NBA
One Fell Swoop
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In a blockbuster move that stole headlines all across the United States of America, the Atlanta Hawks traded for Oklahoma City superstar and future NBA Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony.
Okay, that might have been disingenuous way to start this article but I just couldn’t resist.
Plus, it’s technically true. Melo was sent to the Hawks from the Thunder. It’s just there’s a caveat that Melo won’t be donning an Atlanta jersey anytime soon. Or ever, probably. Let’s back up a little bit, shall we?
It was pretty much the exact moment after the sound of the buzzer that ended the Finals faded away that the rumor mill started cooking up the notion that Dennis Schröder was not long for Atlanta.
Schröder himself stoked the flame by removing all mention of the Hawks from his social media (granted that has never meant anything relevant, but it was noteworthy at the time). Turns out, those prognosticators were right and Schröder has left Phillips Arena, never to return again. Except as a visitor from the Midwest, of course.
The visiting team will have to be the Oklahoma City Thunder, where Schröder was shipped off to in exchange for Melo, one of the biggest NBA stars of the century, as well as a 2022 first round pick.
The Philadelphia 76ers contributed to the swap as well, sending Justin Anderson to Atlanta and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to Oklahoma City and receiving Mike Muscala, also from Atlanta.
To be fair, while this was a headline-grabbing trade due in large part to Anthony’s involvement, it doesn’t exactly come as a surprise for those paying attention. It seemed inevitable that the Hawks would make a move like this one.
And it’s a doozy. In a good way. They acquired some breathing room in their salary cap going forward and in turn gave themselves plenty of routes to play with their roster.
For the more immediate future, Muscala and Schröder will be missing from the roster, and that is not a benefit. They managed to keep the Hawks afloat last season, or as much as the Hawks could be kept afloat, anyway.
They have been Atlanta staples for the past several years and with good reason. They were consistent in their performances on the court, in the regular season and in bright spots during the playoffs.
But despite the hurt that their being traded will reign down on the team’s quality, let’s not forget that this is a rebuild and eggs must be broken before omelets can be made.
This was a trade for the future and that draft pick is half the battle. The other half is Justin Anderson. Anderson is a young player with potential that Philadelphia failed to unlock.
This was also a trade for financial flexibility so that the team can maneuver as needed in the months to come, having less than half of the $109 million they can spend committed for the 2018-2019 season.
That’s three goals: draft pick, young talent, cap space, accomplished in one fell swoop.
There’s no way to argue that this is a trade that made the Hawks better for the upcoming campaign, it did not. It made them worse.
But that’s okay, because they weren’t very good to begin with and this trade, while immediately detrimental to the team’s win-loss prospects, sets Atlanta up for the future in a big and bright way. It’s the kind of trade that needed to be made, and Atlanta pulled the trigger at seemingly the right time.
Oh, and Carmelo Anthony was immediately waived. Had to get that salary cap space. Sorry.
The Super Teams
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The NBA season is over and Golden State won another championship. I’m sure that surprised nobody. I have to wonder if dynasties are bad for the NBA? In addition, can a team be assembled that can stop them?
I have to admit Kevin Durant didn’t invent the super team. The 1998-99 Houston Rockets had Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley, two perennial All-Stars. It was a lockout shortened season and Scottie Pippen was traded to the Rockets in exchange for Roy Rogers and a 2nd round pick in the 2000 NBA Draft (Jake Voskuhl was later selected).
There were chemistry problems with the three super stars. Despite averaging a career high in minutes per game with 40.2 and finishing 4th in the NBA in minutes played, Pippen averaged 14.5 points per game, his lowest since his rookie year, and he made a career-low 43.2 percent of his shots. He also averaged 6.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists and was named to the NBA All-Defensive first team for the 8th time.
Barkley played 42 regular-season games and managed 16.1 points on .478 shooting and 12.3 rebounds per game. Houston finished the season with a 31-19 record. They lost in the first round to the Los Angeles Lakers 3-1. This is a perfect example of super stars teaming up and failing.
The 2003-04 Lakers are another example. LA won three consecutive titles before San Antonio won it all in 2002-03. Los Angeles responded by adding Gary Payton and Karl Malone to the roster. On paper, they seemed to be one of the most talented teams ever assembled but they lost to Detroit in the Finals, 4-1.
The modern template for great players teaming up is the 2010-11 Miami Heat. LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwayne Wade in South Beach. That team made it to four consecutive NBA Finals and won two of them.
