2023 NBA PLAYOFFS RUMINATIONS (12 MAY 2023)

ARE THE HEAT THE PERFECT TEAM?

The Heat are like a perfect team in a way.  You have accomplished vets like Butler, Adebayo, Love and Lowry, buttressed by young stars like Herro and Robinson, alongside other dudes with little to no notoriety, like Vincent and Strus and Martin, yet who always represent.  I thought Lowry was washed, but now it feels like he just needed to be in the right situation again, i.e. games that actually matter and a chance to compete for a championship.  And the thing that's really scary about Miami is the braintrust.  They have been fielding contenders so consistently that you might as well call them the Spurs of 2020s.  And what really the current iteration altogether, imo, is the play of Adebayo.  Butler may be the leader, but out of all of the star centers in the league Bam is the most athletic.

But if any team has the depth to beat them, it's the Knicks, I guess.  What it seems it ultimately boils down is, interestingly enough, is RJ Barrett.  Like every time NYK wins, it's like he had a good game.  I was on his Wikipedia page recently, and dude was like a basketball phenom, as was Jalen Brunson.  And speaking of Brunson, there's no way I'd ever say he's better than Luka one-on-one.  But in terms of running a team, that's another story.

SHOUTOUT TO THE GAUNTLET

Yes, I'm once again gushing over Gary Payton II, in terms of the way he played in Game 4 especially, which was a thriller.  I'd also like to give a shoutout to Lonnie Walker IV, who I remember namedropping a few posts back.  But the Lakers rely too much on luck for my liking.  And I like Austin Reaves, but sometimes it looks like he literally can't defend anyone in the NBA, though not for lack of trying.

And still, nobody has figured out a consistent way to shutdown Steph.  I also believe that GSW has been incepted, because after mentioning "Steph fatigue" a post of two back, it's like now he's passing the ball more, even when he has a shot, and the Warriors look better that way imo.  Somehow amidst it all, Jordan Poole got lost in the sauce.  And after this season, I'd rather see him (and Kuminga) get traded rather than endure this treatment.

REMEMBER HIM? (KEMBA WALKER)

And speaking of Walkers, whatever happened to Kemba.  It just doesn't feel right the way various teams turned their backs on him, especially considering the way he played for Team USA back in 2019, when the squad was garbage.

NBA Offseason Power Stinkings (Central Division)

The Central Division could arguably be the all-around most competitive in the NBA, if not for the Pacers.  It's for teams like Indiana that the Power Stinkings were created.  But with them aside, it's easy to predict - or at least fantasize that all others in the division will close out the season with winning records.  The Bucks stand as the favorites, but the Bulls added a couple of quality vets, and it's like who knows what happened to the Cavs last season.  So anything can happen, especially since it seems the Milwaukee failed to really upgrade this offseason.

Since this is the Power Stinkings, we have to start with what looks like the worst team in the division first.  And again, that unflattering honor belongs to:

1.  Indiana Pacers

A decade ago, the Pacers were a contending team with the deepest roster in the league.  Nowadays, they look more confused than the Jazz.  And it says a lot about this braintrust, imo, that they have one of the best centers on their squad but seem unable to trade him.  So it's like are they rebuilding or what?  And then it's also like, who even really cares?

What did say a lot was the Malcolm Brogdon trade.  Ending that disaster of an experiment (and acquiring Haliburton) was supposed to symbolize that the Pacers were now rebuilding.  But maybe not.  So unless they really overachieve, which doesn't seem that likely given the competition, Indiana may be the least-popular team this upcoming season.

2.  Detroit Pistons

There's a couple of reasons I'm leery of the Pistons.  One is that they traded Jerami Grant basically for draft picks, though that move doesn't look so bad now that they got Kemba Walker.  But the way the NBA is these days, I wouldn't be surprised if they try to buy him out.  Everyone is raving about a backcourt consisting of Cunningham - who'll logically get better this season, but to what extent who knows - and Jaden Ivey, an unproven rookie.  I personally don't believe in putting too much faith in rookies, unless maybe it's a Shaq or something.  But how about a backcourt of Cunningham and Walker instead.  How would that fare against others in the NBA?

The Pistons also beefed up downlow with the addition of Nerlens Noel, and Kelly Olynyk is lingering around.  But overall, this looks like a pretty-thin frontline especially, once again, without Grant.

3.  Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs pulled arguably the dumbest trade of last season when they swapped Ricky Rubio for Caris LeVert and then went into an almost immediate freefall.  Well actually, calling it the dumbest may be a bit harsh.  For instance, now they have both LeVert and (a healthy) Rubio.  And sometimes, even some of the wiser braintrusts fall for that 'players are only assets' BS, casting them aside like broken car parts even though their presence may be integral to the team's overall success.  So, you can't be too mad at the Cavs.

Colin Sexton is also back, so now, if he sticks around, Cleveland has the deepest guard core in the NBA, on top of one of the best frontlines.  I'm almost tempted to call them contenders.  So now, it's like just wait and see if the execs dumbout this season also.

