2023-2024 NBA Finals: Dallas Mavericks vs Boston Celtics

 2024 NBA Finals: The Finals start tonight as Dallas and Boston go at it.  Noone is surprised Boston is here.  The Boston-Indy series was closer than the sweep looks but still the Pacers were way overmatched.  But again, this was to be expected.  The Celtics are the best team in the East.  A healthy Milwaukee or New York would have been a fun Eastern Conference Finals but it wasn't to be.  Dallas surprised me by tearing through the darling Timberwolves.  And it was all about Luka and Kyrie.  They were great offensively and had zero respect for the Minnesota defense which looked great against Phoenix and Denver.  Dallas was also the hottest team coming into the playoffs.

I like Boston in The Finals.  I get Luka and Kyrie are playing out of their mind.  The Celtics just have too much talent.  That said they can lose this.  Is Porzingis healthy?  Can Al Horford keep up the hot shooting from three?  This will be key to stopping the Maverick bigs from clogging the lane.  The Celtics also have guys who can play defense on almost anyone in the Dallas lineup in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.  That said, Dallas is surging.  Boston will have to play defense and they shoot a lot of threes.  If they go cold the Mavs could easily win this series.  I'm going with Boston in six games and expect close games but I'm not putting money on it.  Let's hope for seven games and plenty of fun games.

2023-2024 NBA Conference Finals

 It's that time of the year and the NBA Playoffs are down to four teams.  In the East we get Boston and Indy.  Love Indy and their move to pick Piascal Siakam from Toronto.  It's helped them get to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2014.  This team is centered around Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner and Siakam.  Knicks may have been banged up but nobody expected them to come back from a 3-2 deficit in that series.  Even without Kristaps Porzingis dinged up Boston is too good not to get this far.  They have so much fire power with Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White.  

I didn't think Dallas could make it this far but they out muscled OKC and got enough from their big two in Luka and Kyrie.  They can score and they played defense in the last round to help win a huge game 7.  The Minnesota Timberwolves are the darlings of the playoffs.  Their tenacious defense and breakout star, Anthony Edwards, make them so much fun to watch.  Hard to think they could come this far after they looked so bad last year after trading for Rudy Gobert.  And that comeback against Denver in the Semi-Finals.  Down 3-2.  Down 20 points in the third quarter of game seven.  Amazing.

I'll be rooting for Minnesota, and Georgia alum Edwards, as well as Indiana.  Neither team has won a championship, and it would be so special to watch another team hoist their first banner.   We've already seen two teams do it in the last five seasons - Toronto and Denver.  That said, I think its the Timberwolves and Celtics in the NBA Finals.  I do think Dallas can make this a really good series but Minnesota is just too good right now.  Boston is just too good period.  Way too much talent even with Porzingis not on the floor while he heals.  I think those two teams would be a great matchup as well.  Hopefully no matter who we get in The Finals, I hope the Conference Finals series are fun.

Atlanta Hawks get the #1 Pick in the 2024 NBA Draft

 The Atlanta Hawks beat the odds and have the top selection in the 2024 NBA Draft.  Unlike 2023, there is no consensus #1.  The Spurs couldn't lose.  Even if Wemby did nothing in his career nobody faults them for that pick.  The Hawks will not have it so easy.  Atlanta is already rumored to be up for major changes.  Trae Young, Dejounte Murray and the supporting cast have not made for a playoff caliber team.  Personally, I'm okay if Trae Young goes.  His lack of defense has always been a sticking point for me.  Getting Murray was a fail for me.  I like Murray but he just isn't a fit with Young and now that's he's on a big extension he'll be hard to move.  If nothing else, the #1 pick gives Atlanta lots of options.  Whether that is who they pick or the ability to make trades.

Portland has two picks in the top 14.  They need lots of help so this is good.  Same thing in that they'll have options in regard to making trades.  I'm okay if they move up using those two picks but I wouldn't mind them getting two players who can really help.  They are struggling to stay healthy, helps their young core take the next step and to see the benefit of picking up Deandre Ayton.

