Eastern Conference

#5 Milwaukee Bucks vs. #4 Indiana Pacers

This series sees these two opponents matched up for the second year in a row; I try to avoid calling these “rematches” because the teams are not exactly the same as last season. This is especially true for Milwaukee, who will not have Khris Middleton, who was traded to Washington earlier this year. They will have Kyle Kuzma, who does have playoff experience from his time with the Lakers, including a championship with them. The Bucks also will have Giannis Antetokounmpo this time, who is coming off yet another stellar season. Giannis posted the second-highest field goal percentage in a 30+ ppg season in NBA history—only behind his season last year. As Damian Lillard recovers from blood clots in his calf and may miss some or all of this series, the Bucks will hopefully have the Greek Freak for more than just one or two games. 

As for the Pacers, most of their team is back from making last year’s Conference Finals and quietly won 50 games this year. Point guard Tyrese Haliburton has returned to his 2023-24 All-Star form after a slow start to begin this season. Indiana still plays at a feverish, um, pace, and have the advantage of home court. Can the Pacers overwhelm the Bucks before Milwaukee gets to full strength? Or will Giannis and his relentless style lead the Bucks into the next round?

#6 Detroit Pistons vs. #3 New York Knicks 

For a lot of publications, broadcasts, podcasts and TV shows, this series is where it feels appropriate to take some kind of shot at the Knicks. For a 51-win team who has one of the best starting fives in all the Association, with an experienced coach, veteran players in their primes and versatility on the perimeter with their wing players, it does feel like something is missing with the Knicks, huh? Set aside the fact that coach Tom Thibodeau plays his starters abnormally high minutes each game compared to the rest of the league. Set aside the fact that the Knicks had two All-Star starters and that new acquisition Karl-Anthony Towns has played at an All-NBA level in tandem with Jalen Brunson. Also set aside that the other new acquisition, Mikal Bridges, has also fit well with Josh Hart and OG Anunoby. Something still feels…off, doesn’t it? Like, it feels like the Knicks are good but there is a cap on his good they can be, despite their talent. With the addition of Towns and the lengthy absence of backup center Mitchell Robinson, the Knicks’ defense had taken a considerable step back. Much has already been pointed out about how the Knicks struggled in the regular season against the three best teams in the NBA—OKC, Cleveland and Boston, so that also does not inspire confidence in the Knicks ability to finally break through and reach the Finals for the first time in over two dozen years. But the fact is the Knicks are good, and have done well with the moves they’ve made in the off-season. 

In comes Detroit, who was the first team in NBA history to triple their win total from the previous season. Speaking of All-NBA caliber seasons, Cade Cunningham is in position to earn his first selection, averaging over 25 points and 9 assists a game. The Pistons play with a lot of tightness and fervor—similar to how the Knicks played last season. But there is limited playoff experience amongst the Pistons’ young rotation players, and that lack of playoff mettle may override their effort. However, Detroit has more than a fair shot to upset the Knicks, especially if Malik Beasley can continue shooting the three the way he has. Beasley joined Anthony Edwards and Steph Curry as the only players to make over 300 threes this season. This should be a very competitive series, and you know both Madison Square Garden and Little Caesars Arena will be rocking throughout the entirety of it.

#7 Orlando Magic vs. #2 Boston Celtics

Fun fact: this is the only matchup of the first round that will feature two division winners. That’s right, the Orlando Magic won the Southeast Division and then had to beat the Atlanta Hawks in Tuesday’s play-in game to capture the #7 seed. Either way, they’re in, and their reward is last year’s champion Boston Celtics, who return most of their roster and are a year more experienced and somewhat healthier headed into this year’s playoffs. Orlando took a slight step back. Injuries to Paolo Banchero and a season-ending one to Mo Wagner had them hovering around .500 all season. But they got Banchero back and Mo’s brother, Franz, is having another outstanding offensive season. Wagner and Banchero combined for over 50 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists a game between them. And with underrated depth in the likes of veteran Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony and all-world defender Jonathan Isaac, their length could give Boston some problems. Will it be enough to knock off a team that has decided to shoot as many threes as possible in a basketball game and gets a healthy Kristaps Porzingis this go-round? I haven’t mentioned that both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are among the best duos in the Association. Or that both Jrue Holiday and Derrick White have been terrors for opposing guards. The Celtics are loaded and Orlando is game with their stout defense. We will see if the Southeast Division champs can give the 2024 champs a competitive series.

