We are roughly 15 games away from the start of the NBA playoffs. While most NBA teams are normally wrapped up in their placement outside of the 8th seed, we are operating under completely different circumstances. Health also seems to be a massive concern for all the contenders making it hard to predict what will happen in the playoffs. I’ll go over some of the biggest storylines in the NBA to get you caught up.
Is It Time to Give Up on the Pelicans?
Zion is sporting Infinity Gauntlets, getting the Pelicans on National Television frequently, and putting up “Shaq” like numbers. New Orleans even owns 3 players in ESPN’s Top 25 Under 25 Years old. With all that being said, they find themselves 3 and half games out of the 11th seed. While they are only 4 and half games out of 8th seed, I can’t imagine this is where David Griffin thought his team would be with little time left to go in the season. The team ends their schedule facing only 2 non playoff teams in their last 13 games. Many of their opponents are lower seeded like the Warriors and Spurs but the biggest trope of this team throughout the season is the inability to win big games. The Pelicans recent resume includes losing to the Nets without Kevin Durant or James Harden, the Orland Magic (need I say more), and an overtime loss to the Wizards.
Anything can happen but it doesn’t feel like they have the capability to make a push. They don’t particularly play for each other and the Pelicans are ranked 27th in defensive rating barely keeping ahead of 3 of the worst defenses in NBA history.
Can the Nets Stay Healthy Enough to Make a Playoff Push?
According to William Hill, the Nets sit as +170 favorites to win the NBA Finals. That is quite the staggering number considering the big three of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden have only played 7 games together. James Harden recently suffered a setback that might not get him back into the lineup until the start of the playoffs. Kevin Durant also suffered a Thigh Contusion that sidelined him 8 minutes into their game against the Miami Heat after a 2 month absence prior to that.
It almost feels out of the question the Nets would make their way to the Finals with their 3 stars playing every game. The playoffs don’t have any back to backs like the regular season but they are a lot more physical. One is likely going to need at least a game off to nurse an injury.
The weak Eastern Conference is still duly noted over the past 10 years. While it has produced legit title contenders, the league’s top players have shown the ability to get their without much competition highlighted by LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard.
The Nets very well could make it to a matchup with the Lakers without being fully healthy but what about who they face when they theoretically get there? Could they defeat the Clippers who have the advantage off the bench or the Lakers who are looking fresh come playoff time?
Who is Leading the MVP Race?
The MVP is a regular season award as we all know meaning there is little time for players to finalize their resumes to sway voter’s opinions.
This year in particular is a bit strange to judge because of how injury plagued the original top of the list has been. 25 games into the season, the race seemed to be between Joel Embiid, LeBron James, and Nikola Jokic. Since then, Embiid and James have only played 41 games each. No MVP in the history of the league has ever missed the percentage of games they have in their award winning season. While games played technically has no real bearing on who wins MVP, it seems universally agreed they are out of the conversation at this point.
Since Jamal Murray tore his ACL on April 12th, Jokic is averaging 27.4 points, 7.4 assists, and 11.2 rebounds. He has also led the Nuggets to a 4 and 5 record. They will likely finish as the 4th seed in the West which presents maybe the greatest argument against him. Russell Westbrook won the award back in the 2016-2017 season as the 6th seed but he was also averaging a triple double.
Chris Paul likely is Jokic’s greatest competition as Cowherd suggested in the Tweet above but he will have to lead the Suns to the best record in the NBA to make that dream a reality. They currently sit 2 full games behind the Jazz who are missing Donovan Mitchell. The Jazz don’t have a particularly difficult schedule playing only 4 teams above the 8th seed in either conference for their last 13 games.
Are the Knicks for Real?
The Knicks might be elite. New York’s team extends their winning streak to 9 following a blowout victory against the Toronto Raptors. Their recent run has been highlighted by victories over a solid Memphis Grizzlies team and the Dallas Mavericks. A Knicks team that could not string together victories at the beginning of the season now find themselves as the 4th seed in the East and 3 and a half games away from the 3rd seed.
They have been getting All-NBA caliber play out of young star Julius Randle that has been complimented by emerging star RJ Barrett. Tom Thibodeau has gotten career years out of Reggie Bullock and Alex Burks. On top of that, Derrick Rose is playing well for the team after being acquired for essentially nothing.
The saddest storyline of the year has been rookie Obi Toppin. While he hasn’t been particularly terrible, the “most NBA ready prospect” has only averaged 3.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. He also just so happens to play behind one of the most prolific players in the league.
After seeing what the Miami Heat did last season, Knicks fans have to be teeming with excitement over the possibilities for the playoffs. The Atlanta Hawks are young, the Boston Celtics are simply not impressive, the Miami Heat aren’t playing with the same pizzazz, and the Charlotte Hornets are first round exits. That leaves the Nets, the 76ers, and Bucks as the only teams standing in their way of getting to the Finals. The Knicks lack a tremendous amount of playoff experience which does not favor them well but even the fact that this conversation about the Knicks can exist means the NBA is in a better place right now.