No matter how much grief teams get for drafting, the NBA draft is a crap shoot.  So whether you're #1 or #14 you have your work cut out for you.  The draft is May 12 in Chicago.

Portland Trail Blazers Season Preview

For Portland this offseason was all about trading Dame.  It set them up for moving forward with Scoot Henderson as the face of the franchise.  In doing so they added Malcom Brogden, Robert Williams and DeAndre Ayton.  I'm not a fan of Ayton but maybe he can finally find another gear.  They also have draft picks that may come in handy down the line.  They have young talent in Anfernee Simons, Shadeon Sharpe, and Jerami Grant.  And Brogden was is the reigning 6th Man of the Year.  It feels like the team is guard heavy.  It'll be interesting to see what Chauncey Billups can do with the lineup.  The team has to be better.  They basically tanked last season.  Do they get to 40 wins.  I don't know.  The West is so tough so that may be too much to ask for right now.  What we all want to see is Scoot succeed.  He doesn't have to be a top ten player in the league this season.  But he needs to show signs he can lead this team moving forward.  I would be happy with 40 wins but would be happier if everyone stays healthy and we see signs this team looks like it'll be a playoff team and contender in years to come.

Atlanta Hawks Season Preview

The Hawks offseason really came down to moving off John Collins and extending Dejounte Murray.  Getting off John Collins was huge.  Atlanta gave him a five-year $125M deal and instantly regretted it.  What they were thinking I'll never know.  They've tried trading him for two years and finally were able to offload him to Utah.  While the return isn't anything to write home about it gives them more cap flexibility.  Extending Murray was also key.  He's needed to bring balance to the team and defense that Trae Young doens't know how to play.  The Hawks are solid at center with Capella and Okongwu.  De'Andre Hunter may be becoming the scorer they need him to be but it's still early to tell how consistent he'll be or if he can take it to another level.  After that I just don't know.  Bogdanovich can shoot and provide some scoring off the bench but after that there's a lot of unknowns.  Maybe Saddiq Bey or AJ Griffin take big steps but I don't see a path to major improvement without multiple players getting much better.  I don't think Murray and Young can carry this team.  I do think Quin Snyder was a big add as coach.  Can he make the difference this season? Maybe they get in as a #8 see but that feels like the best we can look forward to.  Hopefully I'm wrong.    

Damian Lillard To the Milwaukee Bucks In Three-Team Trade

I knew it was coming but it still hurts.  Damian Lillard is my favorite all-time Trail Blazer and beyond hope I wanted him to retire in Portland.  Lillard now goes to the Bucks where he'll team up with Giannis Antetokounmpo.  At my core I don't like trade requests but it's part of the game.  Also at my core I'm glad he'll go somewhere where he can compete for a title and play with a great like Giannis. I hope he does great and gets that ring.

Portland's haul isn't bad but not great.  Sounds like Jrue Holiday will not be with the team long since his age (33) doesn't match up with the teams young core.  But Holiday should bring back something good. He's still an excellent defender and can shoot the three.  The definition of a 3 and D guy.  Something a contender would covet.  Deandre Ayton is probably the prize catch here.  He's only 25 and averaged 18 and 10 last season.  That said I'm not big on him, but we'll see if I can get behind the big man in a Portland uniform.  The Draft picks will probably be fodder in the future for another trade down the road.  It's not the haul Brooklyn got for KD but it good and much better than anything Miami could come up with.  What they get for Holiday could really make this look even better.  As is I give it a B+.

Portland receives: From Milwaukee, guard Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee's unprotected 2029 first-round pick, the right to swap first-round picks with Milwaukee in 2028 and 2030, From Phoenix, center Deandre Ayton, and forward Toumani Camara from the Suns in the deal.

Phoenix receives: From Portland, center Jusuf Nurkic, forward Nassir Little, and guard Keon Johnson,  from Milwaukee, wing Grayson Allen