Panther's Perspective: NBA Playoffs show surprising outcomes

The first weekend during the NBA Playoffs have been a bit surprising seeing how the seventh seeded New Orleans Hornets, eighth seeded Memphis Grizzlies, and fifth seeded Atlanta Hawks all won their respective games on the road as underdogs.   The eighth seeded Indiana Pacers tried their best, but lost game one by five points to the one seeded Chicago Bulls and lost game two by five points.

With the Spurs and Lakers both losing over the weekend, it was the first time since the NBA move to a 16-team playoff format that the top two teams from either conference lost in game one.

One series that I thought was going to be close was the Dallas-Portland series, but it turns out that Dallas has a pretty firm grip on that series.  Dallas, without their second leading scorer in Caron Butler, has looked real impressive in their two victories over the upstart Blazers.  The real test for Dallas will be playing on the road.  Portland is one of the toughest places to play in the NBA with die-hard fans and if Dallas can look as impressive on the road as they are at home, they will be as dangerous as anyone in the Western Conference.

The Atlanta Hawks pulled off a surprising game one victory on the road against the Orlando Magic but couldn't sustain that momentum for game two.  Dwight Howard played all 48 minutes in game two and scored 33 points and 19 rebounds in what was a must-win game for the Magic.  In Orlando's first two playoff games, Howard is averaging 40 points and 19 rebounds per game.  MVP?

The Celtics have opened up a 2-0 series lead over the Knicks, but you have to remember that the Knicks were without Amare Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups in game two and still only lost by three points.  If the Knicks can get both those guys back going back to New York for two games, I still think they can make a series out of this.  Rajon Rondo is playing well and that's why the Celtics are up 2-0.  It's no secret that the Celtics go as Rondo goes, and right now he is pushing the tempo for the Celts and having good results.  Though in later rounds (Against the Heat in particular), the Celtics will have to get more from Paul Pierce.

As for the rest of the first round, I expect all the top seeds to end up winning.  I know the Lakers and Spurs are both down 0-1, but c'mon, they won't lose those series'.  If anything, this proves that younger teams like the Heat, Bulls, and Thunder are capable of knocking off the teams that have been kings of the NBA for the past handful of years (Lakers, Celtics, and Spurs).  Could this postseason prove to be a changing of the guard?