WITH the Milwaukee Bucks already out of the running in the ongoing National Basketball Association (NBA) Playoffs, the supposedly clear path to the Finals has forked out in many different directions, thanks to the unexpected turnout of things and teams fighting for survival.
The way things stand, any one of the teams still competing can win the NBA Championship this June. But pinpointing just who that would be has become trickier. And yeah, murkier.
The Bucks were the acknowledged favorites to win it all after finding themselves leading the NBA standings for the third time in the last five years. Then came that rocky patch in the first round of the playoffs and that eventual Game 5 misfortune where Miami’s Jimmy Butler forced overtime with a spectacular alley oop. And then the Heat proceeded to dismantle the Bucks in the extra session and win the series, 128-126
After the Bucks said bye-bye, pundits saw that as a green light for the Boston Celtics, the erstwhile league leader at the start of the season until the Bucks overtook them at a shaky point in their lives in January this year. Boston had reclaimed the No. 1 seed and that could only be good, right? Not that simple.
True that with the top seed out of the picture, it was Boston in the driver’s seat again, authorized to flaunt home court advantage anytime, anywhere against anyone for the rest of the post-season. In fact, the Celtics are the favorites to win the 2023 NBA Championship. Until today (Wednesday).
But five games into the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Celtics suffered their unlikeliest loss of the playoffs: a 115-103 drubbing from the Sixers where they were totally outplayed. The Home Boys shot only 39.8% from the field versus Philadelphia’s 50.6%. They were also outrebounded, 49 to 36.
What are the odds?
The odds have changed. The Celtics are no longer the fair-haired boys of the NBA Playoffs. Up there instead as the favorites to win the NBA 2023 Championship are the Denver Nuggets who have been consistent since Day 1. Next in line are the Philadelphia 76ers because of their derring do, and the surging Los Angeles Lakers. Expectations of Boston have gone down and they are now only at No. 4.
The Phoenix Suns odds stand at 13, followed by the Miami Heat at 16. The defending champs, the Golden State Warriors are not getting anything higher than 17 in the odds. And the New York Knicks stand at 81.
Still, don’t count the old favorites out. Teams like Golden State are still stacked with talent and insured with post-season experience. Anybody can still make a big run and overturn the odds. You’ll never know in this atmosphere.
Who would’ve thought, for example, that the Los Angeles Lakers who had struggled to make the playoffs, are now in contention to win it all come June? The LeBron James-led army is ready to shock the world, say some experts.
Who would have foreseen the level of heat that Miami can dispense in these playoffs? Coach Erik Spoelstra sees his team as the Navy Seals: “We feel like we’re Navy Seals. You just drop us off in a parachute and we compete.”
The Phoenix Suns still have their dynamic duo of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker who are just absolutely wild right now. These two average 54 points, 10 assists and 10 boards together.
As for the Nuggets, they’ve got the two-time MVP (Nikola Jokic) on their team, right?
If the Celtics still want to crawl out of the hole they dug for themselves, this is what they need to do. Be consistent and unforgiving with the defense. Don’t live by the three or you’ll die with the three. What if you bring back the (Al) Horford-(Robert) Williams III two-headed monster in the paint? Focus. Focus. Focus.
That being said, let’s keep on watching the show.