We have seen examples that the perceived team with more talent does not always win. Right now, Golden State is head and shoulders above the rest of the league. The Warriors were 73-9 in 2015-16, which was the best record ever. They lost to Cleveland in the Finals. After that season, Durant joined them and the rest is history.
Now I have to wonder if anything can slow the Warriors down? Durant has said that he plans to re-sign with the team.
Mychal Thompson, former NBA player and father of guard Klay Thompson revealed that his son likely will not sign a contract extension with Golden State this summer.
That will drastically affect the team if Thompson leaves. Him paired with Steph Curry is the best backcourt in the league. He’s also one of the best three-point shooters in the game.
We do not have an idea of where Thompson will land. The biggest names in free agency are LeBron and Paul George. They are rumored to head to LA and join forces. Kawhi Leonard is still under contract with San Antonio but he is demanding a trade. Los Angeles is also his desired destination according to the media. Boston is also a rumored landing spot.
We will have a better idea of how everything will play out when free agency officially begins. I can’t foresee another team being able to overtake the Warriors in 2018-19 but we can only hope.
Atlanta Hawks Flying In The Right Direction?
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The NBA draft, it’s that magical time of year when professional teams will seek out new stars for their franchise.
It’s that time when players who were forced to waste a year of their lives going to college when they were destined to end up in the NBA anyway finally meet their destiny.
It’s that time when the Atlanta Hawks and all their brethren teams are put under the microscope so we can judge whether or not their choices stack up against logic.
In any pro sport, the team at the top of the mountain will always inspire a slew of imitators. Franchises will reset their entire way of thinking based on whoever has been winning in the league.
For the past several years, the team being imitated has been, of course, the Golden State Warriors. The Hawks, in the beginning stages of their rebuild, are attempting to use the Golden State model to get back to winning ways.
GM Travis Schlenk’s deal that ended with Luka Doncic as a Maverick wasn’t without its critics, but he sees the fruit of that deal. Trae Young is expected to be the centerpiece of Atlanta’s team for years to come. In short, Schlenk has attempted to provide the Hawks with their own Steph Curry. In his only college season, he became the only player to lead the NCAA in both points and assists.
The plan to draft shooters continued later on the first round when the Hawks picked up Maryland’s Kevin Huerter. The comparison there is, if you can believe it, Klay Thompson.
So, the Hawks have their Curry and they have their Thompson but here’s the problem: Trae Young is not Steph Curry, and Kevin Huerter is not Klay Thompson.
On top of that, there isn’t a Kevin Durant among Atlanta’s draft picks either. It’s not that these pieces can’t evolve into top-tier talent, but Steph Curry is an all-time talent. Thompson is an elite player. The Warriors making it to Finals after Finals isn’t just because they have these types of players, but because they have legendary versions of those players.
Neither Young nor Huerter are likely to turn into that. They’ve got upside, but not the kind of guaranteed prospect that Durant was.
Schlenk went after shooters as a priority in this draft, but in doing so picked players who might have a lower ceiling than you might usually find in the first round, especially in the top 5. The Hawks may very well have gotten themselves stuck for the future.
For example, the Hawks picked up Omari Spellman, who can shoot, instead of talents like Khryi Thomas or Keita Bates-Doip, who had fallen back and were available when Atlanta was up at 30.
There were also some questionable choices like trading their #34 pick. Why trade that one pick for two second rounders from Charlotte? Schlenk has never heard that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
At the end of the day, no one really knows for certain how these things will turn out. Even surefire hits turn out to be misses (looking at you Greg Oden). The path that Schlenk and the Hawks have chosen to go down is an obvious one – ape the champs – but it is far from a one that guarantees success.
These draft picks will need to play up to their potential and maybe beyond it every game, and Atlanta will still need to investigate bringing in additional players. It’s not out of the question for Atlanta to have success, but it’s a tough road to navigate.
Musical Chairs
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
After what amounted to a pretty exciting playoff, the NBA season finished just as most of us expected; with Golden State defeating Cleveland in the finals.
It was kind of like being lactose intolerant and eating ice cream; you enjoy consuming it, but you ultimately know what the end result will be.
With a regular season that has become somewhat mundane and a predictable postseason, you can argue that the best time of the NBA season is upon us; the NBA offseason.
As much as fans complain that “Super Teams” are ruining the NBA product, just the possibility that any player is willing to change teams- even if they happen to be one of the best players in league- has turned it into the most intriguing offseason of either of the three major sports.
