2019-2020 Season!

The regular season was stopped rather abruptly just after the middle of March, and at that time not all the teams had played the same number of games. It was decided that during the restart, it was more important for all invited teams to have the same opportunity to get warmed up than it was for all teams to finish with the same total number of games overall, especially considering that the 8 teams already mathematically eliminated weren't even invited to the Orlando Bubble.

Yes I was aware of that. Still Milwaukee didn't benefit by the last ten games going 3-7 I believe whereas Toronto did by going 9-1. Milwaukee had the best record before play stops way back when. Warm up games could have meant fewer than they actually played which was ???---I don't know. I didn't watch much of any because I didn't find them meaningful. Besides the playoffs generally seem to last as long as a season.

The restart was 8 games each for the 22 teams invited. 13 teams were mathematically alive in the West and 9 in the East.

For some teams, those last 8 games were highly significant, for others not so much. For Portland, just making the playoffs was a big deal, so even if they lose to the Lakers in 4 (which they won't), they can still claim that the season showed some significant improvement for the franchise. For teams like Milwaukee and the Lakers, those last 8 games didn't mean much in terms of wins and losses; those teams just wanted to get their players warmed back up, hopefully to mid-season form if not playoff form, without getting them injured.

With the playoffs finally starting today, and looking up at 4 rounds of best-of-7 matches, with 2 to 3 days between games, i'm definitely identifying with davidalan's observation of the playoffs feeling like their own season, especially with more than half of the teams making the postseason.

This year was definitely different in a lot of ways, but once again we have 3 teams with losing records in the postseason, and that ain't hardly near the record by any stretch of the imagination. We've had more than that in a single conference before.

The NBA Playoffs place a premium on endurance. Last year's ECF could well have gone to Milwaukee otherwise. Guys like Giannis and LeBron, who can be so explosive, can carry their team to a win, even a series win, but they can't keep doing it over and over and over ad nauseum, and that's why the NBA Playoffs are set up as a marathon: to reward teams that have depth and cohesion and endurance, as opposed to individuals and duos who can come out and dominate a game or three.

When teams that are built around one or two superstars can take the top seeds, there's a bit of a balance because the long series in the early rounds can give them time to rest those superstars.

Personally i think it's structurally well-balanced, and it's often offered the most exciting postseasons of the sports i follow closely.

By and large I enjoy the playoffs. It's the long season before it I mostly don't follow. I think both can be condensed. The season should drop some games and especially the number of cross-conference games. As for the playoffs we don't need eight teams per conference. Four is plenty. But my proposal is in each conference to eliminate divisions all together. And emphasize intra-conference scheduling. Then in each conference have the the four truly best teams, as determined by actual record and not by lesser teams claiming top divisional spots, play each other in the regular 4 vs 1 and 3 vs 2 in bests of 7. The conference survivors of course should play the best of 7.

Since 2016, winning a division no longer automatically qualifies a team for a playoff spot. Since 2007, winning a division no longer automatically qualified a team for a top-4 seed.

Having divisions is mostly symbolic at this point, although it has limited travel time and expenses to a small extent and allowed the Association to highlight regional rivalries to an even smaller degree.

So i'm totally with you on scrapping divisions at this point, though going back to a divisional format could be worthwhile if there's ever expansion to 32 teams. But personally i like the length of the season and the postseason.

David, your Bucks lost game 1 against the Home Team 8 seeded Orlando Magic, the Playoff team with the worst regular season record of the 16 (Orlando went 33-40 in the regular season, and were within a game or two of .500 in the restart).

Giannas had 31 points, 17 rebounds, and 7 assists, and 4 other Bucks scored in the double digits, but they lost 122-110.

I wouldn't worry about the Bucks, though. The 1 seeds already knew they could coast through the restart as basically an accelerated training camp. It's an interesting strategy and is premised on the idea that the postseason is too damned long. It's certainly a controversial strategy among the fans. It'll be interesting to see what happens in tonight's Portland/Lakers game.

Yep the Bucks should have lobbied harder for immediate playoff games. My money's on Toronto. To repeat????

