Ohonsi's NBA Blog

I was right when I said OKC wouldn't make round 3 before the '24 playoffs due to bad rebounding. They were 27th on the boards and got beat by 16 in that category in their season ending loss. Hartenstien, who came in the 2024 offseason, averages 11 of them in 28 min thus the Thunder are 12th on the glass. Their inexperience coming into last year's postseason is gone which is why I think J-Dub will have games of at least 25 points to lighten SGA's load. He failed to do so in the prior postseason. Chet scored over 25 once in that time, 26 points, and I believe he'll play better too. Oklahoma City has the best point differential ever, a great defense, and is led by an MVP candidate (Shai would get my vote). Every aspect of basketball is performed at an elite level by at least 1 player. However, I predict the big skill gap the Lakers big 3 has over OKC's trio will get LA to the finals. The April games between them, before Luka's ejection, should concern the Thund...

MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder) Most Improved: Christian Braun (Nuggets) ROY: Stephon Castle (Spurs) DPOY: Dyson Daniels (Hawks) 6th Man: Russell Westbrook (Nuggets) COY: Ime Udoka (Rockets) My All-NBA teams are a mix of stats (mainly) and their squad's record. The focus is my law of basketball  (primarily) as well as creating shots for others. Everyone played at least 65 games and the rosters won't be position based per the NBA. 1st: Edwards (Wolves), Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Tatum (Celtics), Antetokounmpo (Bucks), Jokic (Nuggets) 2nd: Curry (Warriors), Brunson (Knicks), Cunningham (Pistons), James (Lakers), Towns (Knicks) 3rd: Garland (Cavs), Haliburton (Pacers), Bane (Grizzlies), Harden (Clippers), Sengun (Rockets)  My law: The most important skill in basketball by far is being able to score in isolation (off the dribble, posting up, or the face up jumper) at an all-star level. (To a bit of a lesser extent, taking advantage of mismatches by scoring in drop ...

Rules -A mix of player (mainly) stats and team record  -The priority is my law of hoop (defined at the end) and creating shots for others -Info past 1/20 (voting deadline) isn't allowed -Enough games have to be played ( nba.com  > player stats > official leaders) -Click the players for the positions ( nba.com ) BC: Backcourt FC: Frontcourt WC: Wild Card West starters: Edwards (BC), Gilgeous-Alexander (BC), Durant (FC), Davis (FC), Jokic (FC) Bench: Fox (BC), Booker (BC), James (FC), Jackson Jr (FC), Wembanyama (FC), Irving (WC), Sengun (WC) East starters: Brunson (BC), Lillard (BC), Tatum (FC), Antetokounmpo (FC), Towns (FC) Bench: Mitchell (BC), Cunningham (BC), Barrett (FC), Brown (FC), Vuvevic (FC), Ball (WC), Maxey (WC) Gilgeous-Alexander (MVP as of now) SGA, Jokic, Tatum, Giannis, and KAT are starters who are 100% approved by me. RJ and Vucevic likely wont make it since they aren't household names or on winning teams. Brunson, Dame, and Cade are toss ups. The 1...

Game 1 Expected Boston to win. In game 2, they're probably not going to be nearly as hot from 3 and Porzingis is most likely not gonna go crazy. But they didn't allow any lobs or corner 3s (when the game mattered) so their defense is what impressed me the most by holding Dallas to a very small number of assists. However, Kyrie is probably going to be much better and they almost blew a 29 point lead. No answer for Luka either. I think Dallas wins on Sunday. Game 2 Still picking Dallas to win the series. They've been great defensively the 1st 2 games. All they need is a good Kyrie game which hasn't happened yet. However, Boston's defense limited them again in terms of lobs and corner 3s which has to change for the Mavs to win. I think Dallas' crowd will propel them to fix the aforementioned issues. But Tatum is due for a big game and since Boston has a much better roster, Dallas might be in trouble. Game 3 Even if Dallas wins game 4 (I don't think so), Boston ...

Luka is by far the best player heading into the series. There might not be a better scorer in the NBA than him. He's also arguably at the top of the league as a passer who's surrounded by corner 3-point shooters (PJ/Jones/Green) and lob targets (Gafford/Lively). If Boston traps Doncic after he uses a screen, Dallas' centers will have the opportunity to find shooters beyond the arc who can shoot or attack a closeout to bend the defense even more. Conversely, the Celtics can hedge or play drop coverage on the Slovenian which can lead to lobs or crafty mid-range jumpers/floaters by Luka which'll be caused by his manipulation of the defender chasing him after being screened. The Mavs superstar is also a 3-level iso scorer who often looks to demoralize his opposition with step back j's from long range. It gets worse for Boston because Kyrie is essentially the B+ version of Doncic. Irving is going to test the Celtics in a similar way. However, the perimeter defense (Holid...