Ty Predicts the 2024 NBA Playoffs

The NBA playoffs are set. And I'm here to give my predictions. I love this time of the sports year. I love the NBA, and the playoffs are the best of the best. This is when it all gets good. I even enjoy the hell out of the play in. I cannot wait to start watching it tomorrow night. I'll start with the East and go from there. I'll pick the conference winners and some playoff award winners. Let's get to it.

The play in in the East features the Heat and 76ers in the 7-8 match up and Hawks and Bulls in the 9-10. This 9-10 game is rough stuff. These two teams are not great. I'm going to go with the Bulls to get out of the first part of the play in. The Hawks are not a good team. They have struggled all season long. The 7-8 game is going to be awesome. I love this match up. I'm going with the 76ers. Joel Embiid has been as good as ever since coming back and they are getting in a groove heading into the first round. As for the 8 seed, we have the Bulls and Heat. The Heat will win and win with ease. They get the 8 seed.

So, this gives us first round match ups of Celtics-Heat, Knicks-76ers, Bucks-Pacers and Cavs-Magic. I like all of these match ups to be honest with you. The Celtics will not be stoked to see the Heat in round one. They beat them last season, they are not afraid of them and Erik Spoelstra is a great playoff coach. The Celtics should, and will win. They are the better team and they have something to prove this season. But, it will be closer than they want the series to be. I'll go Celtics in six. The Knicks got the 2 seed, which is a big deal for them. Their reward, the 76ers. I like the Knicks and the NBA is way more fun when they are better. But they will not be able to stop Embiid. He has something to prove as well, and I see big things from him this postseason. Give me the 76ers in seven tough fought games. The Bucks have looked off all season. They just cannot seem to get right. They look odd on the floor, they get injured far too often and their defense is mediocre. But the Pacers have struggled to close the season out. They are nowhere near as good as they were a few months ago. I am having a hard time with this pick, but I'm going to go with the Bucks in seven, if Giannis is fully healthy for this series. Finally we have the Cavs and Magic. This is my favorite first round East series. I love everything about this. Both teams are young and fun and play some solid defense. I'm going with the Magic to win in seven games. Their defense is better, they are going to muddy the game up and their fans are going to be ravenous.

This gives me second round match ups of Celtics-Magic and Bucks-76ers. This is the best the NBA could hope for from the East. As awesome as it would be to see the Magic make it to the East Finals, it is not happening. While their defense is very, very good, elite even, the Celtics have so many weapons to counter the Magic defense. I actually think this series will be a little less tough than the first round. Give me the Celtics in five. I cannot wait to watch the 76ers-Bucks series if it comes to that. These are two teams going in two seperate directions, and the 76ers are going to run with it. Embiid is going to crush. Lillard will not be able to match Tyrese Maxey. Tobias Harris is going to score at will. Give me the 76ers in seven.

That give us the Celtics and 76ers in the East Finals. I will be rooting for, and I want the 76ers to win. I want Embiid to announce himself big time. But, the Celtics are simply a better team and they will prove it once again. The Celtics are the East champs and they will be in the Finals. They win that series in six games.

Now to the varsity, the Western conference.

The play in in the West features the Pelicans-Lakers in the 7-8 game and the Kings and Warriors in the 9-10. The Lakers will beat the Pelicans. They may need help from the refs, but they will find a way to get that 7 seed. The Kings are just too banged up to compete with the Warriors right now, so give me the Warriors in the 9-10 game. As for the Pelicans and Warriors to get the 8 seed, give me the Pelicans. The Warriors are old, they have been inconsistent and Zion Williamson is going to go the hell off against them. This may be a moment when we see the Warriors as we know them start to make a change.

So that gives us match ups of Thunder-Pelicans, Nuggets-Lakers, Timberwolves-Suns and Mavericks-Clippers in round one. The Thunder are going to run over the Pelicans. They are deeper, younger, more fun and play with an intensity unmatched by other teams. SGA is going to flourish in this series. Give me the Thunder in five games. The Nuggets may very well sweep the Lakers again. Anthony Davis has been amazing this season and he has stayed healthy. He will be a problem for the Nuggets. So will LeBron James, who is as good as ever at 38 years old. But outside those two guys the Lakers are seriously lacking. The Nuggets are not, and they have been pretty damn good since the all star break. I may not like watching them play, I may find them dull and boring, but they are still a very, very good team. Give me Nuggets in five. I am stoked to watch the T'Wolves-Suns series. It is going to be rad. I cannot wait to watch Anthony Edwards in the playoffs as the focal point of a high seed. He is so good, so fun and an absolute joy to watch play. The T'Wolves also have the best defense in all of basketball. Gobert is stifling. Jaden Daniels is long and mean. Edwards steps up on that end. This team goes hard on defense. The Suns do not. But, they have an explosive offense when they are clicking. KD is one of the greatest to ever play. Devin Booker is a mid range killer and Bradley Beal, if healthy, adds three point shooting and solid passing skills. But, I just don't think their defense will be able to keep up with the T'Wolves. And AE is going to explode on the scene these playoffs. Give me the Timberwolves in six games. The 4-5 series is the third time the Mavs and Clippers have faced off. And I know that all the white dudes that work at, or for, ESPN want Luka Doncic to finally beat this team. They want their advanced stats king to prove how great he can be. Kyrie Irving has been everything the Mavs could have asked for when they traded for him. And the trades they made this season have paid off brilliantly. The Clippers have the names. Kawhi and PG13 are awesome. They come up big almost all of the time. Terrance Mann is a great bench scorer. Tyron Lue is an awesome coach. These two teams have the names and the city power behind them. They have the brewing rivalry. They have met in some epic match ups prior to this one. I want the Clippers to win. I adore Kawhi Leonard. But I think this is the Mavs time to finally get past them. I'll take the Mavs in seven.

So our West second round features the Thunder and Mavs and the T'Wolves and Nuggets. Two young teams on one side, two division opponents on the other side. I like it. I want the Thunder to win. I'd much rather watch them go to the West finals. I want to watch players like SGA, Chet Holmgren and Lu Dort play further in the playoffs. But, I don't think it will happen. Doncic is a good scorer and has the refs on his side. Kyrie Irving has played great in the biggest moments. Daniel Gafford has been on a tear. The Mavs are going to win in seven, make a return trip to the West finals and the media is going to be insufferable. The Nuggets will end up beating the T'Wolves, but it will not be pretty or fun for the Nuggets. Their size messes with the Nuggets. The griminess with which they play puts a wrench in what the Nuggets want to do. But, in the end, the Nuggets are better and have the pedigree. The T'Wolves are coming, just not this season.

Now we have my least favorite West finals match up. This is going to be heaven for the white nerds at ESPN. They'll get to talk all series about how great Doncic and Jokic are. They will constantly talk about advanced stats and how great the passing is in the series. I'm going to loathe every single second of this match up. The Nuggets will win in six and return to defend their championship.

That leaves us with the Nuggets and the Celtics in the Finals. This is the best match up the NBA could get. These are the two best teams in the NBA. They have been all season. I'm going to go with the Celtics to break through and win the title. In beating the Heat and the 76ers in the playoffs will give them the edge they need to win it all. It is the Celtics time and they will bring it home this season. They will win it all in seven games.

As for postseason awards, the only one that really matters is Finals MVP. I'll take Jayson Tatum. This is his time to shine and his time to prove his worth. He will do so and bring home the Larry O'Brien and the Finals MVP trophy. Real quick, I want to do my regular season awards. My MVP is SGA. He has been incredible all season and he has earned this award. Defensive player of the year is Victor Webanyama. This will be his first of many. Wemby will also win rookie of the year. Coach of the year for me is Mark Dagnault. To have the Thunder, this young, as the number 1 seed in the West is amazing. Finally, my sixth man of the year is Naz Reid, who filled in quite well while KAT was out.

That does it for my playoff and award predictions for the 2023-24 NBA season and postseason. It all starts tomorrow. I cannot wait. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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I'm Coming Around on Nikola Jokic

I'm here to eat crow today. I am not a Nikola Jokic fan. I find his brand of basketball slow, plodding and boring. He pokes and prods and moves like he is a lumberjack. I fully believe he only deserved one of his MVP awards. I still fully believe Joel Embiid should be a two time MVP. I like a bunch of other players much more than Nikola Jokic. I find the love from the media, mainly ESPN, to be very racially biased towards Jokic. But dammit, that dude has been an absolute killer during this Nuggets playoff run. Let’s discuss.

I am a Lakers hater. I have never, ever liked them. I do not root for any big market team. But, I found it hard to root for the Nuggets going into this series due to my distaste for Jokic. That feeling went away quickly. Watching Jokic and Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell Pope rip the heart out of the Lakers, it was soon very easy for me to root for Denver in the West Finals. I also found it quite easy to root for Jokic. In fact, when the Suns owner decided to do that unnecessary flop was when I kind of started to flip to Jokic's side.

This dude should not be as good as he is at basketball. He is big, but that is about it. He looks out of shape when you compare him to other guys who play his same position. His jumper is wonky. He is a solid passer, but not at Draymond Green's level for a front court guy. He doesn't look the part, but he has found a way to make it work. He makes the right passes. He shoots when he needs to. He doesn't give up stupid fouls anymore. He doesn't gripe as much as other guys, Luka Doncic I'm talking about you here. He just plays the game and everyone around him seems to love playing basketball with him. Jamal Murray is as good a shooter as there is in the league, and he is usually pretty wide open due to defenses sucking in on Jokic. He is also the perfect pick and roll guy with Jokic. Aaron Gordon fits like a glove with this squad and he brings that defensive intensity they were missing. KCP is a proven vet and winner. He is a knock down shooter and he plays very good defense. Bruce Brown has proven to be an exceptional low salary signing. Michael Porter Jr is actually playing defense and hustling even with his shot not falling. But all of this doesn't work if these guys do not like playing with the face of the team, Nikola Jokic. They all want to win, they have all bought in, Michael Malone has done a phenomenal job getting everyone, including his star player. to totally buy into their respective roles.

I am endlessly fascinated at how quickly I have turned out to not hate this team, and Jokic, as much as I did only one short year ago. He made some amazing shots last night to close out that series. He was the best player on the floor for all four games. This is a floor that included guys like Anthony Davis, Jamal Murray and LeBron James. James had an incredible game last night, but Jokic was better overall. Murray had a great game two, but Jokic did it all series and all playoffs for that matter. AD had 40 in game one, Jokic nearly matched him, and the Nuggets got the win. Aaron Gordon is allowed to rove on offense and throw down oops. Jokic threw a pass last night that looked like it was to no one, and here comes Gordon to throw it down. Even the Lakers looked shocked. But Jokic and Gordon knew what they were doing. It was pretty astounding.

I will most likely be rooting for the Heat in the Finals, if they eventually close out the Celtics. But if the Celtics make some wild comeback and win the East Finals, it won't be so hard for me to root for Jokic and the Nuggets yet again. It shouldn't work. Jokic should not be this dominant. But here we are. And the Nuggets are a fun team to watch. I will not wear their gear or even root for them next season. But I found it easy in the West Finals, and if the Celtics somehow do the impossible, it would be even easier for me to root for this Nuggets team. I'm sorry for bashing this team and this player so much. I was wrong. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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The Grizzlies Do Not Need Dillon Brooks

The Grizzlies supposedly told Dillon Brooks that he will not be back next season "under any circumstance". Who knows how true that statement is, but it is coming from Shams Charnia, who is a very reliable source, so I tend to believe it.