#8 Miami Heat vs. #1 Cleveland Cavaliers 

It been more like “Heat Culture” to underachieve in the regular season and then maybe make noise in the playoffs. The Heat have been in the play-in the past few years, and this is no different. After defeating the Chicago Bulls in the #9-10 game, the Heat outlasted the Hawks in overtime to secure the East’s final playoff spot. Miami becomes the first #10-seed to reach the postseason, and their reward is the Cleveland Cavaliers—who have been the best team in the conference since opening night.

Cleveland feels a little different as a team this year. With Kenny Atkinson at the helm, the Cavs appear to be much more focused—much more resolute—as a unit. Their backcourt if Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland play really well together. And with the blossoming of Evan Mobley into an All-Star and more prominent in the offense, the Cavalier won 60 games for the first time since LeBron was there. Atkinson’s offense has the team operating much more efficiently, as Cleveland shot 49.1 percent from the field as a team. Miami is certainly the underdog here. But this series still carries hints of Cleveland proving they’re truly ready for contention. If they are, they will dispatch if the Heat very quickly. But if not, then the Heat, even without Jimmy Butler, can give the Cavaliers a series.

Western Conference

#5 Los Angeles Clippers vs. #4 Denver Nuggets

The Clippers are in a bit of a  conundrum. On one hand, they have far exceed expectations this season, especially considering Kawhi Leonard only played 36 games in the regular season and the team lost Paul George to Philly. They rose to the 5^th seed, spearheaded by Leonard, James Harden and Norman Powell ending the season with wins to secure that playoff spot, including a thriller over Golden State on the road in which Leonard and Harden were spectacular. On the other hand, it is time for the investments the team has made in superstars—California native superstars who wanted to be there—to produce some real winning. Winning is difficult and players like Harden prove that. James Harden is averaging nearly 23 points and 9 assists in his age-35 season, while playing 79 of the 82 games. He and Powell kept the Clippers afloat while Kawhi dealt with knee rehabilitation and management, and then the team came together and look to be playing their best basketball at the right time. Head coach Tyronn Lue is one of the best in-series adjusters going. If the team can start healthy, this will be a tough out. 

On the other side lies Nikola Jokic, the best player in the world, in his most unstable season since becoming an MVP-caliber player half a decade ago. He is having his best season to date, finishing three-tenths shy of averaging a 30-point triple-double got the year. Jokic finished top-3 in four separate statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists and steals. But the Nuggets fired head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Both with four games left in the regular season, and interim David Adelman will have a tall task on his have being thrust into taking the helm of a team with championship aspirations. But Denver’s core does have very recent title experience, and that could at least carry them into being competitive in this series as Adelman tried to find his coaching footing. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. must play past All-Star level to match the Clippers’ offensive firepower. To me, this will be the closest of the Western Conference first round series.

#6 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. #3 Los Angeles Lakers

 After a slow start, despite Anthony Edwards’s improvement in his fifth season, the Minnesota Timberwolves rebounded to earn a top-6 seed. In a year of ups and downs, the Wolves appear to be on the up. They still have most of their team from the squad that knocked off Denver last year and made the Western Conference Finals. Karl-Anthony Towns is in New York and he was replaced with Julius Randle—where the fit, like their season, has had its ups and downs. 

