Opening weekend of the NBA Playoffs just passed, and the games certainly lived up to their billing.

However, some teams were left scratching their heads and being thankful that the Association hasn’t adopted a March Madness style, one-and-done format.  Among those startling losers were (in order of most surprising to least):

The Los Angeles Lakers

Now, of course, no one is worried that L.A. will lose this series.  On the way to the championship last season, the Lakers dropped a pair of games in two different conference series (not to mention going the distance in the Finals).  It definitely hasn’t been an uncommon occurrence to witness the Lakers needing to be humbled before getting their act together.

However, for them to drop Game 1 at home, is rather surprising – even by their complacent standards.  It’s perhaps the most unpredictable of this weekend’s upsets – given the relatively unskilled nature of New Orleans frontcourt players.

CP3 was the latest point guard to put in work against the Lakers.

But what wasn’t surprising was witnessing the title favorites get dominated by an elite point guard.  Chris Paul absolutely had his way in the Staples Center, owning Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol and anyone in a gold jersey that he crossed paths with on Sunday.  CP3 made his bigs look as if they belonged in the NBA, much like he has done throughout his NBA career.  On the flip side, the Lakers’ inability to control top flight floor generals has been a well documented problem.  It’s one that they will overcome against the Hornets, however, due to their lack of supporting depth and size.  Nevertheless, a more complete opponent with a treacherous trigger man (think Oklahoma City) could spell serious trouble for Phil Jackson’s bunch.

Orlando Magic

The Atlanta Hawks were straight up-and-down embarrassed by the Magic in the conference semifinals last season.  They lost four straight games by a total of 101 points.  Dayum.

What have they done since that infamous butt-whoopin’?

Let Woodson walk, and hire a cheap inexperienced head coach in Larry Drew.  They traded Mike Bibby for Kirk Hinrich.  And that’s basically it.

So, how can we explain the confidence with which they dispatched the Magic in Game 1?

They single-covered Dwight Howard.  Orlando has always been as its best when it runs its offense through the 2010-11 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.  He towers over the defense, and can make kick-out passes to knock-down three-point shooters out on the perimeter.  That’s precisley how the Magic smoked the Hawks a year ago.

But what if a team single-covers Superman, forcing him to be Orlando’s offense?  Well, the outcome is a 46-point, 19-rebound effort for the NBA’s most dominant interior force – and a loss for his team.  Jameer Nelson was a good sidekick, contributing 27 points of his own.  But no one else on the team scored more than six points.  Contrast that to Atlanta, which had a pair of twenty-point scorers and a total of five players in double figures, and it’s easy to see that Drew should stick to this defensive philosophy for as long as he has bodies that can absorb the contact that Howard will deliver.  And if Howard continues to shoot like he did in the series opener, that will serve as icing on the cake for the Hawks.

San Antonio Spurs

Watching the Grizzlies battle the Clippers on the last day of the regular season should have incensed Gregg Popovich.

With or without Ginobili, the Spurs will have a tough series with the Grizzlies.

In perhaps the most clear-cut display of throwing a game in the history of the league, Memphis allowed itself to get manhandled by Blake Griffin and company.  Trailing by 20+ points for three and a half quarters, the Grizzlies put on a faux-run to close the game and make it appear as if they were giving effort.  I’d seriously doubt if anyone bought it, though.

That loss locked them into the eighth slot and secured a first-round date with the Spurs – a team with which they split the regular season series at two games apiece.

The other alternative?  Win the game, get the seventh seed and square off against L.A.  Ahem.

But when the Spurs got taken down by the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, pundits were quick to point out the fact that the Spurs did not play Manu Ginobili.

So what?  The Grizzlies didn’t play Rudy Gay.  O.K., yes, Gay is out for the remainder of this campaign, but the point is that Memphis was unable to trot out its best lineup at the Alamodome, too.  The truth about San Antonio’s loss should dishearten its fans.  The Spurs withstood what the Grizzlies were giving them right down to the end.  They made the run to seize control of the contest, which everyone knew they would.  They established a manageable four-point advantage late in the fourth quarter.  And yet, Memphis still found a way to win Game 1.

It’s the kind of thing that happens to teams that play against the Spurs, but not to the Spurs themselves.  Mike Conley proved his worth (although his contract remains to be out of this world), Shane Battier illustrated his status as a professional, and the new twin towers (Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol) totally overmatched an aging Tim Duncan and whoever else played alongside him.  The Spurs have lots of fight in them, but they are fighting against a team that knows they can win this series.

And as G.I. Joe would say, “…knowing is half the battle…”

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