Oklahoma City Thunder clinch the first seed in the West: Does Shai deserve more MVP love?
After missing the playoffs last year the Thunder flipped the script by not only making the playoffs but by capturing the first overall seed in the West. Two years ago, the Thunder were a 24 win lottery and now led by their 25 year old superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are now an elite team capable of making a deep playoff run. The Thunder earned the first seed by winning the season series over the defending champion Nuggets led by MVP favorite Nikola Jokic who finished with the same record. After leading the Thunder to the first seed in the West Shai deserves to be the MVP for leading one of the youngest team in the NBA to such lofty height.
Thunder coach, Mark Daigneault spoke highly of his young superstar's play this season stating, "There is not a night where I don't feel like we have the best player on the floor. We're a top-five defense, top-five offense. He's a two-end player that contributes to both of those things."
Nikola Jokic is currently the MVP favorite and will very likely win his 3rd career MVP with the impressive number he continues to put up with his team arguably being even better than last year. Still, the Nuggets were expected to be here and Nikola has put up similar numbers over the past few years. Meanwhile, Shai just completed arguably the best regular season of his young career especially when you consider he put up incredible numbers while his team also won at a high level unexpectedly. Shai and the Thunder also had to beat Jokic and the Nuggets three out of four times to earn the nod over them for first seed. Oklahoma City would not have reached the incredible heights they have this season if not for Shai who was third leading scorer in the NBA. The criteria of the MVP award never seems to have a clear definition but Shai's value to a team so young and inexperienced should be appreciated far more.
Karl Anthony-Towns returns from injury: Can he help lead the Timberwolves to their first playoff series win since 2004?
Timberwolves star Karl Anthony Towns made his return after an 18 game absence just in time before the start of the playoffs. With his return, one of the best teams in the NBA is back at full strength at the right time. However, they closed the regular season with a disappointing loss at home to the Phoenix Suns who they will matchup with in the first round. Similar to Oklahoma City, the Timberwolves are a young team that became an elite team this season yet they do have more veteran talent. Karl Anthony Towns will be crucial if the Timberwolves are to get past the Suns and go on a deep playoff run as his experience and ability to take pressure off of Anthony Edwards will be key. Towns gave his perspective of how his experience during his absence could benefit, "Having had so much time to watch this team and watch from a different lens gave me a good understanding of what I can do when I go out there to help this team and impact it the most"
The Timberwolves had an excellent season winning 56 games, having the best overall defense, and earning the third best record in the West. Still, the Suns have not had a problem with the Timberwolves as they have won all 3 matchups against them this season. Minnesota had both their worst offensive performance (87 points scored) and defensive performance (133 points allowed) when matched up with the Suns this season. For the Timberwolves to make a real run in the playoffs they will have a major test in front of them in the first round. To get past the Suns, the Timberwolves will of course need better performances from Towns and Edwards who scored 10 and 13 points. Homecourt advantage will be important as this series could very well go seven games though the Suns appear very confident with the matchup as they should. For the Timberwolves to win they will need to minimize mistakes which they did not do in their most recent matchup against the Suns where they turned the ball over 24 times. Ultimately, this is a difficult matchup for the Timberwolves and their successful season faces jeopardy as the Suns are favored to win this series,
Paolo Banchero leads the Magic to their first playoff run in 4 years: Why the Magic deserve more attention in the playoffs
The Orlando Magic's success has been one of my favorite stories in the NBA this season as their 13 game improvement from last year was very impressive and unexpected. Orlando has won 47 games this season earning the fifth seed in the East led by their young All-Star Paolo Banchero. Banchero has been sensational in his second season earning his first All-Star nod and being the Magic's leader in scoring and assists with 22.5 points and 5.4 assists per game. Banchero now has the opportunity to do something that no #1 overall pick has done since Anthony Davis which is lead their team to a playoff series win. He has the opportunity to do so against the Cleveland Cavaliers who went 2-2 against the Magic in the regular season.
Banchero and the Magic will be a interesting team to watch this season that deserves more attention primarily because their lack of national media coverage throughout the season. Outside of Banchero the Magic have some talented young players such as Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs that NBA fans should be excited to see play on a big stage. For the Magic to make it out the first round for the first time since 2010 they will need their best player in Banchero to play well against a Cavaliers looking to overcome a first round defeat last year. I also expect the Magic to be locked in defensively as they have been all year with their third ranked defense in the NBA. Despite homecourt advantage not being in their favor I expect the Magic to come out victorious as I don't trust the health of the Cavaliers. Regardless of the final result, expect the Magic to be a perennial playoff contender for years to come and Paolo Banchero to be a household name.
Game of the week-Victor Wembanyama puts up a dominant performance against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets putting up 34 points and 12 rebounds. Devonte Graham hits the game winning floater with 0.09 seconds left to spoil Denver's chance to lock up the first seed in the West.
Source: NBA YouTube Channel
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