INDIANA PACERS (2) VS. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (0!)
I don't have anything against Tyrese Haliburton - Myles Turner maybe, though he's reclaiming his strength of late. Instead, there's a more practical reason I want the Pacers to lose. If they win, they're going to f*ck up all that shit I was talking about the small-ball era being over. Remember that shit I said about about 'the Cavs players look like they genuinely like each other, so other teams need to watch out!' Well I guest at doesn't really matter if the other team is playing harder or smarter.
As for the Cavs, it's kinda hard to blame it on injuries because (#1) by all means at least one, if not two of their big four is likely to be hurt during any given game by this point in the Playoffs, and (#2) they have or had the homecourt advantage.
Me wanting Indiana to lose doesn't mean it's going to happen, of course. But damn, son. I saw some headline at NBC that at least gave me the impression that the writer thought the ending of Game 2 was rigged. When Nesmith banged it on Mitchell, especially the first time I saw the play, it just looked like he wanted it more. And Haliburton deciding to shoot a three on that last shot, that was a gutsy play, especially considering that the defense on him, though one-on-one (against Jerome), was pretty sound.
Tyrese appears that he may be on the verge of superstardom, if he isn't already there. If that happens, I would argue that the party who deserves the most credit is the Pacers' braintrust. They deadass pulled off a Kobe, believing in a player that every other organization slept on.
You also have to give Indiana credit for believing, like Cleveland, in the power of continuity. Remember that they retained their entire rotation from last season, and the only addition they made was James Wiseman, with that experiment lasting a good game or two.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (1) VS. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (0)
Let me just get this off my chest - if Curry is healthy, I have no reason not to believe that the Warriros would beat, if not swept, Minnesota. There's something like inexplicable about the Wolves underachievement.
There was this one play when Gobert backed down Butler I think and dunked. Gobert is like an entire chest bigger than anyone on the Dubs' roster. And the announcer was like, 'you'd expect to see more of that from Minnesota'. After all, isn't the size of Gobert how they ultimately finished the Lakers off? But that's what I mean sometimes when I say head coaches are obsolete on many teams.
Draymond is also playing like a man inspired. And as for Buddy Hield, previously he never lived up to the marketability of his name. But this team has a winning culture, so you would expect dudes to overachieve, or at least their achievements to shine more. But beating Minnesota without Curry, I mean anything is possible, you know, they do have "Playoff Jimmy". But I can't see it.
NEW YORK KNICKS (2) VS. BOSTON CELTICS (0!)
Zero nigga, lol.
Yahoo currently has a headline up about Tatum not panicking and believing Boston will still pull through. Yeah, maybe, I guess. I mean, it's not like the Knicks won either of those games resoundingly.
But the scary thing is like, I mean I only have a small sample to refer to. But at the beginning of the Playoffs, it looked sorta like the Knicks didn't really know what they were doing but winning on superior talent. Now, it's starting to look like all the guys know and accept their roles, and everyone expect Brunson I guess understands they need to sacrifice their game in one respect or another to make shit happen. Does that make Jalen the leader? Yeah, I guess so.
The thing about Brunson is, remember when he was Luka's sidekick? No one but the Knicks (and myself) picked up on the fact that Jalen is actually better than Doncic in some applications. Like there was this one game - I believe it may have been against Mitchell's Jazz - when like Luka was hurt, and Brunson led the Mavs to victory The next game Luka came back, and they lost. And I'm sitting there like 'does anybody else see this shit'? Yeah, I guess NYK did.
As for the Celtics, like now that people are starting to jump on the Miles Bridges bandwagon, remember who was biggin' him up first. I was the one who said, like two whole years ago, that he's a better all-around player than KD (at this point in his career). So why the Suns preferred Durant anyway, I guess it was in the name of selling tickets or whatever.
My point is that Brown and Tatum are studs, but so is Bridges and, let's not forget, Anunoby. They have the athleticism to counter. So then you have to look at the rest of the roster and ask, which team's is better, especially considering the inconsistency of Porzingis?
I believe the Celtics braintrust may be a bit cocky, but you can't blame a champion for running it back. But win or lose, they should now know that some type of major upgrade is in order.
DENVER NUGGETS (1) VS. OKC THUNDER (1)
The Nuggets won Game 1 on a last-second clutch pay, while the Thunder won Game 2 by absolutely demolishing Denver. You do the math.
The Nuggets are one of my favorite teams, on some days my sentimental favorite in the West. But damn do they have a thin rotation, even in these Playoffs, when most teams are playing it tight.
The thing I'm most thankful for is at least Jamal Murray is playing and effective. Remember that, just a week before the postseason, dudes was like he wouldn't even be suiting up.
Remember that, it was Mike Malone who made that statement, who Denver then like fired the next day or some shit. And we have to remember also that these dudes lost their coach right before the Playoffs, though whether or not that was a good thing remains to be seen.
I believe ultimately, it everyone stays healthy or whatever, the Thunder are going to simply outrun the Nuggets. Obviously, they can turn it up on Jokic if they want to. And who on the bench, nay, the entire team, can alternatively take his place in terms of productivity? Westbrook is a stud, but he isn't a C.
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