NBA Recap: Tournament Preparations
Hey there! Ya boy (it me, ya boy) Johnathan Tillman is back with another NBA (and college) recap. We are heavy into March, which means that it’s time to get ready to immerse ourselves in the Madness.
In college, both the men’s and women’s conference tournaments will have wrapped up by the end of St. Patrick’s Day, and what’ll them happen is the Selection Committee will seed the teams in hopes of creating a very exciting Tournament for the next three weeks. There will be favorites such as UConn and Houston on the men’s side as well as South Carolina and Texas on the women’s side who will be attempting to navigate a tough road to the Final Four. The task sounds simple on its surface—win six straight games over three weekends to cut down the nets. But if it were easy, there would be no such thing as March Madness. The upsets, especially in the early rounds, are why we tune in every year. While only one team will be crowned champions, “One Shining Moment” replays the best moments of the entire tourney. This is one of the best spectacles in all of sports, and here’s to the best tournaments we can possibly have.
In the NBA, teams are also preparing for the postseason in their own way. There are about three weeks left in the regular season, and teams are jockeying for playoff position. While the goal of the regular season is to attempt to win a many games as possible, it is also a long-term goal for playoff teams to try to make their road to the Finals as easy as possible. Yes, every team that makes the postseason will likely be a tough matchup, but some matchups are more favorable for certain teams than others. For example, it is possible that other teams in the Western Conference want to prolong having to play the Denver Nuggets until the Conference Finals. The same can be said for the Boston Celtics and the other teams in the East. That idea is not meant to imply that teams lose games on purpose. But like in the NFL, teams will start to limit the minutes of their best players if it appears their postseason position is more cemented.
And then, there is the NBA’s Play-In Tournament—“April Absurdity” (working moniker) to college’s March Madness. The best thing to happen to the Play-In is that some of the Association’s brightest stars have been in it. This year is no different, as teams like the Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers could find themselves there once the regular season ends. It has indirectly become a way to clear a little more room for up-and-coming stars to shine because of their stellar regular seasons as well as pit several stars against each other in an intense win-or-go-home scenarios. Last year, the Miami Heat lost the 7-8 Play-In game and were down in the 8-9 game before rallying to win and carrying that momentum to the NBA Finals. Will we see a similar run this year? We’ll find out in a few weeks.
Here are some Till Takes:
Anthony Edwards attacks the rim with menacing intentions. He claimed Utah’s John Collins as his latest poster victim after dunking on him. We should appreciate how hard he plays and how willing he is to be ferocious on the court while having the charisma and swagger of a future face of the League.
The same night as Edwards’ dunk, Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson had his own thunderous dunk over Austin Reaves of the Lakers. The best part is that it was the first points of the game. Reaves was a good sport, which is easier to do when the Lakers won by more than 30, joking about his point of view on Johnson’s jam.
Kyrie Irving hit one of the most ridiculous game-winning shots I’ve ever seen. Against the Denver Nuggets, Irving hit a running left-handed hook from the free throw line for the win. I can only think of one player who would even attempt that shot in-game, and he isn’t a lefty. I don’t know how we can properly determine who is the most skilled player so far, but his craftiness is otherworldly.
That’ll so it for this NBA Recap I’ll catch you next time as we inch close to the postseason.