3 Things I've Learned From the NBA Playoffs

The 2011 NBA playoffs are in full swing and right now I've been eating, breathing, and sleeping basketball. I've watched playoffs in the past, but not as intensely as I have this season.  I've been so focused on watching games that I haven't even thought about updating this blog to share some of my thoughts about all that's been going on.

So, it's only been one week into playoffs, and already there have been enough twists, turns, and surprises that have kept us on the edge of our seats.  Here are 3 lessons I've learned so far this playoff season:

1.  Ranking doesn't mean anything.  In a first game, we've already witnessed a Western Conference 1st and 2nd seed get beat by a 8th and 7th seed, respectively.  The Memphis Grizzlies have offered up a highly competitive series against the San Antonio Spurs while the Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks are having an all-out battle reminiscent of old Western flicks.

Although it is rare for an 8th seed to beat a 1st seed in the playoffs, it has been done.  The 2007 Golden State Warriors against the Dallas Mavericks was the last time we saw an underdog win a best of 7 series.

2.  What matters is your desire to win.  Superstar or no superstar, a team will win if they put heart into their play and have a sincere desire to win.  The Memphis Grizzlies or Indiana Pacers don't have All-Stars on their team, but they have played with heart.  They've instilled in themselves the belief that they can compete with "Elite" teams like the Chicago Bulls...and they've done it as a team.

I can tell when a team has given up on a game.  You can see a change in their energy and body language.  When a team is focused on winning, they're hustling and scrapping for the ball and they're playing team basketball.  

3.  One person can't win a game.  In game 1 of the Orlando Magic/Atlanta Hawks series, Dwight Howard scored a playoff career high 46 points along with 19 rebounds, and yet, they lost that game.  In the game 2 loss against the Celtics, Carmelo Anthony scored 42 points and 17 rebounds.  There are many more examples of stars scoring high numbers and their team still losing games.  Winning is a team effort - that's why there are 5 players on the court.

Although the Oklahoma City Thunder are leading the Denver Nuggets 3-1 in their series, I think that they will have to play more team ball down the stretch instead of relying on Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant to score the majority of the points.

Bonus Lesson:  Waking up early to get all my work done before playoff games come on doesn't work for me...and watching games all day on Saturday and Sunday does make you crazy.