The NFL Draft, with all of its’ uncertainty and build up, is better than the NBA Draft, but it’s free agency period falls well short of its basketball counterpart.
Yes, the NFL has its share of player movement in the offseason but the caliber of player involved in those moves doesn’t compare to that of the NBA. The decisions (no pun intended) LeBron (Cleveland-Miami-Cleveland-who the hell knows) and Durant (Oklahoma City- Golden State) have made would be like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers leaving their respective teams, which just doesn’t happen very often in the NFL.
Well, if I’m going to spout about how the NBA’s downtime is superior to everyone else’s because of their free agency, I should probably mention some of the possible movement to look out for this summer.
The two big names are the two I just mentioned; LeBron James and Kevin Durant. It’s pretty common knowledge that Durant will stay in Golden State. In fact, I think he may have even stated that. As for James, I feel more comfortable trying to predict the end to Game of Thrones than I do trying to figure it where LeBron will wind up.
Besides those two, there are some other big name players on the free agent market.
Paul George, Chris Paul, and Demarcus Cousins, are the next tier of players, which is still pretty impressive when you consider two of those three could very well be with new teams next year.
I don’t think Paul is going anywhere. Houston could very well have been playing in the Finals had he not missed the last two conference final games and the Rockets have as good a chance as anyone to land LeBron. Kind of hard to walk away from that.
Paul George and DeMarcus Cousins, on the other hand, are different stories.
George is going to end up with either the Lakers or Thunder. He seems to have enjoyed his time in OKC and playing with Russell Westbrook. The allure of playing in LA, George’s hometown, may too much, especially in LeBron decides to head out west.
I have no idea about Cousins. I wouldn’t be surprised if he signs to play in Beijing because he likes Chinese food, he’s just that type of guy.
Then you have players like Aaron Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, and Jabari Parker, who could all opt for free agency.
The point is, even if you’re only an occasional fan of the NBA during the season it’s ok, the best part of the league is about to start.
I’m not sure exactly what that means for the NBA, but I know I’m as interested as anyone to see how the dominoes fall.
Back To the Future
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Here we go again, in the middle of the NBA Finals. For the fourth year in a row Cleveland and Golden State are playing. I expected the Warriors to dominate and win another championship and so far, they have not disappointed.
The first two games were in Oakland and the Warriors maintained home court advantage. They won Game 1, 124-114 in overtime. The biggest moment of the game came with 4.7 seconds left in regulation. George Hill missed a free throw and J.R. Smith grabbed the offensive rebound in the lane. He ran behind the three-point line and dribbled the ball out, expecting a teammate to call a time out.
“I just thought we were going to call a timeout. Because I got the rebound, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t shoot it over KD,” Smith said of Kevin Durant. “If I thought we were ahead, I would have just held on to the ball so they could foul me. Clearly that wasn’t the case.”
LeBron James played amazing, scoring 51 points, snatching 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Kevin Love also added 21 points and 13 boards.
Game 2 was a blow out win for Golden State, 122-103. Steph Curry was the star of the game hitting an NBA Finals-record nine 3-pointers and scoring 33 points.
”Pretty special night,” Curry said, ”and hopefully some more special things happen and we get two more wins.”
Kevin Durant scored 26 points to go with 9 rebounds and 7 assists while also mainly guarding LeBron. Klay Thompson added 20 points playing on a tender left leg. Surprisingly, JaVale McGee scored 12 points, making all six of his shots in his first career NBA Finals start as Kerr made a lineup switch that proved spot on.
James followed up his 51-point performance in Game 1 with 29 points, 13 assists and 9 rebounds in a far tamer finals sequel and a much more lopsided one.
Kevin Love had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the cold-shooting Cavs, who will now try to gain some momentum back home. Game 3 is Wednesday night in Cleveland.
”We want to continue to be uncomfortable,” James said. ”Just because we’re going home doesn’t mean we can relax.”
Cleveland has looked so overmatched that I know they cannot win this series. I think the best chance they have to win a game will be Game 3. The home court advantage should provide a boost to the team.
They only have two-star players, James and Love. The absence of Kyrie Irving is very apparent in this series. The Cavs honestly have a roster loaded with role players. I’m not sure how J.R. Smith is good enough to be the starting point guard on a playoff team but he consistently plays most of the games.
