3 Biggest Surprises of the 2022 NBA Playoffs 1st Round So Far

If there was only one word you could use to describe the 2022 NBA Playoffs thus far, what would it be? For me, the word that comes to mind is unexpected.

Everyone knows that the postseason is a completely different beast in comparison to the regular season. More physicality. More time to game plan. Higher stakes.

With that, you tend to hear phrases like “the better team wins in a seven game series” or “the team with the best player in the series is most likely to win.” These statements indicate that simple X’s and O’s or talent alone can carry a team through a series or two.

But we all know that the truth is that every NBA champion that has been crowned over the last decade or so has been helped by an unlikely source. A team knocked out early that would have been a matchup nightmare. Unanticipated heroics from role players. Or even underwhelming play from the most unlikely of superstars.

Regardless of what shape or form it has taken, the road to the postseason has always been forged by overcoming the unexpected. The first round of the playoffs is hardly over, and we already have some shocking storylines that could heavily impact the pathway to 2022 NBA Finals.

Here are what I believe are the three most surprising storylines of the playoffs thus far as seven of the eight first round matchups are still underway.

1.  The Unbelievable Defense of the Boston Celtics

When discussing unexpected outcomes in the NBA, the Boston Celtics pulling off a clean sweep of the Brooklyn Nets has to be at the top of the list.

Entering this series, Celtics players and fans alike understood that the Nets’ 44-38 record or the fact that they were the 7th seed was not indicative of the kind of talent they had running out on the floor.

At the end of the day, Brooklyn was trotting out two of the most electrifying scoring talents in NBA history in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. That’s enough to think that not only would this be a hard fought series, but that it would be a series that goes the distance.

Instead, the tenacious defense stood tall in spite of missing Robert Williams III for a portion of the series and held Brooklyn’s dynamic duo in check.

Let’s start with Kyrie Irving. Despite falling in Game 1 to a Jayson Tatum buzzer-beater, Irving kicked off the series, erupting for 39 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the floor and knocking down 6-of-10 threes.

Over the next three games, Irving scored a total of 46 points including a ten-point performance in Game 2. Over that same span, he went on to shoot 14-of-43 from the field and only made 2-of-11 threes including going 0-of-7 from deep in Game 3.

Irving finished the series averaging 21.3 points which is identical to his second worst postseason average that he ironically recorded as a member of the Celtics back in 2018-19.

Since leaving Cleveland where he played in 52 postseason games and won a championship, Irving has only played in 22 playoff games since and has not advanced past the second round.

Then let’s take a look at Kevin Durant. We all know that Durant is going to get his points, but one of his biggest calling cards is his elite level of efficiency as a scorer.

In 55 games played during the regular season, Durant averaged 29.9 points on 51.8% shooting from the field and 38.3% from beyond the arc. But during this series, Boston held him to 26.3 points on 38.6% shooting from the field and 33.3% from the three.

For context, 26.3 points per game is his lowest postseason average since his rookie season (2009-10) in Oklahoma City where he averaged 25 points in six games before being taken down by Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. 38.3% shooting from the floor is also his lowest postseason average since his rookie year and 33.3% from three is the third worst of his postseason career.

That’s how tenacious the Celtics defense was in the first round.

Of course, everyone is going to focus on the heroic scoring effort of Jayson Tatum, but the real story of this series is how effective the swarming defense of the Celtics was. Most people entered the postseason viewing the Miami Heat as having the most stifling and playoff ready defense of the 16 teams.

But after what we just saw from Boston, you will be hard pressed to find anybody that does not believe the Celtics have overtaken Miami as having the most intimidating defense in the playoffs. 

2.  The Coming Out Party of Jalen Brunson

Entering the series between the Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz, many worried that Mavs would be doomed in the absence of Luka Doncic who missed the first three games of the series with a calf strain.

Instead, they were able to keep the ship afloat on the back of Jalen Brunson who has become an NBA darling this postseason. Brunson was a guy entering these playoffs with a lot to prove.

He is a pending unrestricted free agent who averaged only 8.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in his playoff debut last season against the LA Clippers. As a talented player out of the Villanova Wildcats system, Brunson is considered around the league as a smart rotational guard but maybe not a guy you want to pay big money to lead your team.

That was before these last five games against the Jazz.

In five games against Utah, Brunson has shot his scoring output up to 28.6 points per game along with 5.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists while shooting 47.7% from the field.

His playstyle in particular this postseason has been a huge contributing factor as to why the Mavericks are up 3-2 in this series.

