NBA Eastern Conference Final 2024
- PC
- May 21, 2024
- 3 min read
Dude…
There are only 4 teams that remain in the hunt for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Who comes out on top? The #1 overall seed in the Boston Celtics won in 5 games thanks to the efforts from Jason Tatum, Jalen Brown, and Derrick White have been leading this team through the first two rounds. Their opponent is not the one everyone was expecting to face the Celtics. The Indiana Pacers are a young and speedy team that bolted its way through the playoffs. They defeated the NY Knicks in game 7. In the Garden too. Spike Lee, Ben Stiller, and the rest of New York left with broken hearts. Now, this David vs. Goliath stand off will officially take place. Will Goliath clobber another foe, or will David prevail against all odds? I’ve been 8-4 throughout these playoffs, so I think it’s time to go 9-4!
The Boston Celtics. The #1 team in the league for good reason. They first matched up against their arch nemesis from last year in the Miami Heat. You thought Himmy Buckets and company would put up a fight. However, Himmy got hurt in the play in game and the company could not overcome such a gigantic mountain in Boston, as Derrick White is the one who leads the Celtics to the next round. In the 2nd round, the Celtics faced a stingy Cavs team lead by Donovan Mitchell. Again, this Cavs team could have caused the Celtics fits, but again, injuries stacked up. Jarret Allen went down and even though he isn’t the #1 guy, his impact in the rebounding category showed up to be a huge loss. The Celtics ran circles around the Cavs. They dismantled them in 5 games, giving one to Mitchell on his way out the door of Cleveland as his contract expires after this season. Lots of question marks coming up for this Cavs team. Fortunately for the Celtics, it led to an easy series.
On the other side of the bracket, the Pacers had to fight tooth and nail to defeat both of their opponents. First, they battled Milwalkee. Giannis is a tough guard, but adding Dam Time, Damien Lillard, and Khris Middleton, that’s a lot to ask to defeat. Luck favors the bold as Giannis gets hurt down the stretch of the season, so he wasn’t active during the series. Another huge blow occurred in game 2, when Damian Lillard went down with an injury as well. This left the Bucks broken, but not out. Khris Middleton, Pat Bev (shout out the Pat Bev Pod with Rome) and Bobby Portis did all they can. They ended up winning 2 games, but the injuries costed them their series as the Pacers advanced. Now, they faced the hot NY Knicks team led by Jalen Brunson and Villanova 2.0. This series was a dog fight. NY won game 1 and 2 with outstanding games from Brunson. The Pacers took games 3-4 in Indiana as convincingly beat the Knicks thanks to their stars in Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam. The Knicks bounced back with a massive win in game 5, leaving only 1 victory before destiny. The Pacers had a destiny of their own, as Andrew Nembhard made a game winner to win in game 6, and the embarrassment of the Knicks in game 7 with a 30 point victory in the Garden.
So , The Boston Celtics look to close out their great season to move to the NBA Finals if they can just get past the Pacers. I think this is the series Jason Tatum shows up. He hasn’t been himself these playoffs, and the people around him have picked up the slack. However, we have seen Tatum completely disappear multiple times, will it be the same? I see Pascal matching up against Tatum, which could cause him problems. The keys to win this series come down to defensive efficiency and if the Celtics can get back in transition to slow down Hali and the gang. I think this series will be closer than most expect, and Boston may play from behind in the series at some point due to their weak opponents they’ve faced. Tatum will figure it out and close the door shut the Pacers making a run to the finals. I’ve got the Celtics advancing to the NBA Finals in 6.
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