By The bubble playoffs have been exciting to say the least. With the conference finals underway I can attempt to give my predictions on who wins and advances to these unique circumstances of the NBA finals and what has happened up to this point.
In the east the Miami Heat have been the surprising storm to hit the playoffs, starting with over the Indiana Pacers to their impressive and quick victory over the heavy favorite Milwaukee Bucks putting the league on notice to currently holding a 2-1 lead over a very talented Boston Celtics team. Led by superstar Jimmy Butler who has proven his worth this season clearly leading young talent like center Bam Adebayo, along with wingmen Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro who have stepped up in big game situations.
On the other side of the east the Boston Celtics are for many on schedule of their growth to make the finals after winning a competitive 7 game series against the defending champion Toronto Raptors led by the ascension of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart have keep the Celtics in the playoffs and favorited to win the east to make the finals.
However, the X factor for them that could put them over the top or hinder them is Gordon Heyward who returned Saturday after 5 weeks off from an ankle injury. Heyward’s play has been the pivotal part of this team since returning from his injury and hopefully for Boston it works in their favorite.
As far as the losing teams in the Bucks and Raptors who were heavy favorites to come out of the east there a lot of questions for both teams going forward. With Toronto it begins with what happen to young star Pascal Siakam who played well not enough to win for some, what do they do with the roster this offseason? With Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka contracts up which one does you possibly bring back if you at all?
Do you finally move Norman Powell? Who had a respectable series but in the crucial moments of game 7 cost the team the win and lastly what happens with breakout star Fred VanVleet? Who will be offer the max or close to the max contract from teams that interested where possibly Toronto cannot match with giving Kyle Lowry his contract last summer making that difficult.
Does Toronto tear the team down again remain competitive and wait for the following offseason and make a run at Bucks megastar Giannis Antetokounmpo who has interest in the Raptors. General manager genius Masai Ujiri has done that before and result in a title so could he do that again? Also will Ujiri even be there? Since several teams are interested in bringing Ujiri in to fix their franchise so there is the possibility, he could leave but hopefully he does not and keep this good thing going in Toronto.
Now to the Milwaukee Bucks who easily could be the biggest disappointment in the playoffs, once again the Bucks lack of depth, ability to adjust and dependency on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s playing style to prevail without having a back plan for when teams plan for it led to their early exit as the Miami Heat exposed them like the Raptors in last year’s conference finals.
So, the offseason could be devastating to the Bucks if Giannis decides he wants out or if nothing changes. Honestly as good of a coach Mike Budenholzer is, he is not good in the playoffs so it may be time to move on from him and get a coach who could figure out things in the playoffs. Also moving some pieces could be helpful as well as specifically point guard Eric Bledsoe who has promise but simply not produce in the playoffs and add some reliable depth to their bench as well to make this team better late in the season where they have fallen short.
I’m now heading west where it’s been a rollercoaster honestly, I’ll start with the Lakers who started the playoff shaky against the Trailblazers who were hot going in won the first game impressive fashion and gave the Lakers a scare that possibly woke the team up and lead to 4-1 series win. The next round was against Houston who presented a match up issue but were not big enough to compete with them, so LeBron and company won the series in 5 games continuing James Harden’s playoff woes.
Now to the other team in LA who was heavily favored to make the finals the Los Angeles Clippers who had a monumental meltdown in the second round. The first round was a struggle against the young, up and coming Dallas Mavericks led young mega star Luka Doncic pushed the Clippers but the Clippers won the series in 6 games.
Then the Clippers had to face what may be the hottest or at least the most resilient team in the Denver Nuggets who keep coming back and eventually won the series in 7 where the performance of star players Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were in question along with the game plan of coaching great Doc Rivers and lack of energy from Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams and Montrez Harrell who won the 6th man of the year.
But the blame and rightfully so was or is targeted on Paul George who absolutely came short in the big spots throughout the playoffs and melted down in this series costing the Clippers the series, so what is next? Hopefully working on the team chemistry is a priority for this team to fulfill their destiny of being champions.
No team seems to be more together than the Denver Nuggets who absolutely have been resilient in these playoffs, coming back from two 3-1 series leads to win the series against the Utah Jazz and LA Clippers led by the young talented duo of guard Jamal Murray and star Center Nikola Jokic who have had massive performances during these playoffs which hopefully translate to finals appearance for the young upstart Nuggets.
Both series are going to be competitive and continue to make these bubble playoffs the most exciting and interesting playoffs in a while, so I’m going to go with the Heat to win in 7 games and the Lakers in 7 games to set up an interesting NBA finals.