I am all on board with this move. He may have thought his talking during the first round of the playoffs was motivating the team, but it had the opposite effect. His talk crept into an already crumbling locker room and made all the other problems this team, my favorite team in the NBA, had going on all season. Adding Brooks' talking with Ja Morant's whole situation, injuries to Brandon Clarke and Steven Adams and a team that was fading at the end of the year spelled trouble for the team. But Brooks was doing this all season. He was constantly talking. He never stopped. He claimed to "poke bears" all year long and look where it got the Grizzlies. They were dispatched, fairly easily I might add, by the 7 seeded Lakers. The Lakers are a good team, but the Grizz were the 2 seed and they couldn't even get to a game seven at home. That is the most frustrating part.

I appreciate Ja coming out at the end of the season and talking about his personal problems affecting the team. That takes maturity and shows that he, hopefully, is getting some help. Clarke and Adams have to take time to recover. Adams should be back soon, but Clarke's injury is going to take some time. He tore an ACL. He is going to need a lot of rehab for that injury. That could bleed into next season. But Brooks never showed growth or maturity. The Grizzlies would win a game and he talked and talked and talked. But then they'd get beat and he wouldn't even speak to the media. I heard a podcast where someone explained how Brooks was trying out a new character for his future in the NBA and it never worked. This person said he was trying to be like Draymond Green, but without any of the accolades. I think that is a very apt comparison, except Green is a much, much better player than Brooks could ever dream to be.

When the news was released that the Grizz were moving on yesterday I felt a sense of relief. It made me feel even better after another story came out saying that the Grizz tried to re-sign him during the season, but he wouldn't sign. That means he thought he could hold out for more, to get a better deal. But now everyone has gotten to see that he is all bark and no bite. He added some solid defense to the team, but what else did he really do? He is a poor shooter. He was being left wide open constantly and he couldn't hit the ocean. He never seemed to find the open guy while running the floor or in their half court offense. Sure he would pass, but it wouldn't lead to much until other players touched the ball. There was no rebounding or anything else of substance. And while the defense was okay, he could not guard the star players. LeBron abused him whenever he wanted. He cannot stay in front of guys like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown or Steph Curry. He was no match. It was almost like star players would hunt for him on offense just to beat him.

Now that the Grizz are moving on there is a sense of relief for me as a fan, and I bet the team feels it as well. They can move on. Sure they won't get anything for him, but this could be addition by subtraction. They can replace him with a younger guy in the lineup. A player like David Roddy could fill that role. I'd love to see Kenny Lofton Jr because I am a big fan of his. They could go small and play three guards with Jaren Jackson Jr and Steven Adams when he comes back. They could possibly go out and find some solid veteran help. They have a good enough team to continue to win without Brooks. They may be able to find a player that fits their timeline a little better.

I don't know where Brooks will end up, but I know that he will not be on my favorite team anymore and that makes me feel better. I am happy they are cutting the cord and moving on. The time has come. This is a good move by the Grizzlies. Now let's just hope the Grizz continue to win. Time will tell.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Jimmy Butler is a Playoff God

As all the NBA fans who read my blog have seen, I picked the Bucks to win the title this season. I thought they were the best team. They have the best player in the league. They had all their guys back pretty much fully healthy. They were the overall number 1 seed. They had home court throughout the playoffs. They were getting a seemingly disinterested Heat team. It all seemed in their favor. They even have the experience.

It didn't work out for Milwaukee. Giannis got hurt in game 1, missed two games and was not the same when he came back. Khris Middleton didn't look like himself. Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez looked tired. The bench didn't help at all. And the Heat saw this and took advantage. They jumped all over the Bucks. They played swarming defense. They made shots. Guy who barely played all year came in and did their job. This "bad news bears" esque squad came out, did what they do best and destroyed the Bucks. It only took them five games. They jumped out and got a stranglehold as soon as they could. It was jarring, but also kind of fun to watch.

Sure, I like the Bucks, Giannis is one of my favorite players, but this Heat team is fun when they are on. Kyle Lowry looked great in this series. He looked like the old Lowry. Kevin Love was tremendous off the bench. He looks like the missing ingredient. Duncan Robinson was one of the guys who barely saw the floor during the regular season, but due to injury, he was thrust in and did his job very well. Gabe Vincent was awesome. Max Struss looked good again. Erik Spoelstra was using every trick he had. And it all worked.

Yet the real killer in this series, the guy who always shows up when the lights are brightest, one of the most underrated players of all time, was Jimmy Butler. His series was amazing. This is some of the best basketball I have ever had the pleasure to watch. Butler was incredible and he did it all for the Heat. In the last two games he had 56 points and 46 points. He had decent assist numbers. He was rebounding the ball at a very high level. He was getting to the free throw line a bunch. He was making threes. He was guarding every star the Bucks have. Hell, he was insisting on it. He was making some of the wildest shots I've ever seen. This was a masterful performance by a guy that never gets mentioned when people talk about the best players in the league at this time. No one ever brings up Jimmy Butler. He is a better player right now than guys like Anthony Davis, Jamal Murray, Ja Morant, Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Jaylen Brown and James Harden. He is also a far, far superior playoff player still playing not named LeBron James. Butler is the heart and soul of this team. And when he is on, they are one of the best teams in the league. To watch what I just watched from him, I'm in awe. He was not going to let this team get beat. As soon as the Heat got a series lead, he smelled blood. And that is when Butler is at his best. I go back to his 56 point game as a point of reference. The Bucks seemed to be in control that whole game. I turned it back on near the end and the Bucks were up 10. They answered every shot. They never let it get too close, until Jimmy Butler decided it was time to take over. He made two big threes. He was getting to his spots. He hit every free throw he shot in the fourth quarter. He made plays in defense. And the Heat kept chipping away until they took the lead and eventually won. That would have been enough to cement him as an all time playoff great. But then he came out in game five, a closeout situation for them, and scored 46, looking every bit as good as he did in the previous game. Again, I was in awe. I couldn't believe my eyes. Jimmy Butler is amazing. He needs more shine.

Butler may rub some people the wrong way, but that dude shows up best when it matters most. Look at all the teams that let him go because they didn't like his "attitude". They are not as good as they were with him. Even the 76ers. Butler needs his shine and I will gladly drive this bandwagon. I may not be a fan of the Heat, but I am a superfan of Jimmy Butler. What a performance. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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The League was Wrong to Suspend Draymond Green

The Warriors had a must win game last night and they did just that. They won the game. They won by a lot. And they made this series with the Kings look a whole lot different.

Things could've been much worse for the kings. Draymond Green was suspended for this game. I'm sure you all have seen or heard why he was suspended. He "stomped" on Domantas Sabonis, the league decided they needed to set an example and Green was the perfect person to do this with. He has a past. He has been suspended for big playoff games before. He is a noted agitator. Go ask Steven Adams or LeBron James. They will tell you exactly what you want to know about him. Green is a dirty player who makes no excuses for his dirty play. I am not a fan of his at all. One, he is a Michigan State grad. Two, he is a dickhead. Three, he has been uplifted by the perfect situation for his style of play and been surrounded by great players. But he has earned the right to be talked about as a hall of fame player. I think he belongs. I think he is a very important part of this Warriors dynasty. He is the modern unicorn and one of the best defensive players to ever play the game. He is also one of the smartest players to play the game. So the Warriors got lucky, they got the win with him out and they kept this series interesting. But I don't think he should have been suspended.

I think this was the wrong move by the NBA. I think they reacted too swiftly and didn't really think about all that went into the suspension. I think they saw the "stomp", they saw it was Draymond and they went from there. Hell, they said as much in their press release. But go back and watch the play. At first glance I thought Draymond was in the wrong and I believed he should have been ejected from that game. That would have been the best punishment the league could have given him and we all could have moved on from there. But when you go back and watch the play, Sabonis is clearly grabbing his leg. Draymond is trying to get back on defense, the Kings have been running the whole time so far, but his forward momentum was being impeded upon. Sabonis grabbed him and wouldn't let go. The "stomp" was a bit much, but put yourself in that situation. Sit back and think back to a rec game that you may have played in your lifetime. What would you do if someone was grabbing you? You'd find a way to get out of that hold I assume. I know I would wiggle my leg until I got free, and if that didn't work, I might resort to a "stomp". Again, what Draymond did to get free was dirty, and he was ejected, but how can you see this and not think that Sabonis had something to do with it? Sabonis is a dirty player himself. He throws elbows all the time. He whips the ball in people's faces and, as the Warriors stated, uses it as a weapon. He is always grabbing a kicking and trying to bait other guys into technical fouls. And it worked with Draymond the other night, but the suspension was uncalled for. Sabonis wasn't hurt. I know the team said he had "sternum contusions", but I don't buy that for a second. Draymond didn't "stomp" him that hard. And if they suspended Draymond why didn't they do anything to Sabonis? Why wasn't he suspended? Where is his fine? He didn't get a flagrant called on him. It is unfair.

The Warriors had every right to be upset. Draymond, again, a guy I personally do not enjoy, did not deserve this. Why make an example of him now? What good does that do? This was a bogus suspension and the NBA should be grateful it didn't mess up this fun series so far. Had the Warriors gone down 3-0 this would have a different tone today.

All in all the league needs to chill on this. The fact that Draymond got suspended for his "stomp", but neither Embiid nor Harden got suspended for what they did last night is a joke. This league, while great in most aspects, and is the best professional sports league by a wide margin, messed up here. They need to own up to this mistake and be better the next time. This was an unwarranted and unfair decision they ended up with. Luckily for them the Warriors won last night. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

The Grizzlies Have a Dillon Brooks Problem

I am a Grizzlies fan. I adore that team. They have had their issues this year, and I have touched on them as have many other reputable websites and publications. They still fought their way to the 2 seed and beat the Lakers last night to even their round one series. They looked good without Ja, but make no mistake, they need need need Ja to win this series. But, Dillon Brooks needs to knock it the hell off. Let’s discuss.

If Brooks were on any other team I would loathe him. He talks nonstop. He is a good defender, but the way he talks you'd think he was the perennial DPOY. He is not. His teammate is the DPOY in fact. And the talking, outside of his defense, is not warranted. He is not a good offensive player. He cannot shoot the three with any consistency. He is a subpar passer. He takes worse half court shots than Russell Westbrook. When he rises up to shoot a three I find myself saying "bad shot" more often than not. I get why he starts, it makes sense within the construct of this roster. But the shit talking has got to slow down a bit.

I fully understand basketball is a game of talking. I have played it my whole life and I have shit talked a ton. That is part of the game. But this stuff with Brooks is becoming too much. He thinks he is Draymond Green, more on him tomorrow. But he is not. Draymond is a former DPOY. He is considered one of the greatest defensive players of all time. He has been an extremely integral part of a dynasty in Golden State. Draymond has earned the right to talk. Dillon Brooks has not. And watching him talk to LeBron during the game last night, and the interview afterward, it made me frustrated. LeBron doesn't need motivation. The dude has lived his whole career off of negative talk and motivation. LeBron has earned all he has gotten in the league. Say what you will about him joining a "super team", LeBron is the second greatest player of all time. So for Brooks to stare him down after a jump shot in the third quarter, stop. To clap in his face after LeBron called him a bum, that needs to stop. To constantly chirp at him during the game, that needs to stop. For him to say he likes "poking bears", and to say "he hasn't dropped 40 on me", just stop.

