I'm Glad I Didn't Sleep Through April

The NBA playoffs are usually void of drama and upsets because of the best-of-7 series from the first round through the NBA Finals.  Like I wrote about here and here, I have historically counted out teams like the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies from advancing in the playoffs because the best-of-7 series favors the more talented, deeper team which after an 82-game regular season tends to be the higher-seeded home team during the first couple of rounds of the playoffs.

Well, my inability and ineptitude in predicting basketball games marches on in 2011.  The Memphis Grizzlies outplayed, outhustled, and flat-out beat up the more experienced / older San Antonio Spurs.  Led by outstanding play by Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol who were not intimidated by the likes of NBA-old-men Tim Duncan and Antonio McDyess.  The Grizzlies dominated the play down low and are set up to do it again against Oklahoma City.  Memphis continued their winning ways in round 2 by stealing game 1 from the up-and-coming Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma City on Sunday.  The NBA playoffs have already been one of the more exciting playoffs in recent memory and the next three rounds are sure to be more of the same.  I am glad I decided to watch it and not sleep through it like I promised to do here.

The Grizzlies-Thunder second-round series started the same way for
the Grizzlies against a higher-seeded home team - with a win.  Marc
Gasol (33) has been a key factor to the Grizzlies' playoff run.

Apparently I wasn't the only one that decided to tune in for the exciting first round.  The first round games on ABC, ESPN and TNT were watched by an average of 4.15 million people, up from roughly 3.2 million people last year (Is it just me or does that still seem incredibly low?).  In fact, ESPN's first round ratings were the highest since it began televising the NBA playoffs in 2003.  The exciting second-round matchups are as follows:

Eastern Conference - Chicago vs. Atlanta, Miami vs. Boston
Western Conference - Oklahoma City vs. Memphis, Los Angeles Lakers vs. Dallas

Of course, the exciting playoff series and the high TV ratings can only mean that the NBA is due for a lockout just as it is at the height of its popularity - just like the NFL.  Let's hope the NBA players and owners can resolve their differences and avoid a work stoppage later this Summer.  Unfortunately, I see the NBA work stoppage being a bigger threat to the 2011-12 season than the NFL's.  But, as the Memphis Grizzlies know, 2011 is not exactly my year for predicting basketball - which could actually be a good thing in this case.