As spring sports are now in full swing and the month of April is dwindling down, there is an event that most sports fans look forward to during this time.  Whether someone is a football fan or baseball fan, most times they still keep up with the NBA Playoffs.  The NBA Playoffs bring the most competitive superstars and their teams together to battle it out until one team is left.  As many people know, last year the Golden State Warriors added onto their dynasty by winning yet another NBA championship.  They were led by one of the greatest shooters to ever play the game, Stephen Curry, who hopes to take his team back to the promised land again this year.  However this year, it looks to be a little tougher for Stephen and his splash brother Klay Thompson.  This year they will have a target on their back and might have to face their hardest path ever to get back to the Finals.  

First off, let’s take a wide look at the bracket and teams that are in this year’s NBA Playoffs.  Some of these teams come as complete surprises, while others like the Warriors are a familiar foe.  In the Eastern Conference, the top seeds and familiar teams are the Bucks led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Celtics led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and the 76ers led by James Harden and MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid.  Some surprising teams to see in the playoffs from the Eastern Conference are the Nets and Hawks as things for both teams have been going downhill recently.  However, in the Western Conference, most of the teams in the Playoffs are not a surprise.  The one team that really didn’t play well most of the year but is still in the tournament is the TimberWolves but the rest of the West looks stacked.  For example, the Sacramento Kings made the playoffs for the first time in 17 years and earned the three seed but had to play the Warriors.  This series was especially entertaining for me as I looked forward to watching the fast paced Kings take on the tough shot making Warriors.  This matchup was one that I stayed up to watch each night not just because of the teams, but also because of the fans.  The Kings have a strong fan base just like the Warriors but they were a little bit more juiced up since their team’s long playoff drought.  This is why the Kings versus Warriors matchup was my favorite in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs.

To start, one must understand the stars behind both teams.  The Kings are led by De’Aaron Fox and all star Domantas Sabonis.  Fox, a speedy and shifty guard, was tasked with guarding future Hall of Famer Steph Curry.  On the other hand, Sabonis had to go head to head with Draymond Green.  Draymond is known for his role of getting in other players’ heads and shutting them down mentally and physically.  

After a back and forth series with phenomenal games being played by Fox and Curry, it came down to the final game.  With the series tied three games a piece, there would be a game seven to determine it all.  In this game seven, Stephen Curry completely took over as the 2x MVP scored a record setting 50 points and sent the Kings home.  He also gave a speech to his team after their embarrassing game six loss to motivate them for their game seven performance.  A performance where his team dominated the Kings by 20 points.  From the fans to the scoring clinics put on by the players, this series will go down as one of my all time favorites.