NBA Playoffs

Fasten your seat belts basketball fans! It’s time for take off. We’re going to experience a lot of turbulence, no thanks to a couple of storms and unfriendly weather along the way. There’ll be a lot of highs, lows, suspense-filled moments and a few heart-breakers. But don’t worry, this will clear out soon enough and we’ll all be just fine. Welcome to the NBA Playoffs.

The biggest news of the NBA Playoffs is not so much that the Golden State Warriors are favored to win another championship. No sir. All headlines have been about Lebron James not making it to the playoffs with the LA Lakers. But do we really need to dissect this? Let’s leave that to Lebron fans. There’s a bigger show coming up and we don’t deserve to be bogged down by Lebron’s season, do we? The biggest questions are if the Warriors can be stopped and if the Milwaukee Bucks are for real. The Warriors expectedlt finished at the top of the Western Conference with a 57-25 record followed by surprise team Denver (54-28), Portland (53-25), Houston (53-29), (Utah (50-32), Oklahoma (49-33), San Antonio (48-34) and LA Clippers (48-34). The Warriors seemed to be just coasting along the regular season on cruise control, then used the latter part of the season to let its new teammate (in an already souped-up roster) DeMarcus Cousins get into the flow of the system after missing most of the regular season games. It’s a simple case of peaking at the right time, not rushing the then-injured Cousins and giving its key players enough rest before shifting into high gear in the playoffs. They play the LA Clippers in the first round but should easily make it all the way to the NBA Finals. The more interesting match-ups in the first round in the West are the Portland-Oklahoma and Houston-Utah series. Both will most likely reach seven games and could go either way. Even the “underdog” Spurs cannot be counted out against the second-seeded Nuggets. The interesting stat is that these series feature the league’s superstars who may end their careers without winning a championship ring. Houston’s James Harden and Chris Paul, along with OKC’s Russell Westbrook and Paul George fall under this category. How far can they take their teams? But then again, the bottom line question should be who can stop the Warriors from winning the West.

In the Eastern Conference, the Bucks have become a revelation through the leadership of the MVP-favorite with the toughest name to pronounce, Giannis Antetokounmpo (did I spell that correctly?). The Bucks have the best record in the NBA at 60-22, trailed by Toronto (58-24), Philadelphia (51-31), Boston (49-33), Indiana (48-34), Brooklyn (42-40), Orlando (42-40) and Detroit (41-41). The curious thing about the East is that even if they have the team with the best record in the league, many fans and analysts still claim that the real competition is out in the West. This is why the jury is still out on Giannis, the Bucks and the entire Eastern Conference. But to be fair to the East, their teams are not slouches. They just don't get the same amount of attention that the West. Kawhi Leonard’s transfer to Toronto was one of the biggest news last year but just like his persona, all the buzz suddenly disappeared and he has quietly but effectively done his job as Toronto’s leader. Then you have the rise of Philadelphia with its core of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and latest addition Jimmy Butler. Talks are pointing to a Milwaukee win in the East but Toronto and Philadelphia will give them a run for their money if they meet in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Boston-Indiana series will be the closest one in the first round. Even if Brad Stevens has been out of Butler since he left for the Celtics, I can still imagine how he cherishes the opportunity to play in Indianapolis. All other series should be easily won by the higher seeds: Milwaukee-Detroit, Toronto-Orlando and Philadephia-Brooklyn.

A side story of sorts that needs to be given attention is how two of the greatest players in the history of the NBA have played their last games and are not in the playoffs. I mean who doesn’t know Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowtizki? These two future Hall of Famers leave the game after reaching the highest levels and winning NBA championships, something some of today’s superstars might never achieve. They exit with their heads held up high after playing big roles in helping the league reach its current levels. Their influence goes beyond Dallas and Miami-Chicago. They have fans from all over the world and have become good examples and role models for all, both on and off the court. Dirk’s fade-aways are classic and his three-point shooting showed how big men from Europe can be good all-around players, veering away from the traditional big man who’s supposed to operate only in the paint. He did this and more for 21 seasons. Wade seemed like an average player without extraordinary skills or athleticism when compared to today’s superstars. But he more than made up for this with his heart, leadership and the guts to step up and take that big shot, all the way to his last game. He had “only” a triple double of 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in his farewell game, a loss to Brooklyn. How old was he in the NBA? 16 years.

The show has just begun folks! Warriors-Bucks in the NBA Finals? No LeBron? No problem. Thanks and farewell Dirk and Dwyane.