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Will Jimmy Butler fight Kelly Oubre Jr.? Scroll down to see why.
Welcome to the Playoffs!
Everything for this weekend and beyond!
The NBA playoffs start tomorrow, so we’ll have four games on Saturday and four more on Sunday. We have SO lots of storylines, new faces, old faces, missing faces and things to watch out for as the 2024 NBA Playoffs begin. Grab my hand. I’ll take yours. We will take this journey together.
(Just a reminder: Steph Curry didn’t make it. Neither does Victor Wembanyama despite a fun rookie year. I miss Wemby. I’m sad. Four years of French honors finally paid off, mom!)
The powers we know
Boston Celtics: They reached the Finals in 2022, are a better 64-18 team this time around, and their biggest potential threat just hurt his MCL and might not play until the fall (due to the elimination of his team maybe this evening). Boston has no reason not to reach the final.
Denver Nuggets🏆: They’re the defending champions, look healthy, have the best player in the world, arguably the best starting five in the world, and have snoozed their way to the second seed in the West for half the season. They get to warm up with a Lakers team they swept last year in the conference finals.
New faces seek to shock the world
Oklahoma City Thunder: From a 40-win team to the No. 1 seed in the West without adding any veterans. Outstanding. The Thunder are young but here to prove they deserve the title behind the brilliance of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards has made the playoffs twice, but this is a different version of him and the Wolves. These are the superior seeds. Phoenix is tough, but Ant’s legend can grow here.
The Magic of Orlando: Despite being the East’s youngest team in the playoffs, this defensive heavyweight is in a great position to really ruin this iteration of the Cavaliers. Paolo Banchero is a star.
Indiana Pacers: The Pacers have overachieved this season and are now playing with house money – not in the Jontay Porter way, though.
Those who feel the most pressure
Milwaukee Bucks: We don’t know when Giannis will return, this team has been horrible without him and Doc Rivers was offering excuses before taking the sideline. Milwaukee is in trouble.
Cleveland Cavaliers: The Donovan Mitchell contract drama is loud. And the Cavs wet the bed last year. Will they take Orlando seriously?
LA Clippers: Kawhi Leonard is banged up (more below), James Harden and Paul George are having tough playoff reps and the Clippers are facing a dangerous Mavs team. They could really benefit from a deep playoff run.
Phoenix Suns: They have disappointed throughout the season and while the Wolves are a good matchup for them, the Suns can’t be the big three teams that get knocked out in the first round.
Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James is almost 40 years old and his best hope is to win a game against the Nuggets. Put aside the appearance of the playoffs. The biggest question really is: Where will the Lakers go next?
Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid is great, but he’s already 30, his teams have never been to the conference finals and he’s not in top form since he’s coming back from injury. The Sixers are under pressure to land free agents this summer, and that’s a tough sell with a first-round exit to the Knicks.
The sleeping giants
New York Knicks: I know they don’t have Julius Randle, but I believe in the Knicks. Jalen Brunson is killer, and they dominate with OG Anunoby. Does this Tom Thibodeau team have any extra equipment? They can!
Dallas Mavericks: I wouldn’t pick the Mavs to beat the Nuggets in a series, but they are my pick to reach the Finals if Denver fails to make it out of the West. Luka Dončić has been unreal this season, Kyrie Irving has been fantastic, and the Mavs have been the best defense in the league over the final quarter of the season. Is Dallas ready to break through?
The latest news from Shams
Kawhi Leonard aims to play opener
Leonard received an injection in his knee earlier in the month, returned to action after a period of rest and aims to play this weekend in the opener against the Mavericks, league sources tell me.
He hasn’t played since the Clippers’ win over the Hornets on March 31 and missed the final eight games of the regular season. The Clippers went 4-4 in those games, setting up a first-round series with Dallas.
The two-time Finals MVP averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists this season, making his first All-Star team since 2021.
Seed Battles #8
Who will win the final playoff spots?
We have our final two games of the Play-In tournament tonight to set up matchups 1-8 in both conferences. They also feature two massive injuries to Butler and Zion Williamson that could greatly affect the outcome.
Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat, 7 p.m. on ESPN
These teams played for the No. 8 seed last year, and the Bulls almost made it. Now they can avenge that loss to injury-hit Miami.
Great scenario: No butler. The Heat had a monster fourth quarter behind Butler and Max Strus to take 8th place last year. However, neither guy will play in this game, so Miami will be desperate for answers against a Bulls team that just lost 131 points to Atlanta.
How did the season series go? Is this relevant? They split the season series 2-2. Butler played in all four games, but the series doesn’t seem very relevant because it was made in mid-December.
Key match: Alex Caruso on Tyler Herro. Herro had trouble getting initiated against Kelly Oubre Jr. and Buddy Hield the other night. They are mediocre to good defenders. Caruso could silence him.
Factor X: Coby White. He lit up the Hawks. He also lit up the Heat in four games and seemed to be over his shooting slump after the All-Star Game.
Prediction: Bulls at nine o’clock.
Do they have a chance against the Celtics? No way. Maybe in Miami could fight, but it won’t be enough without Butler. The Bulls will be happy to collect that revenue in the playoffs, though.
Sacramento Kings vs. New Orleans Pelicans, 9:30 p.m. on TNT
The Pelicans have bullied the Kings for most of the season, and now they’re competing for a chance to face the Thunder in the first round. This should be an easy path for the Pelicans, right? Not so fast, my friends!
Great scenario: No Zion. The Pelicans star injured his hamstring in the last game and will not play tonight. Zion played in all but one game against the Kings, so how do the Pelicans make up for his absence?
How did the season series go? The Pelicans won 5-0, thanks to an in-season tournament game. New Orleans won by 96 points. YEAH.
Key match: Herb Jones on De’Aaron Fox. The Kings are missing Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter. If Jones can do his job defensively against Fox, the Kings will really struggle to score. If Fox can get going, New Orleans will need its stars to respond.
Factor X: Brandon Ingram. He was so bad against the Lakers that he was benched throughout the streak. It was only his second game in almost a month, but the Pelicans need him to cook up the Kings in this game.
Prediction: Pelicans at seven.
Do they have a chance against the Thunder? If both teams were healthy, I would feel like they can push an inexperienced Thunder team. But they aren’t and probably won’t be.
IG snapshot!
Is Klay gone? Is Jimmy going to fight?
I was scrolling through Instagram and various social media platforms – as I tend to do when I’m procrastinating – and found a few notable NBA items. The first was a post on our own IG page for Athleticism. While pondering the future of soon-to-be free agent Klay Thompson, we asked if he’ll be a Warrior next season. Voters overwhelmingly said Thompson would be elsewhere.
People voted for this despite the quote from Warriors coach Steve Kerr!
The other thing I noticed on IG was that Miami announced that Butler would miss tonight’s game against the Bulls. The report says Butler will likely miss weeks, so we know this has to eat him alive. He was injured during Wednesday’s game when Kelly Oubre Jr. landed awkwardly on his knee. Butler tagged Oubre in the comments and he said: “we join hands”.
Didn’t Oubre I have endured enough this season, Jimmy?
Bouncing passes
here is your Western Playoff Preview Since Athleticism NBA Show.
(Top photo: Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images )