Lakers are in deep trouble this Portland side are better than the one last season that reached the conference finals. Portland have got Nurkic back from injury and have added Melo to the side.
If Portland wins this series it's not much of a shock as when fully healthy the Blazers are more of a 3rd or 4th seed rather than an 8th seed.
Lakers should be fine. Lebron's teams almost always tend to lose one of their first 2 games, surprisingly enough.
The Portland backcourt is electric though, and Melo is a smart wildcard they picked up. But I think over a series, the Lakers have more fire power. I can't imagine the supporting cast will play as bad as they did in the first game.
Sixers definitely out, and I was disappointed the Mavs didn't win the first game, though they won the second. They're just a better team whereas the Clippers seem to be a team of better players without a nice flow to them. Luka with the ball in his hands is more of a threat than Leonard, he just offers more options for his team, and that might be the difference. Crazy to think it's only his second season. Not that many players put up those sorts of numbers that early in their career, and he's doing it as the main scorer and creator on his team. Not so sure Porzingis is the best partner in crime for him, they'll need another bonafide scorer to start eying championships.
Indy vs Heat. The most exciting series to watch that no one cares enough about.
Neither team will go far, but that's going to be a fun series, though can't see the Heat dropping a loss.
Bucks, meh. Still not sold on a Giannis led team that requires him to do everything with the caveat that he has to penetrate every single possesion to get buckets. No outside shot +absolutely no 3pt range = not getting any closer to the FInals.
I think even more than football, basketball and the NBA are really suffering without the fans watching. They're so close to the players, the noise makes a massive difference, you can't even play in the park without people spectating, this must be surreal for the players. And forget about homecourt, it's just the difference in where the sit and that's it. At the very least, the NBA should have added some floor design or colour that matched the home team, or something. The teams that have players that thrive on challenges, and have great leaders, are the ones that will benefit immensely (more so than usual).
*Celtics are flying. I should be annoyed by the fact that the Celtics and Lakers are doing so well (well not yet for the Lakers), but it is nice to see teams with those sorts of history come to relevance again. Even the Heat are fun to watch, and watching the Pacers lose again is always worth a snigger or two.
Aaah, the life of a Knicks supporter. Our decade will come, if not this decade than the next..