East First Round Winners.

First Round Eastern Conference Review

The Celtics beat the Heat in 5 games.

The Boston Celtics showed themselves to be one of the best teams in the world. It was evident that the Boston Celtics had one of the best starting lineups in the league. Jayson Tatum is still the franchise player. The Celtics have invested in him since 2017. Jaylen Brown has continued to live up to his $200 million contract. At times, he's able to be the first option. Kristaps Porzingis was incredible on both ends of the court, making it tough for the Heat to score in the paint. Unfortunately, he went down mid-series, but guys like Al Horford were able to step up. Derrick White continues to be one of the best role players in the NBA. He can take up the first option at times and slide back to the fourth. Jrue Holiday gave the opposing guard hell on the defensive end. Guys like Sam Hauser and Peyton Pritchard were a huge spark for Boston. The Boston Celtics looked like a championship team. They dominated on both ends of the court.

The Miami Heat missed their franchise player, Jimmy Butler. The Heat have talented depth. But, without Jimmy Butler, they did not get the results they wanted. In this series, the team missed Jimmy Butler's playmaking, defense, and scoring. Tyler Herro struggled to hit his 3-pointers, and his playmaking was not up to par. Bam Adebayo is one of the best defenders in the league, but he was not able to take on the offensive load. We missed Terry Rozier for his scoring and playmaking abilities. The Heat were able to sneak in one game in this series due to their talented coach, Erik Spoelstra. The Miami Heat came into this series at a disadvantage, and their season ended in five games.

The Cavs beat the Magic in 7

The Cleveland Cavaliers were a disappointment this postseason. They had an impressive regular season. They secured the fourth seed. It seemed like they would beat the young Magic team. Donovan Mitchell played like a beast. Spida had a legendary 50-point game. It showed the world that he is one of the best shooting guards in the league. Jarrett Allen was solid, but he got hurt, which cut short his postseason. Darius Garland was a huge disappointment as the second option. At times, it felt like he should have been able to take the offensive load off of Dono. Evan Mobley has not made a jump, which has hurt the Cav's spacing. Max Strus and Caris LeVert had a good regular season but have not had a good series against Orlando. The fact that it took seven games to beat a young, emerging team is questionable. We will have to see what the future holds for Donovan Mitchell and Cleveland.

 If you are an Orlando Magic fan, you should celebrate right now. Paolo Banchero looked like a star this postseason, as he had three 30-point games. Orlando was great at home games, as they won every game at home. Franz Wagner had a shaky postseason, as he had a 34-point game in Game 4 and then scored 6 points in Game 7. Jalen Suggs looked good on both ends of the court. For the Magic, the series started slow. But, as it went on, they figured it out. Jamhl Mosley is a talented coach and has an amazing roster. The future of magic looks fun!

 The Pacers beat the Bucks in 6 games.

The Indiana Pacers looked great in this series. Pascal Siakam had one of the best series of his career. He made sure that the Bucks missed Giannis as he preyed on the Bucks without Giannis. Tyrese Haliburton could not get his shots in, but his playmaking was great. Myles Turner was able to play well on both ends of the court. Bench players Ben Sheppard, Obi Toppin, and TJ McConnell had the energy. The Pacers needed it. Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard had a good playoff debut. Rick Carslie has had the best roster since the 2011 Mavs. He has been able to get the most out of this young team. Both the Pacers and Rick Carlisle are making the second round, which they haven't done in the past decade.

The Bucks had bad luck when it came to injuries. Losing Giannis late in the regular season hurt the Bucks' season. Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez looked good. They picked up the offense left by the former MVP. Bobby Portis hurt the Bucks when he got ejected in Game 4. Damian Lillard made sure it was "it's" Dame time before he went down with an Achilles' problem. The Bucks missed their defensive anchor this series. The Pacers got blowout wins against the Bucks. For Milwaukee, it will be a long off-season. They must figure out how to make this aging team work.