4.  Milwaukee Bucks

One of the reasons it doesn't matter that the Bucks didn't make any blockbuster upgrades during the offseason is because they already have a damn good team.  It's one of those situations where the biggest potential threat appears to be health issues (and the Heat).  And the Celtics, who beat them in the Playoffs, have in fact upgraded.  So unless Bobby Portis transforms into an indisputable all-star or Giannis turns it up another notch or two (if even possible), then who knows, the Bulls may prove better. 

5. Chicago Bulls

Putting the Bulls at the bottom of this list doesn't necessarily mean I think they'll fare better than the Bucks.  But at least they upgraded.  Dragic, as I'm sure I said somewhere in this blog before, is like the most-underrated PG of the last decade.  And I still can't understand all of the Drummond hate outside of the fact that it's become trendy to devalue traditional bigs (and that he boned Jennette McCurdy?).

The punchline of The Last Dance is that Jerry Krause and them were absolutely, positively wrong, as the Bulls were not able to promptly rebuild after the departure of Jordan and them.  Instead, it took like a decade to become contenders again, and even that was shortlived.  But now, they're one of the very few teams in the NBA that has been steadily progressing towards contendership throughout the last couple of years, even with Lonzo Ball out until who knows when.  (And then take a look at this, wow).  And that's why I had to put them at the top of this list for now.  But for whatever reason, I'm still hesitant to call the Bulls contenders, maybe because LaVine's playing style is too erratic for my liking.

CONCLUSION

I'm just as excited about the Pistons as the next man, but the Bulls are my sentimental favorites in this division.  But I still think, when you factor in experience and overall depth, the Bucks may be better.  I'm also looking forward to watching the Cavs play, but who knows how long Sexton may be around, and I was kinda hoping that Rubio would go to Golden State instead.  And as for Indiana, well, every year there has to be some team to grace the bottom of the NBA barrel.

NBA Minute 190805: Team USA Basketball Roster (Almost) Set

When I first conceptualized this post, it was earlier today based on the 15-man roster of Team USA which NBC Sports posted.  Or more specifically, these are the players who will be competing for a spot on the final 12-man squad that will participate in the FIBA Basketball World Cup (lol), which begins later this month on the 31st:

Bam Adebayo (Heat) Harrison Barnes (Kings) Jaylen Brown (Celtics) Kyle Kuzma (Lakers) Brook Lopez (Bucks)

Kyle Lowry (Raptors) Khris Middleton (Bucks) Donovan Mitchell (Jazz) Mason Plumlee (Nuggets) Marcus Smart (Celtics)

Jayson Tatum (Celtics) P.J. Tucker (Rockets) Myles Turner (Pacers) Kemba Walker (Celtics) Thaddeus Young (Bulls)

The above-linked article is based on the idea that, relatively-speaking, Team USA this year is "lacking in star power".  That is to say offhand that none of the 20 most-popular players in the NBA are truly interested in participating on this team.  And this is alarming considering that in the world of sports, unless an athlete is also a reality-TV star, popularity is usually tied directly to how good he or she is.  Like you aren't likely to see the basketball stars of other countries willingly bowing out.

The only bona fide star currently on Team USA is Kemba Walker.  My problem with its composition isn't so much the talent level as the idea that it is a somewhat unconventional mix of old and young players.  That is to say that with the exception of Walker no older heads (i.e. the hobbled Kyle Lowry) should be a part of this team.  My reason for making this assumption is that under such circumstances, even if Team USA does get their ass bust by some European squad, at least they'll be must-watch TV.

Well it seems that the powers-that-be also picked up on that vibe, because since then they've added De'Aaron Fox to the mix.  Logically he would be a replacement for Kyle Lowry, but who knows.  But as for how the team is currently constructed, three Celtics (Brown, Tatum and Walker) should be the starters along with Myles Turner and Donovan Mitchell or Kyle Kuzma.  I'm making this assertion primarily from an entertainment-value standpoint.  And of course Fox is likely to make the final cut, again largely in the name of entertainment.  Also fukit, might as well throw Trae Young up in there also.  Yes that would be too many point-guards, but at least we'll likely see some some foreign player get the sh*t cut out of him.

Also, despite egos being hurt, Greg Popovich shouldn't try to play everybody, because niggas aren't even really deep like that.  He has to take the approach of sticking to a solid rotation with defensive variables such as Marcus Smart and Bam Adebayo.  In fact this team should perhaps be more preoccupied with defense than anything else.

The sad part is that no matter how they perform, once the Olympics roll around next year and niggas like Lebron and AD are likely down to play, some of these selfsame players who may be sacrificing a part of their egos to play on this NBA-standard (as in mediocre) international team will be completely forgotten.  But perhaps this same reality will be their inspiration to perform well and at least win the Cup (lol) this summer.  Also logically, maybe half of them would be called to play in the Olympics also, as given the current trend of non-participation we can't smugly take for granted that the stars will even be down to participate the Olympics next summer.