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Random Playoff Thoughts

1. We picked the wrong year to get horribly injured.

Picture a magical year where an easy path appears to open up to the finals. in the East, the competition is weak because the balance of power is in the middle of shifting. For the first time in years, a Lebron team is vulnerable. He doesn't rule the East anymore. The Wizards are still the underachieving Wizards. The up and coming teams with potential like the Pacers, Bucks, and 76ers are still too young and early in their rebuilds to be considered serious contenders. The Raptors might be good, but are also possibly a paper tiger to will fold to an elite team in a pressure situation. A Toronto with shaky postseason history is the only real outside threat to a Celtics finals appearance.

Then in the West, Golden State is at least injured and somewhat slowed down. They are no longer a lock to even make it to the finals, let alone win it. The Celtics also match up fairly well with the best teams in the West in the Rockets and Warriors. The stacked Western Conference beats up on each other and whoever makes it to the finals will be worn down and vulnerable to an actual contender from the East, assuming the East can produce a legitimate conder. And that is no easy assumption. But a healthy Celtics team could be that contender.

So of course the Celtics get crippling levels of injury history in that year. Like we will probably win the first wound on heart and grit and Milwaukee's stupidity. We may go a bit further. But it's depressing to see the first year in a long time that is as potentially wide open as this one and be so devastated by our injuries in the same year.

I don't know. Like initially my thoughts were next year the Celtics would start seriously competing. So I guess we are on track. But considering how unexpectedly wide open this year has become, I think a Celtics team even with just a healthy Kyrie Irving could have made some real noise. It's not worth sacrificing his future health for a one year run. But the ruined potential here gnaws at my soul.

2. The Cavs are cooked.

I mean it was kind of obvious after the Thomas trade that their offseason plan of things like adding a bunch of past their prime veterans to an already old team wasn't going to work for them. And they really just gave Thomas away when he could have maybe helped them in this playoff run. I know there was drama but it just seemed so quick on the trigger.

I'm not going to spend too much time here as there isn't much else to say. Lebron just has nothing around him anymore and he isn't getting younger. He may still pull out a series or two out of his rear end. Or he may lose to the Pacers. Either way, the Cavs aren't legit contenders anymore. They have expired.

3. Bucks are the Timberwolves of the East pre-Butler trade.

Sigh... I just don't get it. I see their talent and I just expect more from the Bucks. Like I expect them to grown into a bonafide legit contender like I was expecting the Timberwolves to do so. But that never seemed to happen. And just like with the T-Wolves, the young talent on the Bucks looks great but just never seems to be able to put it together.

Maybe I put too much stock into them. But it feels like the only players who are worth a damn on that team Middleton and that young stud Giannis. Brogden and Parker should be doing better. Thon Maker hasn't done anything despite the hype around him. It remains to be seen if he ever will. A team with their overall length and talent should be doing better.

Oh, and they traded for Bledsoe who should be an upgrade in theory, but in practice feels absolutely useless and seems to have brought that Suns "roll over and die" losing mentality to the playoffs. He was completely useless.

It's still going to be a hard fought series because the Celtics are hurt and no longer have a veteran elite scorer to carry their offense so effortlessly. It's still going to be a hard fought series because the Bucks have talent, even if they don't always play like it.

Having said that, the Bucks are a really dumb team and I feel no threat from them. Like it's painful to watch them. Most of their players don't seem to know where to be or what to do. They just stand around watching Giannis and Middleton carry. Like I have legit disdain that it's actually at the point where the Celtics are going to struggle with this loser franchise.

Speaking of the T-wolves...

4. Why the heck is Towns getting dominated by the likes of Clint Capela?

So I was watching Towns, Wiggins, and the ghost of the Chicago Bulls face the Rockets the other night and I was shocked to find how completely emasculated and ordinary Towns looked in that game. I like Clint Capela. He's underrated and very good and all that. But Karl-Anthony Towns is an elite talent with elite size. There are maybe 4 bigs in the league who should be able to even physically match up to him:

Those are Anthony Davis, Demarcus Cousins, Rudy Gobert, Joel Embiid when he is healthy. That's about it. And I'm not even necessarily saying those guys would beat Towns. Just that those are the only ones with the size and talent combo to be able to theoretically match up with a talent like Towns. Maybe Steven Adams and DeAndre Jordan have the ability to match up a little. But the rest should be easy wins for Towns. I don't think Porzingis has the bulk. Whiteside has fallen off a cliff. Like there just isn't a lot there that should be able to challenge Towns physically.

