No More Verbal Sparring Today

The results from the first day of the playoffs were undoubtedly shocking. In all four games, the lower-seeded teams had come away with victories.

If it had been one or two games, it might still have been a coincidence. But when all four games ended this way, coincidence was no longer enough to explain it.

The facts proved that the playoffs and the regular season were two completely different battlegrounds. A higher regular-season ranking only earned a team home-court advantage in the playoffs. Beyond that, it did not represent anything else.

Every high-seeded team that thought it had things in the bag had paid the price.

After the surprising results of the first day, people were even more eager to see how the 74-win Grizzlies would perform.

Would they continue tearing through the playoffs? Or would they be upset like the four teams from yesterday? Either outcome would draw countless fans to watch!

The Grizzlies now had the same appeal as boxing champion Floyd Mayweather. Every one of his fights drew enormous attention. But that did not mean everyone watching wanted him to win.

Watching the Grizzlies lose was just as enjoyable for plenty of people.

Before the game, Bill Simmons emphasized the Mavericks' strength. "They are absolutely not a team to be taken lightly. The Western Conference was extremely competitive this year. So although the Mavericks did not rise to eighth in the West until the final day of the regular season, they are by no means a traditional weak playoff team."

"The Mavericks won 50 games this season. In several previous seasons, 50 wins would definitely have been good enough for fifth or sixth in the West. Though Nowitzki and the others have gotten older, they are still playing well. And perhaps many people have forgotten that, other