NBA Playoffs update: Orlando Wolverines even series
With all of this talk about Wolverines going pro, figured it would be take a look at interesting to share how the Wolverines in the NBA weere doing.
In the 4-5 matchup of the Eastern Conference in the NBA playoffs, the Orlando Magic just tied the series at 2-2 with the Cleveland Cleveland Cavaliers, beating them 112-89.
The Orlando Magic were paced by Franz' 34 pts on13/17 shooting while also adding 4 assists and 13 rebounds. Franz has been awesome as a 2nd option behind Paolo Banchero on this Magic team, but he took over this game, while Paolo only had 9 points. Mo has been a solid contributor (7 pts, 4 boards this game), while Jett and Caleb haven't regularly cracked the rotation regularly.
On the Cleveland side, Donovan Mitchell wasn't quite himself with only 18 points, and the rest of the team couldn't make up the difference. Caris Levert had a bad game with only 5 pts shooting 2 of8. Next game is at Cleveland on Tuesday.
In general, it's been a really competitive and entertaining playoff so far.
Eastern Conference
Celtics (2-1) vs Miami - Just a matter of time before Boston takes out a Butler-less Heat team. Duncan has been quiet this series.
Knicks (2-1) vs 76ers - Knicks are up in a close series, but I think Embiid carries Philly past NY if he stays healthy.
Pacers (2-1) vs Bucks - Unless Giannis comes back, I really do not care about this series at all.
Western Conference
Thunder (3-0) vs Pelicans - Thunder are proving they are worthy of that No. 1 seed.
Nuggets (3-1) vs Lakers- Lakers avoid the sweep, but they're days are numbered.
Minnesota (3-0) vs Suns - Anthony Edwards is putting on a show. It doesn't even matter that the other side has one of the best scorers of all time (Durant) and another elite one in Bradley Beal.
Clippers (1-2) vs Mavericks - You would think that a team with a Westbrook, Paul George, Kawhic ore should be steam rolling everyone, but no. Nothing with this Clippers team will ever surprise me, but seems like if the Clippers haven't found that next level yet, they never will. Luka is about to put them out.
Ant really reminds of MJ—physically, his game, etc.
As good as the top 3 in the West are… Mavs might be the one to emerge from the West. Those two semis and the conf finals will be fire.
You could take an all-star team of (healthy) players in the East who dont play in Boston, and the Celts would still win that conf.
April 28th, 2024 at 10:38 AM ^
- Sorry for the typos, I swear I'm not usually that bad.
- Yeah, his offensive game is definitely MJ-adjacent. The man also has the personality to be the face of the league
Yeah, he's just gotta stop paying for those abortions.
I don't think the Mavs can beat the clips!
The NBA makes a fool out of me every year, so you might be right
As a Celtics fan, I'll say that game 4 will tell me a lot. Miami should be put down and out. If they screw around, like they have the past few years and play 6-7 games with this mediocre team with a ton of injuries... Then I expect the same outcome. Miami tried to scrap last night and Boston didn't take the bait. Just kept putting up points
Indiana is a fun team to watch.
Lakers should be done. Denver is a machine.
Philly/NY is the most compelling series I think.
Westbrook, Leonard and George are well past their prime. Only Leonard ever won anything. Harden is also there to make sure they underachieve. Nothing about that team says winner.
Watching jokic and doncic play is like watching JV vs varsity. They're at another level.
And I agree.. Though there have been a bunch of blowouts, the playoffs have been exciting. Round 2 will be great
April 28th, 2024 at 12:36 PM ^
Luka looking across the floor at Harden, seeing himself in ten years.
Are you crazy?
Are you unfamiliar with the doughy high-volume-but-efficient scorer and distributor for a team in Texas that can never quite get over the hump against deeper teams? Luka as Harden 2.0 is a well-established meme at this point.
Luka is 25 years old and arguably top 3 in the league. He's made Irving the psycho serviceable. He's coming into his prime and wins with average talent around him.
Let's see what he can do before you write him off as an inefficient scorer who is an awful teammate (harden)
Orlando Wolverines vs Cleveland Buckeyes.
THE GAME in April?
April 28th, 2024 at 12:25 PM ^
Cleveland doesn't have any Buckeyes. They do have Caris as their sixth man.
Off the top of my head, the only Buckeyes in the playoffs are D'Angelo Russell (Lakers) and Mike Conley (T-wolves).
April 28th, 2024 at 10:23 AM ^
I lost interest in the NBA for a long time many years ago but have started watching game highlight summaries on YT recently. Dallas is fun to watch. Doncic shooting range, Irving's complete game (with both hands) and young, athletic dunking-machine bigs are very entertaining.
NBA has some incredible athletes - but lost interest in spending time watching. It long ago shifted to all-offense and, at best, powder puff style defense.
Watching just how terrible the referees enforce even basic rules of the game is awful. There is no such thing as traveling, if someone looks too intensely at Lebron - it is an auto-foul, not to mention the flops and "injuries".
It used to be fun to watch with intensity on both ends, had to actually play without taking 4-5-6 steps, and there was not the "hired gun" concept with the players simply trying to stack teams vs. build an organization.
Again - alot of talent, but it just isnt the same thing.
I've made my peace with Denver being just flat out better. That said, with better coaching we'd at least have a chance at making it interesting. In game 2, we were scorching them but had no counters to their counters (when Denver puts KCP on LeBron, KCP is a good defender but you at least have to try to leverage the size mismatch). Infuriating.
That said, Jokic was always going to be too much. I think AD is the best defensive player in the league but even he can only contain Jokic at best.
It'll be interesting if it's Denver vs Boston. As a Laker fan, I'm obviously rooting for whomever plays the Celtics. Boston has the better and deeper roster with 8 guys who are all very capable shooters and defenders, but they're no more than the sum of their parts, which is still really really good. However, Jokic warps the game around him in a way that only the HoFamers do.
Yeah, the problem is I don't think Lebron wants a real coach. He wants to run the team himself. And he honestly could be a coach, but he can't be both.
Somebody call me?
April 29th, 2024 at 12:33 PM ^
Anthony Edwards will be pushed as the face of the league starting this off-season. He is a 3 level scorer with explosive dunks and defense that is starting to show up more and more. He will be in Paris in a couple of months for the Olympics, and a good showing there (like in last year's FIBA) will launch him into the stratosphere. Literally the only thing holding him back then will be the fact that he plays in Minneapolis (considered an NBA backwater like Memphis/Orlando etc), and that he has some shitty social media posts/videos that might come back to hurt him. Thats it.
No other players come close at this point to matching his trajectory or the "requirements" to be the face of the NBA:
- LeBron is just about done as the face - despite still playing at an absurdly high level at his age.
- Durant and Curry are too old at this point, and were always in LeBron's shadow.
- Jokic is the best player, but too boring, and not American.
- Doncic is exciting, but not American.
- Zion ate himself out of the conversation but has started to turn the corner again.
- Tatum is good but bland.
- Wembanyama is not American, but is so scary good (should be DPOY as a rookie) and is such a genetic freak that they could start to push him - despite not being American.
The NBA was starting to really prop up Ja Morant in this role - and he really is a game to game highlight real of dunks, crazy steals and passes, and "put the game on my back" moments. However, he made some really stupid choices in 2023 + the guy was/is on the verge of full-blown alcoholism. The NBA's over-the-top 25 game suspension for the 2nd offense was the nail in the coffin for him getting the "future face of the league" talk, and his injury this past January might be more problematic than it should have been.