And then there are the Lakers, who have both found a way to be the center of the most shocking move in the season and manage to lighten the load of LeBron James in his 22^nd season. Trading Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic meant trading interior defense and scoring for an absolute assassin of a playmaker and offensive weapon, and they’ve build their roster around that for now. The Lakers lack size, but have the ability to do the one thing that has been a weakness for teams with Rudy Gobert on them: play him off the floor. A multi-time Defensive Player of the Year has been made to sit in crucial fourth quarter minutes, and the Lakers can spread the floor in a similar way. Luka sent Ant home last year when he was in Dallas. With LeBron James as a second option, the Lakers offense has become even deadlier. The question will be can their defense and glass maintenance hold up against teams with real size in the paint. Can Ant continue his leap and further announce his arrival as a superstar, or will the 40-year-old King be at the helm of another lengthy playoff run?

#7 Golden State Warriors vs. #2 Houston Rockets

Poor Houston. The Rockets have been among the best teams all season. Center Alpern Sengun was a first-time All-Star and fills the stat sheet, impacting the game in multiple ways. Jalen Green is on his way to becoming one of the premier scoring guards. Both of them are <24 years old with very bright futures headed towards superstardom. Last off-season, the team added veteran experience in Fred Van Vleet and Dillon Brooks. Coached by Ime Udoka, they have a toughness and an identity in that tightness. Yet the consensus is Golden State, a team who was yet again playing in the play-in round, should be favored to win the series. There is something that can be said about playoff experience, and the Warriors now have three players, albeit all of them are at least 35 years old, who raise their level of play in the postseason. Steph Curry, Draymond Green and deadline acquisition Jimmy Butler have proven their possession mettle multiple times over. And while the Warriors probably would like to have avoided playing an extra game before the playoffs, they still get a few extra days to rest and get ready for Houston. The Rockets are better than the Warriors, even the post-deadline Warriors, but better doesn’t guarantee a series win. That’s especially true for teams with a lot of youth in their best players, which the Rockets have. Green and Sengun, along with Amen Thompson, have not experienced a team scouting and preparing for them and only them A lot of growth would have to happen for Houston to overcome Golden State leaning on them with their experience. This is certainly the series that will test how ready the Rockets are to contend as well as how far the Warriors have fallen from their glory days.

#8 Memphis Grizzlies vs. #1 Oklahoma City Thunder 

The Memphis Grizzlies have had a perplexing season. Climbing as high as the #2 seed in the West, Memphis looked like true contenders to Oklahoma City. Ja Morant had a solid season, and Jaren Jackson Jr. took a tremendous leap in offensive production, leading the Grizzlies in scoring this year. Combined with Desmond Bane’s steady play and the team seemed set up for the present and future. Then, head coach Taylor Jenkins was fired with a month to go as the Grizzlies slid to the play-in seeding. And after losing to Golden State in the 7-8 matchup, Memphis put the Dallas Mavericks out of their misery to claim the last spot in the West. 

Awaiting them are that same OKC Thunder team, who’ve been the best team on offense and defense all year. Winning 67 games and clearing the rest of the conference by double-digit wins, the Thunder only rival Boston as teams with the highest presumed chance to win the NBA title. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is having his second-straight MVP-caliber season, Chet Holmgren returned from an early season injury to anchor the help side defense, and Jalen Williams (I had to triple check which Jalen/Jaylin Williams he was) notched his first All-Star selection by averaging 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists a night. 

The question the Thunder have to answer is if they’re ready to bear the weight of responsibility being a contender comes with. Their camaraderie is admirable, and the players seem to enjoy one another. But as fun as basketball is, winning is serious business. Look no further than last year’s Minnesota Timberwolves who scoffed at the idea of having to suffer heartbreak in order to ascend to championship-level contention. That team did not reach the Finals, and the West is both talented and experienced enough to beat OKC in a best-of-7. Have the Thunder grown up enough? We’ll see. 

That’s it for me. Happy NBA playoffs everyone and I’ll catch you next time.

