NBA Playoff Takeaways: Round 2

Photo by David Zalubowski from the Associated Press

We’re down to the final 4, and it’s certainly not a final 4 that many expected in the NBA.

David Stern would hate this.

Celtics defeat Cavaliers 4-1

Boston Celtics

This is the best team in basketball.

That doesn’t mean I’m picking them to win the title. It doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to get to the final.

But they should do both, and they should do both easily.

Anything besides that, and this season should be considered a failure.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The entire Cavs offseason depends on one man, and that’s Donovan Mitchell.

If Mitchell stays, the core is good, and it’s an appealing spot for potential free agents that can play with him in a weaker conference.

If he leaves, they have to simply tear the whole thing down.

The core is good, like I said, but it won’t get better with mid round draft picks and a lack of willing free agents.

But hey, maybe the King wants to come home again…

Pacers defeat Knicks 4-3

Indiana Pacers

The Pacers desperately, DESPERATELY, needed Tyrese Haliburton to show up, and show up he did, getting the Pacers back into this series from a 2-0 hole, and getting them to game seven, and anything can happen in a game seven.

In this case, the greatest shooting performance of all time happened, with the Pacers shooting 67% (!!!!!) from the floor.

Is that sustainable? Probably not.

But who cares?

New York Knicks

You live by Thibs ball, you die by Thibs ball.

Jalen Brunson was beat up and eventually fractured his hand. OG Anunoby was hurt. Mitchell Robinson, Isaiah Hartenstein, they were all just completely beat up.

Their health didn’t matter in game seven when the Pacers couldn’t miss, but it could’ve gotten the series done a lot faster.

Instead, it’s time to head on vacation.

Mavericks defeat Thunder 4-2

Dallas Mavericks

This team is equally extremely scary, and not at all scary.

They’re scary because they have made it this far without really having Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic play well in the same game. That’s impressive.

But it’s also been 12 games now where that hasn’t happened.

Is it going to?

And now that they have a very, very good defensive team standing in their way, it may not be so simple to get by without them both being in sync.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder are young, and the future is bright, but we did learn that Josh Giddey is not the 3rd member of the SGA and Chet Holmgren trio that OKC wants.

He disappeared in this series, and he is still young, but so is Chet.

Chet gave them what they wanted. Giddey didn’t.

Timberwolves defeat Nuggets 4-3

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves are awesome, man.

Anthony Edwards is a trash talking, in your face superstar, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert are excellent big men to compliment Edwards, and the core players like Naz Reid and Mike Conley make them a very deep team.

This team is going to be good for a long while, and may just win it all this season.

Denver Nuggets

Nikola Jokic is a 3 time MVP. Aaron Gordon is a great defensive player. Mike Malone is an excellent coach.

But the Nuggets in the postseason run through Jamal Murray, and this series was a perfect example of it.

Especially game seven, where Murray scored 35 points, with 24 of those being in the first half.

It’s probably not surprising that after one half, the Nuggets led by 15.

And then Murray went cold, and the Wolves came right back.

It’s how the Nuggets got into a 2-0 hole to begin with, and it’s how they won’t defend their title any longer.

Jamal Murray is the Nuggets playoff catalyst, Jokic’s MVPs be damned.