Maybe it’s premature to says that the series is over because we have seen strange things occur. If you recall back in 2016 Golden State was 73-9, the best record ever. They had a 3-1 series lead over Cleveland but the Cavs came back and won the championship.
I know that will not happen this time but hopefully they can steal a couple of games to make this series competitive.
Who’s Next?
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The NBA season is almost over and we already know the draft order for the upcoming 2018 draft.
One of the weaker divisions is the Southeast. Three of the teams (Atlanta, Orlando & Charlotte) are picking in the top eleven. Another southern team (Memphis) is in the Western Conference and they have a top five pick. Let’s take a look at the biggest needs for each of these teams.
Atlanta (24-58) had the worst record in the East so they can improve in several areas. The Hawks actually have three first round picks (No. 3, 19, 30) so they have a chance to vastly improve the talent on their roster. In the NBA you need a superstar player to win and sell tickets.
A big man would be the biggest need, either a power forward or center. The top option if available is Marvin Bagley III from Duke. He’s a 6’10 center/power forward that averaged 21 points per game, 11.1 rebounds per game and made 61.4% of his shot attempts. He is a great rebounder so he will get easy shots. He can help the team win now and give them a marquee franchise player for the first time since Dominique Wilkins.
I expect Atlanta to select a guard with the 19th pick. By that time all of the big names will be off the board. I believe someone like Anfernee Simons will still be available. He was the No. 7 player in the class of 2018. The 6’4 guard from Orlando played at IMG Academy this past season.
He will be able to go straight to the NBA through a loophole. He graduated from Edgewater High in his hometown and spent a post-grad year at IMG Academy. He has talent but he has not faced college competition, so he is a mystery.
I think Atlanta will trade the 30th pick so I’m not sure who they would select.
Memphis (22-60) had the second worst record in the league. They also are forced to play in the tough Western Conference even though geographically they don’t belong. Michigan State center Jaren Jackson Jr. might be a good fit. At 6’11 and 235 pounds, he needs to put on weight in the NBA.
He averaged 10.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 3 blocks per game. He is able to step outside as well as protect the rim. He is probably a couple years away from making a consistent contribution. If he can mature physically and mentally, he can become a perennial All-Star.
Orlando (25-57) was the second worst team in the East. The Magic have had some amazing players in their fairly short history like Shaq, Penny Hardaway, Tracy McGrady and Steve Francis. Hopefully, they can get another transcendent star with this pick. Duke center Wendell Carter would be the ideal selection.
Wendell was overshadowed by Bagley at Duke but he was not far behind him in terms of production. He averaged 13.5 PPG, 9.1 RPG and 2.1 BPG. He’s 6’10 and 250 lbs. so he has a frame ready for the NBA. I think he can become an elite player that the Magic can build around in the future.
Michael Jordan’s team (36-46) just finished another subpar season. The Hornets franchise has not had much success after they were resurrected as the Bobcats. Alabama guard Collin Sexton would be a great pick. He will be Kemba Walker’s successor at point guard.
Walker was explosive last year, averaging 19.2 PPG and 3.6 APG. He may only be 6’1 but he should be able to score at will at the next level.
Hawks Flight Direction
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Well, you’ve got to start somewhere. And having four picks, three in the first round, in the upcoming NBA Draft is a pretty good starting point if you’re the Atlanta Hawks.
Owning the 3rd, 19th, and 30th pick gives Atlanta a few different avenues they could go down, if they decide to do so.
The first is to package the number 3 pick with one of the other two to either move up to the number one pick, like Philadelphia did last year, or trade for an actual player.
DeAndre Ayton seems to be the consensus number one pick, so if Atlanta is all on board the Ayton train they’ve got the assets to make the move. I like Ayton a lot, and he’s going to be a very good pro, but I don’t think he warrants that type of offer, especially when you look at how deep this draft is.
I have no idea what player they could trade for using those two picks as collateral, but if a team is willing to part with an Andrew Wiggins type player, it may be worth a look.
Personally, if I was general manager Travis Schlenk and new head coach Lloyd Pierce, I’d stay right where I was at.
With the news that Luka Dancic is considering staying overseas for another year- basically he’s doing his best Elway/Manning impersonation because he doesn’t want to play for Sacramento- there’s a good possibility he’ll be around when Atlanta is on the clock.
If Dancic isn’t available, there will be three front court players, Marvin Bagley III, Jaren Jackson Jr, Mohamed Bamba, all waiting to be selected.
I’m a little biased, but out of those three I’d go with Bagley. Having watched almost every one of his games this past season, the kid is going to be something special.
