The second week of the NBA Playoff action and things are starting to get fun. Don't worry if you missed a few of the early games because the schedule is just now getting good. Monday features three Western Conference series that have all been both entertaining and on occasion surprising. The San Antonio Spurs kick things off in Memphis against the upstart eighth-seed Grizzlies. That's followed by the another round from the outstanding Portland Trail Blazers vs. Dallas Mavericks battle. The evening schedule is capped off with a little Denver Nuggets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder.
We sincerely hope you are able to leave work early or ignore your school assignments and find four or five hours to sit on the coach and enjoy some NBA Playoff action.
The Spurs are down 2-1 in their series against the Grizzlies. As predicted, San Antonio simply doesn't have the inside muscle to match up with Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. And if Randolph is going to also hit game-winning threes then you have to wonder if destiny is on their side as well. This game starts at 5:00 p.m. Arizona time and will be broadcast on TNT.
The Blazers and Mavericks have each held home court and the series is back in Dallas for Monday's pivotal Game 5. Dallas has to be pissed about blowing a huge fourth quarter lead in Saturday's Game 4 at the Rose Garden. As brilliant as Brandon Roy was, they know their reputation of being playoff chokers is starting to be thrown around again. Dallas absolutely needs this game if they want to win the series. The game starts at 5:30 p.m. Arizona time on NBA TV.
The final game of the evening will be Oklahoma City's chance at sweeping the Denver Nuggets. The series might be 3-0 in favor of Kevin Durant's team, but that hasn't taken away from the excitement of this match up. Somehow it's hard to imagine George Karl letting his team be swept out of the playoffs on their home floor. 7:30 p.m. Arizona time on TNT is the scheduled tip for this one.