Sunday, May 14, 2023

NBA Update

After storming back to stun Philly at the end of Game Six, Boston rolled to an easy 112-88 victory in Game Seven.  Boston outscored Philly 33-10 in the Third Quarter, and you won't see a 33-10 run in an NCAA Quarter-Final game twice in 10 years.   But the NBA is the NBA.  If you buy the ticket, you take the ride.

The other series all ended in Game Six.  Miami finished off the Knicks, 96 to 92, to become only the second Eight Seed to reach the Conference Finals.  Denver went to Phoenix and crushed the Suns, 125-100, in the final game of Al McCoy's 51-year career as the Suns' play-by-play announcer.  The Suns then fired their coach, Monty Williams, only one season after he was the NBA Coach of the Year.  The Lakers rolled over Golden State, 122 to 101, thus eliminating the defending champs.  Anthony Davis did play, and he had 17 points and 20 rebounds.  In the last four games of the series, Klay Thompson went 10-36 from 3-point range, while Stephen Curry went 14-49.

So the second round ended like this:

New York 2 - 4 Miami
Boston 4 - 3 Philadelphia
Denver 4 - 2 Phoenix
Golden St. 2 - 4 Los Angeles

OK, so Curry, Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden have all been eliminated.  So here's who is left (playoff record in parentheses):

Boston (8-5) v. Miami (8-3)
This will be the sixth playoff meeting between the Heat and the Celtics.  The Heat are 3-2 against Boston.

Denver (8-3) v. Los Angeles (8-4)
This will be the eighth playoff meeting between the Nuggets and the Lakers.  The Lakers are 7-0 against Denver.  The Nuggets have been in the NBA since the 1976-77 season, and have never won a conference title.

Here are the latest odds to win the NBA Championship, according to Vegas:

Boston:  +100 (1 to 1)
Denver:  +230 (23 to 10)
Los Angeles:  +330 (33 to 10)
Miami:  +1400 (14 to 1)

10 comments:

  1. I just realized that in the world of ice hockey, the NHL Eastern Conference final has come down to Florida v. Carolina. I can't think of two fan bases that are more committed to ice hockey.

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  2. My wife preached in Russellville yesterday morning, and then we took her for Mother's Day lunch in Hopkinsville after. We got home, and I flipped on the TV to find the Celtics and Lakers tied at 55. I fell asleep after Boston scored seven or nine straight points, and I woke up to Al Horford consoling Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum being canonized.

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  3. My wife and I watched the Shaquille O'Neal/Ernie Johnson/Kenny Smith/Charles Barkley show on TNT to its very end after last night's Celtics-Heat Game 1, and we so enjoyed it. I know it's supposedly off peak, but I didn't see it a whole bunch when it was supposedly on peak, and, so, I think the today version is really fun and great.

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  4. So far, the Conference Finals have been a big nothing. Miami went to Boston and beat the Celtics 123-116, and then beat them 111-105. Way to go, Philly. Meanwhile, Denver won its first two games at home over the Lakers: 132-126 and 108-103. Then they went to L.A. and whipped the Lakers 119-108. So the Lakers are down 0-3, and that series is basically over. Meanwhile, the Celtics are down 0-2, and they face a must-win game in Miami tonight.

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  5. For the record, I think it was silly for Phoenix to fire their coach, and I also think it was silly for the Sixers to fire Doc Rivers. Miami's had the same coach since 2009, and they're doing pretty well.

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  6. Playing for their lives, the Celtics come out in these silly black uniforms with green numerals. They look like Michigan State doing some sort of blackout game against Ohio State. Not surprisingly, the Heat jump out to a 5-0 lead.

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  7. In a game that was only competitive for a few minutes, Miami rolls over Boston 128 to 102. So the Celtics and Lakers are both down 3-0, and I'm not likely to spend much time watching a Nuggets/Heat final.

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  8. Now here are the latest odds:

    Denver: -210 (12 to 25)
    Miami: +220 (11 to 5)
    Boston: +1600 (16 to 1)
    Los Angeles: +4000 (40 to 1)

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  9. OK, here's what's happened since then. Denver swept the Lakers, winning Game Four in Los Angeles, 113 to 111. But Boston has now won two games in a row, beating Miami 116-99 in Game Four in Miami, and beating the Heat 110-97 in Boston. Now the Heat lead that series 3-2, with Game Six in Miami. If Miami doesn't win Game Six, the Heat could become the first team in NBA History to go up 3-0 and not advance to the next round.

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  10. What a strange series. Here are the scores so far (home team listed first):

    Boston 116 - 123 Miami
    Boston 105 - 111 Miami
    Miami 128 - 102 Boston
    Miami 99 - 116 Boston
    Boston 110 - 97 Miami

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