What Went Wrong: Round 1's Final Game Seven Defeats

Game Seven. The two greatest worlds in the English language in the sports world. MLB, the NHL, and the NBA have Game Sevens played out, and regarding this year, we saw a combined four Game Sevens in Round 1 of both playoffs. While the opening round of this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs only had the one Game Seven between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montréal Canadiens, the NBA's first round had three--and they were all in the Eastern Conference.

The Boston Celtics already got the proverbial axe in their Game Seven, which capped off a full 3-1 collapse against the Philadelphia 76ers. Sunday, May 3, saw the last two Game Sevens take place, so let's take a look at the two teams who saw their seasons come an end, while their respective opponents moved on:

Shades of 2003 (Orlando Magic)

Who here remembers the 2003 playoffs? I certainly do. One of the first round series pitted the top-seeded Detroit Pistons against the Orlando Magic, and shockinly, the Magic were up 3-1 in that series. Tracy McGrady, the Magic's start player at that time, publicly and famously said that "it feels good to finally be in the second round."

One problem: that was the year that the NBA extended the first round. It had been best-of-five for the longest, but that year saw the first round finally extend to a best-of-seven format. So the Magic still needed one more win. They wouldn't get it. Pistons won the next three and turned that into a long run into the Eastern Conference Finals. Fast forward 23 years, and we have the same scenario; the eighth-seeded Magic up 3-1 over the top-ranked Pistons. Detroit would win the next two to force Game Seven, where the Magic didn't stand chance.

At least Paolo Banchero didn't say the line.

Even so, this was a good year for the Magic; their best in a while. Honestly, this series exposed more about the Pistons than about the Magic, who were playing without Franz Wagner and still made it a series. Should be interesting to see what the Magic will do during this offseason.

How It Started, How It Went (Toronto Raptors)

Do not cue the "Toronto Game Seven" jokes in this regard. That only applies to the Maple Leafs and (to some extent) the Blue Jays. This series between the Raptors and Cavaliers was the best one out of the eight that played. Game Six was a wild one! Went to OT, time running out in Toronto's season, but RJ Barrett shoots a three that bounces up and goes in. Near shades of Kawhi Leonard's shot in the final moments of Game Seven in 2019--Toronto's championship year.

So Game Seven's forced, and at halftime, the game was tied, but the Raptors ran out of power and out of gas in the second half. Cleveland took over and took Game Seven, but the Raptors have a lot to be proud of. They really went toe to toe with a very strong Cavs team, and came close to taking them out. But the city of Toronto does have something to celebrate: the Maple Leafs won the draft lottery!

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The Magic and Raptors delivered with total game efforts, but in the end, they both came up just one win short of advancing. I see some good things coming to both teams eventually. The Raptors are seven years removed from that championship, and I think they can get that edge back again. The Magic, with the right moves, can possibly have a long run next year. The offseason will definitely tell the tale!