EASTERN CONFERENCE:
(1) Cleveland 1 - 4 (4) Indiana
(2) Boston 2 - 4 (3) New York
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
(1) Oklahoma City 4 - 3 (4) Denver
(6) Minnesota 4 - 1 (7) Golden St.
Here are the last five NBA Champions:
2020: L.A. Lakers
2021: Milwaukee
2022: Golden St.
2023: Denver
2024: Boston
All these teams have been eliminated, so we will have a new champion for the sixth season in a row. The last time that happened was between 1975 and 1980, when the champions looked like this:
1975: Golden St.
1976: Boston
1977: Portland
1978: Washington
1979: Seattle
1980: L.A. Lakers
What's interesting about that list is that the Trail Blazers, Bullets, and SuperSonics each won their only title during that period. Of the four teams left in this year's playoffs, three of them -- Indiana, Oklahoma City, and Minnesota -- have never won the title. So we're just in one of those eras.
Odds to win the Eastern Conference:
ReplyDeleteNew York: -146
Indiana: +124
Odds to win the Western Conference:
ReplyDeleteOklahoma City: -375
Minnesota: +300
Odds to win the NBA Title:
ReplyDeleteOklahoma City: -175
New York: +460
Minnesota: +650
Indiana: +700
In Game One of the Western Conference Final, OKC leads Minnesota 62-60 with 5:25 left in the third.
ReplyDeleteAfter three quarters, the T-Wolves have taken 41 three's. OKC has taken 13. The T-Wolves have 66 points. OKC has 76. Make of that what you will.
ReplyDeleteOKC blows out Minnesota 114 to 88. This season may be over.
ReplyDeleteToday, SGA became the first UK player to be named MVP of the NBA. SGA's last game for the Cats was a 61-58 loss to K-State in the 2018 Regional Semi-Finals in Atlanta. He went 0-2 from three-point range, 2-8 from two-point range, and 11-12 from the line. He had 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. The Cats lost primarily because P.J. Washington went 8-20 from the line.
ReplyDeleteThe next year, UK was eliminated 77-71 in the Regional Final by Auburn -- in overtime. This was the last time UK played in a Regional Final. At the end of regulation, the game was tied at 60. Tyler Herro, Keldon Johnson, Ashton Hagans, and Immanuel Quickley combined to go 3-17 from 3-point range, while P.J. Washington went 6-11 from the line.
ReplyDeleteIn 2017, the Cats lost in the Regional Final on a buzzer beater. And in 2020 the Tournament was cancelled for COVID.
ReplyDeleteHere are those four seasons in summary:
ReplyDelete2017: lost in the Regional Final on a buzzer beater to UNC
2018: lost in the Regional Semi-Final by 3 points to K-State
2019: lost in the Regional Final in overtime to Auburn
2020: won the SEC regular season; no post-season due to COVID
If the Cats had won any of the three tournament games listed above -- or if the Cats had made it to the Final Four in 2020 (and they would have been a number-two seed) -- Cal would still be coaching UK today.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to the Cal and Rick radio show in a few years.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing to me that Joe B. and Denny won as many national titles as Cal and Rick.
DeleteBy the way, I've lost interest in this, too. And the A's have lost about 20 games in a row. I've almost moved on to thinking about football.
ReplyDeleteAlso, next Olympics is scheduled to start Feb. 6: Milano Cortina 2026.
Since the Caps were eliminated last week, the Sports Junkies have moved to talking about the NFL full-time. Today they were talking about whether we want Jayden Daniels playing Flag Football in the Olympics.
ReplyDelete