The NBA playoffs standings has the Golden State Warriors taking on the Houston Rockets in the west, while the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers match up in the east for the conference finals and both series should be hard fought, as they are matchups between one and two seeds and stars like LeBron James, James Harden, Jeff Teague, Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving will try to advance to the finals.
The Hawks won over the Washington Wizards to advance to the conference finals, while the Warriors finished off the Memphis Grizzlies to make it. The Cavaliers won over the Bulls in six games, while the Houston Rockets won over the Clippers in seven. Houston made the most improbable run to the conference finals, as they were down 3-1 to Los Angeles before making a comeback, including in Game 6 when they were down big.
The Atlanta Hawks used some late game heroics in the last two wins to advance, while LeBron James hit a winning shot earlier in the Bulls series to push Chicago to the brink. Now four teams remain in the NBA and on both sides this year are the top two seeds in the conference. The Cavaliers have been one of the best teams over the second half of the regular season, but they are dealing with numerous injuries. The Hawks have home court after finishing with the top record in the east.
The Warriors had 67 wins and those were the most in the league this season and they have home court against the Rockets. The Clippers now will have to look back and wonder what happened and the Hawks will be looking to get to the NBA finals after putting together a great regular season. The Hawks have not been this far in decades along with the Warriors, while James has the Cavs back in the conference finals after taking the team there during his first run in Cleveland.
The Cavs come in banged up, as Kevin Love is out for the playoffs and both Kyrie Irving and James are dealing with injuries. The Cavaliers are favored despite being the away team, as they have arguably the best player alive in the play-offs. Curry comes in after winning the MVP and he will face off against the player he beat in James Harden. The Rockets have not been to the conference finals in a decade and they are looking to upset the top team in the league.
The Hawks won on Friday night after taking the lead late and things almost went to overtime with a Paul pierce shot at the end,. Pierce appeared to hit a three as the buzzer went off, but replays showed he held the ball for a hair too long and the shot did not count. The Hawks moved on after a strong game from DeMarre Carroll, who had 25 points, while Game 5 hero Paul Millsap added 13 rebounds. The Warriors come in after winning over the Grizzlies 4-2 and they got a strong game from Curry, who had 32 points and 10 assists in the clincher.