This is the stuff that drives me nuts. I like confidence, but this is cockiness from a guy that is not even close to deserving it at all. Brooks has not earned this place. He is trying to be villainous. My 11 year old son called him a "try hard" last night. I guess that means he is a poser. And I agree with him one hundred percent. LeBron is about to drop 40 on his ass. I wouldn't be shocked if he did it in game 3. LeBron is going to come into that game possesed. And the whole "poking bears" thing, that worries me the most. LeBron will use it. Anthony Davis will use it. D'Angelo Russell will use it. Austin Reaves will use it. Dennis Schroeder will use it. The whole team will use that quote as bulletin board material. And Brooks just won't shut the hell up. Desmond Bane talked some about Rui Hachumura after game one. Hachumura came out and did it again and Bane was quiet. Ja and JJJ and Steven Adams and the rest of the Grizzlies are being quiet, but Brooks is still running his trap.

I have no problem with him being on the team the rest of this year, but it is time to move on. I didn't want the team to trade him at the start of this season, but I'm all for it now. He is the type of trash talker that needs others to back him up. I don't want that type of player on my favorite team. Hopefully he proves me wrong and his talking works in this series. But I do not see that happening. He has poked the wrong bear. LeBron thrives in moments like this. I just hope Brooks trash talking doesn't ruin the Grizzlies postseason. My fingers are crossed. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty Predicts the 2023 NBA Playoffs

I fully understand the NBA playoffs started this past weekend, but today I have my preview and predictions. The first game of the series does play the ground work, but these series are all just getting started. Seven games is a lot, and a ton can still happen. Some things went as expected and others did not. But the first round of the playoffs is always fun and I enjoyed watching games all weekend. With all that, let's get to the predictions.

I will start with the East.

The 1-8 has Milwaukee facing Miami. This series will be tougher than it looks on paper, especially now with Giannis having a bruise. His x rays were clear, but a bone bruise is still very painful. And Khris Middleton is still recovering from injury. But Tyler Herro got hurt yesterday. He is out for the full first round. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are more than capable of making this a tough series. But in the end I see the Bucks winning in six games. Giannis will play and he will dominate. The Bucks are too good.

The 2-7 matchup features Boston and Atlanta. I was kind of stunned when the Hawks beat the Heat in the play-in, but their reward is the Celtics. If game 1 is any indication, the Hawks will be on vacation pretty soon. Boston is too good, too long, too athletic and can shoot the rock. The Hawks have Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, but they haven't clicked all season. The Celtics are going to walk. I'll give the Hawks one game, at home. Celtics will win in five.

The 3-6 matchup is Philly and Brooklyn. Brooklyn made it by having a big cushion before they traded everyone. Mikail Bridges has been great. Cam Johnson is solid. But the Nets do not have a single person that can guard Joel Embiid. The 76ers have him, James Harden and Tobias Harris. They are also playing with a chip on their shoulders. They have a ton to prove. The 76ers need to show that they are for real. I think they will win the series in a sweep.

The 4-5 matchup pits the Knicks and Cavs. This is the best first round series. These two teams are a perfect match. Game 1 was awesome. I have a feeling the full series will be this way. I love that these 2 teams are relevant with their current rosters. This series is going the full seven games and I'm going with the Cavs. I cannot wait to watch more of this series.

This means I have the Bucks facing the Cavs and the Celtics facing the 76ers in the semis. The Bucks should be full by this time. They should have everyone they need. The Cavs will too, but they will most likely be worn down. I think they can get a game, hell, probably two. But the Bucks are too good and have been all year long. I got the Bucks in six.

The 76ers-Celtics series is going to be masterful. I cannot wait to watch. This is going to be epic. Both teams have a ton to prove. As much as I'd like to pick the 76ers, and I will be rooting for them, the Celtics are too damn good. And deep. And they are hitting shots. I have the Celtics in seven games.

That leaves me with the Celtics and Bucks in the East Finals. The 1 and 2 seeds. The two best teams in the NBA all season long. I like that they will match up to go to the Finals. I have the Bucks winning in seven. They have beaten the Celtics most when it mattered this season, and they have a ton to prove from last season. The Bucks will represent the East in the NBA Finals.

Now to the West.

The 1-8 features Denver and Minnesota. Denver kind of slumped to the end the year. Jokic is not the MVP. Jamal Murray is still kind of hurt and has never looked like himself all year. Michael Porter Jr is not the super duper star they thought. But the Wolves are even worse off. They have never gotten it together. They are hurt. They are missing Jaden McDaniels. Rudy Gobert is punching teammates. They are a total mess. The Nuggets are going to cruise. They will sweep the Wolves.

The 2-7 has my Memphis Grizz facing the Lakers. This is going to be a tough, fun series. Both teams match up pretty well. They each do things that will frustrate each other. This will be fun. Game 1 was good, until the very end, and I think that will be the case throughout. Although the Lakers are playing really well right now, I have the Grizzlies winning in seven. Sure, Ja may be hurt right now, but the Grizz have won a lot without him. The Lakers need LeBron James and AD fully healthy to make a real run. I wouldn't bet on that.

The 3-6 has Sacramento facing Golden State. The Warriors have been weird all year. They can't win on the road and can't be beat at home. There has been infighting and injuries. They have a full team. The Kings have been very good and solid all year. They may be the most solid team in the West. But they haven't been here in forever and the Warriors are the defending champs. This is going to be a fun series, but the Warriors will find a way to win one road game and win the series in seven.

The 4-5 is the best in the West. The Suns and Clippers are, on paper, the best teams in the conference. Game 1 was awesome too. It felt like a battle of the best. Kawhi and KD were trading buckets. Devin Booker and Russell Westbrook were going at one another. It was great. I think this will go seven games as well, and even though I picked the Clippers at the start of the season, I'm going with the Suns here. KD is whole and he is too damn good to not get his team out of round one.

That means the West Semis will feature Denver playing Phoenix and Memphis facing Golden State. These are great matchups. Much like the East, the four best teams in the West will be here. The Nuggets will not be able to guard the Suns. The Suns destroyed them last season with a myriad of mid range jumpers and Deander Ayton is more than capable of guarding Jokic. I have the Suns in five.

Memphis is going to finally beat the Warriors. They will finally do it. This series is going to feature a ton of trash talk and a ton of scoring. In the end, the Grizz have home court advantage and they will use that to win game seven in Memphis.

This leaves me with Memphis and Phoenix in the West Finals. The Grizz luck will run out here. As thrilling as it would be to see them get to the Finals, the Suns are too good and the Grizz will not be able to guard everyone. The Suns pulled the trigger on that KD trade at the deadline and that will propel them to the Finals.

So we have a rematch of the 2021 Finals, with the Bucks facing the Suns. And I see it playing out the same way. Giannis is going to eat. He will dominate this series. Jrue Holiday will not have to guard Chris Paul, so he will be able to focus on Devin Booker. The Bucks will throw a ton of dudes at KD. The Bucks are a better team than Phoenix and they will win the title in six games.

As for the MVP, who else would it be besides Giannis. He is the best player in the world and he will prove that tenfold.

There it is my 2023 NBA playoffs preview and prediction. Now enjoy the rest of the playoffs. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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The Sacramento Kings are No Longer Trash

The Sacramento Kings are back in the NBA playoffs. They have had the longest drought in professional sports, at 16 years, but now they are back.

I love this. I have always had a soft spot for the Kings. I rooted for them back in the late 90's, early 2000's because of Chris Webber. He was a Michigan guy, he was my favorite member of the Fab Five, I always liked him in the pros and I've always despised the Lakers. It helped that I enjoyed players like Jason Williams, Peja Stojakavic and Bobby Jackson. They had dudes they were fun to watch and easy to root for. It was simple to stick up for them, especially against the Lakers. The only Laker I liked back then was Shaq, but even when he went after the Kings, called them the Queens, look it up it is an amazing clip, I rooted hard against him.

Then they fell into a true era of mediocrity. They almost always missed on the draft. For every Boogie Cousins there's a Nik Stauskas. Some players the Kings have taken in the first round include Bysmack Biyombo, Spencer Dawes, Jason Thompson, Thomas Robinson, Ben McLemore, Willie Cauley-Stein, Marquese Chriss and Marvin Bagley. They have hit on a few. I mentioned Cousins. They also took De'Aaron Fox, Davion Mitchell and Keegan Murray in the lottery. Tyrese Haliburton was a lottery pick as well, but they traded him last season in a much maligned trade. That trade ended up working out for them, but at the time, I crushed it along with a ton of other people.

Now it seems like the Kings finally have a quality team built around its best players. Fox is lightning quick, has improved his shot and is, by far, the most clutch player in the league. Keegan Murray has been as consistent as he was in college. He just broke the 3 point record for a rookie last night. He has been taking control on fast breaks here and there. He has been solid as a rock. Damontas Sabonis has been everything they hoped he would be when paired with Fox. They run a tremendous pick and roll game. They play extremely well off one another and they are incredibly tough to guard. Davion Mitchell is proving to be an excellent backup point guard and is their best defender, by a wide margin. Harrison Barnes is the vet that leads the locker room. He also has a winning past, has rings and can tell the younger guys what it feels like to play in the playoffs. Trading for Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk has been tremendous for this team. Both guys add shooting. Both can stretch the defense. Both are willing passers. And Monk has familiarity playing with Fox. That adds a ton. Trey Lyes and Alex Len add depth. And Richaun Holmes is still around and still hitting floaters. The team is constructed properly and they all know what they do best. Hiring Mike Brown was the first right decision this front office has ever made. They also let him hire his own staff and that was, again, a correct choice. This team is an offensive juggernaut. They are number 1 in the league. They can score and score and score some more. They are the team the Mavs thought they would be. Their defense leaves a ton to be desired, they have a lot of work there, but so far they have been able to outscore enough opponents to secure a playoff spot. They are also going to have home court in rounds one and two. They will most likely be the 2 or 3 seed. There is a world where I could see the Kings ending up in a game 7 in round two to go to the West Finals.

I love that the Kings are relevant again. I think the NBA is more fun when the Kings are not a joke. Also, imagine a first round matchup of Kings-Lakers. That would be awesome. It would take me back to my early years of being a NBA fan. Congrats on the playoffs Kings. Now make it last and become the perennial playoff team you are constructed to be. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Ty's 2022 - 2023 NBA Season Preview: Playoff Predictions

Today I have my 22-23 NBA playoff and awards for you all. I just finished my countdown, so this is the next logical step for me. I also love doing this to see how wrong I am at the end of the season. Let's start with the East.

There are three teams at the top, a cluster in the middle and then some fighting for the play in. The East is not as good as the West, but it is a much improved conference. The three teams at the top, from 1-3 I have the Bucks, Celtics and 76ers. I understand the 76ers haven't won yet, but I do not put a whole lot of stock into three games. They need to start winning now, and I fully believe they will. The next three teams that will firmly be in the playoffs, from 4-6 I have the Heat, Cavs and Nets. I do think the Nets will squeak in, I love the Hawks offseason and I'm tired of sleeping on the Heat. They are always good and they always find a way to win. To round out the playoffs I now have the play in teams. From 7-10 I got the Raptors, Bulls, Wizards and Knicks. I really wanted to pick the Pistons, but I think they are a year away. As for the play in, I got the Raptors beating the Knicks to grab the 7 seed and the Bulls winning two to get the 8th seed.