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What We Know

The #1 Seeds: UCLA is the top overall seed, with South Carolina, Texas and USC joining them. South Carolina comes into the Tournament having won last year’s championship. While they’re missing the dominant interior presence they’ve had in years past, they’re still a formidable opponent for anyone else in the field. The Gamecocks and their supporters may be a little surprised at not being the overall number one seed, but either way, they’re done talking. UCLA has been the best team for the most part of the season, but their two losses are to their biggest rival, who’s also on the #1 line. If chalk holds, the two Final Four matchups—Texas and South Carolina as well as USC and UCLA—will be the fourth time they occur this season. That makes for a hard-fought and well-earned trip to the Title Game. 

The Field

But we know chalk rarely holds, especially these days. Part of the magic that is March Madness is the fact that upsets happen all through the bracket. Though a top-3 seed has won every women’s NCAA basketball championship since its inception, there are some very good teams outside of those 12 teams—but I’d still pick one of those 12 to win. UConn is the #2 seed no one wants to play, and Notre Dame is the #3 teams would rather avoid. The ACC still gets two #2 seeds even without the Irish, with Duke and NC State playing their way to host games the first weekend. Familiar faces like Baylor, LSU, and North Carolina are also in that top-4 tier. But the intrigue is outside of that as well. Teams like Tennessee, West Virginia and Vanderbilt have a chance to advance to the second weekend, given a seemingly favorable draw. There is also likely to be at least one double-digit seed to win a game, but it’s difficult to be even somewhat sure of who.

Several schools have earned their first Tournament bids ever. These include Fairleigh Dickinson, Arkansas State, George Mason, William & Mary, Grand Canyon and UC San Diego. That’s another great aspect of the Tournament—teams that experience going to The Big Dance for the first time. In between the heavy favorites and those newbies are a few dozen teams looking to go on a surprise run like NC State’s Final Four run a year ago.

Underappreciated Players to Watch

Ta’Niya Latson, Florida State. The nation’s leading scorer plays for the Seminoles. Latson comes into the Tournament averaging 25 a game for a Florida State team that finished with 23 wins and defeated Notre Dame in the ACC regular season. Latson is relentless to the basket, averaging nearly eight free throw attempts a game in 30 minutes on the floor. In addition, she shoots 45 percent on 19 shots a night. So despite being a volume scorer, she’s still efficient. She also doesn’t bog down the Noles’ offense, since teammate Makayla Timpson still averages a double-double. Florida State has George Mason in the round of 64 before a potential matchup with 3-seed LSU in Baton Rouge, with LSU down star forward Aneesah Morrow out with injury.

Harmoni Turner, Harvard. With her flowing blonde hair, Harmoni Turner nearly does it all for the Harvard Crimson. She leads the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals. In the two games in the Ivy League conference tournament, Turner had 44 in the semifinal against Princeton and 24 against Columbia in the final. She is shooting a career-high 44% from the field and 36% from three. At 5’10”, Turner has the size to complete with other guards. The 10^th-seeded Crimson have a first round date with Michigan State and those 7-10 matchups can get really interesting. Watch either against the Spartans this coming Saturday.

JJ Quinerly, West Virginia. The Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year is also a 20-point scorer. And in March, quality guard play carries teams through the weekends. Quinerly is a tough-minded guard for the Mountaineers and poses a major threat for 3-seeded North Carolina if both teams win on Saturday in the Round of 64. Quinerly plays hard and applies pressure every minute she’s out there, which could be every minute of the game.

Sonja Citron, Notre Dame. I know the Fighting Irish are a high-profile team in college basketball, even appearing in national commercials and such. And a lot of the attention the team gets is due to head coach Niele Ivey and the All-American backcourt of Olivia Miles and Hannah Hidalgo. But senior Sonja Citron has been the steady glue for the Irish. She’s their defensive stopper, sometimes asked to defend the opponent’s best player and sacrifice her scoring. But there’s a reason she’s on the first round board of WNBA scouts. She’s that good. She always makes the right play and is in the right position on the court. That is essential for the Irish to advance in the Tournament.