Jackson has the skills but is inconsistent.
Bamba has ridiculous size and length, which is why he’ll be able to make an immediate on the defensive end. But, it’s going to take a while for him to come around, offensively. He reminds me a little too much of Nerlens Noel, to be completely honest.
Looking at the draft board, I imagine a lot of frontcourt players will be going in the lottery, which may benefit Atlanta in the long run. Outside of Dennis Schröder, the Hawks need some help in their backcourt. It’s impossible to predict who exactly will be available by the time the 19th pick rolls around, but there should be plenty of guards available that could make an impact.
At 30, they’re just going to take whoever the best player available is, or at least they should.
I get that you don’t finish a season 24-58 because you have a plethora of talent on your team. The Hawks obviously want to address areas of need, but the most important thing is getting players that can contribute within Pierce’s philosophy, even if they happen to play a similar position.
With the exception of a few seasons, the Hawks have hovered right around mediocrity for most of the franchise’s history. More than likely the playoffs are still a few seasons away, but things are at least lining up with the rebuilding process.
Now it’s up Atlanta’s front office and coaching staff to take advantage and make the right selections. That’s something easier said than done; just ask Sacramento.
LeBron Gone?
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I’m not going to lie to you, the NBA has been difficult to watch for the last few years. It started in 2010 when LeBron James took his talents to South Beach to form a super team. It almost becomes a forgone conclusion of who the best team is before the season begins.
Kevin Durant followed the same plan and joined Golden State in 2016. As you may remember, the Warriors were 73-9 the season before Durant joined. Golden State is clearly the best team in the NBA and I cannot imagine anyone beating them.
We do have some interesting developments in the Eastern Conference this season though. Since the 2010 season, LeBron has terrorized the East and played in 7 consecutive NBA Finals. He has always had a great supporting cast around him after his first stint in Cleveland.
We finally saw that change last summer when Kyrie Erving requested a trade, which was extremely unexpected. Once he went to Boston, it felt like the balance of power shifted in the East. It’s scary to think that two of their best players, Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward are not playing the rest of the season due to injuries.
The Cavs struggled through the season with a 50-32 record and they were the 4th seed in the East. They looked very inconsistent all year, so I did not expect much from them in the playoffs. They swept the No. 1 seed Toronto Raptors in the second round so it appeared as if they were peaking at the right time.
In Game 1 in Boston the Celtics dominated from the opening tip, winning 108-83. Celtics forward Marcus Morris started his first game this post season and he had to guard James. Morris surprisingly outplayed LeBron and held him relatively in check.
Morris scored 21 points and added 10 rebounds while forcing James into a playoff-high 7 turnovers and a playoff-low 15 points.
“I have zero level of concern at this stage,” said James, who was 5 for 16 from the floor and missed all five 3-point attempts.
“I’ve been down before in the postseason, but for me there’s never any level of concern — no matter how bad I played tonight, with seven turnovers, how inefficient I was shooting the ball,” he said. “We have another opportunity to be better as a ball club coming in Tuesday night, and we’ll see what happens.”
King James is right to stay calm after the blowout loss in Game 1. Realistically I can’t foresee things getting much better for the Cavs. I know they will play better at home but the Celtics overall are a better team even though they are going up against the best player in the game.
Jaylen Brown scored 23 points and Al Horford had 20 for Boston. The leading scorer for Cleveland was Kevin Love with 17 points and he was only the second player on the team with double figures.
It’s ironic to think that LeBron’s first term in Cleveland ended with a playoff loss to the Celtics. When it happens again this year he will leave for a second time.
New Lead Hawk
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
A 24-48 season will have consequences. Some positive, like a decent shot at the number one draft pick. Many negatives too, like parting ways with coaches and grouchy fans and the fact that you’ve only won 24 games, which is very bad.
The Atlanta Hawks just suffered through such a season and head coach Mike Budenholzer departed on April 25th (though admittedly, he seemed ready to go anyway. Though a 55 win season likely would have incentivized him to stay).
It was the first season since the 2006-07 campaign, in which the Hawks failed to make the playoffs and afterwards the Hawks have begun the process of rebuilding. So, the question became who would lead Atlanta through the lean times ahead?
Now there is an answer to that question and the answer is Lloyd Pierce.
Atlanta locked up the 76ers assistant coach to a three-year deal on Friday. He’ll be tasked with leading the team’s young contingent through the ups and downs of an NBA season.