Now for the East playoffs. The Bucks will once again sweep the Bulls in round one. The 4-5 will be pretty fun. The Heat are the old standby and the Cavs are new and fun. I do like the Cavs to win this series in seven, but it will be tough and hard fought. The 3-6 will see the 76ers beat the Nets in six. Kevin Durant is good enough to get two wins, but Kyrie Irving is a flake and who knows what they will get from Ben Simmons. In the 2-7, the Celtics will beat the Hawks, but it will be closer than we all think. I think the Celtics will win in six, but each game will be close and fun to watch. The semi finals will feature the Bucks facing the Cavs and the Celtics facing the 76ers. I like the Bucks in 5 over the Cavs and the 76ers, I will probably regret this pick, over the Celtics in seven. Then I have the Bucks kind of cruising in the East Finals. The 76ers will be tired and the Bucks will be fresh. And Giannis is just that good. The Bucks will represent the East.

Now for the varsity, the Western Conference. The West is going to be an absolute bloodbath. The conference, for the most part, only got better this offseason. My 1-3 teams are the Clippers, Warriors and Suns. These three teams are loaded, deep, talented and one is the reigning champs. They are so good. As for 4-6, firmly in the playoffs, I have the Nuggets, Grizzlies and Mavs. Two of these teams I cannot stand, and obviously I love the Grizz. I do believe all three of these teams will have 50 plus wins too. That is how deep the West is this season. When we talk about the play in, from 7-10 I have the Timberwolves, Pelicans, Trailblazers and, I do not know who to pick between the Kings and Lakers, I guess I will go with the Kings. In the 7-10 matchup the Timberwolves will cruise to the 7 seed. And the 8 seed will end up being the Pelicans again. They are too fun to not pick.

As for the playoffs now, in the 1-8 the Clippers will beat the Pels in five games. It will be a good series, but the Clippers depth is too much. The 4-5 will feature the Nuggets taking on my Grizzlies. I really, really want to pick the Grizzlies. I love that team so much. But with Nikola Jokic, Michael Porter Jr and Jamal Murray all back, I unfortunately have to go with the Nuggets in seven. Prove me wrong Grizz. The 3-6 will feature a West semis rematch between the Suns and Mavs. I have the Suns exacted a bit of revenge and winning this series in seven games. The 2-7 will have the Warriors taking down the Timberwolves in six. The Warriors have too much firepower. In the West semis we will have the Clippers taking on the Nuggets and the Warriors playing the Suns. These are two series that should be a ton of fun. I think the Clippers will dispatch of the Nuggets in six games. This should be revenge for the bubble. And the Suns will find a way to beat the Warriors. I think the Warriors will be tired by the time they get here, and it is hard to repeat in pro sports. As for the West Finals I have the Clippers taking down the Suns in six games. Again, the Clippers depth is otherworldly and Kawhi is a playoff killer. I also think the Suns will be spent. The Clippers are the West champs.

That means I have the Bucks facing the Clippers in the NBA Finals. I think Giannis will get his second ring. He is just that good and I think we will all be reminded this season. I have the Bucks winning in six games. Giannis will be the Finals MVP as well.

Now let's do the regular season awards. MVP is going to be Joel Embiid. Once he fully takes over the team he will be unstoppable. Coach of the Year is going to Chris Finch from Minnesota. They are going to be a very good team this season. Defensive Player of the Year is going to be Evan Mobley. He is going to be tremendous all over the floor this season, but especially on defense. Sixth Man of the Year is going to be Jordan Poole. He is going to blow up even more this season. And finally, my Rookie of the Year is Paolo Banchero. I have not seen a rookie so ready to compete in a long time. He is the real deal.

There it is, my 22-23 NBA playoff and awards predictions. Let's see how this all unfolds now.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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The Warriors are a Pretty Damn Good Basketball Team

Last night I watched the Mavs-Warriors game just to see if they could close out every white journalist's favorite player, Luka Doncic. They did. They won the game with ease. They had a 20 plus point lead at one point. Sure the Mavs cut it to 8, but the game was never really in doubt. This was as easy a closeout win as the Warriors have had since KD was on their team. And before you all think my blog is going to be me dumping on Luka, it is not that at all. I am turning a new leaf. I'm done criticizing people I don't root for all the time. Sure I will still get on some people's heads, but not today.

Today I want to talk about how great this iteration of the Warriors has been for over a decade. This is their sixth finals appearance in eight years. They have had stars come and go, but this team is really all about Steph, Draymond, Klay and Steve Kerr. They have been the core of this squad that just keeps winning. I told RD earlier today that this Warriors team is as close to the late 90's, early 2000's Spurs. They play an extremely pretty version of basketball. The way the ball moves around, the way they pass, the shots they get up, it is a thing of beauty. I am willing to look past all the turnovers because they back it all up with a string of possessions that will have four wonderful passes that leads to an easy layup or wide open three pointer.

I started to really watch the Warriors in the West Semis because they were playing the Grizzlies. I wanted to see how my team played against one of the best teams of all time. They gave it their best shot, but amongst the injuries and lack of shooting, they couldn't pull it out. They did win two games, one of which by almost 50, but it was a series that was never really in doubt. But it was during that series where I started to really respect the Warriors. I am not a Warriors fan. Not by a long shot. But my brother Seth is. My son likes Steph. I have other basketball friends that have been Warriors fans since Chris Webber was traded on draft night to them. So I have watched them for years. But the respect just came last month. It was the ball movement. It was the actions and pick and roll game. It was the open drives to the basket because of how open the floor was. It was a lot of stuff. But the most eye opening thing I noticed this year was their defense. They were suffocating. They were shutting down legit players. Before he got hurt, Ja could not do much against them. They shut down Nikola Jokic with ease. Kevon Looney kind of shut him down by himself. And even though his numbers might look good on paper, Luka Doncic was not nearly as dominant as some would make him out to be. Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green made his life hell on the offensive end. The Warriors defense really stepped up their game. They are not just a team that will shoot you out of the gym. They can still do that, but they can also shut you down.

Which leads me to another point. How good was Andrew Wiggins in this series? I mean, I had given up on him. I was wrong. He was the "Luka stopper". He hounded him for five games. He made it tough. He also found his scoring stroke. He was hitting mid range shots. He was making threes. And he snacthed Luka's soul on that dunk in game three. He almost took Frank Nkilitina's too, but he smartly got out of the way. Wiggins was great. So was Kevon Looney. Man that dude crushed it. He probably out rebounded the Mavs by himself. He was great. Jordan Poole has been a revelation. He is another microwave scorer on this team loaded with them. But what this all really boils down to is the three main guys. Steph was great as ever. He was hitting threes, making pin point passes and doing what he has grown accustomed to doing. He was the rightful WCF MVP. Draymond was as dominant as ever on the defensive end. I always thought he was kind of overrated. Not anymore. He is a genius defender. He was doing some wonderful things. And Klay looked like old Klay. He had eight threes last night. He scored a ton of points in a close out game. He could not be stopped. He was also great on defense. He, again, looked like his former self. Like he had not lost two years due to two ACL injuries. It was astounding to watch him play like he always has. I was openly rooting for him. Finally we have Steve Kerr. I thought he kind of lucked into a cherry job. He took over a team that was already established and didn't have to do too much. Then he got KD. But it was these last couple seasons that have really stood out to me. He had to do a lot with some minimal pieces. He had to find a way to work Andrew Wiggins into this team. He played Looney. He took a chance on Jordan Poole. And he helped keep the core together. He is the mind behind the madness that is this dynastic team.

Again, I am not a Warriors fan, but this team is fun to watch, and no matter who they play in the finals, I will be rooting for them. This is my ode to a wonderful basketball. A team I am happy to say I got to watch in their prime. What a fun, fun modern NBA team.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Boy Was I Wrong About the 2022 NBA Playoffs

I'm here to eat some NBA playoff predictions crow. I was wrong. I was way off. I naturally assumed we would see a rematch of last year's finals. I could not have been more wrong. Everything looked good for me after round one, but since then my "bracket" has gone off the rails. Let’s review.

I had the Grizz beating the Warriors. Well, Ja Morant missed most of the series and the Warriors easily handled them in six games. I had the Heat barely getting by the 76ers. Well, Joel Embiid missed two games, James Harden did what he always does and the Heat won that series in six relatively easy games. I had the Bucks winning their series over the Celtics in seven games. The series did go seven, but the Celtics won. This was the best series of the second round. This was the most competitive. Both teams gave it their all. There were some blowouts, but most games were close to the end. Giannis played great. He further proved to me that he is the best player in the game. He had multiple games of 40 plus points and 15-20 plus rebounds. He also played very good defense, as he always does. He just did not have the help he needed. Khris Middeton was out. That was a much bigger deal than people made it out to be. They needed his scoring. Jrue Holiday played wonderful defense, but his shot was off. Grayson Allen is not a championship player. He totally disappeared. Bobby Portis Jr could not replicate last season. It was clear they miss PJ Tucker. And Brook Lopez was never fully there all year. Oh, and the Celtics are a very, very good basketball team. Jayson Tatum is a top 10 player. He matched Giannis in a few games. He hit big shots. He had one bad game and followed it up with an amazing game. Tatum is legit. Jaylen Brown is a perfect second fiddle. Marcus Smart is crucial to this team. He is the engine that runs it all. Al Horford has found a fountain of youth. Robert Williams is in and out of the lineup, but his presence is felt when he is on the floor. They are expertly coached and they play incredible defense. They are legit. They may be the favorite for the title right now. They beat the Bucks. They did what a champion is supposed to do.

And then we have the Mavs-Suns series. I picked the Suns to win it all. I assumed they were destined this season. They had it all. They were the most consistent team. They were the only team to win 60 games. They were a machine. I did not think anyone could stop them. Well, they stopped themselves and they let the Mavs let it fly. The Suns defense, top five all year, totally vanished. They could not guard the three and they let Luka Doncic do whatever he wanted. Chris Paul played terribly in games 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. He completely disappeared. He looked like Harden. He was so bad. Devin Booker talked his shit, but he could not back it up when it mattered. Deandre Ayton couldn't stay on the floor. Mikail Bridges missed shots he makes all the time. Cam Johnson couldn't buy a three. Cam Payne played really poorly. And Monty Williams, as much as I like him, did not make proper adjustments. The Suns were outplayed and out coached. It is no secret how much I loathe the Mavs, and to see them displace the Suns with so much ease, it was tough. Doncic did what he does. He held the ball, griped at the refs, initiated all the contact and got every white NBA nerd and journalist to essentially cum in their pants. You would have thought he invented the game of basketball the way these people were talking. His teammates showed up too. Reggie Bullock harassed Chris Paul and made threes. Dorian Finney Smith seemingly could not miss from the corner. Spencer Dinwiddie was a microwave. Davis Bertans somehow made shots again. Maxi Kleber found his shot. Even Dwight Powell figured it out after the first two games. The Mavs destroyed the Suns, in Phoenix, in game seven. The Suns had 27 points at the half. It was an all time choke job. And the Mavs, as much as it pains me to write this, earned this series win. And you better believe the Zach Lowe's and Bill Simmons' of the world are letting anyone who will listen tell us how great their beloved Luka Doncic is at basketball.

I really, honestly do not know what happens from here. Knowing my luck as a sports fan we will get a Dallas-Boston finals. I'd rather watch the university of Ohio State and Notre Dame play for the college football title. But I truly think that is where we are headed. Sure the Warriors won game one, but the Mavs have gotten beat in game one of every series. I'm sure the refs have been told to keep a tighter watch on Golden State tonight. And the Celtics dismantled the Heat last night, and they didn't even have Derrick White. So a Boston-Dallas finals feels inevitable. Again, I loathe it, but that is how this postseason has played out. I'd much rather see the Heat and Warriors, but I also really hoped Michigan football was going to beat Georgia in the playoff, and Georgia won the whole thing. So, who knows. At least I get to watch the games with my son, and he doesn't have any built in preconceived hatred for any of these teams. It is neat to watch it through his eyes. That brings me comfort.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Bad Calls Has Been the Story of the NBA Playoffs

The next few days are going to be dedicated to the NBA. This is the big part of the year and lots of stuff is happening. What I want to talk about today is the officiating so far in the playoffs.

