With today marking the official start of The NBA Playoffs, it feels like a good time to assess The NBA Restart. In short terms, I think that it was a complete success. Whereas most sports fell victim to health concerns or scheduling conflicts, basketball found a way to make it work. They were able to play in a structured environment that took very little away from the game itself, giving audiences the great competition that they clamor for. There were endless moments of sheer joy, watching the top athletes play in The Bubble and give hope that this season will end as a legitimate success.
But, if I’m being honest, the most enjoyable games were not at the top of the bracket. If you look at the number one (even the number two) spots, you were seeing something that was predictable going into this. In the west, everyone had to beat The Los Angeles Lakers. In the east, it was The Milwaukee Bucks. They could’ve sat out their biggest players for two weeks and still be guaranteed a dominant spot. That is why The Lakers were especially a boring team, sitting on their hands instead of toughening up their supporting players. The Bucks played a little better, but you still knew that there was no competition there.
Frankly, going into The Playoffs has presented a host of dull match-ups in the east. With exception to some noteworthy accomplishments, such as The Indiana Pacers’ T.J. Warren scoring 53 points in a single game against The Philadelphia 76ers, we already know how these games are likely to play out. Their great teams are great while their middling teams got temporarily beat by The Charlotte Hornets. As much as you can revel in those details, I personally think that the greatest narrative in this whole event was for the eighth seed in the west.
After you have your fix for basketball, you’ll realize how dull it is to watch certain games. While they’re great athletes playing good games, we already know that everyone above the seventh spot was going to get in. The only thing that was uncertain was the eighth spot, which featured a handful of teams all competing for that bottom spot. It’s one that you covet if you’re not THAT good, and that is exactly what The NBA had in store. They chose to invite several teams to The Bubble in hopes of making the fight for that spot more interesting, and frankly, it was the greatest part of this whole narrative.
Going into The NBA Restart, everyone had their own expectations about who would get the farthest. Based on match-ups, it was said that The New Orleans Pelicans had the best odds while The Memphis Grizzlies had the worst. The issue is that betting on this logic will do you no good. Not only were The Pelicans axed a near week early, but they recently let go of their coach Alvin Gentry. It’s a sad story, if just because they’re my favorite underdog story of the season. Still, they were riled in controversy specifically around Zion Williamson not being allowed to play enough minutes. They were a mess. To add insult to injury, the nominees for this season’s Rookie of the Year came out right as The Pelicans were going down, only reflecting how despite being a bonafide icon, Williamson still needed to grow as an athlete.
The other nominee, and deserving winner of the category, was The Grizzlies’ Ja Morant. Whereas The Pelicans flopped almost immediately, The Grizzles made it to the very end. They ended the season in ninth place, though not without a hearty fight against The Portland Trailblazers. If you want to know what a Rookie of the Year looks like, just watch that Play-In game and see how Morant complimented his team, keeping them in the game up until the end where they lost to their more accomplished competitors by only four points. Morant was a key part of that, and I think makes the biggest case for why he’s a player to watch.
Though if I’m being honest, The Trailblazers winning the Play-In is probably the least interesting part of this story. I personally think that they were a fine team going into The NBA Restart. With that said, I do enjoy watching Damian Lillard playing like his life depended on it, sharing the ball with Carmelo Anthony, and making this dizzying comeback story while giving interviews in his “Big D.O.L.L.A.” sweatshirt. He’s definitely a great athlete whose impressive scoring percentage props up this notion, though it does feel like they could’ve been doing better all along. If they played THIS good during the season, there’s no doubt that they would be higher. Still, if they can take out The Lakers, all debts will be forgiven. Go Dame D.O.L.L.A.!
To be totally honest, there’s very little that’s interesting about The San Antonio Spurs or The Sacramento Kings in this scenario. In all sincerity, they’re both the third-best team in their states and they feel the most like filler spots. The only advantage that they have is that they made easy wins for players guaranteed to play in the eighth seed. Even then, those seven teams weren’t exactly giving their all most nights. They would have a few great games, such as The Houston Rockets taking on The Mavericks, or The Denver Nuggets and The Utah Jazz in double overtime, but the more confident your stakes were, the less like you were to try.
The same could be said for The Pelicans, The Spurs, and The Kings who tried until they were sure that things were over. It was nice to get out there and play, but at a point, you can tell watching them that it was futile. Still, to know that this is the first time in over a decade that The Spurs missed out on The Playoffs shows how much was at stake here and how the game was changing. Teams were creating a new generation of great players, and there was no doubt that the future of The NBA was about to look very different.