Sedona Prince, TCU. Sedona Prince is arguably the best player in the country that does not get the recognition as one of the best players in the country. Prince is the Horned Frogs’ 6’6” center and she is the fulcrum of everything the team does on offense and defense. Her chemistry with Louisville and LSU transfer point guard Hailey Van Lith is a big part of why TCU won the Big 12 outright in the regular season and conference tournament. While guards may be a major key to a team advancing to the next weekend and beyond, a dominant center is the great equalizer in college basketball—just ask Dawn Staley and South Carolina. Prince is 0.1 points behind Van Lith in scoring on the team, to go along with her 9 boards, 3.1 blocks per game and 58.7% shooting. TCU is in a tough draw with potential matchups against Notre Dame and Texas in the second weekend, but Prince and the rest of the Horned Frogs are more than capable of making it to Tampa. 

“Predictions” 

I don’t really like giving predictions. I don’t care about being wrong—we’re all guessing, anyway–but I would rather just let the Tournament unfold as is. With that said, I did fill out one bracket and that bracket has UCLA cutting down the nets. If the Bruins’ guards do not forget they have the best center in America on their team and let Lauren Betts lead them to six straight wins, then it’ll be tough to beat them. If their guard lead with their egos, they can be defeated, even before they reach Tampa. I think only about six teams can win it all, which are the four #1 seeds, UConn and Notre Dame. The winner of Texas’ region won’t win it, to me, because it’s so grueling of a run to get through, especially compared to South Carolina’s draw on that same side of the bracket. It’s a tall task to ask any team there to win the region and potentially beat the Gamecocks to get to the title game. 

It also kind of feels like UConn is due for one, huh? It’s been none years since Geno and the Huskies have won, and Paige Bueckers would like nothing more than to cap off her legendary career with a title. No matter what happens, there will be excellent basketball played with drama, heartbreak, joy and passion. Happy March Madness everyone!

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Well, February certainly has started with its share of dreams and intrigue. In both the Men’s and Women’s National Basketball Associations, moves have been made and transactions have been processed. Major names have changed addresses and both leagues will have a new look to them going forward.

First, in the W, it seems like Unrivaled has become a recruiting ground for players in free agency and looking for a trade. From Brittney Griner signing with Atlanta to Jewell Loyd and Kelsey Plum involved in a trade to the Connecticut Sun dismantling their core to start anew, the WNBA seems to be taking advantage of this increase in attention and fandom. More people truly care what’s going on this off-season, and the W has more than delivered through Unrivaled and its free agency period.

Over in the NBA, of course the big transaction is the Los Angeles Lakers acquiring Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks for Anthony Davis. The key component in the deal—apologies to the other players and pieces involved—is that no one but the two GMs, Rob Pelinka and Nico Harrison, knew the deal was about to happen. This naturally leads to questions surrounding the why behind the secrecy as well as the why behind the reason Dallas traded a 25-year-old superstar that led them to the Finals a season ago. No matter the reason, the deal is done, and now both teams must solve new problems with their adjusted team makeup.

This is true of the other deals, like Jimmy Butler being traded to Golden State and De’Aaron Fox being traded to San Antonio. Those teams have a different construct, and the players and coaches will have to figure it out with roughly 30 games left in the season. I also don’t know what this means going forward as far as trade requests and demands go. For the past few years, “player empowerment” has been the movement, especially in the NBA. That means players have had much more say in where they would like to play going forward, and more willing to express displeasure and unhappiness with their current circumstances. Granted, the number of players with this kind of power is very minuscule compared to the overall population of players in the league. But there are enough of them that are willing to be vocal about where they would like their team’s direction to go. I don’t know if this is the start of front offices trying to wrestle a little more control back or not. But one thing is true, regardless of workplace, disgruntled employees must ultimately either be removed or satiated. Otherwise, the entire company can tank off bag vibes alone.

All-Star weekend may be a little awkward…

February Till Takes!
Unrivaled will have their 1-on-1 tournament starting February 7th. Thirty of the 36 players will participate. I encourage people to tune in because we will see just how skilled these women are. One-on-one allows players to really get into their isolation game and treat every possession like a potential game-winner. That should be done good hoop over the next couple weeks.

