What Went Wrong: Trilogy of Eliminations

Wow! I really chose the right time to finally talk some NBA on Vocal! This is the best first round of the NBA Playoffs I've seen in a good while. This is is more than just the NBA returning to NBC and debuting on Amazon Prime, it's something else. Something different in the air. It's been a fun first round so far, but remember, it's a tournament. There will be eliminations. In the case of the first round, the Conference Quarterfinals, eight teams will advance, while the other eight will see their seasons end. Such is life in sports.

We already saw the eliminations of the Phoenix Suns and the Portland Trail Blazers, and while three teams did force Game Sevens, three more teams got the proverbial axe. Let's take a look at what went wrong for these teams.

51 Points (Atlanta Hawks)

WOW! The Atlanta Hawks had such a good story. They dealt away Trae Young, the best player the Hawks ever had since Dominique Wilkins, yet they still persevere and go on a winning tear to finish sixth in the East and avoid the Play-In. The Hawks played quite well; going up two games to one after three games. They lost Games Four and Five, but still, the Hawks still had good games.

And then Game Six happened.

51 points. That's how much they lost by. They were actually down by as much as 61 points in this game. Yikes! The Knicks really displayed their true power in Game Six, but even with this blow out, we should not side-eye the Hawks. This team really turned heads this year. Now we'll see how their offseason goes. They may be a piece or two away from a long run next year!

This Better Not Be a Trend (Denver Nuggets)

The Denver Nuggets really should have beaten the Minnesota Timberwolves this year. I'm not saying that the Timberwolves are pushovers, but the Nuggets had chances. Two problems: one, Nikola Jokic was a bit of a passenger in some games, and tw0, the larger problem: no Aaron Gordon. Even when Gordon was healthy, he hardly got shots. That's unacceptable. Gordon is the closest thing to Jokic on that team. He should be getting almost as many shots as Jokic, and more shots than Jamal Murray.

And when Gordon got injured and missed the rest of the series, well, that was that. Series over, season over. It's now been three years since that dream run to the championship, but since they actually fired Michael Malone (the coach who led them to that ring), the woes have been immense. The Nuggets better fix this, or else they should move to another arena, because that aura better not darken the Colorado Avalanche's house.

Please Retire (Houston Rockets)

You know what's one thing I've noticed? Ever since Kevin Durant deceptively left the Oklahoma City Thunder for a Golden State Warriors team who beat them in that year's Western Conference Finals, his game has gone south. He got run out of Golden State, and he went to Brooklyn, and then the Phoenix Suns gutted their team to get a Durant who is absolutely burned out. I still don't know why. And after obliterating the Suns with his ego and old age, he's now doing the same thing to the Houston Rockets.

Durant being washed is why the Rockets lost last year, and it's also why they lost this series to the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron James is actually older than Durant, but LeBron still has that old magic. Durant doesn't. Durant needs to call it a career, because he simply can't do it anymore. The Rockets will be better off.

* * *

Three eliminations added to the two we already have. The Western Conference Semifinals field is complete, but three Game Sevens remain in the East. This year's playoffs has been spectacular so far, and there's more of that wonderful goodness coming up!