It has been abysmal. The fact that people are talking about it daily speaks volumes as to how bad it has been. People do not talk about officiating if it is going okay. The last time, in my opinion, that the officiating was brought up this much in the playoffs was when Tim Donaghy was reffing Lakers-Kings. That was historically bad. Donaghy went on trial for it. The Kings got robbed. It is a well known time in NBA history. This officiating has been almost, almost as bad. And there is still time for them to get to that level of bad.

I did not watch game three of Celtics-Bucks, but I read about it. I also watched the Marcus Smart three point play, and boy oh boy was it as bad as I read. I am not a Celtics fan by any stretch of the imagination, but they got absolutely robbed by the officials. Smart was clearly shooting a three pointer when he was fouled. It should have been three shots. There is no doubt in my mind. I have been watching basketball for decades, and there is no world where that is not a 3 shot foul. But the officials deemed it non shooting. And Smart made the first, missed the second intentionally and the Celtics could not tip the ball in before the buzzer. The Bucks won and took a 2-1 series lead. They also shot many, many more free throws. I understand it is a home game, and the home team gets calls, but the Bucks shot 34 free throws to the Celtics 17. That is too much. That is Duke level favoritism. It was rough.

I did happen to watch the Suns-Mavs game yesterday though. That was rough stuff. The numbers do not tell the whole story either. There is not some free throw disparity or anything like that. But some of the calls, in favor of the Mavs, were downright atrocious. They were flat out wrong. I always tell my kids and players that officials are going to screw up, they are human, but these are supposed to be the best of the best. They should not be screwing up this much. If this is the best, the NBA has a real officiating problem on their hands. This was one of the worst called games I have ever watched. And I have no rooting allegiance. Sure, I despise Luka Doncic and think he is overrated, but it is not like I am a Suns fan. I rooted hard against them in the finals last year, and really wanted the Pelicans to win round one. But the Mavs were flopping all over that floor yesterday. They would get blown by and simply fall down and the refs would blow the whistle. Devin Booker went up for a jump shot at one point, was fouled, yet somehow got a technical called on him. The refs claimed he slapped Dwight Powell in the face on his follow through. He did not. Booker made zero contact. Powell maybe, maybe got a pinky on him, but acted as if Booker open hand slapped him. And the Mavs were rewarded. Almost the exact same thing happened to Javale McGee. He was going for a rebound and, in any regular scrum under the hoop, got his arms up. He was subsequently called for a tech. But when Booker drove to the basket later in the game and made a layup, he was smacked on top of the head by Maxi Kleber. But Kleber got no technical. There was not even a review. They called a common foul. There was another play, when the Suns were really cutting into the lead, where Mikail Bridges was boxing out Jalen Brunson. Bridges arms did get up in the air and make minimal contact with Brunson, something I would never call in a pickup game, and he was called for a foul. It has to be because Brunson jerked his head back and acted like he was punched in the jaw. This happened with Bridges and Doncic too. There was a loose ball they were both chasing and the two players made contact. Bridges stood his ground and Luka fell to the floor as if he had been shot. Of course the Suns were called for a foul. But the most egregious stuff happened to Chris Paul. Again, not a fan, but there is no world where he should have fouled out of that game. There were some ticky tack calls. Luks would bury his shoulder into Paul's chest, but Paul would be called for a foul if Doncic missed a hot or looked at an official. Paul ran after a missed shot and picked up a terrible fourth foul before halftime. But after a replay, he made no contact with the Mavs player. But, I do not remember which player, fell to the floor as if Paul had body slammed him. The worst was Paul's sixth foul. He did not even touch Brunson. In fact he let him go to avoid a sixth foul because there was still 9 minutes left in the game. The game was still in the balance at the time. But Brunson missed the shot, threw his arms up at the nearest official and, like clockwork, the official called a foul on Paul. He bought into the flopping and fouled CP3 out of the game. It was all downhill from there for the Suns. This was some of the worst officiating I have ever seen. I was openly laughing at the screen. I know the Mavs tried to play it off and say that they learned it from Paul himself. But this was horrific. This was bad. This looked like a fix was in. This was atrocious. I understand that the playoffs is a TV show, and the league wants it to go on for as long as possible, but this was bad.

Like I said at the top, the officials should not be a topic of discussion. Yet that is what is on most people's minds that watched or paid any attention to this past weekend. It was bad and something needs to be cleaned up. The flopping and whining and crying to the refs has got to stop. And if the players continue to do it, they should be held accountable. I do not watch these games to see players mope and flop. I watch them to see the best athletes in the world playing at the very height of their game. The refs should never, ever be this involved.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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The Memphis Grizzlies are Not Ready to Take Down the Warriors

I was following the Grizz-Warriors game yesterday, obviously. I could not watch it because I went to my nephew's first bday party, then we planted our veggie garden and then my daughter had a softball game. It was quite the afternoon.

Even with my busy Sunday, I would periodically check my phone to see how the game was going. The Grizz played pretty well. They were loose, had fun and were winning for a good chunk of the first half. They held a six point advantage after the first half in fact. I was happy. They were in it. They were playing well. They were making shots from what I could gather during my phone checks.

Then the Warriors woke up. They had one of their patented rain storms of threes in the third. It felt like they could not miss. I was bummed. The Warriors even held a ten point lead early in the fourth. I stopped checking after a while. We were driving to softball, I was tired and I was frustrated with the Grizz.

Then I checked a few minutes before the softball game started and the score was tied. I was stoked. I figured they would do what they had done in round one and win on a comeback. Well, that did not happen. The Grizz led by two with just over 35 seconds left. The Warriors had the ball, but the Grizz won games like this in round one. Every game, except one, was a comeback win. But the Warriors got Klay wide open, of course he hit the three and the Grizz turned the ball over with a chance to win. That was it. Game one goes to Golden State.

I understand it is just one game. The T'Wolves beat the Grizz in game one in the last series. The Bulls got a game from the Bucks in round one. Hell, the Pelicans took two from the Suns. But this one felt different. This was a game that the Grizz controlled for three of the four quarters. They weathered the Warriors storm of threes. They had the lead. Hell, they even had a chance to win game one in the end. But they didn't. And I am terrified that this is going to haunt them. This could be their undoing. Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr were amazing in this game. The defense, minus the third quarter, was solid. They kept things at bay. Draymond got ejected, which was very, very questionable. But they still did not win the game. They still got beat. The Warriors got the win. Steph hit threes and played really good defense. Jordan Poole has been a revelation. I love watching him succeed, being that he played at Michigan. I just wish it was not against the Grizz right now. Looney and Wiggins and the "other guys" did what they needed to do. But Klay did not do much until he was absolutely needed. And he showed up. A guy who has not played much basketball for the past two years did what he does. He hit that three. He let the crowd know. He actually said, "this is what I do", and he is not wrong. Klay is a killer. Klay loves taking big shots. He thrives in moments like this, no matter how off he has been all game. He is that good. It is frustrating to watch when he does it to your team. But as a fan of basketball, it is hard not to admire. That is the sole reason why this game felt so different. The Grizzlies played well. Their stars showed up. They hit open threes that they usually don't. They did enough to win. The Warriors goofed off for a half, then had a super hot quarter and then had a player who was struggling hit the biggest shot of the game. They did not have to go 100 percent and they still won.

The Grizzlies are young and brash and they have the feel of a team that can put this past them. But this is also the playoffs. This is against the Warriors. This is Steph, Draymond, Klay and now Poole. This is Steve Kerr. This is the NBA who'd much rather see the Warriors in the conference finals. This is the big time. And the Warriors did what they have become known to do. I am still pulling hard for my team, but they have a very, very, very big uphill climb, and I'm scared, as a fan, that they aren't ready. Prove me wrong Memphis. Win this series. I am rooting big time for that to happen. But my expectations have been squashed after seeing what happened in game one.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty's 2022 NBA Playoff Preview

With the play in tourney ending tonight, today I have my NBA 2022 playoff preview and prediction.

Real quick, I have the Clippers beating the Pelicans tonight to take the 8 seed in the West, and I have the Hawks beating the Cavs, which hurts my heart because I love Evan Mobley and Darius Garland, and taking the 8 seed in the East. And even if I am wrong, I do not have either number 1 seed going out in the first round, so the play in finale tonight has no real bearing on my predictions today. With all that, let's get to it.

I'll start with the East. The 1-8 pits the Miami Heat versus the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks are fun. They score a lot. They have been on a tear. They demolished the Hornets. And they were in the conference finals last year. That is all well and good, but the Heat are a far superior team. And they are whole. They play defense. They muddy the game. They do not mind bullying you. And the Hawks play zero defense. Bam is going to feast. Tyler Herro will thrive against the Hawks second unit. Jimmy Butler is going to get to the rim with ease. Kyle Lowry is going to make Trae Young's life miserable. The Heat are going to win this series, probably in five games.

The 2-7 is going to be fun to watch, but I also loathe both teams. At times I think about picking Boston because they are, relatively speaking, deep, play great defense and Jayson Tatum is ascending to star level. But then I look at the Nets and they have KD, Kyrie Irving is eligible for all the games and they can score in bunches. But when I really sit back and take a deep, deep look, Boston's defense is really, really good. I understand that Robert Williams is out, and that will hurt, but I do not think it will cause them to get beat. I would be terrified of KD, but I do think the Celtics will pull it out in seven games.

The 3-6 matchup pits the Bucks versus the Bulls. My son is a big Bulls fan. He loves DeMar DeRozan and DeRozan has been awesome this year. Zach Lavine has been hot and cold, but when that dude gets it going, watch out. And I have liked Coby White since his lone college season. But the Bulls do not stand a chance. They started too hot and have been really bad down the stretch. Oh, and the Bucks are the defending champs, and Giannis has been amazing all season, and Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton are playing well, and the team is whole. I just do not see a world where the Bulls win even a game over Milwaukee in this series. If the Bucks take it seriously, which I am sure they will, they will sweep the Bulls.

This leaves us the 4-5, Philly and Toronto. Philly is good. Joel Embiid is the MVP. I do not care what white journalists have to say on their podcasts. He led the league in scoring, is a top flight defender and is as dominant as Shaq. James Harden is a great scorer, he just needs to show the hell up in the playoffs. It is time. It is now or never. Unfortunately the 76ers second best defender, Matisse Thybulle, decided to not get fully vaccinated and he cannot play in the games in Toronto. That is a blow to the 76ers. Toronto is playing with house money and Nick Nurse is a very good coach. He will find stuff to throw wrenches in the 76ers game plan. He will frustrate them to no end. And he has the players to do it. Pascal Siakim is playing great. Fred Van Vleet is a young Kyle Lowry, OG Anunoby is hyper athletic and Scottie Barnes has a real case for ROTY. This team is good. But I think Joel Embiid will not let this team get beat. He will single handedly win this series for them. It will be a tough seven games, but the 76ers will find a way.

This leaves us with second round matchups of Miami and Philly and Milwaukee and Boston. As much as I love Joel Embiid, I think this is where the playoff Harden will show up, and that is no good. Miami will frustrate and force Harden to make bad decision after bad decision. I have the Heat winning in six.

