These past two weeks have been great. Not only were there some wildly compelling first-round series, but Philly fans have gotten to enjoy all of them completely stress-free! And, of course, with the advent of postseason defeat comes scrutiny and oftentimes embarrassment that the Sixers currently do not have to deal with!
If you read my initial Philly haters’ guide to the playoffs, we are doing just fine so far! We have already said goodbye to two of our Evil Empire teams- the Clippers and the Bucks- and one more is guaranteed to go home this round. I said I would be disgusted if the Warriors, Nuggets, or Pistons won it all. Well, Detroit is already out, and the others face grueling matchups this upcoming round, as the lower seed, on very little rest, after facing grueling matchups last round. It is all coming together beautifully!
With 16 teams now cut down to eight, here is the updated Philly hater’s guide heading into the conference semifinals:
The “drop a nuke” series
Only one good thing can come from the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks meeting each other in the playoffs- one of them has to go home. But if a magical nuke were to make a timely fall on TD or Madison Square Garden…
In all seriousness, the Knicks are in big trouble, despite stealing Game 1. The Celtics owned them all regular season, and there is no reason to think anything will change in the playoffs. The Celtics somehow losing would be an incredible thing, but them skull-crushing the Knicks would be just as diabolically glorious. The Celtics pose major problems for the Knicks on both ends of the floor, and there really is no conceivable path to victory for them outside of lasting injuries to Boston.
Furthermore, the Knicks’ demolition at the hands of the Celtics might make them realize the grievous errors they made in giving up so many assets for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns and paying so much money to OG Anunoby. They have found the perfect balance of being nowhere close to the true class of the league and also having no real way to pivot. That should bring a smile to everyone’s faces.
Wrong place, wrong time… do not care
I do not envy the Golden State Warriors or the Denver Nuggets. Both had to scratch and claw to find their way to a first-round victory, and both teams deserve to be here. They even both fought their way to victories in Game 1. Unfortunately—and thankfully—it’s a best-of-seven series, and both teams have probably met their match.
The Golden State Warriors went through a seven-game war with the Houston Rockets just to earn a date with the only team in the conference that may be more physical than the Rockets. Anthony Edwards, at the ripe age of 23 years old, has already taken down Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, and Luke Doncic all in the playoffs. Adding Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and the charlatan that is Jimmy Butler to that list are some pretty unassailable pelts on the wall.
While Edwards struggled mightily in Game 1, that will likely serve as fodder for him in Game 2, especially with the news that Steph Curry won’t be available.
The Denver Nuggets got battered and bruised for two weeks at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers and caught a few lucky breaks to make it to the second round. Their reward? The juggernaut known as the Oklahoma City Thunder.
While Nikola Jokic is the best player in the series and has a like-matchup advantage over Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, the rest of the Nuggets should be very concerned. The Thunder will mercilessly hound the Nuggets on defense while knowing nobody on the other end can stymy their offense. It will take a Nikola Jokic-sized miracle to overcome.
The Thunder’s sins against the basketball gods in Game 1 allowed the Nuggets to steal a game on the road, but it’s a lot to ask for OKC to make those mistakes again.
The “disaster draft” series
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers are very similarly constructed teams that play beautiful, team-oriented basketball. They are both undoubtedly very good. Are they as good as the Boston Celtics? Probably not. And at the end of this series, only one team will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals to likely face those Celtics. Unless that aforementioned nuke hits the Celtics vs. Knicks series!
That means, by default, the Cavs vs. Pacers series would be for the right to go to the NBA Finals. Honorable, if you ask me. It’s hard to say we should not root for this outcome.
So far, the Pacers are up 2-0 in the series thanks to some tenacity, elite shot making, and admittedly some key injuries to the Cavs’ core members.
America’s teams
The Minnesota Timberwolves are developing an aura. You have to be cut from a certain cloth to play for them. If you disrespect them in any way, you will pay for it. They are in the second round of the playoffs for consecutive years for the first time in the franchise’s history. Anthony Edwards has the talent and personality to lead the new guard of the NBA. His playoff resume is already pretty impressive, and now he has the chance to take down a four-time champion.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have everything to gain from this upcoming series with the Denver Nuggets. They have to prove that their regular-season success can be sustained in a playoff setting against an elite test, and there is no greater individual challenge than facing the best player in the world. Everything the Thunder have built since trading for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander amounts to these next few weeks. Hard to think they are going to take their foot off the gas now.
These are the two teams that represent the greatest hope of taking down the Celtics. If they meet in the Western Conference Finals, we are guaranteed a leg to stand on in the NBA Finals. The onus is clear.
Wolves Back! Thunder Up!
