The 2013 NBA playoffs provided fans with last-second buzzer-beating wins, exciting high scoring games and instances where the underdog defeats the clear favorite. With the first round of the NBA postseason drawing to a conclusion, what has been the best thing about the playoffs so far? 

The play of the Golden State Warriors and their leader Stephan Curry has been inspirational to say the least. The Warriors entered the playoffs as the No. 6 seed and were pitted against a hot No. 3 seed in the Denver Nuggets. Golden State’s all-star forward David Lee was injured in the first game of the series, but the rest of the Warriors team has stepped up and produced when needed. Curry is earning the right to wear his team’s logo as he has led the team with both a swollen eye and sore ankle to a 3-2 lead over the Nuggets.

Chicago Bulls guard Nate Robinson’s 34 point performance in the Bulls’ triple overtime win against the Brooklyn Nets has stood out the most to me. He is filling some big shoes since he is taking the role of late-game scorer while guard Derrick Rose has been on the bench. Robinson hitting a running one-handed shot from just inside the the three-point line with the taller Deron Williams draped all over him will stay with me for a while.

The best thing so far in the playoffs has been the Golden State series against Denver. These two teams are vastly different and some great games have resulted from that. The best story has been Stephen Curry’s hot three point shooting hand and the high powered Warrior offense against a Nuggets team that likes to grind games out. Both teams are playing without stars, the Warriors lack David Lee and the Nuggets are without Danilo Gallinari. I expect this series to go the full seven games.

MThe New York Knicks’ play in the first round has been pretty memorable. The Knicks are up 3-1 against the Boston Celtics thanks to the play of 2013 scoring champion Carmelo Anthony and sixth man of the year J.R. Smith. It has been a long time since New York has seen playoff success, and it’s nice to see them back into the discussion as a dominate franchise.