The Bucks and Celtics should be a good, hard fought series. But this is where no Robert Williams will hurt Boston. Giannis will feast. And when he gets double teamed he will find wide open shooters like Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton. And Jrue Holiday is going to make Jayson Tatum's life miserable. The Bucks will win in seven.

So this leaves me with an East Finals of Miami and Milwaukee. This is where Miami will not have an answer for all the scorers and shooters on Milwaukee. Giannis proved last season that he has that killer instinct, and he is even better this season. And the fact that Milwaukee is healthy, that changes things drastically. It will be a decent series, and Miami will take two games, both at home. But I have the Bucks winning in six and returning to the Finals.

Now let's move to the West.

The top three teams are legit. Anyone of them would have been the 1 in the East. The West is going to be a killer. The 1-8 features The Suns and the winner of tonight's game, I am assuming the Clippers. The Clippers have been a nice little story this year, winning 42 games with a totally depleted roster. Well, all the fun stops now. The Suns are a machine. They are the best team in basketball by a very wide margin. They have it all. Star power, veteran leadership, young players buying into their roles, depth, great coaching, they are all set. There is a reason they won so many games this season and lapped the field. The Suns are the clear favorites, they will be out for blood and they will sweep the Clippers. The Suns are loaded and ready.

The 2-7 features my squad, the Grizzlies, facing the Timberwolves. I'm kind of nervous about this matchup. The Timberwolves are very similar to the Grizz. They both have the same team makeup. They both talk shit and back it up. They both really, really want to win for their city. This will be fun. But where the Grizz separate themselves from the Timberwolves is their depth and star power at the point guard position. Ja Morant is better than D'Angelo Russell and Patrick Beverly. Jaren Jackson Jr is not the offensive weapon KAT is, but he is a far superior defender. Anthony Edwards is going to hate going up against Dillon Brooks for a whole series. The Grizzlies will prove this season was no fluke and take this first round matchup in six games.

The 3-6 matchup pits the Warriors against the Nuggets. Steph will not be 100 percent, and I do not know when he will return, but the Warriors have Klay, who has been great as of late. Draymond Green is looking more and more like himself. And Jordan Poole has been a revelation this year. Sure the Nuggets have Nikola Jokic, and I cannot believe he will win a second straight MVP, that is pure nonsense. Quick little rant coming up here. When Russell Westbrook won his MVP a ton of the sports writers I read and listen to called it all types of names. They said the people who voted for Russ were basketball perverts, whatever in the hell that means. They chastised the fact that the Thunder had 45 wins and were a 6 seed. He averaged a triple double and dragged a team that lost KD to the playoffs in the West. Jokic's Nuggets are a 6 seed. They have three more wins than the Thunder did in Russ' MVP year, which is not all that much. And while Jokic is missing two key guys, the Nuggets bench players and current players are better than anyone Russ played with, with Steven Adams being the lone exception. I'm sick of all the excuses being made for Jokic when these same guys were crushing Russ and bitching and moaning all throughout his MVP season. It is racism at its best. Anyway, the Warriors are going to win this series. They are the better team. I think it will go seven, but when Steph gets back, it is lights out for Denver.

The 4-5 has another journalist beloved player-led team in Luka Doncic and the Mavericks, playing the new team that gets shit on, the Utah Jazz. The white journalists that are begging and pleading for Doncic to be "appreciated like the star he is", will finally get their wish and the Mavericks will finally win a series. The Jazz are too dysfunctional. Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell clearly dislike one another. Quinn Snyder seems to have one foot out the door. It looks like Utah is about to blow up their team. The Jazz may take a game, Doncic is out for game one, but they will not muster another one in the series. The Mavs will win in five and all the white guys at ESPN, Bleacher Report and SI will finally be able to cream their jeans now that Luka will get out of round one of the playoffs.

So, I have the Suns and Mavs in one second round matchup, and the Grizz and Warriors in another. All those journalists that will be drooling and bending the knee for Luka will have to eat their words. Again, the Suns are on a mission. They do not care who is in front of them. They will score and score and score all over the Mavericks. And they will force everyone not named Luka Doncic on the Mavs to beat them. That will not work. I have the Suns sweeping yet another round. They are that good.

The Warriors and Grizzlies should be a total blast to watch. And I have some faith in the Grizz in round two. The Timberwolves will be tougher than the Warriors to face. The Warriors are better, and they have the two greatest shooters of all time, and Draymond is awesome, but there is something in the air in Memphis this season. I think Ja, after having beat the Warriors in the play in last year, will have no fear. I think JJJ will be able to help off Looney and Green and cover the shooters. Dillon Brooks is a beast and he can score. Tyus Jones is one of the better backup point guards in the league, and the Grizzlies second unit is better than the Warriors. I really, truly think the Grizz will win in seven games and advance to the West Finals.

Then the party will be over. The Suns are too good. I do not know how many times I have to write it. They are absolutely loaded. They are locked in. They have a bad taste in their mouths from last year. They are out for blood. I do think Memphis will get a game, but no more after that. Suns in five.

That means I have a rematch from last year. I have to be this boring, but the Suns and Bucks are the two best teams in the NBA in my opinion. I think the series will go six again, but this time the Suns will win. Chris Paul will get his ring. Devin Booker will establish himself as one of the new faces of the league. Mikal Bridges will start getting his much due respect. Deandre Ayton will be the first number one pick that has played a smaller role to grab a ring. And Monty Williams will etch his name as one of the best coaches in the league. Devin Booker will also score his way to Finals MVP.

So there you have it, my 2022 NBA preview and predictions. Hey, the Suns look that good everybody. I do not know what else to say. Enjoy the playoffs.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

Ty's 2021-2022 NBA Preview: The Postseason

Yesterday I wrote about the marathon instead of doing my NBA postseason and awards predictions. Today I will remedy the situation. I will pick the ten playoff teams from each conference, who I think will win the play-in games and then the rounds and I will pick the Finals matchup and the Finals winners. After that I will do a quick little awards prediction.

I'll start with the East.

The two best teams, by a wide margin are the Nets and the Bucks, in that order. It is a fact. Everyone seems to agree. After that it gets a smidge dicey, but not too out of the ordinary. The rest of the playoff teams, in order, according to me, are Miami, Atlanta, Boston, Philly, New York and Chicago. The 9 and 10 teams are Charlotte and Toronto. I see the Raptors having a "bounce-back" type of season. Charlotte nor Toronto will make it to the top 8, so my order is set.

In round one the Nets will sweep the Bulls, easily. The Bucks will beat RD's Knicks in five games. Miami, who will have the best defense in the NBA, will end up beating Philly in round one, regardless of the Ben Simmons situation. And the 4-5 will have a fully healthy Boston beating the Hawks in a very close, very fun seven game series.

That means round two has Brooklyn facing Boston and Milwaukee playing Miami. Brooklyn will steamroll the Celtics. It will look a lot like their first round series last season. Boston just doesn't have the defense to stop them. I think the Celtics get one game, but that is it. Brooklyn in five. The Bucks and Heat will play what will inevitably be the best series of the entire playoffs. Giannis and the Bucks will go at Jimmy Butler and the Heat. The Heat will make it brutal and grimy and gritty. It will look a lot like a playoff matchup from the 90's. In the end though the Bucks are too talented to let it slip away. I also love what I saw from Giannis in the Finals last year, and I feel like that will carry over to this season. Bucks in seven.

That means I have a rematch from last year in the East Finals, but this time the Nets will prevail. The Bucks will be tired, they won the title last year and the Nets have revenge on their minds. They will win game seven at home to reach the Finals.

Now for the West.

The West is not as easy to pick as the East because it is so wildly competitive, and some teams, the Nuggets and Clippers, are going to miss star players the whole season. I have the Jazz getting the one seed yet again. They are a very good regular season team. The rest of the West is as follows, Phoenix, LA Lakers, Portland, Denver, Dallas, Golden State and Memphis. The two play-in teams will be Minnesota and the LA Clippers. Much like the East, the West's two play-in teams will not make the top 8. Minnesota will be happy to just be there and the Clippers are totally hamstrung without Kawhi.

In round one the Grizzlies will get two games this time out of the Jazz, but that is it. Memphis is on the come up, but they have to take their lumps first. Jazz in six. The first major "upset" I have is Golden State beating Phoenix in seven games in round one. Golden State will, presumably, have Klay back at, or near his regular self. And I think the Suns had so much luck last year that this year will not be the same. The Lakers will brutalize the Mavs in four games. They will run up and down the floor on them. And I have a ton of faith in Portland this year simply because I think it is Dame's last season with the team. They will beat the Nuggets in seven games. My prediction would be different if Jamal Murray were healthy.

That means I have the Jazz facing the Trailblazers and the Warriors playing the Lakers in round two. The Jazz will be able to keep Portland at bay. They have the second best defense in the league behind only Miami. It will be a good series, but I think the Jazz will win in six. I really want to pick the Warriors to win again, but they just do not have the guys to stop both LeBron and AD, if they are both healthy. I'm going to presume they will play, and that AD will dominate in fact. He needs to re prove himself.

That leaves me with the Jazz and Lakers in the West Finals. This is where the lack of floor spacing and three point shooting will catch up with the Lakers. They will not be able to just drive to the basket because Rudy Gobert is the best rim protector in the league. The series will be close and fun and go the full seven, but I have the Jazz winning. This is their last chance to prove me right because I really dislike this team, except for Donovan Mitchell.

That means I have the Nets and Jazz in the Finals. This is almost too easy for the Nets. They have the shooting to outmatch the Jazz's defense. They have more than enough bodies to throw at anyone not named Donovan Mitchell. They will get the necessary stops. Who cares that that dumbass Kyrie Irving may or may not be on the floor. They still have Harden and KD. The Nets are too good to not win the title this season. Much like last season we will have a first time title winner. The Nets will win the championship in five games, and KD will be named the Finals MVP.

Now to awards. I have Giannis winning the MVP for a third time. He showed how truly amazing and great he could be in the Finals last year, and now he seems to have found a solid mid range game to add to his incredible arsenal. He is such a good driver, he can hit hook shots and floaters, now he has the mid range shot and he is a world class rebounder and defender. He can almost do it all. Coach of the Year will be Nick Nurse. He will have Toronto looking decent again, they will become a free agent destination and he will help guys like Pascal Siakim get back to all star contention and OG Anuonoby becoming a face for the next generation of star players. Defensive Player of the Year will not be Draymond or Rudy Gobert for once. I think it will go to Bam Adebayo. He will be the best defender on the best defense in the NBA. He gets better every year and he adds to his game. His defense is going to take a leap. Rookie of the Year is going to be Jalen Green. He is going to score in bunches and be the only reason to watch a very, very bad Rockets team. Most Improved is my guy Jordan Poole. He was awesome in the play-in last year, he has been incredible in the preseason and he is going to play a major role in the Warriors lineup until, and most likely after Klay comes back. And finally we have Sixth Man of the Year. I've got Derrick Rose winning it this season to add to his impressive trophy case. He has fully taken on the role of 6th man in New York, his jumper is better, he can still get to the hoop and he has completely revived himself the past three years in Minnesota and New York. Derrick Rose is a super impressive basketball player.

There you have it, my NBA postseason and awards predictions. This wraps up my NBA preview for the 21-22 season. The season starts tonight. Enjoy the games everyone. It is truly the most wonderful time of the year.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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The Suns Will Do It

The NBA Finals are set and they start tomorrow night. Today I have my preview and prediction for you. I feel like we got the two best teams this season in the Finals.

