Episode 39: Panic Time For Best of the West?

The Spurs and Lakers both lost their respective Game 1s on Sunday. New Orleans handled L.A. 109-100 in a game where Pau Gasol struggled big time for the two-time defending champions. Meanwhile, Chris Paul exploited the Lakers' weakness, its backcourt, yet again in a stellar performance. The Hornets' gameplan was simple: Take the Lakers' perimeter defenders off the dribble and create mid-range or close-range opportunities. San Antonio seems to be even more beatable than L.A. The Spurs aren't healthy and the hungry Grizzlies are licking their chops. Now, Memphis, which just picked up its first playoff win in team history (1-12), looks to build on its "Let's Make History" motto. The Celtics beat the Knicks, 87-85 in what turned out to be the best Game 1 of the weekend. Boston showed why it's the toughest team to beat in close games after Ray Allen sunk the game-winning 3-pointer with 12 seconds left. Carmelo Anthony wasn't as clutch, missing 10 of his 11 shots in the second half. Allen's big game as well as Jermaine O'Neal's huge effort are great signs for the Celtics. By not continuing to feed the ball to a red hot Amare Stoudemire and letting Melo lose the game for the team, New York missed out on its chance to steal Game 1. And stealing Game 2 isn't likely with Chauncey Billups expected to be out for that game with a strained left knee. The Thunder beat the Nuggets, 107-103. If the opener was any indication, this will be the crazy series that everyone expected. Denver played exactly how it wanted to play until it missed its final five shots in the last three minutes. George Karl knew that closing games out would be a struggle for his team, but the Nuggets shouldn't be discouraged. Kevin Durant (41 points) and Russell Westbrook (31 points) had to have monster games to lift OKC to the win. And who knows, Denver may still have won if the refs would have at least reviewed Kendrick Perkins' tip-in with 1:06 left, which many believe should have been goaltending. Photo from bleacherreport.com