Tag: nba

2026 NBA Playoffs | Conference Finals

If you haven’t been following the NBA Playoffs, let’s get you caught up really quick!

Western Conference Finals!

#1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #2 San Antonio Spurs

Youth vs Youth in this version of the Western Conference Finals. The average age is 25 years old between these two team. The reigning champions, Oklahoma City Thunder will have a slight edge in this series. The Thunder will be fully healthy with the return of Jalen Williams who missed the previous round due to hamstring soreness and I’m willing to bet even if he was healthy enough to go, a decision was made to not use him at all. They didn’t really need him at all. They are definitely going to need him this series. The phenom in Victor Wembanyama is going to be a big, big problem. There’s no doubt this young San Antonio team can carry it’s own weight to compete and win a couple games even if Webmanyama has a bad game. Just his presence along changes the complexity of any basketball game. And when playoff games matter towards the end in halfcourt situations, it will take 2-3 defenders to hold up tight if they want a shot at a back to back title.

Eastern Conference Finals!

#3 New York Knicks #4 Cleveland Cavaliers:

The time has to be now for the New York Knicks. There’s no Indiana Pacer player in sight that’s going to stop them this time. Jalen Brunson and Karl Anthony-Towns will try again to get this New York team back to the NBA Finals since 1999! I’m not even going to tell you what the hottest song or top grossing movie was that year. Let’s just say I was a sophomore in High School and Latrell Sprewell was a scoring machine that I couldn’t tolerate. Yes, that team beat my Indiana Pacers in a classic Eastern Conference Finals that I or any hooper fan would forget. Donovan Mitchell has finally broke into a Conference Finals series, a long awaited maturation since he last carried his former Utah Jazz team close to that point. This time he’ll have a former MVP in James Harden by his side as he makes his 3rd trip to a Conference Finals. Cleveland will need both stars and their talented role players to weather what this Knick team is about to bring upon them in this series. We’re going to see what the Cavaliers are made of as they head into the Mecca of professional basketball.

2026 NBA Playoffs: Western Conference 1.0

If you haven’t been following the NBA Playoffs, let’s get you caught up really quick!

Western Conference

#1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #8 Phoenix Suns:

It wasn’t too long ago that the Phoenix Suns were going to run away with the Western Conference year after year. Yet, being ousted by the defending champions in a 4 game fashion makes you really ask yourself, why are they even trying? Sure adding young star Jalen Green and a formidable foe in Dillion Brooks keeps you in the games, but only to exist in a playoff format. This team put together in off-season haste was no match at all vs the Oklahoma City Thunder.  It made me think of a popular line in a blockbuster movie when someone in Nasa replied, “That’s like throwing rocks at a freight train!” When you can name that movie, I’ll be willing to bet more changes would already be happening in Phoenix.

#2 San Antonio Spurs vs #7 Portland Trailblazers:

Lots of sports franchises tend to stay quiet or be forgotten at least when playing the Pacific Northwest. It takes quite an event to capture the attention of the casual sports fan, yeah, like me. That was game 2 when I realized the Trailblazers qualified for this year’s playoffs! At the seven seed no less. This out-of-nowhere Portland team was able to catch the vaunted San Antonio Spurs slipping at home and bagged game 2 heading back to Portland for 2 which seemed to make it an interesting series. The Spurs would win the next three games after realizing that this isn’t the regular season anymore and you best not play with your food. Next year let’s not wait till game 84 to see what Scoot Henderson and Deni Avdija can do to strike a little fear into a juggernauts mental.

#3 Denver Nuggets vs #6 Minnesota Timberwolves:

Casual Hoop Fans, Unite! With all the experience this Denver Nugget team has, being led by a multiple NBA MVP, a deadly assassin and some of the best role players with plenty of playoff experience that you can find on a team. They only muster up 2 wins? Does Anthony Edwards have this team’s number? The Timberwolves roster is nothing to sneeze at but when you compare that talent to what you see in Denver, I just don’t see the math. When they say playoff seeding doesn’t really matter, they were talking about a series like this. Even after losing a key shooter and defender and their main attraction Anthony Edwards for some time, the Denver Nuggets had no answers as they were bounced in 6 games. Either Denver took this team lightly or Ant-Man and company aren’t too far away from shocking the world if they keep this up.

#4 Los Angeles Lakers vs #5 Houston Rockets:

If you were someone who thought that the Lakers were going to have to scratch and claw their way to completing this series whether winning or losing, then you were like me. How would this team fair without their MVP Candidate Luka Doncic and their golden goose in Austin Reaves? All that’s left is just Lebron James? That’s it? Actually, it was almost all you needed. I foresaw a seven game series with the Lakers trailing or tied the whole way. Not because I have doubts of what Lebron James can do in the playoffs in leading those with less experience, but this Rocket team was up and coming. That team did not show up and this Lebron James did. What we saw was a Luke Kennard who was brought in mid-season as a sniper only to handle the ball in the playoffs more than he ever has and it wasn’t bad. What we didn’t see was the grown of Amen Thompson and the struggles of Alperen Sengun who have shown much promise. I’m not going to say it. I told myself I wouldn’t say it. You do the honors, “Houston…

2026 NBA Playoffs: Eastern Conference 1.0

If you haven’t been following the NBA Playoffs, let’s get you caught up really quick!

Eastern Conference

#1 Detroit Pistons vs #8 Orlando Magic: If you thought that Detroit was too young to be this good throughout the regular season then find themselves down 3-1, you were right, like me. Until a fateful game 6 in Orlando when the Magic blew a 28 point lead and scored a total 19 points in the 2nd half to eventually allow the Pistons a breath of life heading back to Detroit. One of the biggest meltdowns you’ll see from a team with All Time Play-In Experience.

#2 Boston Celtics vs #7 Philadelphia 76ers: Major props to this Boston team who was without superstar Jayson Tatum for most of the regular season after suffering a leg injury in the 2nd round of the playoffs last season vs New York Knicks. Fear not as the 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown is still here to keep the ship right, and it was, until he was not enough to get past the veteran heavy Philadelphia squad lead by Joel Embiid, Paul George, Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey. Okay, Maxey is not really a veteran but might as well be after all this time.

#3 New York Knicks vs #6 Atlanta Hawks: Don’t ask me how these New York Knicks ended up being down 2 games to 1 to a historical Play-In team. Maybe I lost track that Atlanta has made an Eastern Conference Finals as many times as the Knicks since 2020. Who was on this Atlanta team? It sure wasn’t Trae Young because he’s been gone. Everyone who picked New York to finally make the NBA Finals would come this close to ripping up their winning ticket. Since game 4 of the first round, Jalen Brunson and the Knicks have been on a tear and haven’t lost a game since. I still wouldn’t be surprised if they were still looking over their should for that Indiana squad.

#4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs #5 Toronto Raptors: I’m still waiting for the Cleveland Jazz to make a believer out of me. No disrespect to Donovan Mitchell’s talents as a superstar hooper in the NBA but for two years in a row we’re re-watching the remake of a fairly young team taking the regular season by storm only to sputter out in the middle of an anticipated playoff run. These were the years of the Utah Jazz in the hands of Donovan Mitchell. He can give you 45 points any time you want, but what is it going to take for the teams to take him seriously? Going seven games with the Toronto Raptors? Not likely.