There were times when it looked like it may be the Lakers or Nets or 76ers or Jazz or Nuggets. But the Suns and Bucks earned their way. The Suns beat both LA teams and Denver. And before you talk to me about all the injuries, just go back to last week when I wrote about the Suns making it to the Finals. They did what they were supposed to do. The Bucks beat the presumptive favorite, the Nets, in round two and finally beat the Cinderella Hawks in the conference finals without Giannis. Middleton and Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopex really stepped up when Giannis went down. These two teams beat the teams in front of them, sometimes the better team on paper, and now they are here.

I like this matchup if Giannis is healthy. If Giannis is out, this is a sweep by the Suns, and it would not even be that close. Milwaukee will hopefully get good news this evening or tomorrow morning about Giannis' availability. I'm going to go ahead and assume that he will play.

I also like the fact that only one guy, Jae Crowder, has any experience in the Finals. He's been there the past two seasons, everyone else is a big fat zero. We finally have some new blood playing for the chip. In basketball it is usually very chalky. We know the three or four best teams. For the past decade plus it has been whatever team LeBron is on and any mixture of Golden State or San Antonio. The team that wins it this year will have their franchise's first title in my lifetime. That rules. I enjoy the fact that Giannis is there for the first time. Chris Paul, after 16 great seasons, is there for the first time. Devin Booker, who is going to be a scoring champ and MVP very soon, is there for the first time. Deandre Ayton and Mikail Bridges are getting their first taste. Brook Lopex has never been, Neither has Jrue Holiday or Khris Middleton. It will be very nice to see new faces on the floor playing for their first ring. That is cool. It allows for more parity. It shows that the major markets do not need to always be in the spotlight. This is a good thing.

As for on the court, these teams match up nice. Jrue Holiday will not fall for Chris Paul's shenanigans. Mikail Bridges will make life hard on Khris Middleton. Brook Lopez will be facing a younger, bouncier athlete in Deandre Ayton. Jae Crowder will most likely get the Giannis draw, and if Giannis is healthy, watch out Jae Crowder. And Devin Booker will face a myriad of defenders, but will most likely score on them as he has scored on everyone else all season long. The benches each go about three or four guys deep, so that will be interesting to see who is on who when they play.

But this series is about the stars. This is all about Giannis and Middleton going up against Booker and CP3. I think, and again this depends on Giannis' health, this will be a 6 or 7 game series. I think no matter what though the Suns are going to win. They are having one of those magical seasons. They have beaten all the big guns on their way. They played a tougher regular and postseason schedule. They are the more tested team. This is their title. Milwaukee can make it interesting, but in the end I think the Suns are the better, and more healthy team. I also think Booker will play a better series, but Chris Paul will have a few good games and he will win Finals MVP. It is his first trip there and the powers that be want him to have that MVP. If they cannot get New York or LA in the Finals, they will make sure that CP3 gets that MVP.

Anyway, I think the Suns will win the title and it will take them six games to do it. I cannot wait to watch.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Let's Talk About the Bucks Series Win Over the Nets

Today I want to give the Milwaukee Bucks their proper flowers. I know it has been a minute since they won their series over the Nets, but the East Finals do not start until tonight, so it is still pretty fresh in my mind.

I watched every second of that game on Saturday night. I was entranced by the performances of Giannis and KD. The game was ugly at times too, especially in overtime. But overall this is what I want to see when I watch game 7 in the NBA playoffs. Tons of lead changes, tons of ties, coming down to the wire, it was all perfect game 7 stuff. KD was the absolute man for the Nets too. He literally did it all, and did not have much help be it due to injuries or players not showing up when they were on the floor. Harden was a ghost in the fourth quarter. Yes he was hurt, but he also did what he does in the playoffs and just crumbled. He didn't attack or draw fouls or shoot like he did in the first three quarters. Kyrie Irving was hurt. That ankle sprain was bad and he was not even available. If he were playing I do think the Nets would have won. Blake Griffin was fine on offense, but he got abused defensively. That was a slap in Giannis' face to put Griffin on him. Bruce Brown did all the little things he does so well, but he made some mental mistakes in game 7 that really hurt. Taking Giannis down for a technical foul in that game was rough. Deandre Jordan didn't even play. Joe Harris was missing shot after shot after shot. He was a humongous minus. Nic Claxton barely saw the floor. Everyone besides KD was a minus for the Nets. But man did KD show out. It was so great to see him look like himself. He was making incredible jumpers, attacking when the defense collapsed on him outside, played solid defense and ran that offense. This looked like the KD from OKC and Golden State. He looked healthy and loose and free and was an absolute force. He almost single handedly won that series for the Nets.

Yet KD did not, and the Nets could not buy and trade their way to a title this season. I have to admit I was very happy to see Milwaukee win. My dad is a fan, I love Giannis, I like that a small market team is in the conference finals, I think this takes some pressure off Mike Budenholzer and Giannis, it is all good to me. The Bucks did miss some golden opportunities, but when they needed other guys besides Giannis to step up, they did. Jrue Holiday had an awful offensive game, until late in the fourth. When the Bucks needed him he made big shots, got stops and made free throws. Khris Middleton had a rough shooting night, but he kept at it, he kept shooting and he finally got some big shots to fall, again when the Bucks needed it most. Brook Lopez stopped shooting threes and got closer to the rim. This helped to open things up for Giannis and the rest of the Bucks offense. He also, finally, grabbed some rebounds when the Bucks needed him to. Pat Connaughton and Brynn Forbes did exactly what was asked of them. They took and made some threes and stayed out of the way. And Giannis matched KD. Giannis had a great game. He put up 40 points, had double figures in rebounds, contested and made the Nets take harder shots at the rim, and biggest of all, he made 9 of his 13 free throws. That is big time for him. He was tremendous. He looked gassed at times, but hey, he had to carry that team for almost four full quarters. But he did, and the Bucks came away with the win.

In my eyes the Bucks are the best team, on paper, left in the playoffs. I hope this propels them to the finals, but you never know with the way the Hawks are playing right now. The Bucks passed a big time test though. Now lets see if it helps them the rest of these playoffs.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Let's Talk About the Hawks Series Win Over the 76ers

The next few days are going to be dedicated to the NBA playoff series that just wrapped up. First I want to talk about the 76ers-Hawks series.

The Hawks played this series perfectly. They went out there like they had nothing to lose and it showed. They were loose, they were having fun and they won the damn thing. That is highly impressive for a team that is back in the playoffs for the first time in a while. Trae Young is proving to be a big time player, John Collins is doing some good things, Clint Capela looks like he did in Houston and Kevin Huerter is having a moment. They look like they are enjoying all this, they have earned all this and I think they have a very bright future.

The Hawks are also a blast to watch. They move the ball a ton, they find open shooters, they dive and pick and roll and get alley oops, they are a joy. They do not play much defense, but they do enough to win on that end, and they score in bunches. Kudos to Atlanta.

As for Philadelphia this is, as far as sports goes, a disaster. They were the best team in the East all year. They steam rolled their way to the number 1 seed. They had, on paper, the easiest draw to the East Finals. They destroyed Washington, and it should have been the same with Atlanta. But this is where the difference in play showed. While Atlanta was free and loose, the 76ers were tight. They played to not lose. Atlanta played to win. Philadelphia was a mess on offense with the exceptions of Joel Embiid and Seth Curry. They were the only two dudes that could get the offense going. Joel Embiid played on one leg and he was as dominant as he has been all season. He did what he was supposed to do, what was expected from him. He looked every bit the MVP candidate he was all year. People will point out his turnovers, but when you have to shoulder such an enormous role, turnovers are going to happen. That is the nature of being the lone offensive star. Seth Curry did help. He hit some big shots in this series. He did what was asked of him when the 76ers traded for him. He was a disaster on defense, but he wasn't brought in to play defense. He was the floor spacer, the shooter he needed to be in this series.

The rest of the 76ers roster was dreadful. Tobias Harris could not hit the ocean. There were times when I forgot he was on the team. He was a ghost. It was some James Harden playoff stuff coming from Tobias Harris. They needed him to be their third star, and he was nonexistent. Dwight Howard wasn't playable at times. He just could not stay on the floor. They clearly missed Danny Green's defense. He isn't as good as he used to be, but he is still solid. He is also an okay enough floor spacer. Shake Milton, who I do like, should not be playing crucial minutes in do or die playoff games. Outside Embiid and Curry, the rest of the team, including Doc Rivers, let Philadelphia down.

Doc Rivers' decisions in this series were baffling. The lineups, the offense, the play calling, it was really, really bad. I like Doc Rivers too. I think he is a great person and an okay coach. This is becoming the norm for him now though. He should have multiple rings, but he only has one. This is worse than the Clippers collapse in the bubble last season. The 76ers couldn't do much, and a lot of that was due to Rivers' coaching.

And then we have Ben Simmons. I love Ben Simmons. I love the way he plays basketball. He is one of the best defenders in the league. He is dominant. I also love watching a 6'10 guy run the offense. It is rad to see him bring the ball up the floor and get the team going. It is great to see him fly down the court in transition and throw a dunk down. But he was really awful on offense in this series. He did some wild stuff. He would not shoot the ball, especially in the fourth quarter. He was terrible at the free throw line. The play where he spun off his defender and had a wide open dunk and passed it to a cutter was so insane. It was also a microcosm of how he played offense the whole series. He has shown no growth on that end. He refuses to shoot the ball, and with him passing up dunks and layups now, this is not a great situation. I think the 76ers need to explore the possibility of trading Simmons. I do not know what they will get in a return, his value has definitely diminished, but the Simmons-Embiid duo just doesn't seem to fit. Simmons needs a spot where he can slash and dunk, and Embiid needs to be surrounded by floor spacers and let him own the inside. Philadelphia has a ton of work to do this offseason. They are in a bad spot right now, and things may have to change.

As for Atlanta, again I tip my hat to them. They deserved to win this series and the Bucks better taken them seriously in the East Finals.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Ty Watches the Opening Weekend of the 2021 NBA Playoffs

The NBA playoffs got off to an absolute awesome start this weekend. It was so nice to see the teams playing, playing hard, in front of fans and going all out. I watched so much basketball this weekend, and I was never bored. Not once. I am so amped for the rest of the playoffs, and I hope the majority of the games will be like these openers.

With that said, I do have some thoughts about each team we watched. The weekend started for me watching the Heat and the Bucks. Man oh man was this an opener to end all openers. This game was back and forth, was up and down, gritty and grimy and just how I envision this whole series to be. And the game was won on a near buzzer beater from Khris Middleton in overtime. The Bucks got a much needed win that will help boost their confidence going forward. That being said, the Heat did not play great, and they still had a chance at the end. Jimmy Butler came up big when they needed him too, but they just could not pull out the game. But this series is going to be tough, and one hell of a fun watch for fans of old school NBA.

The Mavericks and Clippers followed, and this game was the polar opposite. The Mavericks came out on fire, and for as much flak as I give Luka Doncic, and I do still think he is overrated, he led this team to a road win. The Mavs hit the three, they made free throws, they got clutch points, they did what they needed to win. The Clippers look disinterested, outside of Kawhi, they could not stop Luka, they took some of the worst fouls late in the shot clock, and they had better wake up if they want to recover from their collapse last season. They did not look good at all, and if Luka and the rest of the Mavs keep this up, they will oust the Clippers pretty easily. This is who the Clippers wanted, but man did they look so tired and bored during that game. Time to start playing defense LA.

