Lessons from a weekend of NBA playoffs

Blazers look like contenders

BY DAVID THORPE

One weekend into the playoffs: 

• The Blazers, Nets, and Sixers should be smiling. 

• Right now, Portland’s offense is such a powerful force that they look like a title team. 

• The Mavericks have a certain Luka swagger—and a game in hand.

• LeBron James does not look to be 100 percent recovered from his ankle injury, and has now banged up his shoulder—and lost a game to a very good team. 

• The Clippers have yet to prove they know how to be elite. 

• The Jazz don’t know when they’ll next be able to rely on Donovan Mitchell to play at an All-Star level.

• After hurting his shoulder, Chris Paul struggled to dribble the ball. 

• The Bucks are the same team, with the same flaws, as they have been the last two postseasons. That won’t win them a title. It’s a two-team race in the East. 

• Teams that used the secret sauce of winning one quarter by ten or more, while not losing a quarter similarly, are 7-0. 

A tour of the playoffs opening weekend: