Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Passover have come and gone. Which means baseball is going strong and it is time for the NBA and NHL playoffs. The NFL Draft is on Tuesday. Coaches and general managers are being replaced. The transfer portal is alive and well. College gymnastics concluded. And it’s only mid-April.
The Golden State Warriors atoned for their late season losses by handling Memphis at home to secure the seventh seed in the Western Conference. Memphis then had to play
Dallas, with the winner securing the eighth and final spot in the West. The Grizzlies won easily.
So much for the defense-first philosophy of Mavericks’ GM Nico Harrison. Sure, the team was without its best offensive weapon, Kyrie Irving. But the trade of Luka Doncic to Los Angeles ripped the heart and soul out of the team and it floundered, even when oft-injured Anthony Davis returned to the lineup. How long Harrison tenuously holds onto his job is subject to a ton of conjecture.
In the East, if anybody questions the coaching ability of Eric Spoelstra, they are crazy. Left for dead after the Jimmy Butler fiasco, Coach Spo managed to unite his veterans and win two games on the road to grab the eighth seed and the right to meet top-seed Cleveland.
Meanwhile, a very underrated Orlando Magic team grabbed the seventh seed in the East. That gives them the opportunity to play the defending champion Boston Celtics, a team with a chip on its shoulder. This series could be a bit more competitive than expected, with the C’s likely to prevail.
As for the Warriors, they seemingly do not match up well with the athleticism of the young and heady Rockets. Not having home court may be a disadvantage, too. It will take a lot of heroics from Steph Curry and “Playoff” Jimmy Butler—a reference to how he took Miami to the NBA Finals in the COVID year—plus some more firepower along with solid defense to move to the next round.
The Lakers felt they were the favorite in their series with Minnesota. Game 1 must have been a shock, as the T-Wolves beat up on LAL on the road in a 22 point victory. Maybe LeBron James and Luka will prevail—they appeared to be anything but a title contender, at least in this game.
In another close matchup involving the #4-5 seeds, it took an overtime comeback fueled by superstar Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon and the enigmatic Russell Westbrook—he of the late game gaffes—to manage a win over the Los Angeles Clippers at home. Look for these contests to go the distance.
Indiana put a sledgehammer to the undermanned Milwaukee Bucks in their first game. Even with Damian Lillard cleared to resume play after a serious bout with Deep Vein Thrombosis, I just don’t see the Bucks advancing.
The New York Knicks drew a tough foe in the upstart Detroit Pistons, making their first playoffs in six seasons. Detroit took it hard to the Knicks at MSG, racing to an eight point lead. Then New York, behind smothering defense and the offense of Jalen Brunson at the start of the fourth quarter, which resulted in a 21-0 spurt and awoke the somnambulant Garden faithful, went on to down the inexperienced Detroit squad by 11. I expect the Pistons to be resilient and give the Knicks all they can handle in the remainder of this physical series.
Firings will be the norm as the playoffs continue. Phoenix let go Mike Budenholzer, who won it all in Milwaukee, after one tumultuous season. The GM’s in Sacramento and New Orleans were received of their duties. I expect more heads to roll, as the dismissals of head coaches in Sacramento, Memphis and Denver before the playoffs were a presage of what might be coming.
Montreal took another two games before it could clinch the one remaining spot in the NHL playoffs. For their hard work, the Canadiens draw Alex Ovechkin and his Washington Capitals. I would be stunned to see this lasting more than 5 games.
Ditto for the New Jersey Devils. Limping into the playoffs after losing star Jack Hughes, Sheldon Keefe may not be a bad head coach, but he sure is snakebitten. See Toronto’s stunning losses in the playoffs while he coached. Carolina in four or five.
Speaking of the Maple Leafs, in an all-Ontario clash, they meet the Ottawa Senators. This should go the distance—both are very strong offensive teams.
Colorado took it to Dallas on Saturday night—it hasn’t been a very good two days for the residents of American Airlines Arena. I feel that the Avalanche will advance here.
St. Louis finished strong this year. For their efforts, they face Winnipeg, the Presidents’ Trophy winner. Winning the Trophy isn’t a guarantee of surviving even the first round; the Jets should make it into the next round, but then the road will be much harder.
Edmonton and Los Angeles meet again in the playoffs—four years in a row, Familiarity breeds contempt? Hard to predict which team wins—I am going with the Kings.
The final pairing in the East involves two teams which would have produced perhaps an epochal Eastern Conference final. Instead, one team goes home early. It might be the Panthers.
Sadly, for the first time in NHL history, the four American teams of the Original Six—Boston, New York Rangers, Chicago and Detroit did not make the playoffs. It has already cost the New York head coach his job.
It is different seeing the Tampa Bay Rays hosting the New York Yankees at
George M. Steinbrenner Field, the Spring Training home of the Bronx Bombers. New York wearing road grays looks out of place.
Until Saturday’s meltdown loss in extra innings, the Yankees had some swagger in a five game winning streak. While Aaron Judge is performing like only he can, there is a big drop-off in production from the remainder of the offense, save first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. The pitching is spotty—Max Fried looks to be the best starter and Luke Weaver is lights out in the bullpen. Still in first place early, expect this to be a very bumpy road for NYY to navigate to the playoffs.
The teams which have done well at the start of the season in the National League are the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and the NL West minus the woeful Colorado Rockies, which fired its hitting coach and brought back former manager Clint Hurdle to assume that role; expect Hurdle to be managing the team soon.
In the American League, Texas looks to be strong this season. Detroit and Cleveland have established themselves as the teams to beat in the AL Central. Everyone in the AL East is in hailing distance of the Yankees right now. This is the most changeable division in baseball—what you see now might not be what you see in June as to who rules the roost.
Thankfully, the NFL Draft happens this Tuesday and Wednesday in Green Bay. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate. What was speculation as to which team will do what will turn into full-fledged second-guessing after the teams make their picks.
Aaron Rodgers didn’t clarify a lot with his remarks on The Pat McAfee Show earlier in the week. I truly hope that Pittsburgh and Minnesota come to their senses and move on from him like new New York Jets Head Coach Aaron Glenn dismissively did, much to the chagrin of the future Hall of Fame quarterback.
The saga of Nico Iamaleava and NIL is a warning to those who cherish sanity in college football that Name-Image-Likeness isn’t going away, nor is absurd money associated with it. Evidently Tennessee’s high offer of payment wasn’t enough to retain him. Instead, the kid is seeking upwards of $4 million to play this season. UCLA might give it to him. This is crazy.
This is not limited to football. College basketball has too many kids in the transfer portal seeking to cash in. Literally so.
Oklahoma sought redemption this year in the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships. Having been upset last year, the Sooners acted like they deserved to win. Which is exactly what they did, despite a strong bid by UCLA to derail them once more. Surprising Missouri finish third, with Utah fourth.
I will delve deeper into college sports another time. There is a lot to discuss which could lead to two more blogs, if not more.
We experienced our first 80 degree day in New Jersey on Saturday. More nice weather is forecast. Rising outdoor temperatures (even if it snowed in Denver on Friday, postponing the Nationals and Rockies) means the sports world is afire. Which is, for the most part, good.
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