The jockeying for playoff position in the NBA remains very entertaining.
It is so fascinating that it reminds me of conference tournaments in College basketball.
These games are the best – teams that submit everything they have in every game in fear, it could be their last. Or worse, the descent to the CBI.
Then reality puts in …
Duke 85, Alabama 65.
Auburn 78, Michigan 65.
Florida 87, Maryland 71.
Houston 69, Tennessee 50.
And here I liked these losers.
It turned out that these were not great basketball show cases for the NCAA tournament. Only competitive.
What does that have to do with the NBA? Actually everything.
The pacers and rockets roll. The magic and the warriors suddenly look great. The Knicks, Bucks, Lakers, Nuggets …
No. I don’t fall back on it.
The NBA itself has a duke, an Auburn and a Florida this season. The only thing missing is a Houston – and that’s okay because they are kind of boring.
There is no way – do not repeat it – the Cavaliers and Celtics do not meet in the final of the Eastern Conference.
The cavaliers are angular. The dominant team in the regular season, but people never really believed in them. But believe it, people. Auburn did the semi -finals. The cavaliers too.
The Celtics are duke. The team people like to have because they are stuffy and slightly the most talented. You already have enough banners. And don’t look at now, but you should be the overwhelming favorite to hang someone else.
The thunder are Florida. The out-of-NowHere team, which may not have enough post-season experience to go all the way. But sometimes what you don’t know can’t hurt you.
And the rest of the NBA? You are Mount St. Mary’s. Man, it was fun to see in the conference tournament. But then the light lights arrived and the make -up melted.
Can one of the other 13 teams that make the NBA playoffs annoy the colossal annoyance? It will certainly not happen in the east, where the six other quarter -finalists merging and still 4: 2 against the cavaliers and 4: 1 against the Celtics in the eastern SEMIS.
There is only one scenario in which the big three …
If the thunder is to be refused in the NBA final, it must be like this:
Round 1: They are bullied.
Thunder boss Sam Presti shaped his roster brilliantly. Adding a bodyguard (Isaiah Hartenstein) for fragile co-star chet-Holmgren was a stroke of genius.
If Holmgren can stay healthy, the thunder makes the final. A matchup in the first round against a soft team like the Warriors, grizzlies or kings would be ideal.
But a wrestling match with the Timberwolves would be a disaster.
They remember the T’wolves. They killed the giant – the nuggets – last season and have the depth of the big boys to hit the thunder in front. These are bad news for Holmgren who could survive to see round 2, but not without lagging and several ice cream bag.
Round 2: You will be Lebonn.
The thunder does not have a good matchup for Luka Doncic. In seven games they will try out different things and could stumble into something.
But they could play 70 games and never find someone who deals with LeBron for the playoff time.
The Lakers are probably not far in the playoffs because they don’t have a big man. But that could work against the thunder in her favor.
Holmgren will have to protect someone, and there is no way to be LeBron.
Hartenstein will have to protect someone. Take it back. Under no circumstances does the Big Oaf see the light of the day in this series.
Holmgren is alleviated by Minnesota’s great men and is beaten up by Lebron. Maybe snapped into two parts. The thunder could survive the series, but not intact.
Round 3: You draw a joker.
If all parts are present, the nuggets are a better team than the thunder.
Nikola Jokic will surpass Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the big stage.
Jamal Murray is a much better secondary weapon than anything Oklahoma City has.
And the nuggets have several defensive whizzes that you can throw on SGA.
The thunder will be exhausted when you reach the air from Denver for game 6. The good news: the flight home will have air masks. And with this roster there will always be next year. Heck, next decade.
How can this happen?
The Timberwolves have to fall into the games and take eighth place.
The Lakers have to fall on the fourth or fifth.
And the nuggets have to take second or third place.
Everything is still possible.
And when the 8-4-3 trifecta meets …
Come on. Do you really think Florida will lose?
