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IIt's incredibly strange to watch the NBA playoffs and realize that for the first time, what seems to be a life, LeBron James will not be part of the procedure. Thanks to a first-year campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers that was so stressful that the team's president, Magic Johnson, shocked the world of basketball by bailing out the team, the absurd series of eight consecutive James appearances in the NBA finals ended before the start of the playoffs. Away from James and the Lakers, here is the ranking of this author among the teams that stood out, based on their performance in the regular season and the opponents they drew.
1) Warriors of the state of the gold
So, they did not even finish with the league's best regular season record and had to be content to overtake the Western Conference, but the Warriors remain the most dangerous basketball team. After all, they can roll out a starting rotation with five stars in Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and DeMarcus Cousins. They fought a burgeoning Denver team for the first header of the conference and can count on the field advantage in the playoffs. If you were a sports betting player, the best odds would be in June with the Warriors celebrating their third consecutive championship (and likely losing to the benefit of the independent agency).
2) Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks secured first place in the playoffs after a 60-22 record in the regular season. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been at the top of most MVP conversations for most of the season and the team has taken steps to improve the support cast around him. Although the Eastern Conference playoffs are not a defeat, Milwaukee should be considered the favorite. Their main problem right now? Health. The departure of goalkeeper Malcolm Brogdon for the return is uncertain due to a foot injury. Nikola Mirotic, who has come in on time to strengthen his lineup, hopes the first game of his first-round series against the Detroit Pistons, at the end of qualifying, will take place while Tony Snell will be absent. It will probably not hurt them in the first round, but if these injuries persist throughout the playoffs, this could be a cause for concern.
3) Houston Rockets
Antetokounmpo's most credible rival in the MVP race is James Harden of the Rockets, who continues to publish dazzling numbers on such a consistent basis that even his legion of enemies has been silenced. Largely thanks to him, and of course to Chris Paul, the Rockets have every chance to defeat the Warriors before the championship round. They should also be very motivated. If Paul had not been injured last season – or if they managed to not miss more than three consecutive points than any team in the post-season history of the seventh game of the finals of the Conference West – the Rockets would likely have qualified for the 2018 finals at the expense of the first leg. Warriors. Good news: they are well placed to perform a clash between the two teams in a collision in the second round, unless the Jazz spoils the party.
4) Denver Nuggets
Every year, an NBA team ends up being a surprise, even if it does not have that leading player that everyone knows. This season is the Nuggets. Now, keep in mind that the "no famous player" part will not be very long, as the Nikola Jokic Center is building a reputation that suggests celebrity is upon us. The Nuggets fought with the Warriors for first place in the Western Conference for several periods of the regular season, but eventually had to settle for the second seed. Now comes the big question: how much their lack of experience in the playoffs will hurt them, especially as their first-round opponent, the sixth-seeded San Antonio Spurs, does not much in this category?
5) Toronto Raptors
Look at this: the second best team in the Eastern Conference got its second seed. Sometimes the regular season standings do not lie. It is clear that the franchise turned during the summer when she traded the pillar DeMar DeRozan against Kawhi Leonard Spurs. Thanks to months of DIY, the current Raptors are a kind of patchwork, filled with familiar faces (Leonard, Marc Gasol, Danny Green, Serge Ibaka) in unknown territory. Battle leader Kyle Lowry, whose production has declined slightly from his all-star highs, remains the Raptors' biggest reserve, although his position has been challenged by Pascal Siakam, potentially the most improved player in the world. this year. Maybe the turnover will work in their favor, since the older Raptors teams were too used to the painful early outings of the playoffs.
6) Philadelphia 76ers
It was not quite the year that Philadelphia was hoping, but the third seed in the East is still not bad. If they can find their rhythm and start to meet as a team, they absolutely have a chance to represent the East Conference in the final. Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris and Jimmy Butler form an incredibly talented core as the process approaches its full potential. At the very least, they should be able to play fairly easily with Brooklyn Nets in the first round, though Embiid's sudden injury status is worrisome. The center, struggling with a persistent knee problem, remains the face of the franchise and its most important player. As good as the rest of the team is, Embiid has to be rugged enough to wear them.
7) Boston Celtics
Without the LeBron Lakers, there would be no more disappointing team in the regular season than the Celtics. They were at one game in the NBA Finals last year without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. So it was easy to imagine them taking advantage of James' absence to become the team to beat east with two healthy people. Instead, they struggled to find an identity and had to fight to save their lives to get the home field advantage against the Indiana Pacers in the first round. If Hayward can regain his form of Jazz, it is not impossible that they can turn into a dangerous team that everyone expected this summer. The absence of the Marcus Smart defensive pillar for the first two rounds thanks to a torn oblique could however be difficult to overcome.
