Three Weeks of Playoffs: Breakdown
I was originally going to do this after the 1st week but decided maybe it would be more prudent to give the playoffs some more air to see what was fluke,and what was just new. I am happy I did because a lot has happened and most of the first two rounds has occurred and the dust is settling. And Boy there’s a lot of things to talk up from the fall of Portland, the Lebronto Raptors and the rise of Philadelphia. So let’s get into the fun stuff and see what else we can expect from these playoffs and analyze what has occurred so far
- Philadelphia is the real deal.
There is no way around it. Philly is having a banner year, from the Eagles to the Process (finally) working, you have to imagine Sam Hinkie looks like a god from South Philly to Congress Hall. They might be the favorites in the East for a good amount of people. (I think the Wizards were the worse match up the Raptors could have had and think they match much better against Philadelphia.) To be honest it’s hard to bet against them. They won the Superbowl, right after that they turned in a 50 win season after being the cellar of the NBA for half a decade. Then in the closing game against Miami the spirit of the city came back: Meek Mill. But let me dive deeper into the series against Miami.
Miami has an amazing coach and not much star talent outside of Whiteside and Dragic. Dragic had fairly normal games for him but this is where Philly got interesting. I don’t know how much of it is Whiteside’s well documented pouting nature if things get tough, or just an amazing job by Philly in making him ineffective. I noticed he was not used on the offensive end much at all besides Pick & Rolls , and crashing the glass for putbacks. When Embiid came back he hindered Miami even more so because Embiid could take Whiteside out of the paint making the little effectiveness he could have had entirely null. James Johnson and Winslow had some good games but they couldn’t stop Ben Simmons or Marco Belinelli. Marco was an unheralded x-factor nobody talked about coming into the playoffs and now I can’t see as to why he wasn’t brought up. He in my opinion won the match up with Richardson easily. He even struck again in the series versus Boston after being rendered ineffective in games 2 and 1. He saved game three for them (only to be lost in overtime but still the point stands.)
Ben Simmons is showing why he is going to be a special player in a few years. (Okay he’s Special now but he isn’t a top ten player, Coming soon to an NBA near you.) He had a triple double, played amazing Defense and saw the court at the same level he did in the regular season despite the stage getting bigger. Embiid played good if not amazing. He had a few good games but nothing there made me shocked or surprised.
They hit the wall when they faced the Boston Celtics and are now looking at a 3–1 deficit to overcome. They won’t win this series after going down 3–0 but it’s been a learning experience. They have the cap space to lure another big name. They will also most likely have another high impact draft pick and alot of internal growth. I am looking forward to seeing Philadelphia in the years to come.
2. Playoff Rondo’s Legend Grows.
Let me be clear, this isn’t just about Rondo. The Pelicans shocked the whole NBA world when it swept the Trail Blazers; a personal sleeper team I had. What I didn’t know is Playoff Rondo is legit (I will ignore the Bulls and Cs series last year) and that Jrue Holiday would go supernova on Lillard. I don’t think anybody will say Lillard can be considered a great defender. This series will tarnish his reputation as the go to guy on a team that can make noise. Nothing against him because Lillard is a special player, but the fact remains he was clowned on the biggest stage he has seen all year. Jrue is clearly one of the best if not the best two-way point guard this season. (Chris Paul might have something to say on that.) It’s amazing to see him healthy, he was hurt for a long time. Anthony Davis played well and had one superb game but he didn’t need to do drop 50 for his team to win. The Trail Blazers had nobody to answer the call to stop him.
Rondo’s playoff experience is rubbing off on them, even Beardless Niko was amazing. They played very well trapping CJ and Dame trying to make the offense run through the other three players on the floor the whole time. It also brings up and sparks up debate of what their ceiling is with a Healthy Cousins. He may not be the same player as before, but if he can even come back at 80% this team could very well be finals bound.
I was one of the very few people who thought that wherever the Pelicans would wind up in the seeding they would be a tough out and a shocker of a team. I thought they may beat the Blazers but I couldn’t have known it would be the whooping it would end up being. It leaves so many questions. Jrue Holiday’s contract doesn’t look so bad now for one, two it leaves Demarcus Cousins fate. I personally feel it would be foolish to let him walk away and I don’t believe any team is going to aim to give him a 5 year max. Their best bet is a two-three year max. Davis will love to him around, but if he comes back as a roleplayer on max money that contract won’t be so hard to move around. For what it’s worth I still see him being a 19–10–3 guy which is a bit over paid but not a nobody.
Let’s talk about Portland for a moment. This is a huge blow for them, Lillard and CJ couldn’t get the offense running and if their shot was off that night the game was a wash. I don’t believe Lillard and CJ is enough to get them into title contention and their contracts are limiting their ceiling deeply. I don’t know who runs that front office but I think it’s time to move on. Move Nurkic or Aminu and get some assets. Maybe move Lillard and CJ for some young stars, That core isn’t going to win anything. It’s a shame Rip City was a special team for a while. But as often is the case bad management can destroy any type of star power a team has.
The Pelicans have a daunting road ahead of them but with a top 5 player and a top 3 two-way guard and the Playoff Rondo anything is possible. This wasn’t their year but nor should it have been given injuries, after the bleak vibe to New Orleans’ start it appears to be sunny days ahead.