If there was one team that surprised everyone, it was The Phoenix Suns. While they finished 10th, this low ranking shouldn’t be seen as an insult. The young team had an incredible season that frankly puts every other team to shame. Of the 22 that went into The Bubble and played, they had the best track record.
Where some won the majority of games, maybe missing one or two victories, The Suns had a very different story. From the moment that they landed their feet on the ground, they would go on to win eight of their eight games. Yes, they had a perfect track record that was unsurpassed and helped to prove how great and hungry they were. In one of the greatest moments in the entire series, The Suns took on The Clippers and won on a buzzer-beater three-point shot. It’s one of those lucky moments that made you believe that they could take it all of the way. Devin Booker was going to be a big star. Suddenly The Suns were taken seriously.
Of course, this is true about their entire season. Where there’s been a lot of attention thrust upon The Pelicans or The Grizzlies most of the season, The Suns have been having a solid, career-reshaping season. Ever since they beat The Clippers back in November, they had plenty to prove to the world that in a few years they could be great. Contrary to what Draymond Green on Inside the NBA says, there is hope that this team could be something great. They could fine-tune a few corners and become great.
The only tragedy is that because they are a younger, more inexperienced team, they had a bigger disadvantage than almost every other team. They needed to come up from further in the hole. It’s unclear if they stood a chance had the season never reached postponement. I personally believe that The Pelicans would be a lot tighter if that was the case. Meanwhile, The Suns feel like they used the downtime to fix their flaws and do what the best teams weren’t doing. They were giving the audience a reason to feel exhilarated by the sport. While everyone has their favorite teams, watching this no-name team make their move was such an encouraging sign. You wanted to see them succeed.
From what I saw, they were everything that they had been sold as. Their playing was tighter, never losing focus for a night. Whereas every other team had at least one sloppy game, I don’t think The Suns weren’t anything but focused. They came with a message and I wonder if they would have done as well had the other teams played to their full potential. As I mentioned, The Lakers looked like they were asleep half the time. Were they being nice to The Suns? That’s a factor that would require more research, but it doesn’t discredit their incredible success.
They were so close that those who love The Suns were likely betting against The Trailblazers. I know that I personally was, if just because The Suns and The Grizzlies felt like they were trying harder and had their games more focused. Even in the triumphant conclusion against The Brooklyn Nets, The Trailblazers were a mess that relied on Lillard and Anthony a bit too much. Had The Nets’ Carius Lavert made one or two more shots, the whole game would be different. It was fun to watch basketball at its most unpredictable, but it was also kind of tragic because of what it said about The Suns. They could excel and have a flawless record and still end up in 10th place. Had it been based solely on The Bubble games, there’s no doubt that they would be in The Playoffs.
The interesting thing about The Play-In games that determined whether The Grizzlies or The Trailblazers moved forward was that it was the first time in over 60 years that a Play-In happened. No matter how you dice it, they were going to have a unique game. Had The Grizzlies won, they were just an extra game away from The Playoffs. By falling just four points shy, they fell to ninth. Given that The Trailblazers’ C.J. McCollum had a spinal injury while playing, it shows how insane these games have been.
What made the eighth seed particularly exciting is that almost every team brought with them something unexpected and genuine to the basketball experience. While The Pelicans underperformed, The Suns became an overnight sensation that may prove to be a threat next season. Meanwhile, you get The Trailblazers waking up from their coma firing on all cylinders, and I doubt there’s any confusion over Ja Morant winning Rookie of the Year.
So much has gone down over two weeks that makes the game exciting, and almost none of it was for the top position. To find basketball at its most eager, you had to go to those just outside of that eighth spot, who needed to win every game to stand any chance. Even then, it wasn’t a guarantee that things would work out. With everything on the line, the results changed by the day and that is what’s been sorely missing from the past few months. It’s not so much who is winning The Finals. It’s who could be there with a little bit of luck.
Today The Playoffs begin and a new excitement emerges. There is something exciting about knowing that we’re getting more serious about sports. All of the teams that have been conserving energy will finally be starting to unleash their true forms. It’s what the eighth seed teams have been doing all along, and it will be great to see the top players finally do it too. Basketball is starting to matter again, and it’s only going to get more intense as the brackets dwindle. Let’s hope that the next round will be just as exciting, and unexpected, as this one has been.
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