NFL
By: Greg Rector
The NBA season is now in the home stretch and in both conferences, there is no way to determine the teams that will be in the playoffs or the play-in games. Exactly what the NBA hopes for as fans in so many cities can keep their hopes up for their favorite team. The possibilities are endless right now and it will be awfully hard to predict what will happen in the postseason, however, that’s exactly what I will do quickly here. I’m also going to look at MVP and Coach of the Year.
Eastern Conference
I still believe we are headed to a Milwaukee Bucks versus Boston Celtics conference finals. As long as neither team looks ahead or has untimely injuries, both the Bucks and Celtics are just very deep rosters and should be able to reach the conference finals. The Bucks are on a 14-game winning streak and it’s not just Giannis, the entire team night after night is playing at a very high level. Meanwhile, the Celtics for the most part see the same story unfold for them. Everyone else had solid games against the Sixers over the weekend and while that wasn’t the case for Jayson Tatum, when he needed it the most Tatum made the game-winning basket. Closing out tough games matters as that is bound to be needed come playoff time. The NBA would love to see a seven-game series between these two teams. The level of basketball would be great as would the tv ratings.
Western Conference
The Denver Nuggets are maintaining the top spot in the west. Since December 18th the Nuggets are the 4th ranked team defense in the league. Long something I have said about Denver is they needed to improve in that area and they have. The triple-double machine known as Nikola Jokic keeps churning out the numbers and the scoring from everyone else while not spectacular has been there overall. Unlike the eastern conference, out west, there are just so many teams in the hunt to reach the conference finals. The team that most think will challenge Denver right now is the Phoenix Suns with the addition of one Kevin Durant. I really can’t determine who will come out of the west at this point. These teams are just so close in talent level, coaching, and depth of rosters. Just for the “Cinderella) effect how about Mike Brown taking the Sacramento Kings through to the conference finals? That would really be the NBA version of a final four with three powerhouse teams and an upstart. Pretty sure that would also increase the interest even from fans of other teams who have been eliminated. Everyone loves an underdog story.
Coach Of The Year
There are several good candidates for the NBA Coach of the Year. For me, the leader has to be the aforementioned Mike Brown. I had the Kings making the play-in game, I didn’t see them sitting at 3rd in the western conference. That’s been an amazing coaching job by Brown and the NBA voters have had to take notice. Joe Mazzulla was thrust into the job in Boston and all he did was make sure the team didn’t fold after the Ime Udoka scandal. That’s not easy and he deserves full credit for not allowing the scandal to affect the Celtics. My other choice as a candidate has to be Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daignault. He’s taking the Thunder from complete pretenders and turning them around into a team you can no longer take lightly.
Most Valuable Player
This is going to be a very tight race without a doubt. Here are my final four in contention to be the NBA regular season Most Valuable Player for the 2023 season. First up is Jayson Tatum, the leader of the Celtics, and he’s just been so solid all season. Next for me is Joel Embid of the Sixers. Can’t deny his impact on the Sixers either. Of course a former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has to be in this group. The Buck’s big man is a force and he certainly is making his case at the right time of the year. Lastly, the two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, what more can you say about his effectiveness, his impact on his teammates, and the outcomes of Nuggets games thanks to him? Unless there’s a level of fatigue with the voters against Jokic I really believe he can become the 4th player along with Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Larry Bird to win the award three times in a row.
We’ll know soon enough how the race ends. All four have strong cases and that’s why I feel this will be the closest MVP race ever. NBA fans buckle up because the playoff races like the NBA MVP race are all going down to the wire. Enjoy the ride folks.
As always find me on Twitter @GregsCowboys
