(Newswire.net — September 22, 2020) — This year’s NBA Playoff tournament has been rife with more than a few interesting factors. While most conditions surrounding post-season play have been meant to string together a comprehensive end to a half-run season, altered rules have led to a great show.
No teams this year have home-field advantage, as the entire playoff tournament is taking place in Orlando in what’s literally being known as the ‘NBA Bubble’. Regular season games were stunted and included only eight games to determine conference seeding.
This restructuring led to a play-in series for the first time since 1956. Since then, other factors, like wildcard strikes in response to social justice causes in the US, mean that no team could have properly prepared for this year’s playoff tournament.
At the moment, the Denver Nuggets are set to begin the Western Conference Finals against the LA Lakers. In the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat are taking on the Boston Celtics.
For those who bet on NBA games throughout the season, the fact that neither the LA Clippers or the Milwaukee Bucks will be advancing to the Finals is a shock. However, such upsets are what fans love most about the sport—plus, it leaves plenty of room for speculation as this season comes to a close.
Where will Antetokounmpo end up in 2021? Will the George-Leonard dynasty end before it began? And how did the Miami Heat end up in the semi-finals?
The Clippers Fail to Cash In
Coming into the 2019-20 season, the Clippers were a favorite to advance to the Finals and take a championship title. This was exciting for a variety of reasons. First, the Clippers franchise has never taken an NBA title. Second, many have been waiting for the LA team to dethrone the prestigious Lakers.
All the cards seemed to be stacked in favor of the Clippers, too. Not only did they have two star players coming from Toronto who led the Raptors to last season’s championship title, but Kawhi Leonard and Ken George seemed unstoppable during seasonal play.
Moving into the playoff series, head coach Doc Rivers made some risky choices. He lessened pick’n’roll plays, opted for a score-happy but defense-lacking lineup, and seemed to rely too heavily on Leonard sinking baskets rather than making plays.
On September 15, the Denver Nuggets sent the Clippers packing to advance to conference finals. George’s contract with the Clippers is up, which means the Leonard-George dynasty may be ending soon.
Where Will Antetokounmpo End Up?
For years, the Bucks franchise has been synonymous with its shining star: Giannis Antetokounmpo. Like other international basketballers, Antetokounmpo has a natural-born talent that the Bucks have relied on heavily.
In the end, it was Antetokounmpo who helped end the Bucks 2020 Playoff run with a foul against Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler in game five of the series. While the Bucks as a whole couldn’t seem to settle into the NBA Bubble, their elimination marks more than just another failed attempt at a championship title.
Antetokounmpo is now a free agent, which means he’s likely leaving the Tennessee franchise. In fact, pundits speculated during the playoffs that Antetokounmpo may have been shopping around and paying close attention to his competitors as future possibilities.
It’s believed the young superstar will likely end up with the Miami Heat or Dallas Mavericks.
Bringing the Heat
As the fifth-seeded team in the Eastern Conference, the Heat haven’t let their momentum slip since stepping into the NBA Bubble. In short, the team has a fluid dynamism that seems to be born from an even spread of talented players.
From Bam Adebayo making blocks to swingman Jimmy Butler pushing Antetokounmpo for a foul late in a game, each player has strived to give their all. Without any clear stars on par with Antetokounmpo or LeBron or Kawhi Leonard, each player has left it all on the court.
While the Heat may be outmatched in terms of technical skill, they’ve got the dogged determination that can make the odds seem just like a number. In fact, it’s this hustle that’s gotten the attention of fans.
Recently, legend Magic Johnson took to Twitter to call Adebayo’s block against Celtics player Jayson Tatum one of the best defensive plays he’d ever seen in the playoffs. And that says something.