NBA Playoffs are off to a historic start

It's only been one round, but already these NBA playoffs are off to a historic start.  Hard to believe?  Well, for starters, let's just point to the fact that on Saturday we witnessed three Game 7's on the same day for the first time in league history.  That alone is impressive, but we're just getting started.

No postseason in league history has ever had more than five Game 7's.  This year we've already seen five - and that was just in the first round!  There's a good chance we'll see more along the way.

The first round featured eight games that went to overtime, setting a new record for OT games in a single round.  The record for OT games in an entire postseason is 10, which is another record likely to be broken in the near future.  The epic series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies featured four straight games that went to overtime, which had never happened before.  If not for a suspension that kept forward Zach Randolph out of Game 7 for throwing a punch in the previous game, perhaps the Grizzlies could have pushed for a 5th OT in the series.  Who knows, maybe they would have won.

Except it was the Thunder who won that game thanks to an outstanding performance from Russell Westbrook.  With 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 16 assists, Westbrook became only the second player in league history to record a triple-double in Game 7 of a playoff game twice in his career.  He also did it back in 2011 (Rajon Rondo did it twice in 2012).  Only four other players have ever recorded one triple-double in a Game 7 and it's worth noting that all of them are Hall of Famers (West, Bird, Worthy, Pippen).  It remains to be seen if Westbrook (or Rondo, for that matter) is bound for the Hall one day, but this is certainly an exclusive list to belong to.

This postseason has had it's share of dramatic endings and thrilling buzzer beaters, starting with Kevin Durant's ridiculous 4-point play.  The soon-to-be-crowned MVP drained an off-balance shot, while falling out of bounds, and drew the foul to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Manu Ginobili hit a jumper to put his Spurs ahead with 1.7 seconds left at the end of Game 3, only to watch Vince Carter counter with a game winner at the buzzer.  Carter caught the inbound pass in the left corner, spun around, gave a quick pump fake and drained a shot right over the head of Ginobili.  The Spurs would have a chance to get revenge in a Game 6 that could have clinched them the series.  After Patty Mills hit a three-pointer to bring the Spurs back within two with seven seconds left, Monta Ellis inexplicably threw the ball away rather than allow the Spurs to foul him and take the free throws that would have almost certainly put the game out of reach.  With only about a second left, the Spurs inbounded the ball from under their own basket, but the ball was knocked out of bounds by Dallas near mid-court.  That gave the Spurs one final chance to inbound and get a shot off with 0.4 seconds left, but Mills wasn't able to get the shot off in time. Replays would later show the Spurs had too many men on the court for the first of those inbound passes, but it didn't turn out to matter.

Then there's Damian Lillard.  The All-Star point guard's buzzer beater in Game 6 sunk the Rockets, giving the Portland Trailblazers the series victory.  It was the first series clinching buzzer beater since John Stockton in 1997.  Prior to that, it had only been done by Michael Jordan (twice - '89, '93) and Ralph Sampson ('86). Kyle Lowry nearly joined Lillard on that list, but the Raptors guard had his floater at the buzzer blocked by Paul Pierce, clinching the series for Brooklyn.  I'm not sure if anyone keeps track of series clinching blocks, but that list has to be nearly as exclusive.

The Clippers had every reason to let the media storm surrounding the racist comments made by owner Donald Sterling distract them and it appeared to be taking it's toll on the team when they lost in a blowout on the road to the Golden State Warriors.  Yet two days later, on the night that commissioner Adam Silver announced a lifetime ban for Sterling, the Clippers bounced back behind a heroic effort from DeAndre Jordan (25 points, 18 rebounds).  The Clippers would go on to win the series in seven games and will move on to the next round - but their disgraced owner won't be coming with them.

Silver's decision to ban Sterling made a strong statement across the league that racism and bigotry will not be tolerated at any level - not even from one of it's billionaire owners.  The other owners around the league followed his lead, unanimously voting in favor of forcing Sterling to sell the team.  Even with the support of all the other owners, forcing Sterling to sell could prove problematic due to the lawsuits Sterling is sure to bring against the league, but it's a positive step in the right direction to rid the league of men like Sterling that have no place in this league - or in society in general.  For now, the league is expected to appoint a new CEO to run the team, but the league is expected to facilitate a sale eventually.  Numerous suitors are rumored to be lining up to bid on the team, which could sell for over $1 billion (too bad that money has to go to Sterling instead of being distributed between several charities).  Among those rumored buyers is Magic Johnson, which would be ironic given that the released audio tapes include the voice of Sterling scolding his former girlfriend/assistant, V. Stiviano, for posting a photo of her and Johnson together on Instagram.  Hey Sterling, now who's the one that's not allowed at Clippers games?!  It would be sweet poetic justice if Magic were to end up as the team's new owner.  Also rumored to be in the mix is Oprah Winfrey.  Let's just hope she wouldn't be too involved in basketball decision.  I can only imagine how free agency would go.  You get a new contract!  YOU get a new contract!  YOU GET A NEW CONTRACT!!

The Sterling saga threatened to hijack the postseason, but credit Silver for his swift decision to invoke the maximum penalty.  With Sterling out of the way, it allowed the league to get back to enjoying what has been a very entertaining postseason.  We've already witnessed history being made and it's only been one round. I'm not sure what's in store for the rest of the postseason, but I'm excited to find out!