Each year the NHL offers a much better more exciting first round than the NBA and 2022 was no different.
For the sake of argument, let’s say you are a fan equally of both the NHL and NBA.
Other than your team winning, your hope is to watch compelling drama along with some possible upsets.
Which of the two leagues provided more competitiveness in the first round of playoffs?
I have always maintained it is the hockey by far and the results back it up big time again this year.
It has become the norm in round one of the Stanley Cup playoffs to provide more drama, thrills, and entertainment than the best of basketball.
This does not mean the NHL is a better league or that the NBA further down in the post-season can not match or surpass what thrills hockey has to offer.
Now here’s some of the evidence and comparison from this year’s opening round.
NHL:
(Eastern Conference)
Atlantic Division:
#3 Tampa Bay over #2 Toronto in 7 games (with 7th game decided by 2-1 score)
#1 Florida over #4 Washington in 6 games
Metro Division:
#1 Carolina over #4 Boston in 7 games
#2 NY Rangers over #3 Pittsburgh in 7 games (with 7th game decided 4-3 in OT)
(Western Conference)
Central Division:
#1 Colorado over #4 Nashville in 4 games
#3 St. Louis over #2 Minnesota in 6 games
Pacific Division:
#1 Calgary over #4 Dallas in 7 games (with 7th game decided 3-2 in OT)
#2 Edmonton over #3 Los Angeles in 7 games
Summary of the NHL (Round 1):
One series was a 4-game sweep and none of the series ended in 5 games.
Two series ended in 6 games and a whopping 5 series went the distance needing 7 games with 2 of those Game 7’s needing overtime.
Sure, the higher seeds eventually won 6 of the 8 series but other than Colorado and Nashville (which did have one overtime game) it was extremely competitive.
NBA:
Eastern Conference:
#1 Miami over # 8 Atlanta in 5 games
#2 Boston over #7 Brooklyn in 4 games
#3 Milwaukee over #6 Chicago in 5 games
#4 Philadelphia over #5 Toronto in 6 games.
(The 76’ers blew out the Raptors 132-97 in Game 6)
Western Conference:
#1 Phoenix over #8 New Orleans in 6 games
#2 Memphis over #7 Minnesota in 6 games
#3 Golden State over #6 Denver in 5 games
#4 Dallas over #5 Utah in 6 games
Summary of the NBA (Round 1):
One series was a 4-game sweep while 3 other series ended in 5 games.
A total of 4 series needed 6 games and none went to a 7th and deciding game.
Both the NHL and NBA had 8 first-round series (all best-of-7).
The maximum total was 56 games.
The hockey produced 51 games (6 more than last year, 19 over the minimum, and just 5 under the maximum).
The basketball had 43 games (2 more than last year, just 11 over the minimum, and 13 below the maximum).
The NBA provided no upsets and little if any intrigue.
To conclude NHL vs NBA:
In the first round, there were 8 overtime games in the Stanley Cup playoffs (1 that was decided in triple overtime) and none in the NBA.
The NBA has already finished the second round and is now into its Conference Finals.
In Round two, #1 Miami beat #4 Philadelphia in 6 games and #2 Boston beat #3 Milwaukee in 7 games in the Eastern Conference.
Out west, #3 Golden State beat #2 Memphis in 6 games, and #4 Dallas beat #1 Phoenix in 7 games.
Granted all 4 series went at least 6 games but in both game 7’s, there were blowouts with Dallas crushing Phoenix 123-90 and Boston smoking Milwaukee 109-81.
Out of the 12 series now complete in the NBA, the only shocking result was how easily Dallas won Game 7 on the road against the team that was the best in the regular season (Phoenix).
Again, while there were some close second-round games, none of them went to overtime.
In the NHL second round, after three days and six games, there have been already been a pair of overtime games, Colorado 3-2 over St. Louis in the opener and Carolina over the NY Rangers 2-1 in the opener.
The Avalanche and Blues are now tied 1-1 while Calgary leads Edmonton 1-0 in the Western Conference.
Tampa, going for a three-peat, won the first two on the road at Florida while the Hurricanes are up 1-0 over the Rangers in the Eastern Conference.
In the NBA third round, #2 Golden State crushed #4 Dallas in the opener 112-87 in the West while in the East, #1 Miami and #2 Boston split the first two games with each team winning by double digits.
In other words, the trend is continuing further along the playoffs go.
These facts and figures confirm the eyeball test that the NHL playoffs are much more compelling and interesting than the NBA.
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History was made on Thursday as two high-scoring forwards from Prince George were selected in the top 10 of the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft.
It is the first time two players from P.G. have been chosen that high in the Draft.
Former @PGCougars @Drazzy1010
elated two local products taken in top 10 of WHL Prospects Draft
| https://t.co/J1BYZvrJf5 #CityofPG #PrinceGeorge #northernbc pic.twitter.com/3erfNnbTg0— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) May 19, 2022
The Prince George Cougars not only took 10 players in the Prospects Draft but also made a trade on Thursday.
“As a scouting staff, we’re very happy with this year’s draft class. We feel we got a lot of value in our selections throughout the day.”
A recap of today’s 2022 WHL Prospects Draft.#WHLDraft
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) May 20, 2022
Taking Note:
CFL players back to practice fields as strike ends . . . WHL conference finals on tap . . . Two veteran goaltenders change teams https://t.co/BtTCmKMZKe
— Gregg Drinnan (@gdrinnan) May 20, 2022
FROM THE QUOTE RACK:
While some of the 2022 NBA playoff series is back and forth as far as which team wins each game, most of these individual games have all the drama of the Harlem Globetrotters vs the Washington Generals.
*Comedy writer Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
There were two eclipses last Sunday–the lunar at night and the solar earlier when the Mavericks blotted out the Suns.
*Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins’ career record as an NFL starter is 59-59-2. Shouldn’t that make him the Minneapolis .500?
*Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times http://www.seattletimes.com/author/dwight-perry/
“The New York Post” reported “Fox Sports” will pay Tom Brady $375 million over ten years to be a broadcaster; turns out that number was over-inflated.
*Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg
In Case You Missed It:
Over the last five playoffs, the Toronto Maple Leafs are 0-9 in elimination games — 0-4 in Game 7. Even my 1990 VW is better in the clutch.
*Western Canadian comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com
Hartley Miller is the news and sports director/supervisor plus morning news anchor for 94.3 the GOAT and Country 97fm. He also is the radio color commentator for P.G. Cougars’ home games. Hartley has been on the Prince George airwaves since 1979 and is the author of You Don’t Say (sports quotes).