So we are going through one of those forgettable periods in NBA history, where there are no great teams and you have a different champion every year. Here are the NBA Finals since COVID:
2020: L.A. Lakers 4, Miami 2
2021: Milwaukee 4, Phoenix 2
2022: Golden St. 4, Boston 2
2023: Denver 4, Miami 1
2024: Boston 4, Dallas 1
But that may finally be about to change. Here are the current odds to win the NBA title this year:
Oklahoma City: +180
Boston: +190
Cleveland: +600
L.A. Lakers: +1100
So, it seems very likely that the Celtics will reach the final for the third time in four years, and they have a good chance to repeat as champions. If so, they will be the first repeat winner since the Warriors repeated in 2017 and 2018.
Here are the matchups for the first round:
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
(1) Cleveland (64-18) v. (8) Miami (37-45)
(4) Indiana (50-32) v. (5) Milwaukee (48-34)
(3) New York (51-31) v. (6) Detroit (44-38)
(2) Boston (61-21) v. (7) Orlando (41-41)
As you can see from the above, the oddsmakers have made the Celtics heavy favorites here. I probably won't pay attention until the Eastern Conference finals, and then only if the Celtics draw the Cavs.
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
(1) Oklahoma City (68-14) v. (8) Memphis (48-34)
(4) Denver (50-32) v. (5) L.A. Clippers (50-32)
(3) L.A. Lakers (50-32) v. (6) Minnesota (49-33)
(2) Houston (52-30) v. (7) Golden St. (48-34)
Luka Doncic led Dallas to the NBA Finals last year, but this year -- as NBA teams often seem to do -- the Mavericks committed seppuku by giving Doncic to the Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis. This publication loves Anthony Davis, but he's 31 years old and unfortunately he may never be healthy again. So the Mavs are out of it, and LeBron has a running mate to help him make a run. We will keep an eye on the LeBron's to see if they can get to the Western Conference final. But the bookmakers have the Thunder as an overwhelming favorite to win the West, and they are probably right.
Here at the Heath Post, our top goal for the NBA would be for the Washington Wizards to become a great power. Since the Wiz only won 18 games this year, our goal for the playoffs -- as usual -- is to watch a Seventh Game in the NBA Finals. OKC v. Boston probably gives us the best chance for that matchup, but there hasn't been a Game 7 in the Finals since 2016, so we won't hold our breath.
Here are the odds to win the Eastern Conference:
ReplyDeleteBoston: -145
Cleveland: +185
New York: +1200
Indiana: +2500
Here are the odds to win the Western Conference:
ReplyDeleteOklahoma City: -155
L.A. Lakers: +600
Golden St: +800
Denver: +1100
Scores so far today:
ReplyDeleteIndiana 117 - 98 Milwaukee (Indiana leads 1-0)
Denver 112 - 110 L.A. Clippers (OT) (Denver leads 1-0)
New York 123 - 112 Detroit (New York leads 1-0)
The Lebron's are up 20-12 on Minnesota with 3:38 left in the 1st quarter.
L.A. led Minnesota 28-21 after the first quarter, but the T-Wolves outscored the Lakers 38-20 in the second quarter. At the half, in Los Angeles, the T-Wolves lead 59 to 48.
ReplyDeleteThis is the 54th iteration of the NBA playoffs that I can remember, going back to 1972. In the last 53 seasons, 18 different teams have won the NBA title. These teams have won it more than once:
ReplyDeleteLakers: 12
Celtics: 7
Bulls: 6
Warriors: 5
Spurs: 5
Pistons: 3
Heat: 3
Rockets: 2
The T-Wolves open the second half by scoring 11 points in a row. They lead the Lakers 70 to 48 with 10 minutes left in the third.
ReplyDeleteIt looks as though the Mavs were destroyed in vain.
ReplyDeleteAfter 40 minutes, the T-Wolves lead 104-88.
ReplyDeleteOn the road, the T-Wolves roll to an easy victory in Game One of their playoff against the Lakers. Minnesota cruises, 117 to 95.
ReplyDeleteJustin Thomas won his 16th PGA Tour event today, winning the RBC Heritage in a playoff. It was his first win since the 2022 PGA Championship. The next big PGA event will be the Truist Championship, which will be held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club during the second week in May. And then the Tour will head to Quail Hollow, near Charlotte, N. Carolina, for the PGA Championship during the third weekend in May.
