MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (1) vs OKC THUNDER (3)
I haven't watched the highlights from Game 4 but am surprised that, based on what I've read, the Thunder were able to totally shutdown Randle and Ant-Man. Either Julius and Anthony are overrated, OKC's defense really is that good, or there's something else going on. I don't think they're overrated, but, you know what I mean? Niggas ain't ready type shit. Or like I was saying before, the competition, all players considered, is just flat-out superior.
Sometimes, it feels like the Wolves are cursed. They have one of the better logos and braintrusts in the NBA but still more or less suck. They aren't one of those franchises like, say, the Wizards, that haven't had a good roster in over a decade. Remember that Minny once had KAT + Wiggins + Butler but still couldn't make it work, at all. Meanwhile, their current roster is deeper and more versatile than most. It isn't the braintrust (per se), and it isn't the players, so maybe it's the coaching.
Besides that, I don't want to say much except Minny should prolly be happy they even won Game 3. Yes, I do think that it's suspicious that the best team in the NBA suffered their worst lost of the season, a 40+ point blowout(!), not during an inconsequential mid-January game but rather the Conference Finals. But other than that, this series is more or less playing out as I expected.
Mike Conley may be an anachronism, but at least he isn't the scapegoat. That's going to fall on Ant-Man, and I would presume, to a lesser degree, Randolph and Gobert. The good thing about being a lesser-known player is that at least no one blames you when the team loses.
INDIANA PACERS (3) vs NEW YORK KNICKS (1)
The Pacers are now one of my favorite teams, as they arguably have the best brainstrust in the NBA. They've made a number of unusual, arguably questionable (at the time) moves that are now paying off:
...retaining Myles Turner for over a decade, even though he's never made an all-star team.
...making Tyrese Haliburton the face of the franchise, at a time when he was virtually unknown.
...trading for Pascal Siakim who, previously being stuck up in Toronto, seemed to almost never get his due respect.
But more exceptional than any of that has been surrounding them with an overachieving supporting cast, composed of a bunch of dudes who like no one ever even heard of before last season.
I feel bad for the Knicks if they lose this series, because there's going to be more questions than answers. Just yesterday, Yahoo published an article basically highlighting how poor of a defender Jalen Brunson is and accordingly, the Pacers targeting him on offense. They even went as far as to point out that, according to some advanced metrics, he's one of the very worst defenders in the NBA. Damn, I didn't know it was like that. Meanwhile, he and Lebron "Godfather" James recently made the All-NBA Team. That's obviously an accolade that's based primarily on offensive output than anything else.
Besides that, they're also implying that the much lesser-known Miles McBride is better defensively. Damn. If this were the regular season, I'd perhaps even suggest, as controversial as it would be, benching Brunson for McBride. But it isn't, and you can't ask a reigning All-Star to suddenly give up his starting spot in the Conference Finals.
WILL THE LAKERS BE WATCHABLE NEXT SEASON?
Apparently, the answer to that question will be based on how much Luka + Lebron + Reeves you can endure, because it looks like they may be running it back with that same middling core.
More than any other franchise in the NBA, the Lakers have a history of attracting top-notch talent. But damn, who can they even afford right now? They're saying that if LBJ opts into his contract, LAL will be on the hook to pay him $55mil(!). Even Lebron, as confident as he may be, has to be able to admit by this point that this roster is lacking, and he isn't known for being loyal to non-contenders. But the question is, can even King James walk away from $55mil?
Luka, btw, didn't make All-NBA. Having played only 50 games, he wasn't even eligible, despite his extraordinary all-around stats. Does that mean that Lebron, who's almost 15 years his senior, is still a better player? And if so, why did LAL go after Doncic to begin with (while losing AD in the process)? That's the real question they should be asking themselves going forward, at least after this season, when they no longer have to pay Lebron.
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