Like I'm not trying to knock Clint Capela here. He is legitimately a high value starter. But talent wise, there is no reason Towns shouldn't dominate that matchup. There is no reason why Towns shouldn't be a major threat inside against the Rockets even if he isn't dominating that particular matchup. Yet instead, he's playing passive and timid. I just don't understand.

It takes a lot for me to agree with Barkley on anything. In fact, this whole thing makes me madder because I have to agree with Barkley's take on this. The Timberwolves are dumb for not utilizing Towns better given all the opportunities they had to do so. Instead, the ghost of Derrick Rose was trying to rise from the grave and carry the team. Yeah, that seems sustainable.

And here this ties to the back to the similarities they share with the Bucks. The Timberwolves are a good team that should be better than they are given their talent. But the problem is they are A. stupid and B. their young talent is underachieving. Underachieving young talent and stupid is just like the Bucks. The Wolves had elite talent before, and weren't even relevant until they traded for a veteran star in Butler. Fair enough. But Wiggins and Towns should be finally starting to step up and I just don't see it. Wiggins is an overrated incomplete player who can score, but not as well as the truly elite scorers in the league. Towns is a freak of nature who should be a dominant force but is instead standing in the corner all game.

At least Giannis is stepping up. What have Wiggins and Towns ever done? Like at this point I'm starting to think maybe I overrated Towns because of his talent and it's more hype than skill. Not that he doesn't have the skill to do anything he dang well pleases on the court. He just doesn't seem to know when to use it.

I want to emphasize that I have no rooting interest for or against the Timberwolves. But it's so frustrating watching a guy who should be one of the next dominant players essentially be a non factor in such an important game. And it's even more frustrating when I also have to agree with Barkley.

And speaking of Barkley...

5. Why does Barkley have a job as an analyst? Why do any of them have a job as analysts?

What value does he bring? The mark of a great analyst is to teach you something you may not have known before. I don't expect that from Barkley. But how about you at least try to break down a game? Barkley doesn't analyze much. He mostly just puts his foot in his mouth and ironically calls everyone else stupid. He was at it again today randomly dissing NFL players for no reason. I mean some of them are dumb. But what value does it add to even say that? He brought it up out of nowhere. Overgeneralizations are what stupid or uninformed people tend to do.

Then he talks about how the after 1 game in each series the Rockets and Thunder is going to be a great series. Like he may be right, but it's too early to say that. Then he says, "Oh right. We want them to watch." And he says it so dismissively. Like is there a guy on TV more disdainful to his viewers than Charles Barkley? The sheer arrogance is revolting.

The only thing Barkley actually said that was meaningful as an analyst today was something that was painfully obvious. Paraphrasing: "The Timberwolves are dumb (his favorite word even if he was right in this case) for not properly using Towns." And they are. The sky is also blue. Like I'm waiting for the man to say something meaningful and he almost never does.

And this was a good day for him. Remember in that Warriors game where the Celtics won? Remember how Barkley not only admitted that he didn't watch the game he was paid to analyse, but said we were stupid for watching the game? You know, the viewers who give them rating so guys like Barkley can get paid to do nothing? Those people? Like I don't even want to get into his irrational dismissal of the Celtics. What bothers me here is Barkley is not only uninformed despite his job which should require him to be informed, and not only going out of his way to be uninformed, but mocking people who are informed by, you know, watching games.

Apparently, he doesn't actually want people to watch and often doesn't himself. Somehow Barkley is magically going to analyze games he doesn't watch and magically get paid by viewers who are apparently too dumb to not watch. It's no wonder his analyses is so dreadful. He doesn't pay any attention most of the time. And he doesn't even try to hide it.

And Barkley is just the worst of them. I don't understand what any of them bring. Kenny Smith rarely adds anything of substance and Shaq is mostly just loud. They are better analysts in 2K than they are in real life. And that's not saying much. I get that they are supposed to be fun personalities but they just get obnoxious and their actual analyses is extremely limited.

And the guy who is supposed to keep them in line and focused is useless, too. I remember watching this season and it was straight man Ernie who was derailing the conversation with college football fanboy talk. They were supposed to be analyzing a basketball game.

Sorry. I just had to get that one out of my system. That analyses team is wretched.

