Whew… have you been watching the NBA and NHL playoffs? Talk about some wild wild playoffs… Let’s bring it up to date, review the first round results, and look ahead to the next round.
The Bucks got knocked out! Wow. That was the biggest shock in the NBA playoffs thus far. When Miami closed them out, I was fine with it; I actually had some money on the Heat ML, so that was cool. But yeah, the #1 seeded Bucks; did you see Giannis’ response to the question about whether or not the season was a failure? Initially, I liked his response; I still do, in general. You can’t win every year; every loss IS a stepping stone to the next win. Only one team can win each year; that certainly does not mean the season was a failure for all the other teams. Yet, the Bucks were the #1 seed, so while I wouldn’t classify it as a “failure” per se, certainly a choke job. The Heat are now matched up against the Knicks, who dispatched of the Cavs in the first round. Geez, I thought the Cavs had an ounce of dignity… the Knicks kicked their ass. They should kick the Heat’s ass, but… the Heat took the series lead in MSG on Sunday, in another shocker; how much longer can the Heat keep this up? On the other side of the East, will be the Celtics, who put away the pesky Hawks, and the 76ers, who’ve been chilling after sweeping the Nets; the Sixers actually upset the Celts in Boston in Game 1… without Embiid!!! Who knows what will happen next, but certainly expect the Celtics to represent the East when it’s all said and done.
In the West, the Nuggets moved on past the Timberwolves, while the Suns beat the injury depleted Clippers; the Nuggets are taking it to the Suns so far, holding their home court advantage in Denver, going up 2-0 in the series. I think the Suns are done IMO, but again, who knows. I do know the Lakers Warriors series will be super hyped up beyond the max. The Grizzlies missed their two starters in round 1, while the Kings couldn’t get it done against the battle tested Warriors in the 7th game in Sacramento. I’ll be rooting for the Warriors this round, just because I hate the Lakers, but… honestly, I feel like the Lakers will win; neither team is that good, but… at the end of the day, LeBron will get his way, come hell or high water; the NBA and their henchmen (the dirty refs) will make it happen. Wouldn’t be surprised to see an injury to the Warriors come into play for good measure.
On to hockey… if you thought the Bucks collapse was bad, how about the Bruins? The best regular season record in NHL history? Is that right? Wow! To get knocked out in the first round… I didn’t shed any tears. I may have lost a dollar or two betting on them, but totally fine with them being shown the door. The Lanche had the same fate as the Kraken beat them in 7 games as well; the NHL playoffs flipped upside down! It’ll be Panthers Maple Leafs and Kraken Stars in the West; I’d like to see the two super underdogs keep going… sorry Toronto. In the East, the Oilers will face the Golden Knights (Go Edmonton?), while the Hurricanes will face the Devils, who just dispatched of the Rangers in a 7th game of their own; so much for the young and inexperienced…
I’m keeping my train hooked to the Knicks in the NBA and the Kraken in the NHL. Rooting for Thibs no doubt; seeing him win it all would be really nice, even if it does mean New York gets another title. And then, going for the new guys in the NHL; a Golden Knight like run by the Kraken would be cool. I have to say, I’ve been pretty locked in to these playoffs; it’s not always like that. So far, so good… it would be better if the Bulls and/or Blackhawks would still be playing though… next year? Ha!
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