Happy Father's Day weekend! A lot of men enjoy sports, so I thought a discussion about the NBA and NHL playoffs would be appropriate. The NBA and NHL seasons for 2019 are officially done and I'll give you my thoughts regarding each playoff tree. Keep reading to find out the details.
NBA Playoffs- Western Conference: Round One I'll begin with the NBA playoffs. Truthfully, I'm not a fan of college basketball, but the NBA is one of my favorite sports leagues. For those of you who aren't familiar with basketball, the playoffs are split between the Western and Eastern conferences. Then the winner of each conference plays during the finals to win the NBA championship. First, the Golden State Warriors eliminated the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round. As expected, The Warriors were a much stronger team, so I knew it wouldn't be difficult for them to move forward. Ultimately, the Clippers never change. A lot of basketball fans and commentators say the Clippers will be great contenders, but it never happens. They're a predictable team. The Denver Nuggets eventually beat the San Antonio Spurs. This was one of the most interesting matches because both teams have a lot of contrast. The Spurs are good at scoring points, whereas the Nuggets are highly defensive. It took seven games to finish the first round. In the end, the Nuggets challenged the Spurs enough to keep their points down. Also, the Spurs aren't the same team anymore. They ruled the league when Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili played on the team, but that was quite some time ago and the Spurs don't have the same depth today. I felt disappointed when the Portland Trailblazers easily defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder. It seemed like the Thunder had a pretty decent season, but they haven't thrived during the playoffs since Kevin Durant left. I find the Trailblazers overrated, but they ultimately played better. The Houston Rockets didn't have much trouble eliminating the Utah Jazz in the first round. That didn't surprise me because the Rockets are a very strong team, especially offensively. The Jazz have a mediocre offensive, but they tend to play well defensively. However, you can't win without scoring points. Plus, the Rockets have a star player like James Harden and the Jazz doesn't have anyone who stands out. NBA Playoffs- Eastern Conference: Round One How did the first round turn out for the Eastern conference? As usual, the East was weaker than the West. Typically, the Eastern Conference has one or two really good teams and everyone else is mediocre at best. The Milwaukee Bucks eliminated the Detroit Pistons without much difficulty. That's what I expected because Giannis Antetokounmpo is probably the best player in the entire NBA. The Pistons usually make it to the playoffs, but they're not a threat to stronger teams. Then the Toronto Raptors defeated the Orlando Magic. At this point, Toronto is a well rounded team with strong offense and defense. Kawhi Leonard and several other players are tough to beat. The Magic are doing much better, but they still need new players and a lot of development. I don't care about the next group. The Philadelphia 76ers eliminated the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. Neither of these teams had a chance to reach the finals. I don't even understand how either of these teams eeked their way into the playoffs at all. Like I said, the East just wasn't very strong in 2019. The Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers pretty easily. I'm not surprised because the Celtics are actually a good team this year and the Pacers haven't progressed very much for a long time. Truthfully, the Celtics just needed to play more carefully during the regular season and their rank would have been higher during the playoffs. NBA Playoffs- Western Conference: Round Two Some people thought the Rockets had a chance to beat the Warriors, but I knew better. The Warriors are a dynastic team and the Rockets have a tendency to underperform during the playoffs. That's exactly what happened. Harden underperformed and the overall team didn't play very well. But Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and the rest of the Warriors didn't have any problem making a lot of points. I didn't know what to expect from the next group. Eventually, the Trailblazers beat the Nuggets. They're equally matched teams with a handful of strengths and weaknesses. The Trailblazers lost some players from injuries, but they usually score more points than the Nuggets. NBA Playoffs- Eastern Conference: Round Two The Bucks didn't have an issue defeating the Celtics in the second round. That surprised me a little bit because the Celtics were making a comeback this season. But Giannis is a really strong player. He can practically carry the entire team. The Bucks simply outscored the Celtics and that's all it takes. This next matchup surprised me as well. The Raptors beat the 76ers, but it was a real battle. They had to play the entire seven game stretch. Apparently, the 76ers are better than I thought. Both teams have pretty good defense, but the Raptors have more players who can make points. NBA Playoffs- Western Conference Finals It was an anticlimactic match between the Warriors and Trailblazers. Predictably, the Warriors were much better. They might not have a strong defense, but they have multiple players who can score points in spades. The Trailblazers don't have that type of offense. I actually felt kind of bad for the Trailblazers because Golden State shut them out in four games. NBA Playoffs- Eastern Conference Finals This match