The second round was thrilling–each series went six games, and the stars came to play (well, except for certain members of the Sixers…those poor, poor Sixers). Here’s what the BSB(R) table looks like going forward, regarding people’s current scores and their picks for conference finals.
Alex Tancredi has vaulted past David Gold for the lead. Tanc has recently been whooping me on the squash court, so I’m a little pained to also see him atop the BSB(R) leaderboard. Given that they have identical picks for the winners, David would have to make up the difference through correctly guessing the number of games. GEG could win with a Nuggets championship and Ben could win with a Lakers championship. I’m not positive, but mathematically, I think those are our contenders going forward. Grandpa Bernie found a way back near top of the table–we shouldn’t be surprised, as the man has been watching basketball since the days of Naismith, himself–but sadly, he is just out of the running.
As for the NBA, here’s what went down in the second round…
Celtics-Sixers: This was a much anticipated matchup, and it didn’t disappoint. The Sixers won the first game in Boston, despite having no Embiid, behind Harden’s 45 points and a game-sealing step-back three in Game 1. Embiid returned in Games 2 and 3, but Harden shot 5-28 from field in two losses. The Sixers managed to win Game 4 and 5, which included another Harden explosion in Game (42 points and another game-winner). Up 3-2, the Sixers lived up to the reputation of their coach and best players by blowing the lead: Harden scored 22 points on 7-27 shooting in those games and Embiid also failed to deliver; meanwhile Tatum led a furious Game 6 comeback after a cold start, and followed that up by 51 points in a Game 7 route.
- G.O.A.T: Jayson Tatum, whose final five quarters of basketball saved the day
- Goat: James Harden, Joel Embiid, and Doc Rivers, who all reinforced their reputations as folks who shrink when the lights shine brightest
Knicks-Heat: This was the least hyped series of the bunch, but was pretty great nonetheless. Admittedly, it was more Heat-dominant than the six games suggested: the Knicks may have been swept had Jimmy Butler not missed Game 2 with an ankle injury. Butler returned for Games 3 and 4 to help the Heat take a 3-1 lead, at which point the series felt over. Brunson made things interesting–he had 38 points in a Game 5 win and 41 points in a close Game 6 loss. Dare I say, Brunson was the best player in the series! No one else on the team could score efficiently enough, though, and the Heat will now have a rematch of last year’s conference finals matchup against the Celtics.
- G.O.A.T: Jalen Brunson and Jimmy Butler will take this honor together, who both we fantastic
- Goat: All other Knicks, who couldn’t provide Brunson with the support he needed.
Nuggets-Suns: The individual performances in this series were insane. Each team won their home games, all the way until Game 6, when the Nuggets, led by a Jokic 30-point triple double, humiliated the Suns on their own floor. Booker was the Suns’ best player, and in Games 4 and 5, he shot 34-43 from the field for 83 points, which reads like a typo. But you know what else reads like a typo? Jokic averaging 35-13-10 for an entire series, including 53 (20-30 FG) points and 11 assists in Game 5. The whole series was superb, until the Suns’ collapse in Game 6, which was eerily reminiscent of their Game 7 loss to the Mavericks last year. In related events, Monty Williams was fired after the loss and DeAndre Ayton (who become a walking meme) voiced interest in being traded.
- G.O.A.T: Nikola Jokic, who appears to be the league’s best player
- Goat: DeAndre Ayton, who got schooled by Jokic over and over, and also was unable to make any contribution on offense.
Warriors-Lakers: This was the LeBron-Curry rematch we’ve all been waiting for! It *almost* lived up to expectations. After the Lakers won an exciting Game 4 to go up 3-1, a Warriors comeback felt unlikely. The Lakers won behind consistent play from LeBron James and stringent defense from Anthony Davis. Meanwhile, for the Warriors, no one outside of Steph was consistent on offense (and even Steph wasn’t as good as his typical self). I thought the Warriors would beat the Lakers with ease–the Lakers’ offense had looked so clunky, and the Warriors had been rounding into form. Turns out, I’m just a casual like the rest of us.
- G.O.A.T: Anthony Davis, whose defense was the difference maker in this series and is the reason he can again be talked about as a top 5 player
- Goat: Jordan Poole. Yikes. He scored 8 points a game on 41.8 TS% while playing atrocious defense. He playoffs we so bad that his reputation is taking a real hit.
Looking ahead to the Conference Finals…
- Can the Nuggets keep up their hot play against the Lakers’ D? AD seems particularly equipped to bother Jokic
- Can the Lakers get consistent scoring outside of AD and LeBron? Neither of those two are elite scorers (both are very good), and they’ll need to score to keep pace with Denver.
- Can the Heat find enough offense outside of Butler, especially given the strength of the Celtics’ defense?
- Can the Celtics match the intensity of the Heat? The Heat seem to be playing with pace and purpose, whereas the C’s at time have looked confused on offense.
Okay, that’s all for now folks. When we check back in next time, the Finals matchup will be set!
Alone In The Green Room 