NBA Playoff Takeaways: Conference Finals
Photo from USA Today
We are left with a very, very intriguing NBA Finals.
A Finals that may determine the future of the sport going forward.
Is the best method good players in the whole starting five, or two huge offensive studs carrying the torch?
I guess we’ll find out.
Celtics defeat Pacers 4-0
Boston Celtics
Look, I’m not a fan of Boston.
But even I am getting annoyed at the weird things NBA fans and media are saying about the Celtics.
And to an extent, I get it!
They play in a weaker conference, and they had an easy path to the NBA Finals. That’s not lost on me.
But they still went 12-2 to get to the NBA Finals, and I’ve heard people say that they’re too teammate centric instead of having someone to purely take over the game?
Sure, it’s always good to have a closer in the NBA playoffs, but too teammate centric? What does that even mean?
The Celtics are good, and they didn’t underperform and made the NBA Finals.
I don’t know if they’ll win the Finals, but I wouldn’t at all be surprised if they did, and it seems like everyone else sure would be.
Indiana Pacers
This was a great season for the Pacers.
Sure, they came so close and fell short in both the in season tournament and the playoffs, but they still went farther than many, including their fans, expected, and Tyrese Haliburton had an excellent season overall that they can use to build off of this offseason.
Their season is done, but it won’t be forgotten among Pacers fans.
Mavericks defeat Timberwolves 4-1
Dallas Mavericks
Dallas needed to grow up.
Luka Doncic needed to start taking defense seriously, and Kyrie Irving needed to stop being an off court distraction and accept being the number two option to Luka.
Until that happened, the Mavericks weren’t going to be anything more than a talented team who underwhelms.
But this year, it happened.
Luka became a solid defensive player, which is all he needed, and Kyrie has done nothing except play some of the best basketball of his career.
It’s no surprise Dallas is headed to the NBA Finals.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Anthony Edwards had a great postseason, but this conference finals shows that he, and the Timberwolves, still need more experience before they can take that next step.
Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns underperformed, and Edwards played fine, but nowhere near he has previously and had some boneheaded errors that cost the Timberwolves in some crucial moments.
It’s a disappointing end after a huge series win against the defending champion Nuggets, but it’s not the end of the world.
That is, unless it’s a sign of something to come.
NBA Finals Prediction
So, which is it?
Will the Celtics, with good players in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and a whole team effort win it all? Or will it be Luka and Kyrie taking over and taking the title?
I’m a firm believer that the Celtics are a lot better than people think, but ever since Doncic has gotten better defensively, the Mavericks look like a next level team.
The Mavericks defeat the Celtics in 6 Games.
