Storylines to follow in Round 2 of the NBA playoffs

For the first time in recent memory, the second-round playoff matchups fell into place so that the fans get the most entertaining, competitive series possible. Even though Golden State and Houston are the two best teams in the West, it's probably better that they're squaring off in the second round instead of the conference finals because the Rockets are always one injury to Harden or Paul away from being severely overmatched by the Warriors. And we know that whoever emerges victorious from the Denver-Portland series is going to lose in the conference finals, so the fact that we're getting what should be an entertaining series is a bonus. 

In the East, once Victor Oladipo got injured there was an obvious talent gap between the Bucks, Raptors, Sixers and Celtics vs. the rest of the conference. Thus, it was fortunate that the Pacers didn't get the three seed, which would have forced the Sixers to face the Celtics in the first round. Instead, we're being graced with what should be a highly competitive Celtics-Bucks series and a star-studded Sixers-Raptors series. It all worked out perfectly for the fans this time around. Let's hope the game play matches the hype.

The Rockets haven't been shy about their obsession with the Warriors the past few years. General manager Daryl Morey has publicly said as much on multiple occasions. After disposing of the Jazz in five games, Clint Capela let everyone know he wanted the Warriors . Well, Clint, be careful what you wish for because Kevin Durant is red-hot and playing some of the best basketball of his life right now. During this Warriors dynasty, only four players have been able to strike fear into the minds of Golden State fans. LeBron and Kyrie (duh). Lou Williams (I'm not even kidding). And James Harden. Harden is interesting because he probably hadn't reached that status until he single-handedly beat the Warriors at Oracle Arena earlier this season with a 45-point, 15-assist 10-rebound game that also included a game-winning three-pointer over Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. Now they know Harden has it in him. More importantly, Harden knows he has it in him. Let's see you do it again, James!

Ever since Kevin Durant signed with Golden State, we've been searching for a foil to the Warriors: a worthy adversary that could push them to the limit and beat them. Most assumed that that team would be led by LeBron James, but we may have been underestimating James Harden and the Rockets this whole time. LeBron got his two shots but didn't have the pieces around him to make the Dubs really sweat. The Rockets had their shot last season but faltered before the finish line. Thanks to a virtuoso season by Harden and a healthy roster down the stretch, the Rockets are back in the same spot with another shot. This time around, the Warriors seem more vulnerable than ever, especially with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson banged up heading into the series. Will it matter with Kevin Durant playing like the best player in the world? Can a team with as many red flags as the Warriors really flip the switch and take out a hungrier Rockets team? Time to run it back.

Who is the best player in the NBA? There are about five or six players who can make a legitimate claim right now, and three of them will be playing in the Rockets-Warriors series. Which one will stand out as the best of the best; the king of the court? 

Kevin Durant is coming off a 45-point game and a 50-point game in which he scored 38 points in the first half alone to close out the Clippers! Steve Kerr called him the best player in the world after the first-round series. Ironically, Durant's teammate Steph Curry is usually the most impactful player in the NBA. When he plays, the Warriors are elite. When he's out, the Warriors are more than vulnerable. (They were only 5-8 with him out this season.) And then there's the reigning MVP, James Harden, who is coming off the best scoring season (36.1 points per game) since Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 points per game in 1986-87. It's going to be an awesome display of individual basketball ability, but my guess is that Durant's star shines brightest of all.

This round might be a little eye-opening for the casual fan. Why is that? Because the casual fan probably isn't used to seeing a once-traditional post player like Brook Lopez firing up more than six three-pointers per game. The casual observer probably doesn't realize how analytics-driven the league has become in the past year or two and how disproportionately advantageous it is for a team to take a deep three-pointer rather than a contested mid-range jumper. Hell, I still find myself thinking games are over when a team goes up by 15-20 points in the second or third quarter. Wrong. No lead is ever safe with the frequency at which teams launch threes today. I mean, the Rockets attempted 47 three-pointers in their Game 1 loss to the Warriors. They made only 14 of them (30 percent). Imagine if they'd made a league-average 36 percent? They'd have won a game they didn't really have any business winning. It's never been more of a make-or-miss league than it is today.

OK, the series against the Pistons was a glorified four-game exhibition tour for the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. Now,the real  playoffs begin, which should mean that Giannis Antetokounmpo will actually play more than 28 minutes per game (which is all he averaged against Detroit). More minutes should mean more insane stats for the Greek Freak. In the regular season, Antetokounmpo averaged 28 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal per game despite playing less than 33 minutes per game. Assuming the ugly Game 1 loss against the Celtics, in which he played only 34 minutes and was an outlier, and Giannis will play closer to 40 minutes per game the rest of the series, he should have some absurd stat lines. I wouldn't be surprised if he has 30-plus points, close to 20 rebounds and 15 free-throw attempts in Game 2. 

Kyrie Irving is not afraid to put his money were his mouth is — and boy, does he know how to back it up. After doing a lot of complaining all regular season, Irving has absolutely killed it through the Celtics' first five playoff games, averaging 23 points and eight assists in a sweep against the Pacers and dropping an efficient 26 points and 11 assists in a Game 1 blowout of the Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. We all know Kyrie can score with anybody, but the facilitating is really taking Boston to a new level. Keeping his teammates like Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Gordon Hayward involved will be paramount to the team's success (or failure) this spring. If he keeps up this play, it suddenly looks like the Celtics are the juggernaut everyone assumed they'd be heading into the year. 

