The brand of basketball played in the NBA playoffs is different than the brand of hoops played during the regular season.
Never has that statement rang more true than this year’s post-season.
The level of physicality in this year’s post-season is a throwback to the 1980’s when the phrase “no blood, no foul” was appropriate.
One game after Warriors forward Draymond Green was ejected for yanking Grizzles big man Brandon Clarke to the ground by his jersey preventing an easy bucket.
The very next game, Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks was ejected less than four minutes for a hard foul on Warriors guard Gary Payton II. Payton suffered a fractured elbow on the play.
The Boston Celtics philosophy in preparing for an opening round match-up against the Brooklyn Nets was to push, shove and harass all-star Kevin Durant. The finesse Nets folded and the Celtics advanced with four straight wins.
The Celtics approach against the Bucks is being reciprocated.
Games are lower scoring in the post-season, but more intense. Nothing comes easy, and officials are letting players get away with more than usual.
The NBA playoffs are commonly referred to as the ‘second-season’ mainly due to its length. The two month odyssey begins in mid-April and ends in mid-June.
But the brand of basketball played in the post-season is entirely different than most regular season games.
Somewhere, Sidney Moncrief, Paul Mokeski and Terry Cummings are smiling.
