Though there were no surprises in the 2008 NBA Playoffs, teams from the Eastern Conference worked extra in order to advance. For the Los Angeles Lakers, round one of the playoffs was a breeze. In the entire series, game four showed to be the toughest, but the Lakers completed the sweep, with a spectacular performance by Kobe Bryant. In an effort to get a win for the home crow, J.R. Smith of the Nuggets, scored a team high 26 points, but not enough to avoid going winless in the series.
The Spurs and the Magic took advantage of home court, and were able to win the series in 5 games. As for the Jazz and Cavaliers, they had to go and win on the road in 6 games to advance to the second round. The Hornets did their part, and dominated the series, though looing 1 game to the Mavericks, winning the series 4-1.
It was the top 2 seeds on the Eastern Conference that were almost upset in the first round. The 76ers took it to the Pistons, winning the first game at Detroit, and game 3 at Philadelphia. After losing their second game in the playoffs, the Pistons brought their A game, and won the next 3 consecutive games to win the series 4-2. Celtics on the other hand, the favorites to win the East, had to resort to their home court in game 7 of the series to eliminate the Hawks. Both the Hawks and the Celtics made their home court a tough place to be beaten, to where no team in the series was able to win on the road. The Celtics finally sealed the deal at home, winning the series 4-3.