It should be a good fit, as prior to his work in Philly Pierce worked in player development for the Cavaliers and Grizzlies.
Core players for the Hawks Dennis Schroder and Taurean Waller-Prince are only 24 years old and there should be a several good young players joining them after the draft. The Hawks will select 4 of the first 33 players.
The Hawks have a plan to get young and unpolished, so a coach with a background of molding players was going to be important and Atlanta believes they have found that with Pierce.
Pierce’s first job in the NBA was that gig in Cleveland, where a young man named LeBron James enjoyed working with him so much that that he continued to work with him (and brought Dwyane Wade along with him) during the NBA lockout in 2011.
He moved from Cleveland to a short stint with the Golden State Warriors, (stunted by that same lockout) where then Director of Player Personnel for Golden State (and current Hawks GM) Travis Schlenk got a look at him for the first time.
The Hawks will be bad next year. They have broken their team down and are completely rebuilding. Schlenk will need to trust Pierce’s wisdom and guidance because the record will be ugly. However, he’ll be aiming to get results in other areas.
The players will need to trust Pierce as they navigate what will be a tough season for them. If they can batten down the hatches and try to work on becoming complete players instead of getting caught up in wins, losses and stats, they’ll have a chance to evolve into a decent unit. Again, it won’t be right away.
That will also be important for the Hawks faithful to realize. They should already be prepped for a down year but take this hiring as a good step.
Don’t take this hiring as a sign that the Hawks are going to surprise the league because their coach works well with young talent.
Pierce’s expertise is in developing talent, not flipping switches from “rookie” to “all-star.” Patience will be key.
That being said, this is an exciting hire – not really because of what will come of it in the first year, but instead of what might come of it in the third.
Breaking The Circle
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Watching the NBA Playoffs recently has reminded me a lot of the “Twilight” movies; you sit through an awful lot of predictable scenarios and boredom, just praying that the end will justify the means.
The last three years haven’t felt much like the playoffs as much as a long, drawn out coronation to the inevitable; a Cleveland/Golden State finals. This year, for a variety reasons, has been different.
For one, a Cavs/Warriors finals matchup for the fourth year in a row seems about as likely as Bella ever choosing Jacob over Edward.
Golden State has looked great so far but with Houston waiting in the wings, the Warriors are anything but a sure thing to make it to the finals.
Meanwhile, Eastern Conference is completely wide open and out of the four remaining teams, Cleveland is probably the least likely team to win the conference.
Not only has the open field added a little more excitement to the playoffs, but there are a plethora of storylines that are just as intriguing as the next.
You have a young Philadelphia team, that may have the most talent remaining in the East, and they are enjoyable to watch, both on and off the court. For the love of God, I think they’ve even made JJ Redick….likeable.
There’s Brad Stevens and the job he’s doing with Boston. He has the Celtics winning with Al Horford and bunch of talented players that aren’t old enough to rent a car. Stevens is showing not only is he one of the best young coaches in the league, but he’s one of the best, period. (On a side note, I’m not sure I’ve ever been more excited about a second round matchup than I am about this Boston/Philadelphia one.)
The Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell is putting up numbers for a rookie that literally have not been seen in 30 years. This is a guy who just last year was told by his college coach, Rick Pitino, that he wasn’t ready for the NBA. I guess Pitino didn’t like that Mitchell was more of a Nike guy? I don’t know.
Oklahoma City, Utah’s first round opponent, was even fun to watch, but for a completely different reason.
Then, of course, you have LeBron playing some of the best basketball of his career. People joke around about how far LeBron could make it in the playoffs if it was just him and four guys from the local YMCA. I had no idea Cleveland would take it to heart and actually see what would happen.
And don’t forget whether or not Toronto can overcome the mental hurdle of getting past Cleveland, or if Houston’s style of play can sustain itself throughout the course of the playoffs.
Like I said, it’s one great storyline after another.
Then again, all the great headlines and Finals possibilities don’t mean a thing if the games aren’t good. Up to this point, most of the games have been extremely compelling. Even the ones that haven’t necessarily been great have at least had something else happen that added a little extra excitement to the night.
If you haven’t watched the NBA playoffs for the past few years, I don’t blame you. However, if you haven’t been watching them this year, you need to. They’ve been everything the NBA could possibly have hoped they would be.
Basically, they’ve been the equivalent of “Twilight”, you know, if they took out everything but the Anna Kendrick scenes.
