Yes lol and Indy took them to 7 as well. I don't know why people think they're this unbeatable behemoth
it seems like it's very hard to repeat these days but OKC has the team to do it. I think some of the other very good teams this season are a bit young and haven't really gone through the playoff gauntlet yet.
I simply believe in a 7 game series against any team, the Thunder would be the favorite and any team beating them would be an upset. They’re the defending champion for a reason. SGA is about to win his second MVP for a reason. Their roster is really good overall.
OKC has the big pathway advantage and they’re defending champs, so I do consider them favorites for sure. But at the same time, I don’t think Denver will have as tough of a time as anticipated. Wolves feel like a real wildcard. I don’t know what to expect from them. I could see that series being 5 games or go the full 7. And then assuming we get Nuggets v Spurs…I think the experience will matter a lot. But further than that, I don’t know what to expect from Wemby playing more minutes than we’ve seen from him all year and doing so for his first attempt at playoff basketball. He might just run the damn show anyways. But I just don’t love the inexperience combined with not playing heavy minutes all season.
I just hope we get a good pick, Kyrie comes back healthy, Cooper makes his meteoric 2nd year ascent, team stays healthy.
OKC is rightfully the favorite to win it all again but I don’t think an OKC series against Denver, Spurs, or even Minnesota is free I wish the bracket fell in a way that we would’ve been able to see OKC vs 2 of those teams but some KD back in OKC shenanigans will have to do
yeah I'm glad we didn't rush him back because we weren't winning. He clearly has had an impact on Coopers game though behind the scenes, so I'm excited to see what Cooper does with an actual point guard.
Also happy to be in the postseason but Pistons expectations are ECF or its failure. I know the times had been rough this decade and earlier, but they have to make conference finals minimum.
(The hater in me is talking now) Nah, Atlanta is overhyped imo. They took advantage of half the league tanking + good teams sitting guys when they played. Don’t fact check me.
I know we have an entire playoffs ahead, and a lot can change, but I am very hyped for the East next year. Celtics, Knicks, Pistons will likely stay at the top. I think Cavs ultimately will also be up there again, but if they don’t have a good post-season there could be a couple shake-up moves that require them to reset slightly. But either way, they’ll be a strong team. Then you have your young team risers in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Indiana (I guess Pacers count for this category). Philly is a complete wildcard but they have enough talent on the team to be dangerous. Next is the batch of teams that feel stagnant and boring but will probably be solid squads: Orlando, Miami, Toronto. And then you have the Wizards who I could see being a playoff team next year or a top 4 lotto pick haha The only real stinker teams will be Brooklyn and Chicago….. ….and Milwaukee.
I’m glad Chicago is seemingly going to try and finally rebuild a bit. Miami needs to do something. They’ve been in purgatory with this roster for a bit.
Plus, this draft has 4 blue chippers. If the top 4 are actually all tanker teams it’d be great for the league.