The Raptors are certainly an intriguing team. They've got Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry, and Fred VanVleet leading a team with reasonable depth. I like that they've had Marc Gasol starting and using Ibaka as their big "big off the bench." Nonetheless i don't think they have the staying power nor the depth to win it all. The first round match against a Brooklyn squad that's playing without Kevin Durant OR Kyrie Irving is ideal for the Raptors though, and they held the Nets off today to go to 2-0. If they can win this series in 5 games or less, it gives them a much needed rest before the conference Semis.

Right now those Bucks are looking like they've righted their ship when they needed to.

We had some great game 3s today.

The Pacers brought the Heat to within 2 points four times in the 4th quarter in spite of being down 20 at the half, but Miami never surrendered the lead and held on for a 3-0 series lead. Miami is the 5 seed in the East, and they're the only non-top 4 seed that i picked to win in the first round. They might not be the only upset, but right now they're the only upset with a chance to sweep.

The Rockets and Thunder went back and forth a lot, but OKC came on hard in the 4th quarter and finally won a game, now down 2-1 in the series.

The Lakers and Trailblazers also played a classic. Damien Lillard's taped up sprained left index finger held up well, and he scored 34, with McCollum putting up 28 and My Boy (yes, i re-embrace him) Carmelo Anthony put up 20. However, it wasn't enough to top the Lakers, who had 38-12-8 from LBJ and 29-11-8 from AD, and also got quality contributions from Dwight Howard and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Danny Green and Kyle Kuzma continue to struggle but did both help out a little. It was a Great Game.

The early game was the stinker of the four, as Milwaukee cruised against the "home team" Magic. I fell asleep a couple times during this literal snooze-fest, and i'm glad i did, as otherwise i might've been getting drowsy during the LA-Portland nightcap.

So far, all first round series that have ended, I correctly predicted the winner. I said straight  chalk except for Miami-Philly.

However, we have two game 7s to play out West. Utah could upset Denver, and OKC could upset Houston. Frankly, i'd like to see both of those outcomes. I think the Lakers match up better against OKC, and keep in mind i'm ultimately rooting for The King because the Knicks Suck. I also think the Jazz are more likely to tire out the Clippers than the Nuggets would be, and i feel sure that the WCF will be a 1-2 matchup of LA teams. Oh, Hodge]!

I took the Celtics and Bucks in the Eastern Semis. I'm aware that there is a possibility for Miami to shock the world by beating the Bucks, but i don't think it's very likely, even though Miami took game 1. As for the Raptors, i could believe Siakam could rise up and win a game, maybe even two, in this series; but i think the Celtics are one of the most complete teams in the Association right now, and they are all healthy and firing on all cylinders. They are just too hot to lose to Toronto and i expect them to win in 6 games, maybe even 5. The Conference Finals get a lot harder for them though, especially if they face Milwaukee.

So i correctly predicted all the first-round series. Not exactly an amazing job, though a lot of people thought Indiana would prevail.

My predictions for the second round are not faring quite so well, as in this round i picked Boston and chalk, and the Bucks were utterly out-classed by this Heat team that seems to be getting better with each game. Celtics and Heat could turn out to be the best ECF we've seen in a looong time. I'm having difficulty with the fact that we're now this close to an all-LA WCF and still no sign of Hodge. I hope he's okay. The NFL Pick'ems league starts tomorrow too, and no sign of him there, either. 

Poor Hodge. His beloved Clippers have also disappeared, in their case from the NBA Playoffs, and after being ahead 3-1 in the Conference Semis.

The Lakers are the only 1 or 2 seed still alive for the Conference Finals, and they'll be facing a never-say-die team of scrappy contenders in the Denver Nuggets, who are the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-7 series twice in the same postseason. LeBron James has now won more postseason games than anyone else in NBA history. I see no need to worry about the Lakers in this series, in spite of Denver's impressive accomplishments so far.

Going into the ECF this year, the Heat were 8-1 in the postseason, which is the best postseason record in NBA history for any teams that weren't a 1 or 2 seed. They're now 9-1, and i don't know if ANYthing can stop them at this point.

Miami looked pretty impressive taking the 3-1 series lead the other night. I think the Celtics can win tonight to extend the series, but i don't see them winning another game after tonight.