The Lakers trading for Mark Williams was the quality move that may not seem like it on the surface. Williams is young and willing to protect the paint. He’s not Anthony Davis but he certainly fills a need.

I do not think Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green will butt heads just because they’re both fiery personalities. If anything, they’ll team up and fuss at Buddy Hield.

That’s it for this hoop recap. I’ll catch up with y’all next time.

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Alright, so this will likely be the last post from me in 2024. And I’m sure like most of you reading this, this year was more than a doozy in so many ways. I have had my share of setbacks and challenges that latch themselves onto the negative feelings like doubt and anxiety that cause me to not feel like I’m progressing every day. And that doesn’t include any physical problems that have arisen throughout the year. Since January 1^st—and of course, well before that date—life has certainly done life things in a way that doesn’t always feel good. 

Doesn’t it also seem like this is both the longest and shortest year ever? In the winter, nighttime feels like it comes before business hours are closed, as of the Sun decides to clock out early because even it needs a break sometimes. At the same time, something like Caitlin Clark’s first WNBA game feels like forever shi when that was in May. Six months ago, Kawhi Leonard was set to play on Team USA in the Olympics and we haven’t seen him play basketball at all since that very same month of May. With the constant cycle of problem, solution and outcome, we can lean into the fatigue and feel like there isn’t much to celebrate. 

But that does not mean there is nothing to celebrate. 

To tie it in with hoop, the Milwaukee Bucks just won the 2^nd Emirates NBA Cup, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in Vegas. Bucks assistant coach and former Lakers head coach Darvin Ham led Los Angeles to the Cup last year, and he suggested to the Bucks to avoid celebrating with champagne like the Lakers did in order to leave room that there is now work to be done during the season. The Cup is nice, and it certainly is something worth winning, but the goal of NBA teams is to hoist the Finals trophy much more than it is to lift the Cup one. 

So Milwaukee didn’t use the separate room to celebrate winning the Cup (and the $500k each) by spraying bottles of bubbly everywhere. But they did celebrate, and that’s my point. 

One thing this and recent years have taught me, aided by the institution of sports and championships, is that we celebrate the entirety of the journey. The final step to victory is worth it because of everything that led up to it. If you notice, when people give thanks and acknowledgments after winning something, the phrase, “along the way” is intimated throughout their words. That’s not coincidence. When you win, everything contributed to that win. Yes, the strategies that worked and the great days are essential. But so are the bruises, the doubts, the streak of days that lead to ideas like “slump” and “regression” to take root. The pursuit of excellence is not easy. And because it is not easy, it is lined with mistakes. But mistakes are the soil for greatness, because from a mistake, we decide that we can be better and start the voyage towards it. 

So I say to you, for 2024, lift your trophy high. You earned it. 

Till Takes! 

• The NBA is deciding to change the All-Star Game format to a quick pickup game tournament. I will maintain that the NBA has tricked fans into both believing these players don’t play hard and that they should always and only be concerned with winning championships. That begs of the question: why is it necessary for these nine-figure assets—because that’s what they are to these billion-dollar franchises—to take an exhibition game seriously? Why is it paramount to know they care to win this game as badly as a regular season or playoff game? The All-Star Game is a celebration of the best players of the first half of the season and acknowledging how good they’ve been so far. It is not a competitive battle for some arbitrary measure of effort. And those of you who believe it have allowed billionaires and party poopers mislead you into siding with management and not labor. 
• With USC and UConn set to okay in women’s college hoops, that game will feature Juju Watkins and Paige Bueckers. It is the rare occasion that both those young women have claim to the best guard in the country and that neither of them are that right now. I say that because Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo has begun her sophomore campaign with an amplified moxie and productivity, even as fellow All-American Olivia Miles is back with the Irish. Hidalgo is over 25 points a game and is her usual menacing self on defense. The Irish will be a tough out come March. 

That’s it for me in 2024. See y’all on the other side with another year and more hoop stories to recap. 

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