The best time of the NBA season has finally arrived. Playoff basketball is back! Since we’re in the early stages of this postseason, here are five interesting stories to follow in the first-round games.
NBA Stories #1: Shannon Sharpe
When news of the Memphis Grizzlies-Los Angeles Lakers first-round match broke, most people were only thinking of one person. Someone who is, ironically, not a player on either team. That person is Shannon Sharp.
In a game between the two teams earlier this season, we saw Shannon Sharpe get into an altercation with several members of the Grizzlies, including family members of the players and team members.
One thing is for sure, Undisputed is enjoying what’s to come from the series.
NBA Stories #2: Same Seeds, Different Conference, Last Year
If we go back just one season ago, we saw the Dallas Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz in six games to win their first playoff series since 2011 NBA Finals.
That series gave viewers a showdown between two rookie guards Donovan Mitchell and Galen Bronson, the latter of whom needed to step up with Luka Doncic getting injured early in the series.
In a similar scenario, Julius Randel’s New York face faces an injury. That likely means there will be more to come out of Jalen Bronson, against a hungry Donovan Mitchell in another matchup between the four and five seeds.
However, many reports indicate that Randel should not waste as much time as Doncic did last year.
There is a lot of optimism that Julius Randle will be back in the Knicks lineup soon.
– Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN NBA Senior Expert
NBA Stories #3: Being traded from home
On August 30, 1996, Michal Bridges was born in Philadelphia. For many years, the forward had a role as a primary defender around the perimeter and corner specialist with the Phoenix Suns. Now, with the Brooklyn Nets, he has a chance to return to his hometown team.
Why does he want that? On draft night in 2018, the Philadelphia 76ers actually drafted Bridges before trading him for Zhaire Smith.
A recent video was released showing how excited Bridges is to represent Philadelphia on his chest. It is only a matter of time to see if he is able to take revenge.
NBA Stories #4: The Upside Down 2021 Western Conference Finals
Just two years ago, the Los Angeles Clippers made their first appearance in the Conference Finals. Many thought it wasn’t going to happen that season after the season ending injury to Kawhi Leonard. Paul George had a lot of pressure against the Phoenix Suns and performed as well as you could ask for in this situation.
This time, Paul George was injured while Kawhi was on the ground. To make things more interesting, Kevin Durant entered the picture. And with injuries on top of this coincidence, the last time Kawhi was scheduled to face Leonard in a playoff was 2019 NBA Finals When Durant tore his Achilles tendon.
NBA Stories #5: Mike Brown
There are a few coincidences to point out when it comes to the Sacramento Kings v Golden State Warriors matchup. Harrison Barnes used to play for the Warriors. The missed call on Klay Thompson screwed up Kevin Huerter earlier this season; And the Battle of Northern California basketball are all worthy candidates.
However, the bigger story has to be Mike Brown’s. He revived his coaching career this season by leading one of the most impressive stories in modern NBA history. He won three championships as an assistant with Golden State, including going 12-0 as head coach in the 2017 run while Steve Kerr suffered a back injury.
He arguably knows the Golden State system better than any other coach and, as of today, has gone undefeated in the first round during his career. The odd part about this game is his mission to lead a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in 17 years against the team that has won the most championships in that time, including the most recent.