The Lakers dominated the boards last night to take a 3-1 lead in the WCF. This is the 3rd time this postseason that the Nuggets have been down 3-1, but i think the 3rd time is the rub for them. They've now played 18 games this postseason to LA's 14, and tomorrow will be their 7th elimination game this postseason. LeBron James led teams are 14-0 in series which they've led 3-1, and the Lakers franchise is something like 36-1 all time in series that they've led 3-1. Coming back from 3-1 deficits twice in a single postseason had never been done before, and it's an impressive achievement, but ultimately i don't think Denver can even win another game in this series, and i don't think there's ANY way that they could win the series.

I really wish we were all looking forward to another Lakers - Celtics NBA Finals. I still hold out a glimmer of hope, but a glimmer is all it is. This Miami Heat team is as good as any team that the franchise has ever fielded, and they are closers. Seeing the way that Eric Spoelstra has coached them this postseason really affirmed all the great things that i've thought about him over the years, and kudos to Pat Riley and the rest of the Miami Heat upper management for keeping him and continuing to believe in him even through some lean years in South Beach Basketball.

I don't even know what to expect out of a Lakers v Heat Finals, other than at least 6 games of the best basketball ever played. I feel like anything can happen except a sweep. Both of these teams are resilient and dominant, and both have highly mutable lineups and can throw so many different looks at each other, that potential series could be determined as much by cerebral talents as by physical talents, and that would lead me to favor the Heat's Spoelstra over the Lakers's Frank Vogel, EXCEPT that Vogel also has LBJ in his ear, but Spoelstra coached LBJ for 4 years and they know each other really well.

I'm excited for these finals no matter WHO plays in them now.

Well, the first game took an unfortunate turn with serious injuries to two very important Heat starters: Center Bam Adebayo and Guard Goran Dragić. These two guys have been two of the three most important players on the team through these playoffs so far.

The Heat started rookie phenom Tyler Herro in place of Dragić for game two, and Center Myers Leonard in place of Bam. Leonard played only 9 minutes, though, with Kelly Olenyk and Kendrick Nunn really sharing most of the responsibility of replacing Adebayo's contributions.

The replacements seemed to work out pretty well, and Heat star Jimmy Butler also really stepped up his offensive play, and game 2 was a much closer game. The Heat lost game 1 by 18 points and were never within striking distance after the end of the first quarter. The Heat lost game 2 by only 10 points, although the point differential throughout the game didn't vary much.

Eric Spoelstra is a master of adjustments, and in these first two games he's gotten a good look at a lot of LA's best lineup possibilities, and how those lineups work on both sides of the ball. But i think he's in a bit of a quandary, and i think the LA brain trust knows it, and knows how best to exploit it. When LA plays LBJ, AD, Dwight Howard, and either Caruso or Morris, that's their best Big lineup, and Miami has no combination of players that can be effective against that lineup in the interior. And for each adjustment Miami can make to try to work the exterior, LA can make adjustments too. What might be even worse is that LA can play effectively in a wide variety of paces, and can shift pace instantly without warning effectively. LA can defend a lead, and can come back from behind quickly even when they're not pushing the pace because they can take over the interior and grab damned near every rebound.

I still don't expect a sweep. I believe Bam and Goran will be back and healthy for game 3, and now Jimmy Butler's scoring skills have finally been turned on for the first time this postseason (he's been facilitating most of this postseason, and has been great at it), and i think the talent and coaching that this Heat team has is too good to get swept. But i do feel confident saying that i expect the Lakers to win the Finals.

This is the first time in history that LeBron James has been on a team that has a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals. I hope he's enjoying it but not letting it go to his head.

So the Lakers are world champs again. They have 17, tied with the Celtics for most in NBA history and for 3rd overall among the "Big 4" North American pro sports leagues (MLB, Yankees, 27; NHL, Canadiens, 24; NFL, Packers, 13).

LeBron James has added to his legacy, now having 4 championships with 3 different teams in a 9 year span, as well as 10 NBA Finals appearances in an 11 year span. He also now has 4 NBA Finals MVP awards. I think it's worth noting that out of the 6 times his teams lost in the Finals, there were 2 times that he would've won the Finals MVP if it were allowed to be given to a member of the losing team.

James's Finals MVP was unanimous this year. Personally i was a little surprised that Anthony Davis didn't get any votes. Over the 6 games of the series LBJ scored 179 points, and had 71 rebounds and 51 assists; AD scored 150 with 51 rebounds and 19 assists.

Nobody has ever accomplished more in the NBA Postseasons than LBJ, although it's fair to mention that the NBA Postseasons have been longer during his career.