Boy Was I Wrong About the 2022 NBA Playoffs
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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.