Both Malcolm Brogdon and Marcus Smart are going to miss the beginning of this series with injuries. Brogdon is expected to return at some point, but Smart is not. Both players are important role players, but Smart's absence might actually be helping the Celtics right now as it has taken any tough rotation decisions out of Brad Stevens' hands. He doesn't have to worry about splitting up minutes and touches among Kyrie Irving, Smart, Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward. Shorter rotations are better in the playoffs anyway. Granted, if the Celtics advance to the Finals, they'll need Smart's on-ball defense and energy. For now they might actually be better without him. Brogdon, on the other hand, is extremely important for Milwaukee's spacing around Giannis Antetokounmpo on offense and is another player to throw at Irving on defense to make him work. They Bucks need him back as soon as possible. If he isn't back by the time the series shifts to Boston, they will be in trouble.

If he stays in Portland for the rest of his career, he might not ever win a title. Damian Lillard is aware of that distinct possibility...and he's at peace with it . Since we might never see him play on that stage, I implore you to be sure to watch him during the second round against the Nuggets and appreciate Lillard's greatness. He's such an elite weapon on offense. He has Steph Curry-like range (just ask Paul George!), he averages the most points per pick and roll possession in the league for any primary ball-handler, and he has a keen sense of when to defer to his teammates and pick his spots. He's at the peak of his powers right now, and these playoffs are his moment. The Blazers can beat the Nuggets, and if they do it will make Lillard's already amazing redemption story in 2019 even better.

Even though they rank sixth and 10th, respectfully, in points per game this postseason, the Blazers and Nuggets should provide an up-and-down, six- or seven-game series. Both teams are coming off series victories against more defensive-minded, slower-paced teams. The Spurs-Nuggets series was particularly plodding, with both teams averaging only 91.9 possessions per game. (The slowest pace in the NBA in the regular season was 100.0 possessions per game!) With gifted offensive players on both sides of the matchup, expect the Blazers and Nuggets to come out playing faster and with more freedom. Portland had the third-best offensive rating in the regular season; Denver had the sixth-best. I would expect this series to have more of a regular-season feel to it where offense dictates which team is victorious in each game. 

There are two ways for Nuggets fans to view their first-round victory over the Spurs. From the glass-half-full viewpoint, Nikola Jokic proved that his unique game translates to the playoffs by damn near averaging a triple-double — 23 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists per game. From the glass-half-empty viewpoint, Denver's success is directly related to Jamal Murray's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde performances. In the Nuggets' four wins, Murray scored 24, 24, 23 and 23 and averaged over five assists per game. In the Nuggets' three loses, Murray scored 17, 16 and six and had a total of only eight assists. He shot under 39 percent in each loss as well. With such an inexperienced roster, the Nuggets may need to think about getting creative in close games where Murray is struggling. Could they run more offense through Gary Harris and Paul Millsap? Could they dust off Isaiah Thomas for a late-game scoring spark? They'll need to figure out some strategy, because living and dying on a 22-year-old point guard will have you on the ' Gone Fishin' segment sooner or later.

Everywhere you look in the 76ers-Raptors series, you'll see good basketball players. Philly has one of the best starting fives in the NBA with Ben Simmons, JJ Redick, Tobias Harris, Jimmy Butler and Joel Embiid. The Raptors can counter with Kyle Lowry, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol (or Serge Ibaka). The Sixers probably have the slight edge in individual talent, but the Raptors have more defined roles and seem to play a lot better together and have a much better bench as well. All that being said, this series will likely turn on the performance of each team's superstar. If Embiid gets stonewalled down low all series, like he was by Gasol in Game 1, and if Leonard plays like Michael Jordan on both ends of the court, then this will be a short series. If Philly can get Embiid going early and open up some shots for Redick, Harris and Butler, then this should be a back-and-forth series.

Even before their transcendent Game 1 performance, Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam were playing some of the best two-way basketball by wing teammates in a long, long time. Then Game 1 happened, and the two combined for 74 points on 28/38 shooting. It was an all-time playoff performance by two teammates, and it doesn't even account for how impactful each was on the defensive end of the court. Leonard's fadeaway game and ability to hit highly contested mid-range shots was looking Jordanesque. And Siakam's infinite energy in the open court has some shades of Scottie Pippen to it. If both keep playing like this, the Raptors are not only going to win the Philly series with ease, but they're also going to make the Finals and give Golden State or Houston a run for their money. 

It's said that those who don't learn from the history are doomed to repeat it. Well, if NBA history has taught us one thing, it's that championship windows should not be taken for granted and often close as quickly as they open. Look at the 1986 Rockets, the 1995 Magic and the 2012 Thunder — all three teams' respective championship windows opened seemingly out of thin air and should be remained open for the next decade. Yet, for a number of reasons, those windows slammed shut in the blink of an eye. With Joel Embiid playing All-NBA basketball, and Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris and JJ Redick all playing at or near an All-Star level, the Sixers' championship window is open right now. However, with Embiid's injury history, Simmons' inability to shoot and the other three starters' impending free agencies, the team's championship window could close as soon as this summer if it isn't careful. Will we start to see signs of the crumbling in this Raptors series? Or will the aforementioned stars be able to dig deep and play with the urgency of a team that knows it shouldn't take this window for granted?

First-round TV ratings were not good — down 19 percent as compared to last year. Some people believe that had to do with the unintriguing matchups. Others believe it had to do with the NBA's most recognizable star, LeBron James, not being involved. Well, the second round should give us a pretty objective answer to which it was, because every series should be highly competitive and wildly entertaining. The Houston-Golden State series has as much star power as any series imaginable with three of the best five players in the league playing, along with Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Chris Paul. It's a rivalry and a rematch of last year's conference finals as well. Celtics-Bucks features a couple of the league's most marketable young stars in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kyrie Irving. We've already discussed the star power in the 76ers-Raptors series. And even Blazers-Nuggets has two popular players in Nikola Jokic and Damian Lillard. If the NBA can't get good ratings this round, it might have a problem. (I don't think it has a problem.)