Basketball On The Internet.

From BOB CRAVEN in Seattle

THERE is not a lot of clarity yet after the first nine days of the first round of the NBA playoffs ... but we are getting closer! In the Eastern Conference, the 76ers swept the Nets in four straight, despite All Star centre Joel Embiid being held out with an injury. 

The Sixers become the first team to reach the second round of the playoffs.

Possibly next up reaching the second round might be the Celtics.  They are currently leading Atlanta 3-1 with Game 5 coming up tomorrow in Boston.  The Knicks are also up 3-1 over Cleveland, with Game 5 on Wednesday in Cleveland.

The Cavs and their All Star Donovan Mitchell have played very poorly offensively in the last couple of games. Game 4 was a special case in point, as it was tough for the Cavs to score, and it was a tough game to watch. 

The Knicks won 99-79, holding the Cavs to the lowest point total in the NBA this season.

The remaining series in the East has the Miami Heat leading the Milwaukee Bucks 2-1, with Game 4 this afternoon in Miami. Bucks' superstar big man, Giannis Antetokounmpo has missed the past two games in this series with a back injury.

In the Western Conference, Nikola Jocic and the Denver Nuggets lead Minnesota 3-1 (after being up 3-0) and Denver can end this one tomorrow in Game 5 at Denver. 

Phoenix is in the same situation as Denver in the Suns' series against the LA Clippers.  Phoenix is ahead 3-1 with Game 5 coming up tomorrow in Phoenix.

It should be noted here that the Clippers are shorthanded, as they have been without Kawhi Leonard for the past two games with a sprained right knee, and Paul George has been out for over a month with the same injury. 

A potential distraction here is that Leonard's older sister was sentenced recently to life in prison for a murder committed during a botched mugging at a casino.

The LA Lakers currently lead the Memphis Grizzlies 2-1, but could go up 3-1 later tonight as the two teams square off in LA. 

And, finally, in what is in my view the best series of all so far, the Sacramento Kings and the defending NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors, are knotted at 2-2 with Game 5 coming up Wednesday night in Sacramento (Note:  the Warriors lost the opening two games in Sacramento, and they've played poorly on the road all season).

The Warriors managed to win Game 4 at home but almost botched a late five-point lead, and yet still managed to hang on to win a thriller 126-125.  The GSW's were ahead by five points with the ball and with 42 seconds left in the game when superstar Steph Curry had a brain cramp.

He called a timeout that the Warriors didn't have.  Fortunately for him and the Warriors, a wide open 3-pointer at the buzzer missed off the back of the rim. (Chris Webber says: "Hi".)