With the NBA Restart playoffs a week away, I think this is the perfect time to drop in and give my two cents about what we have seen so far. The NBA Bubble has been amazing, quite frankly. We have seen great individual performances, shots, dunks and even a bit of drama between the athletes. If you read my last article, I gave my predictions. No spoilers (check it out), but I was right about a few things, and also not so right about more than a few. That is the fun part about sports, however. They are unpredictable. And speaking of unpredictable, I don’t know about you but there were a couple of things that caught all viewers by surprise––and here are my 4 biggest.
Lakers’ Struggles
Going into the restart, the Los Angeles Lakers were the #1 team in the West and while they successfully claimed the #1 seed for the playoffs, they just look bad. Am I the only one who thinks so? I mean until last night’s buzzer beating win, they ranked last in offense out of all of the teams in the bubble. Last in points, last in field goal percentage, last in three point percentage, last in assists, and next to last in free-throw percentage and plus-minus. I don’t know about you but that’s a lot of lasts for a team that is currently “first” and supposed to be contending for the championship. A lot of lasts for a team with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and a bunch of other scorers around them. Admittedly, I said the King would show he’s the King in the bubble. I said the Lakers would win the Finals. I still think both of these things are true. Well, at least I hope. LeBron’s last two games have been better than his previous few. He finished with 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists against Indiana and last night he had 29 points and 12 assists. Could the King be returning to form just in time? Let’s hope so because the Lakers look like they will need everything he’s got if they want to make it out of the West, let alone win a championship.
TJ Warren
Two words. Certified Bucket. That is the simplest way to describe TJ Warren of the Indiana Pacers. Since the restart, he has been on an absolute tear. 53 on opening night, 34 the next, 32 the next. He also gave the LA Lakers 39 and an L. The most surprising part about it is probably how efficient he is. In his 53 point game, he missed 9 shots. He went 20-29. In his game against the Magic where he had 32, he was 13-17 and against the Lakers he was 15-22. TJ has always been a great scorer since his high school days and days at NC State; but this explosion surprised everyone. He is carrying this Indiana Pacers team into the playoffs. The question becomes, can he shoulder the load come playoff time? Is he a bonafide #1 option for the Pacers moving forward? Even if he cant or he isn’t, I’m here for the ride. He is killing it so far. Don’t believe me? See for yourself.
Phoenix Suns and Devin Booker
Where have we seen this before? Oh yeah. The Suns came out firing at the beginning of the season. See my post titled, “The Current State of the NBA: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly“. The Suns are a good basketball team. It’s hard to say because it has been a while, but they are good. Nobody, including myself saw them being anywhere near a threat in the bubble. I put all my money in the Pelicans basket and lost it. We’ll get there though. Anyway, the Phoenix Suns not only have a chance to make the play-in, but they are UNDEFEATED. 7-0 and they haven’t had an easy path. They beat the Mavericks, Clippers, Pacers, Heat, Thunder, and Sixers. All very good basketball teams and contenders. So what is it? Why are they playing so well and winning games? Look no further than Devin Booker. The presumed “Bubble MVP” has posted five 30 point games. Yes five out of seven games he’s played in have been 30 points or more. The only two that he didn’t? The first game out of the restart where he had 27, and then a real subtle 20 points, 10 assists against another bubble MVP contender TJ Warren and the Pacers. While Booker is the driving force for this team, they are also getting big time play from Deandre Ayton, Ricky Rubio, and rookie Cameron Johnson. The Suns may not win this year. They may be a little too late to even make the play-in, but if nothing else they have shown the world that they are ascending and contrary to what Draymond Green thinks, Devin Booker has no reason to want to leave Phoenix anytime soon.
New Orleans Pelicans
I can admit when I am wrong. It hurts, but I can do it. New Orleans let me down. They let everybody down. Adam Silver and the kind folks in the NBA front office tried their hardest to make it work for the people. We all wanted Zion v. Lebron round 1 in the West, right? It was must see TV. The issue was, the Pels didn’t do their part. Their bubble run was probably the most confusing and upsetting thing I could have imagined. Let’s start with the obvious. Zion Williamson. Okay so the Pelicans started him off with a minutes restriction. Why? Nobody knows. I get that he had missed some practice time due to a family emergency, but after one game maybe two you have to cut the guy loose right? I mean you drafted him first overall, he showed immense potential in the few games he played and he’s supposedly healthy. Oh and not to mention, your playoff lives are on the line. But no. It’s not all on the Pelicans organization either, which brings me to my next point about Zion. What’s going on? Is the guy hurt? He looked a bit out of shape and like he had put on his weight again. Zion is in the pros now and he has to manage his conditioning and weight so that they can comfortably cut him loose and he do all the things we all know he can do. But, I digress. It wasn’t just the managing of Zion but also the play of Lonzo Ball. I’m a big fan of his playmaking ability, and his changed jump shot mechanics look a lot better, but he did not play well in any games in the bubble. Maybe one. The tweet below tells the story though. I don’t have to. These two things coupled with their horrendous defensive effort just made for a disaster of a showing all around. With all that said… Brandon Ingram to NY!
As always, I hope you all enjoyed this read. If you haven’t watched any of the bubble games, you’re missing out! The playoffs kick off Monday, August 17th and of course I will give you all my thoughts before then. Comment, share, subscribe. Thank you for reading! Love you all. – Quis
1st Quarter With Quis 
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