3. New System Can’t save the Dinosaurs from Extinction.
I wasn’t going to type this to be forthcoming but then as I will address later one Lebron has gone supernova and the Raptors have done what they always do, Choke. I gave them a pass for how they performed against the Wizards, Beal and Wall had been the worst match up the raptors could have asked for in the 1st round. But they were able to put them away in six in a fairly competitive series. Then he came, a king with gleaming armor with from the Rust Belt…and with him he brought HELP! ( AHHH IT’S SO BLINDING) Demar Derozan has always struggled with Lebron lead teams. They had amazing games from Lowry and Jonas, mediocre ones from Demar. They also had almost nothing from Ibaka for the first half of this sweep. When you are paying 50 million plus for two guys you want them to show up in the playoff series that would almost assuredly be the biggest hindrance to you going to the finals. Their bench underwhelmed for anyone not named Vanfleet or Wright. Casey in my opinion deserves little to none of the blame as he has revamped the system but there’s nothing he can do when Lebron is in his team’s head.
Watching the games they let the Cavaliers dictate the pace which is a recipe for failure. The Indiana Pacers didn’t once let Lebron control the pace and took the path of guarding everyone else and letting him get his and tire himself out. It worked, it worked so well but they had moments of lost composure and and some untimely cold shooting streaks. I believe this will ultimately give Boston a better chance than the Pacers against Lebron in the ECF once the inevitable date comes.
But let’s talk about the Raptors and Uncertainty that comes with Failure this many times on the highest stage. Demar Derozan said at the end of Game 4: “Maybe they just have our number.” This is the understatement of the century. I personally believe for money purposes and longevity that the Raptors should ride their core out and maybe trade some of this amazing bench and a big contract for a 3rd star and try it run it back again. Lebron can only run the east for long. (He very well could leave but we will see.) Keep Casey, they just had a franchise year. This team has a deep young bench that can be semi-gutted for deeper quality in the starting five and another year of aged cavs or Lebron Leaving, it’s a chance they can do it.
4. Scary Terry: Wanted for Murdering Dreams and Breaking Ankles.
Yea, I am a Celtics fan. But you can’t tell me you haven’t seen the superb work that has been done by Terry Rozier. First he turned Eric Bledsoe into perhaps the 3rd best meme of the NBA playoffs,(Outside of Lebronto and the Simmons 1 point game.). Second, he set all sorts of records for himself and has begun to shine as a legitimate starting point guard in the NBA (Most likely a Fringe Playoff team for anyone not named Brad Stevens) And Last but certainly not least he showed the whole NBA, Scary Terry isn’t ever afraid. He nearly fought Embiid in a game, to some people it’s funny due to his rather small frame in comparison to Embiid. But to Boston, to a lot of other people. It said something, it showed what Terry Rozier is all about: He’s Unafraid of anything or anyone.
Terry has had a rough upbringing as most of the NBA has, but he never felt making the NBA was success, it was Destiny. A Lot of that mid-range in the 1st round usually have short lived careers, and Terry Rozier made it a pressing point to ensure he would not become this way. I remember the F draft grade he had gotten thinking to myself I didn’t know much about him but anybody giving Danny Ainge and F for Drafting must be stuck in the days of Fab Melo. Even despite that I will be the first to Admit I wasn’t high Terry. I didn’t think he would be awful or out of the league, but he may be a top 7 player in his draft class and possibly a top 15–17 point guard in the NBA. That is a thread that goes even further into the Anomaly that is Boston this Postseason. Most people voted for the Bucks over us due to injuries, but like the cavs it seems the First round was a Fluke Seven Games. Boston has Philly in a 3–1 hole and have exposed the Favorite for Rookie of the Year in one of the deepest Draft classes this side of 2003.
So how did Terry and the Celtics do it?: Brad fucking Stevens. What an amazing coach he is. He saw Simmons is inability to hit jumpers and the took advantage of it. Where Miami couldn’t contain him due to lack of defenders or Whiteside going MIA (Get it because Miami? Whatever it’s funny to me.) Baynes has really sneakily good lateral ability to stay in front of his man. Horford, what more needs to be said? I made my case for his candidacy for DPOY of the year. He’s showing why I picked him. Blocking Embiid at least once a game, making key steals to secure the series. Playoff AL is having the best stretch of his Career alongside three other celtics. (Admittedly the three of them combined have had 6 seasons under their belt.) The best has yet to come for either the boys in green or Scary Terry.
5. Rockets Vs Warriors: The Real NBA Finals.
Let me first of all say yes I know that Title is Extra as hell, that doesn’t make it any less true however. No matter if it’s the Timeless Titan Lebron James willing a subpar team to the Finals or the composed very much so handicapped Boston Celtics; the title is going west. Curry vs Harden a series that has been seen before, but this time Harden has far more help than an aging Dwight Howard and Patrick Beverly. He has the Point God, Clint Capela, and a whole shit load of Wings capable of switching on Defense. I will be the first to admit this is the Warriors Series to lose. Even despite Houston’s heavy arming and acquiring of talented players to full the roster. From Gerald Green to Chris Paul this Offseason was designed to beat one time: The Warriors.
I think the wings will do the best they can to slow Durant who I believe will be the brightest star of this Series. Paul and Curry will but a fun battle but I see them negating each others impacts quite a bit. Klay and Harden will also be a very good series of battles but I think Harden will feel too much pressure against too much Defensive Focus. He will find himself playing at a step below what he did in Regular season but nonetheless going to eat this series compared to any other two guards in the NBA.
The Rockets aren’t without their own weapons. They have a Superior Bench, all they need is the is a big game from Joe Johnson, Eric Gordon, Gerald Green either one of them having a big game on the road and Rockets can seal this one up. But it won’t be easy, This is a proven core with a least one championship on their belt (Minus Durant it’s two trips and one ring.) They have been here before, crushing the Rockets, Spurs, Thunder respectively. I believe that the Warriors will win, but they will be pushed to their limits in this clash of Titans in the Small Ball Era.
