Game One Impressions: Boston clashes with Miami, 'Melo Drops 40 and Lakers Roll

This weekend contained the first game for all eight of the series, and other than a few early blowouts, you couldn't ask for a better set of first games. The home team won in all but one game, experience paid off and the defense and intensity were cranked up the whole time. So it was pretty much exactly what everyone was expecting, right?

Eastern Conference

Clevland vs Chicago
This game was a kind of enigma last night, the score was often close but the game never really was. Rose caused issues with his athleticism and Noah refused to quit, but Lebron and Mike Brown were in control the entire game. Chicago never really had a hope and I would expect the entire series to have a similar tone. Shaq returned in this game and showed once again that when he is inspired he can be an effective part of a team, providing efficient scoring in the paint and clogging up the lane on defense.

Orlando vs Charlotte
Charlotte was really able to show their strengths in this game, even though the ended up losing. Despite being down up to twenty points at times, Larry Brown constantly had them focused on the next play and chipping away at the lead. This team just refuses to ever go away, which makes them a big threat. Jameer Nelson caught fire early, shooting and getting to the hole on his way to posting 24 in the first half and 32 overall, and stepped up as the primary shooter this game after Vince and Dwight were cold early. Charlotte will have a chance in this series with their defense and Orlando's dependence on shooters, but it's east to see that Orlando is the more talented and consistently strong team.

Atlanta vs Milwaukee
Milwaukee continued to try and play a different style of basketball without Bogut available, using a defense similar to OKC's swarming, hectic defense against post players. Just like what happened in the Lakers game, this left the paint vulnerable so that Josh Smith, Al Horford and even Mo Evans were able to score down low with ease. Jennings scored 34 in the match and Salmons put in 16, but it seemed like nearly every offensive play came with the ball in one of their hands. It's a shame that Bogut went down, but as expected the rest of this team won't be able to hold up against the athletic and skilled Hawks.

Boston vs. Miami
An unlikely hero arose in this game when Tony Allen was stuck playing defense on Wade in the first frame. After that, Allen defended Wade nearly the whole way through and did an excellent job of slowing him down, which was a big part of this win. The biggest surprise of this game came when Paul Pierce fell out of bounds after some tough defense by Haslem and Richardson. Pierce appeared injured and after the trainers got to him, he was surrounded by KG and Glen Davis. Richardson approached Pierce - most likely to check if he wasn't injured - and KG didn't like that idea, so he elbowed him in the head. After the scuffle settled, KG was suspended from game two which should come as no surprise if you've been paying attention to your suspensions. Miami should have a good chance to attack this Boston team in game 2, Garnett was a big reason that Boston was so strong in the first game.


Western Conference

Los Angeles vs Oklahoma City
You hear it every year, two things win championships - defense and experience - and after game one of this series, you can see why the Lakers come in as favorites again. The Lakers shook off all that regular season rust and slowed the game down to a deliberate pace, holding OKC to 13 in the first quarter with their strong side defense. Durant was noticeably bothered by some combination of the playoff jitters, the big LA lights and a constant barrage of elbows courtesy of Kobe and Ron-Ron. The big story of the game was really Bynum's return. He stepped right back into his old role, clogging the paint and protecting the rim while generating easy buckets on the other end with good post moves and strong screens. Between the 14 feet of Gasol and Bynum, most teams in the West once again seem ill-equipped to defend the paint.


Dallas vs San Antonio
In one of the most exciting games of the weekend, Nowitzki came out to play in this one, dropping 36 points on a ridiculous shooting night of 12-14 form the field and 12-12 from the line. The rest of the Mavs didn't disappoint either, as Jason Kidd, Caron Butler, Shawn Marion and Brendan Haywood all had solid games on both ends of the court. San Antonio's big three showed signs of being able to carry the team, but Parker was noticeably not himself and even with Duncan and Ginobli playing at a high level one of either Hill or Jefferson will need to step up for this team to win.

Phoenix vs Portland
This game surprised me the most out of any game, but Portland's ability to control the pace of the game ended up taking all the wind out of Phoenix's sails. Phoenix was never really able to get out and run, Nate McMillan had his team focused and ready to slow the league's best offense. Andre Miller showed that his type of game is built for the playoffs (tough D and scoring at the rim), and Lamarcus Aldridge was more aggressive than I've ever seen him before, taking twenty shots while Roy is out. Phoenix made a late run of it and nearly slipped the game into overtime with a Nash 3-pt attempt, but for some reason I still expect Phoenix to control this series. Hopefully this game can just become a small road-bump in the Suns playoff drive.

Denver vs Utah
On the surface it comes as a surprise that this was the highest scoring game of the weekend, but when you look into things, it becomes pretty obvious. Between the injured Kirilenko, the slowed Kenyon Martin and the fiery and inspired pair of stars in Carmelo and Deron Williams, the scoreboards were lit up all night. Unlike most other games, this one was much closer than the final score showed as Denver really only pulled away in the fourth quarter after JR Smith began to hit shots. Okur injured his Achilles tendon, leaving him unable to compete during this year's playoffs. It was reported that he was seen with tears in his eyes post-game and it's a sad story for both Okur and the Jazz, as both of their playoff hopes are essentially done after this news.