ReplyDeleteFrank Beard, who also attended Louisville St. Xavier, won 11 times on the PGA Tour. Bobby Nichols, another St. X alum, won 12. Gay Brewer won 10 PGA Tour events. J.B. Holmes won 5. Kenny Perry won 14. Justin Thomas has 16 PGA tour wins, including two PGA Championships. So I believe that we can now identify J.T. as the best Kentucky golfer in history.
ReplyDeleteI so overrate the past that I actually guessed that you were wrong a couple of weeks ago when you said Justin Thomas was the best St. X golfer ever. You were not.
DeleteI caught the end of Golden State's win at Houston in their Game 1 Sunday night, and, seriously, it is always a good idea to pause and take a chance on watching Steph Curry.
ReplyDeleteI dialed in from tipoff of last night's Warriors-at-Rockets Game 2, but I konked out after Jimmy Butler got hurt and Golden State was down 17 late in the second half. I wished I could've stayed awake for the TNT halftime show, but I didn't make it.
ReplyDeleteLate tonight, I want to check out Nuggets at Clippers and see about this "Wall" thing.
NHL25 Update: My Capitals are up, two games to none, after beating my Canadiens, 3-1, last night. I caught the end of this, waiting for Warriors-Rockets to start, and it was thrilling to see the Washington fans go crazy when the Caps scored an empty-net goal with a second to go after the Habs pulled their goalie.
The A's are 15-14. It's the first time since 2021 that they were over .500 this late into a season (though they did get to 17-17 last year), and 2021 was the last year the A's finished above .500 for a full season.
ReplyDeleteAlso, both the Capitals and Warriors are up, three games to one, in their playoff series, and it appears to me that the Dolphins picked all of the good players and none of the bad ones in the draft. So, sports is going pretty good for me right now.
At Game Five of the playoff between the Pacers and the Bucks, in Indianapolis, the Pacer fans are wearing tee shirts that say "YES 'CERS." With the apostrophe, so that you know that "Cers" is short for "Pacers." In the long history of Hoosier dorkiness, this is the single dorkiest thing I've ever seen them do. Indiana is like if Ned Flanders was a state.
ReplyDeleteThe Bucks were up 118-111 in OT with less than a minute to go. The Pacers hit a three to make it 118-114. Then the Bucks turned it over. The Pacers got an old-fashioned three-point play with 19 seconds left. Now it's 118-117. The Bucks call timeout (their last timeout). They throw the ball to Gary Trent, Jr., who has 33 points in the game. He drops it out of bounds with 10 seconds left. Tyrese Haliburton dribbles through the entire Bucks team for a layup that puts Indiana in the lead with 1.8 seconds left. Since the Bucks were out of timeouts, they could only throw up a desperate heave. Indiana wins 119-118 in OT with an 8-0 run in the last minute. The Pacers win the series four games to one. "YES 'CER!"
ReplyDeleteNow we go to The World's Most Famous Arena, where the Knickerbockers are trying to close out the Pistons. New York has a 3-1 lead in the series, and a 50-49 lead at the half.
ReplyDeleteWatching the Knicks play the Pistons is like watching Tennessee play itself. It's just a bunch of guys missing shots, punching each other, and yelling at the officials.
ReplyDeleteHere's a typical sequence between the Knicks and Pistons:
ReplyDeleteKnicks ball -- guy in the corner doesn't want to shoot, tries a pass down low, throws the ball away.
Pistons ball at the other end -- guy in the corner does shoot, misses, Knicks rebound.
Knicks at the other end -- no one want to shoot, they try to go inside and throw the ball away again.
Pistons now have a runout -- Knicks hammer the guy with the ball to prevent a layup.
NBA Fever -- CATCH IT!
After 40 minutes, the Pistons lead 85 to 83. The Pistons are 7-28 from three-point range. The Knicks are 6-21. Play is stopped because a whole bunch of guys crashed into each other under the basket.
ReplyDeleteIn a game that featured 63 free throws, the Pistons survive with a 106-103 win. The series will stagger back to Detroit for Game Six.
ReplyDeleteWith one quarter to go, the Celtics lead the Magic 83 to 62. So Boston should close out that series with an easy 4-1 win, and they will go to await the survivor of the Knicks and the Pistons.
ReplyDeleteAssuming Boston advances, then the Cavs, the Pacers, the Celtics, and the Thunder will all have clinched a spot in the quarterfinals.
ReplyDeleteBoston wins 120-89 and they move to the quarter-finals.
ReplyDeleteThe Nuggets/Clippers series is the only one that was tied at two games apiece after four games. They are now playing Game Five in Denver, and the Nuggets lead 67-59 at the half.