8) Indiana Pacers
The Pacers deserve all the credit of the world to enter the fifth row of the Eastern Conference despite the loss of Victor Oladipo in mid-season. They almost missed out on the Celtics for the fourth seed before they ran out of steam. Even though Boston will not have Marcus Smart, Indiana's squad is not as talented, and the Celtics are 3-1 against them in the regular season and will have an advantage on their court. The Pacers can still win the series, but it could take their best shot. After that, it's hard to see them deepen.
9) Portland Trail Blazers
Without the loss of the invaluable Jusuf Nurkic, injured in the leg, just weeks before the playoffs, the chances of the third seeded Blazers would be much higher. They could even rank among the candidates for the final of the black horse. Their health problems do not stop there. CJ McCollum suffered a knee injury at the end of the regular season and returns to competition. So, Portland's success in the playoffs could depend on Damian Lillard, although he's not a bad player to throw your chips behind. Right now, the problem with Lillard is that, as everyone expects him to pick up playoff games and win the clutch match in the final reel, it feels like it's a failure when he does not do it.
10) Utah Jazz
The year has been solid for the most incongruous team in American sport. Rudy Gobert remains a potential Defenseman of the Year this year and every year until further notice. The rest of the Jazz tour is pretty well balanced. They finished the regular season with an impressive record, even though it has earned them to be faced with many less important opponents. Their main problem is that their offense is late compared to most of their Western Conference competitions in general and the Rockets, their first-round opponents in particular. Donovan Mitchell, last year's rookie title finalist, showed he could score goals, but he was going to have a tough job beating James Harden backstage. It will be fun to watch it try, though.
11) Thunder from Oklahoma City
For some time this season, Paul George was a true MVP contender, although he calmed down a bit. Along with Russell Westbrook, who has continued to make impressive personal scoring achievements, the Thunder will always have an unimaginable playoff chance. However, it is hard not to believe that the window of the Thunder championship has closed the second, Kevin Durant has moved to the dark side and signed with the Warriors two years ago, lagged. On the plus side, they could benefit from the chance of the draw here. In setting the sixth seed, Thunder assured that he would start his match after the season by facing the Blazers without Nurkic. Do not call it a surprise if they win.
12) San Antonio Spurs
Never count Spurs. It seemed that Gregg Popovich was going to have to retool San Antonio after being forced to send Kawhi Leonard, who was supposed to be Tim Duncan's successor, to the Raptors in exchange for DeRozan. In addition, Tony Parker left the city to join the Hornets and Manu Ginobili retired. Although the season began after the end of the season, the Spurs concocted an impressive second half and earned their 22nd consecutive playoff appearance. Can they take advantage of the relative inexperience of the Nuggets?
13) Orlando Magic
Once you have passed the top five seeds in the East, the quality of the teams decreases significantly. The seventh-seeded Orlando Magic was one of the top defensive basketball teams in the latter part of the regular season, allowing them to sneak into the playoff standings. The rival teams apparently give them a lot of respect. A team called, "An ideal first round match. Beatable, but they test you. The Magic is trying to prove that the first part of this description is wrong by upsetting the Toronto Raptors, who are not immune to some nice early knockouts.
14) Brooklyn nets
Congratulations, Brooklyn. You're playing in the playoffs for the first time since 2015. You're already well above expectations, even if you managed to get the sixth seed on the final day of the regular season. Unfortunately, your best chance not to be eliminated in the first round is to hope that Joel Embiid's knee problems persist and that the 76ers' literal and metaphorical center can not hold. As the Nets may not be here anymore, let's take the opportunity to hire Angelo Russell, who proved that the Lakers did not make a mistake by calling him a highly boastful prospect, but that they were probably when they abandoned it. quickly.
15) Los Angeles Clippers
What work Doc Rivers did here. The era of the lobed city ended when they traded Chris Paul in 2017, and then Blake Griffin last year. As if to emphasize the fact that they were resigned to rebuilding, they separated from Tobias Harris at the trade deadline. Stripped of his inadequate role as general manager, Rivers led this team to a startling playoff race that could put him at the top of the coach 's honors year – round. It's surely impressive to lead a playoff team when the best player on your team – Lou Williams – is your sixth man. Now the question is whether they can challenge the chances of the first round. Since the eighth-seeded Clippers ended up attracting the Warriors, let's go for nothing.
16) Detroit Pistons
Last team to win a place in the playoffs, Blake Griffin and the Pistons, eighth seeded, deserve to be the last in this ranking. Let's be honest: it would have been a great story if Dwyane Wade, now retired, made one last playoff appearance with the Heat instead of tepid Detroit. It would also have been a bit more fun if the Hornets ended up playing in the playoffs, just for the chance to see Kemba Walker score as much as 50 points in a lost effort. Anyway, no matter who will end up being the eighth-seeded player in the East, they would not really feel very lucky against the Bucks if it's an abnormal injury to Antetokounmpo … and is this something that everyone really wants to take root?
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