6. I think this is the Rockets' year.

This is just a hunch. The West is stacked. A lot of teams could win it all this year, but it will most certainly be a team from the Western Conference who does. I just think it will be the Rockets this year. The Warriors are a bit banged up and a bit vulnerable. The Spurs are without Kawhi so they are cooked. The Pelicans and Blazers are a bit lacking. The fourth best super team in the West is the Timberwolves, but they need to play smarter and get more from their core young talent to have a shot and I don't see it happening right now. It will still be a competitive series but the Rockets just look better. The Thunder are a threat. The Warriors could still take it. But the Rockets just look solid right now. Not invincible. Not without flaws. They will have a real tough road and hard fought series. But they are still one of the best teams in the West and the one with the most momentum in my opinion.

And then there was the Harvey disaster. And their baseball team made noise and won a championship. So the Astros did it after Harvey and now it feels like the Rockets will do it. Call me superstitious if you like. But I believe in karma to a certain degree and it often balances out. I remember when the Saints won the Super Bowl after Katrina. It didn't erase the disaster but it was a nice distraction for the city of New Orleans while they recovered. I remember when the Red Sox surprised and won the World series in 2013 after the tragedy that was the Boston Marathon Bombing. I do think there is a little something to that, at least when a team is realistically good enough to actually compete in the first place.

I look at that. It's admittedly a small factor but it's there for me. And then the Rockets are an elite team that is playing well. Then I look at the road. The Warriors are banged up and getting another one will be hard. Spurs are without Kawhi. The East offers little resistance with the banged up Celtics and expired Cavs, so whoever comes out of the West should win. My gut tells me Rockets come out of the West.

It's just a gut feeling. Take it for what it's worth.

7. I'm tired of empty hype around the 76ers

The Pacers win one game against the Cavs and the reaction is measured. The 76ers win one game against the Heat and the hype machine starts. "The Process" has worked! Not yet it hasn't. Is Philly a contender for the East? The media wants to know because Philly hype means ratings. And some of the fans are too quick to drink the kool-aid. All these histrionics in before the team that hasn't done anything yet and still has it's best player injured loses game two to the Heat. These are the same people who think Lebron is actually going there in the offseason. It makes no actual sense.

I know, I know. I'm a 76ers hater. But the entire reason I am a hater is because the hype is obnoxious and baseless. Philly is a rebuilding team. They need more health, good GMing moves, and young player development to become a legitimate contender. And depending on those things, they are at least 1-3 years away. They are not contending now. Even if they advance a round or two, the East is so weak this year it's hardly noteworthy. What matchup win will actually be impressive for Philly? The Celtics are hurt, the Cavs are expired, and most of the other teams are still weaker teams in the way weaker conference. Not that any series is by any means a guarantee for the 76ers mind you. But even in the best case scenario, there should be a disclaimer that comes with this year's Eastern Conference playoffs. It's a major down year, folks!

Like someone will get through the weakened East by default. But it could also be Indiana, Miami, or Milwaukee. (Who am I kidding. It won't be Milwaukee.) Like is Miami was the team that got through by default, would anyone actually care? Like the 76ers, the Pacers and Bucks are also rebuilding teams who are not far enough along in their rebuilds to be true contenders. But they don't come with the same empty hype machine that Philly does. No one would call them a contender so fast.

Look, I get it. Your future is bright. If things go right for you. But it could be a bright future. So ok Philly fans, get excited. Enjoy it. But please retain some semblance of perspective. You have just made the playoffs for the first time in years, your best player is hurt, your other best player is essentially a rookie, your other elite rookie prospect needs work, and you haven't done anything yet. The East is weak and someone will make it through by default only to get crushed by the West. It may or may not be you. But don't overestimate the importance of the teams that advance through in the East's biggest down year in a long time. The competition level just isn't going to be the same.

8. I'm curious about the Thunder.

Given their free agency situation, they are under a lot of pressure to perform well enough to at least be seen as legit contenders. They gambled a lot on George and Melo trades. I think Paul George was a good gamble and Melo was less so. But either way, it was a gamble. This postseason is make or break for them. Can they go far enough to keep it together and stay relevant or will it all fall apart? There isn't much else to say. I'm just fascinated by the situation. After they lost Durant like that, I admit I'm sort of rooting for a bit of good fortune for them. The NBA needs smaller market teams to be relevant, too.

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