Then we got to see the Big 3 of the Nets perform to the top of their abilities. KD was hitting mid range shots, Harden was drawing fouls, getting to the hoop and making nice floating alley oop passes and Kyrie, I mean look no further than what he did to Evan Fournier when he dropped him on a crossover. If the Nets top guys play like this, it is a wrap. The Celtics did hold a lead for two and a half quarters, Jayson Tatum did make some shots, Marcus Smart was all over the floor, but they just do not have enough to stop this Nets team. They are too loaded.

Saturday night ended with Damian Lillard doing his thing, quietly as always, and leading the Blazers to a big game one win at Denver. Portland let Nikola Jokic eat, but they did their best to shut everyone else down, and it worked. Jokic was great, but the rest of the Nuggets just could not keep up. Dame was awesome, Jusuf Nurkic and Enes Kanter kept bodying Jokic, Aaron Gordon had a rough game one and CJ McCollum did his thing. I feel like, after this game, that I am one of the many people that are constantly sleeping on Portland. I'm fully on board with them now, and what else can be said about Dame. He is amazing. Portland may very well win this series going away.

I did not think Sunday was going to be as fun. I was wrong. We got the day started off with the 76ers and Wizards, and the Wizards clearly came to play. They were running up and down the floor, they held a lead, Russ and Beal were doing great, then Joel Embiid just took over. Sure, Tobias Harris had a great, great game, and when Ben Simmons needed to play lockdown defense he totally did. But when this team needed to be sparked, after Beal openly mocked Embiid, he came alive. He could not be stopped. He is the MVP. He is unstoppable.

The Suns then beat the Lakers, and they looked like the better team. I will not buy into the Suns being the favorites in this series now because the Lakers lost two game 1's last season, then went on to win four in a row. But this Suns team is much better than last year's Trailblazers and Rockets. They are more complete. Devin Booker is coming of age in the league. Deandre Ayton played like a legit big man. And Chris Paul was classic Chris Paul. Maybe, just maybe, the Suns are going to make this a real series. The Lakers just looked very blah. LeBron had a not great game, and his flopping has got to stop. It is getting out of hand. Anthony Davis was even worse. Maybe he really is hurt because he looks so bad right now. And when Alex Caruso is your most reliable scorer, that is when you have real problems. I am not jumping to any conclusions because the Lakers have two of the best players in the league, but man did they bad. They looked worse than the Clippers, and the Suns took advantage.

I turned on the Knicks-Hawks game in the middle of the fourth quarter, and that game was amazing. Buckets were exchanged. Leads were changed constantly. The crowd, the biggest indoor crowd since the pandemic started, was heavily involved. And Trae Young made sure we all will take him seriously now. This was the game of the weekend. This was what makes the NBA playoffs the best. This was awesome. I know New York fans are upset right now, but come on, this was an amazing game. I hope the rest of the series plays like this. As for Atlanta, what an offensive performance. They looked so ready for the moment and ready for the playoffs. They may not get much further in this series or playoffs, but they are now here to stay. They are a perennial playoff team as currently constructed.

Sunday night ended with my Memphis Grizzlies getting a big time road win over the top seeded Jazz. Dillon Brooks was tremendous on both ends of the floor. Ja did his thing. The bench and other role players were perfect. I am sure this is still some adrenaline from the final play in game, but I also think this team is not afraid of the moment. They may be young, but they appear ready. And hell yes I would take Ja over all the other players in his draft, and some in other drafts. He is that dude. The Jazz did not have Donovan Mitchell, and they crushed them. The pick and roll wasn't there. Joe Ingles, Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson were not making shots. Rudy Gobert fouled out. Everything went right for the Grizzlies, and everything went wrong for Utah. I hope this trend continues. I hope RD was some kind of oracle when he said they may make a run. I am not going to get ahead of myself as a fan, but damn was it fun to see them get this win. They are ready.

The NBA playoffs are here, and they are incredible. I hope this opening weekend was just a sign of things to come. This is what I love about the NBA. The playoffs are back, and they are amazing.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Ty's 2021 NBA Playoff Preview

After tonight's final play in game the NBA will have its 16 teams set for the playoffs.

The play in has been a success by the way. The East's games were blow outs, but I enjoyed watching Tatum put in 50, and the Pacers light up the Hornets and then the Wizards putting that same hurt on Indiana. The West's games have been much more competitive and fun. The Lakers got a great knock down shot from LeBron, the Grizzlies held on to beat the Spurs after building a 20 point lead and Steph was being Steph, and will probably be Steph tonight. I do think, as much as it upsets me, that the Warriors will beat the Grizzlies tonight and claim that 8th seed. Then the playoffs will be set. So let's just imagine that the Warriors claim that spot, and I will go on with my playoff preview.

I will start in the East as I always do.

The 1-8 matchup is the 76ers and the Wizards. The 76ers should roll in this series. They are bigger, stronger, longer, deeper and have played like the best team in the East all season. Simmons is as lock down as they come, Embiid is a MVP finalist and the rest of the roster plays their role. Brad Beal and Russell Westbrook will make it fun and exciting, but outside of those two, the Wizards do not have much else. The 76ers should, and will, sweep.

The 2-7 matchup is Brooklyn and Boston. Boston was supposed to be a top team. They were supposed to take the leap. They have all these great young players, but it just did not come together this season. And now that Jaylen Brown is out, they are toast. The Nets have the best three headed monster the NBA has seen in quite some time. They also have excellent role players. They may not play much defense, but they cannot be stopped when they are at full health, which they are right now. The Nets will sweep.

The 3-6 matchup features Milwaukee and Miami. This may be the best first round matchup in either conference. This is exactly what Milwaukee did not want, but here we are. Miami matches up great and they are finally healthy. Milwaukee has been quietly solid all year, and Giannis is still Giannis. Jrue Holiday is also a major upgrade over Eric Bledsoe and the PJ Tucker addition is great. This will be hard fought, gritty and old school. I do have Milwaukee winning, but it will take 7 games and it will be brutal.

The 4-5 is the RD special. We have the Knicks and the Hawks. This is like going back to the 90's. I love this. And, for RD, I have the Knicks winning, and winning it relatively easy. I think it will only take five games. Atlanta is fun, Trae Young is great, but they do not play a lick of defense. The Knicks do, and they have a very solid offense as well.

That would leave us with second round matchups of 76ers-Knicks and Bucks-Nets. The 76ers will end the fun Knicks story. They are just a better team. The Bucks will unfortunately leave the playoffs too early according to their fans because they do not have enough defense to slow down the Nets if they stay healthy. I actually think both series will be no more than six games.

So that leaves us with a 76ers and Nets East Finals. This is, according to the seeding, how it should play out. And while the 76ers are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, they simply do not have enough to stop the Nets. The Nets are absolutely loaded offensively. They will be able to outscore everyone. I think Embiid will feast, but he will be the only 76er that strikes fear offensively in the Nets. The Nets will win in six and be the East representative in the Finals.

Now the West.

As I stated, the 1-8 will most likely be the Jazz and Warriors. The Warriors have Steph, and he is amazing. He may very well win the MVP. Every time he shoots I think it is going in. They also have Draymond who is a defensive genius. He is so so so good on that end of the floor. Outside them we are looking at guys like Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Kevon Looney and Kent Bazemore. Not exactly a murderers row. The Jazz, with a healthy Donovan Mitchell, are a much better team. Mitchell and Conley are shot creators and makers. They can go and get buckets in a myriad of ways. Rudy Gobert is the best defender in the league and a great rim runner and pick and roll partner. Joe Ingles, Bojan Bojanovic and Jordan Clarkson are better than streak shooters. They make tons of shots. The Jazz look like the team we all thought they would be last season. The Jazz will win this series. Steph will have a game or two where he scores 40 or 50 plus, but it will not be enough.

The 2-7 are Phoenix and the LA Lakers. This is a bummer for Phoenix. They had such a great season, a breakthrough season, and their reward is the Lakers in the first round. Pardon me, a healthy Lakers. This is exactly what they wanted and what the Suns did not. This should be a good series, and I hope Phoenix proves me wrong. But they just do not have the dudes yet. Chris Paul is one of those dudes, but this is Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton and Mikail Bridges and pretty much everyone else on this roster's first time in the playoffs. This stinks for them, but they will be back. The Lakers will win in 7.

The 3-6 is pretty awesome with Denver and Portland. It would be way better if Jamal Murray were not injured, but he is, and here we are. I do love how the Nuggets have played since he went out, but they really need him for the playoffs. He was a revelation in the bubble. Portland is really great offensively, especially Dame, but they are horrendous defensively. Like worst in the league. Dame and CJ McCollum will pour in buckets and get the Trailblazers two wins, but that is it. Denver, even without Murray, will win this series in six.

The 4-5 here is pretty awesome. We have Dallas and the LA Clippers. This was a fun first round last season. Luka Doncic, who I am not a fan of, was great. He has been every bit as advertised, warts and all, since he got into the NBA. I do not like him, but the dude is good. Tim Hardaway Jr is also having his best NBA season. He has been really good. But Kristaps Porzingis is not great, Maxi Kleeber is hurt. Josh Richardson hasn't been that great. This feels like it will all fall on Doncic. The Clippers have the best roster in the league, on paper. They also upgraded their head coach in the offseason. Kawhi seems like he is going to turn it on. PG has had a really good year. Patrick Beverly is still one of the better point guard defenders in the league. Playoff Rondo is back. But they did choke last season. They melted the hell down. I wonder if that will happen again. I do not think so. I think they will be more locked in. I think they want to prove the doubters wrong. And I do think they will beat the Mavericks in round one, and I think it will be easier than last season. They are going to load up on Doncic and make everyone else beat them. I think they learned their lesson last season, and I think Kawhi wants to get back to the top of the NBA mountain.

So that gives us a second round of Utah and the Clippers and Denver and the Lakers. The Clippers will carry over their round one dominance to the second round. I feel like Beverly and Kawhi will shut down Conley and Mitchell. That will leave the offense to Gobert, which isn't a bad thing, but he is not the guy you want as your leading scorer. The Clippers should win in six.

The other matchup would be so much better if Murray wasn't hurt. I know I keep harping on that, but that injury stinks. It is brutal. That being said, I do think the Nuggets will be way more competitive than last season. Jokic is playing on a whole other level, and Aaron Gordon is a really good, really underrated defender. I do think the Lakers will win, they have LeBron and AD, and they are two of the top 4 or 5 players in the league. They also won the title last year, and they are way more seasoned. This will be a good series, but the Lakers will pull this one out in 7 also, setting us up for the battle in LA in the West Finals.

This is what we all wanted last season, but we will finally get it. I also think this is where the Lakers will run out of gas. I think the play in, the 2 7 round series before and the "injuries" to star players will finally take its toll. I think the Clippers will win and they will win in six.

That means I have the Clippers, yet again, as the West representative in the Finals. This means it is Brooklyn and the Clippers playing for the title. And I have the Nets outscoring everyone on their way to a title. They have too much. Harden, Kyrie and KD are too good. They can score 90 points between the three of them every night. The Clippers are the best matchup for them, but even they do not have enough defense to stop the Nets. This feels inevitable. The moment they got Harden I felt like it was a foregone conclusion, especially when I saw them play, and saw that Harden was finally trying again. They are just too loaded and too good. The Nets will win in six and KD will take home the MVP. He will be the best player on the floor in every game. He is incredible.

There you have it, my NBA playoff preview. I'm so excited to watch. Let's get to it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.