Via Programming Insider
Ahh, it's that time of the year again. The birds are chirping, the grass is growing, and general happiness is increasing. Most people would lead you to believe that this is caused by the Earth being tilted on its axis and thus has rotated the western hemisphere closer to the Sun, causing more sunlight and happiness. But us intellectuals know the truth. The Earth is flat. The chirping, nature's growth, and the increase in happiness are all linked to playoff basketball--not mainstream widely-accepted science.
Playoff basketball starts April 14th and won't end until mid-June. Here's five storylines that'll unfold during that time.
The Raptors and/or Wizards will have to blow it up
Via WagerTalk
There's a saying that goes something like " if you're staying stagnant, while everyone else is moving forward, you're essentially moving backwards." I have no idea where I heard that saying from, but it fits the Raptors' and Wizards' organizations perfectly. Both organizations have been more than content with portraying contention rather than actually contending.
Stop me if you heard this before, " the Raptors are looking real nice this year. They look better than the Cavaliers. This might be the year." Only for the Cavs to treat them like a scrimmage before the Finals. The Raptors are 2-12 against the Cavaliers in the playoffs, since LeBron James returned in the 2014-2015 season.
Now stop me if you heard this one before, " The Cavs didn't want to see us in the playoffs. " That's an actual quote from Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal. The Wizards haven't even been able to make it far enough to face off against LeBron and the Cavs. The highpoint of the John Wall era in Washington was a game 6 second round win--in a series they would eventually lose in seven.
With budding East powerhouses like the Celtics and Sixers being younger and more talented, this year's playoffs should be the testing for this iteration of the Raptors and Wizards.
Jrue Holiday Becomes a Household Name
Via Pelican Debrief
The Pelicans went 23-10 without their all-star bigman DeMarcus Cousins, locking up a 6-seed in this year's playoffs. Most people would credit that to Anthony Davis carrying the offense with a career high 28.1 points per game, while anchoring the defense with a league-leading 2.6 blocks per game. Most people are right. Anthony Davis undoubtedly deserves a lion's share of the credit, but Jrue Holiday deserves at least like a scrappy raccoon's share of the credit for New Orleans' success.
Jrue Holiday averaged 19 points and 6 assists per game, while posting a 20.8 efficiency rating. That's more points than Nikola Jokic, Kyle Lowry, and Chris Paul, more assists than Kemba Walker, Ricky Rubio, and Kyrie Irving, and a higher efficiency rating than DeMar DeRozan, Paul George, and Klay Thompson. Those numbers come along with carrying the Pelicans' perimeter defense--mostly guarding the opposing team's best guard and at times guarding forwards, like Kevin Durant.
Win or lose, expect Jrue Holiday to put his name up there as one of the top-tier guards by guarding Damian Lilliard or C.J. McCollum on one end, then being the Pelicans' no.2 option on the other end.
Brad Stevens Carries the Celtics the Conference Finals
Via Russ Isabella
*Gordon Hayward goes down*
"The Celtics are done. Better luck next season. No way they can win without him."
*Celtics win*
*Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Morris go down*
"The Celtics are done. It's just not their year. No way they can keep winning."
*Celtics kept winning*
*Kyrie Irving goes down*
"The Celtics are done. No way they can even make it out the first round"
Will the Celtics come out the East? No. Can the Celtics beat an inconsistent Bucks team and compete with whoever they meet in the second round? With Brad Stevens as coach, no doubt. Stevens has been one of the few constants on this 55 win Celtics team; and he's coached Boston to a 12-6 record, with wins over Toronto, Utah, and Oklahoma City, since Irving was ruled out for the season.
Moral of the story: Don't be suprised if Brad Stevens leads the Celtics further than they should be.
LeBron James Makes his Eighth Straight Finals' Appearance
Via NBA.com
This prediction isn't as edgy as the others. In fact, this prediction feels more like a factual statement than a prediction, so I'll keep it short.
Even in his 15th season at 33 years old, LeBron James is still the best player in the world. At 27.5 points per game, he's scoring his most since his 2009-2010 MVP season, while averaging a career-best 9.1 assists per game. LeBron in his own words, " is aging like wine, getting better with time."
That slight narcissistic, yet accurate self-assessment combined with his competition being injured(Celtics), one piece away(Raptors and Wizards), and inexperienced(76ers) is why a LeBron-led team will be in the finals for an eighth straight year.
Alright back to edgy.
Giannis Leaving Milwaukee Starts Now
Via USA Today's FTW
Last Summer Adrian Wojnarowski reported that, "the clock has started" on Giannis Antetokounmpo leaving the Bucks. As any basketball fan knows, what Woj says is prophecy; and this prophecy is anything but far fetched.
Think stars like Gordon Hayward, Paul George, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James; they all left franchises built around them, because they felt there was no going farther with their current team. They all had better teams than Giannis' current Bucks team. Throw in the fact that Giannis was "uncomfortable" over the Jason Kidd firing and is on record as trying to " do anything possible" to keep Kidd as his coach, and the writing is starting to form on the wall. It took a (pun incoming) freakish 27/10/5 stat-line from the Greek Freak for Milwaukee to muster out an Eastern Conference 7-seed.
Antetokounmpo averaged a ridiculous 33.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game against the Celtics this season. All signs point to Giannis averaging equally impressive numbers in the Bucks' first round series. A second straight opening round loss, while putting up superhuman numbers, will definitely add weight to an already worrisome season.
Happy Playoffs.