’s big three aging (Garnett – 34, Pierce – 33, Allen – 35), the Celtics might have trouble recreating their usual playoff magic.

    5 – What about Memphis? In that same vein as Boston, how good are the Grizzlies? Well, actually pretty good. Good enough to get their first-ever playoff win against the Spurs in game one of their series, and I think good enough to maybe even win their first-ever series. Zach Randolph was a beast down low, averaging 20 and 12 during the regular season and continued that in game one of the playoffs. The Grizz also have Shane Battier, a lockdown defender, and other key role players like Marc Gasol, Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo. Memphis is missing Rudy Gay, its second leading scorer, but I still find this match-up intriguing. The Spurs are aging fast and going up against a young team like the Grizzlies might be a recipe for an upset.

    With the games underway, the journey has begun, so turn on the TV, kick back, and get ready to say “Holy crap, did you see that?!” more than once, because that’s the magic of the playoffs.

Mark Israelsen is a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering. He has also been a lifelong fan of the Utah Jazz. He can be reached at mark.israelsen@aggiemail.usu.edu