Brunson may not be as talented as Luka Doncic, but one thing Brunson does better is putting pressure on the rim. He is not a particularly fast guy, but he plays downhill which creates a lot of paint touches and plenty of opportunities for strong takes around the basket or kick outs for wide open threes.

Brunson’s change of pace has helped Dallas play a bit more up-tempo with Luka off the floor and has allowed guys like Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell to play more aggressively in transition and around the rim.

All this to say that in Doncic’s absence, Dallas may have discovered an untapped version of Jalen Brunson and for Mavericks fans that is both a good thing and a bad thing.

A good thing because in terms of this postseason, his ability to keep this up as a high volume secondary creator next to Doncic is a crucial factor that could determine how far the Mavericks go.

But also, when looking ahead, this ascension may have just made Brunson one of the hottest free agents on the market. This is bad news for Dallas who already neglected to offer Brunson an extension until after the trade deadline.

Now they have to get into the Brunson sweepstakes competing against teams like the New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, and others after both watching him have an outstanding postseason and leaving bad blood at the negotiating table.

“He’s going to make a lot of money,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said after Brunson led Dallas to a Game 2 win with a career-best 41 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and zero turnovers. “I don’t know if he needs an agent, but I’m gonna put my name in the hat.”

“It’s not just what he did [in Game 2] and it’s not what he’s going to do going forward,” Kidd continued.” “He’s already done the work this season. He’s shown that he deserves to be paid. He does his job at a very high level, and he’s a winner.”

Mavs fans should of course focus on the present, but it’s worth noting that Dallas’ uphill battle just might extend past the postseason if Brunson keeps this up.

3.  Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans Making Things Interesting

If you claim to have predicted that this series between the Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Pelicans would be tied at 2-2 through four games you’re either a liar or a prophet.

Here are three reasons why most thought that Suns-Pelicans would be arguably the quickest series of the first round.

A. The Suns entered the postseason with the best record in the NBA while also having both a top-5 offensive and defensive rating during the regular season.

B. The Suns had arguably the best individual player in the series in Devin Booker who some argue deserves MVP consideration and will most likely make the All-NBA team

C. The New Orleans Pelicans are without Zion Williamson and had to squeak past the San Antonio Spurs and the Paul George-less LA Clippers to secure the 8th seed.

All valid reasons for skepticism and all good reasons to pick the Suns in four games.

Instead, here we are with the series tied at 2-2 with Devin Booker out due to injury and the Pelicans defense coming alive.

New Orleans is coming off of a Game 4 victory in which they held the “point god” Chris Paul to only four points on 2-of-8 shooting from the floor and he also had three turnovers. Yes you read that correctly. On the backs of rookies Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado, the pesky defense of the Pelicans was able to hold one of the best point guards in NBA history to only four points and force him to have more turnovers than made shots.

But aside from the team’s relentless defense, the biggest reason why New Orleans has been able to make this series competitive is because of Brandon Ingram.

Ingram is a one time All-Star and former Most Improved Player award winner along with being a former No.2 overall pick. Nonetheless when considering the circumstances, the expectations for him this postseason were actually relatively low for him in his playoff debut.

The Pelicans were the last team to make the final 16, they’re going against the defending Western Conference champions and most people viewed them as just lucky to be here. So, for most, New Orleans has been nothing more than a team with nothing to lose. With that, the Pelicans have embraced the underdog role well and Ingram has been making history in the process.

In this series Ingram is averaging 29.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists on 51.3% shooting from the floor and 50% shooting from three. He is also coming off of three straight 30+ point performances.

With that, he became the first player in Pelicans history to do so and he also joined Allen Iverson and LeBron James as the only players with three 30-point games in their first four career playoff games since the NBA-ABA merger (1976-77).

“Brandon is playing some of his best basketball of the season,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “He’s doing it on the biggest stage. It’s great to see. He’s capable. I’ve said it before: He’s the real deal. And he goes out on the floor and puts the work in at practice, and we’re seeing it on display.”

Then you have CJ McCollum who is making his Pelicans postseason debut and has not disappointed as he is averaging 24 points which is the third best of his postseason career. He is also averaging career highs in rebounds (7.3), assists (5.8) and free throw attempts (4.5).

This is a New Orleans team that started out the season 3-16 and many are wondering whether or not this is a roster Zion Williamson could really win with. Now the Pelicans have flipped the narrative and now we are left wondering: “Could the Pelicans win the whole thing if Zion was healthy?”

Talk about a drastic change of events. Regardless of whether or not New Orleans comes out of this series, their resilience this season should have Pelicans fans rejoicing and the rest of the league fearful of what could be a dangerous contending team next year.