NBA News

     Coming from a strong background for the love of basketball, I am excited to talk about the upcoming playoffs. Not so exciting is the fact that I am a Lakers fan and as of yesterday April 5th, the Los Angeles Lakers will eliminated from the playoffs as they have no chance to enter into the play-in tournament. The current teams in the western conference play-in tournament are the Timberwolves, Clippers, Pelicans, and Spurs. The Lakers downfall is a reflection on management, general managing, coaching, and the players themselves. Everyone in the Lakers organization played some part in shaping the atrocious team that was one of the biggest disappointments in NBA history. The Lakers went from being the favorites in the Western Conference to not even making the play-in tournament. Injuries, lack of chemistry, and poor roster construction seem to be the main causes of a disappointing Lakers team.

    As a Lakers fan it's disappointing to see them out. As a basketball fan I am still excited to see the top teams compete during this years upcoming NBA playoffs. In the Western Conference there are three teams that stand out to me. The Suns, Grizzlies, and Warriors seem to be separated from the "rest of the pack". Yes the Mavericks, Jazz, and Nuggets are all great teams that can make some noise in the playoffs. However, those top three teams in the Western Conference are in their own category. I predict that the Western Conference Finals will be the Suns and Warriors with the Suns advancing to the NBA finals. Poole, Curry, Draymond, and Thompson are nothing to sneeze at. However, the warriors squad has been having frequent injuries and the chemistry seems to have lacked these past weeks going into the playoffs. The Suns squad is a team with excellent chemistry and ball handling skills. There's a reason why they're a 63-17 team as of today April 6th. 

    In the Eastern Conference we once again have three teams that stand out from the rest of the Eastern Conference teams. That is the Heat, Celtics, and Bucks. A case may be made for the 76ers who have newly acquired Harden and MVP frontrunner Joel Embid. However, the chemistry is not there and the other three teams are just too strong defensively which is a category that the 76ers need to work on. Another case may be made for the Nets who seem to be the only team in the play-in tournament who can make a run and come out on top. Having said that, I still believe the absence of Simmons along with lack of defense, the Nets will fall short. As great as KD and Kyrie are, I think it's not enough to take on teams such as the Heat and Bucks. Now, looking into the top three in the East, the Celtics have really picked it up defensively these past weeks heading into the playoffs. However, I believe the Bucks and Heat are the more complete teams and it is these teams that will be present at the Eastern Conference Finals. I believe the defending champions with a Giannis lead team will advance to the finals to take on the Suns in what will be a rematch of last years NBA Finals.  



    

   

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