ReplyDeleteThe Pacers trailed by 7 points with less than 40 seconds left in the game and won. According to the Internet, in the last 20 years, there were 1,176 games in which an NBA playoff team was trailing by 7 or more points with 40 seconds or less to go. None of those teams won.
ReplyDeleteThat is a remarkable stat.
DeleteThe Warriors are up 3-1, so they are conceding Game Five in Houston tonight. The Rockets lead 35-19 with 3:10 left in the first.
ReplyDeleteHalftime: Houston 76, Golden St. 49. So Game Six will be back in San Francisco.
ReplyDeleteHouston beat Golden State 131-116 to force a Game Six. Now the Lakers need to beat Minnesota to force a Game Six of their own. But at the half, the T-Wolves lead 59-49.
ReplyDeleteAfter 40 minutes, the T-Wolves lead 86-85.
ReplyDeleteDown 95-91 with 2 1/2 minutes left, Luka Doncic goes driving to the basket. He misses a layup and starts yelling that he was fouled. While he's complaining, the T-Wolves whip the ball to the other end of the court and go up 97-91. I think the Lakers are going out tonight.
ReplyDeleteThe Lakers had a good third quarter and took a one- and then two-point lead pretty late in it, but then Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle all three looked so much better and more spry than anyone Los Angeles had on the court. Minnesota got back out by one or two to go into the fourth quarter, and I went to sleep feeling pretty certain the Timberwolves were going to prevail.
ReplyDeleteShaquille O'Neal especially and really the whole panel on that great TNT halftime show were having a lot of fun that Gobert was playing so well against the Lakers. I didn't exactly understand the joke, but it was still fun to watch. My guess is that Shaq and Gobert have some long-running feud; the NBA is always full of things like that going on, and the people who most enjoy the NBA understand all of them. There was one summer where my main neighborhood friend, Rodney, really got into a soap opera (I think it was Another World) and some giant storyline that was superpopular at the moment. But Rodney's mom watched Another World (or whatever show it was) all of the time, and she really got into that big arc. That's what the NBA is like.
Meanwhile, the Capitals won! And the A's got back a game above .500 again, and I saw some footage of Tua throwing in workouts without pads. Sports!
ReplyDeleteThat was the first playoff series victory for the Caps since they won the Cup. Next up: the Carolina Hurricanes.
DeleteToday: A's 3, Rangers 0. 17-15.
ReplyDeleteThere are three teams remaining in the NBA playoffs for whom I can sort of root, but two of them are playing each other in this round.
ReplyDeleteAthletics beat Seattle last night in baseball, so now they're just one game out of the division freaking lead. They went out 1-0 in the bottom of the first, but the last I checked they were trailing, 4-2. They won by one run in a walk-off deal.
ReplyDeleteI watched all of 90 seconds of the NBA live last night, and I saw Steph Curry hurt his hamstring. Also, the Athletics lost, so they are now again two back in the A.L. West.
ReplyDeleteRubber game in the series is scheduled for 2:35 p.m. Central today, and we've got a rookie, Gunnar Hoglund, who was a total stud in his first career start last week. I hope to dial in this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteAfter one inning in West Sacramento: Mariners 0, Athletics 3.
ReplyDeleteThrough three, still 3-0.
ReplyDeleteFirst-pitch home run in the bottom the fourth for Lawrence Butler, our 24-year-old right fielder from Burlington, New Jersey. Athletics lead, 4-0. (Burlington is one of those New Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia.)
ReplyDeleteLater in the inning, our 23-year-old shortstop from Los Angeles, Jacob Wilson, doubles home another run to push the Athletics out by 5-0. Wilson is our leading hitter, at .348 going into today's game.
I am now following Jacob Wilson on Instagram. I can't much get into Instagram. I pretty much just check in on my daughter about once every two or three weeks. But maybe Jacob Wilson will make me more of a fan.
ReplyDeleteThe Mariners get in a run in the top of the fifth. Hoglund, the 25-year-old right-hander from Dunedin, Florida (and Ole Miss), has allowed five hits and one earned run, walked none and struck out three through five innings.
ReplyDeleteOh, no! I stepped away for 15 or 20 minutes, and now the Mariners are back within 5-4 through six complete. I guess I've live-blog jinxed them or stopped-watching jinxed them or something.
ReplyDeleteStill 5-4, Athletics, through seven innings ... I'll have to check back in tonight on this ...
ReplyDeleteWhy do I do this to myself?
ReplyDelete