probably shocked me the most. The Raptors actually beat the Bucks without a whole lot of trouble. I thought the Bucks had the best chance of defeating the Warriors in the finals, but that's not what happened. Ultimately, the Raptors were able to contain Giannis and the team's better players. Despite being a very defensive team, the Raptors can also score a lot of points. That makes a huge difference in these matches. NBA Finals In the end, the Raptors eliminated the Warriors and became the NBA champions. I knew the Raptors were a real threat when they defeated the Bucks. Initially, I thoughts the Warriors would nab another championship, but they lost both Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson to injuries. It was the nail in the coffin. Plus, the Raptors contained them defensively as well. Honestly, I'm pretty sure a healthy Golden State team would have beaten the Raptors, but that's not important. The Raptors won their first NBA championship and they played incredibly well. I'm not a fan of the Raptors, but this championship was a big milestone for their franchise. Stanley Cup Playoffs- Western Conference: Round One Now I'm moving on to the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Ice hockey might be less popular than basketball in the USA, but it still has a pretty big and dedicated fan base. The Stanley Cup playoffs operate very similar to the NBA playoffs with two primary rounds, the conference finals, and the Stanley Cup finals. I'm not familiar with every team in the NHL and my favorite groups didn't participate in this year's playoffs. It's also worth noting, the Stanley Cup playoffs tend to me more unpredictable than the NBA playoffs. Anything can happen in the NHL. It's not unusual for top contenders to be eliminated right away. Likewise, underdogs go very far and even win sometimes. Also, the conferences tend to be inverted from the NBA. The Eastern conference is usually much stronger than the Western conference in the NHL In the Western conference, the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Calgary Flames. These teams have very different strengths and weaknesses. The Avalanche didn't have a very good season and they suffered from major injuries. I wouldn't say the Flames had the best odds either because they don't have an effective goalie. However, they can make a lot of points. Ultimately, the Avalanche took advantage of the Flames and their weak goaltending. The San Jose Sharks beat the Las Vegas Golden Knights and I wasn't sure what to think about their matchup. It seems like those teams were equally matched in many ways. They're quite defensive, not particularly great at making goals, and the two goalies are okay. However, the Sharks are a veteran team and the Golden Knights have only been around for a couple years. It probably made a difference. I'm a little surprised with the Dallas Stars achieving a victory over the Nashville Predators. Typically, the Stars aren't very good at making goals, granted the Predators don't have the best offense either. It just seemed like the Predators were more well rounded during the regular season, but anything can happen in the playoffs. The St. Louis Blues defeated the Winnipeg Jets and I don't know what to think. Neither of these teams are usually on my radar. It just seemed like the Blues were quicker, scrappier, and better at scoring. Stanley Cup Playoffs- Eastern Conference: Round One Here's a shocker. The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Tampa Bay Lightening. I couldn't believe it because the Lightening probably had the best chance of winning the Stanley Cup. And yet they were eliminated in the first round! Great defense and solid goaltending led the Blue Jackets to victory. Sometimes the underdog wins. The Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs and it made sense to me. Toronto is actually a decent team, but the Bruins are much faster and better at scoring. Like I said, a team can't win without scoring points. Some fans might have been surprised with this one, but I figured it would happen. The New York Islanders eliminated the Pittsburg Penguins right away. Sure, the Penguins might be more offensive and quicker on the ice. But the Islanders are tough as nails and one of the best defensive teams in the NHL. I've noticed a trend. Defensive teams usually win in most sports. Beating an offensive team is easy if you can disrupt their ability to make points. I don't know many details about the Carolina Hurricanes, but they defeated the Washington Capitals. The Capitals have a great goalie and their track record was excellent through the regular season, but injuries became a major problem. In the playoffs, the Hurricanes were healthier, more defensive, and their goalie was pretty good too. Stanley Cup Playoffs- Western Conference: Round Two It didn't surprise me when the Blues eliminated the Stars in the second round. The Stars aren't very good at making goals and the Blues were very well rounded in the previous match. It was one of the more predictable turnouts in the series. The Sharks beat the Avalanche and it could have gone either way in my opinion. I find the Sharks a bit inconsistent and they turn over the puck quite a bit. But the Avalanche is a low scoring team who's missing some of their better players. Stanley Cup Playoffs- Eastern Conference: Round Two Here are my thoughts about the Hurricanes eliminating the Islanders. As usual, the Islanders couldn't get many goals, and that became a huge issue. The Hurricanes had decent goaltending and they made more points. In this case, it was good enough. I figured the Bruins would beat the Blue Jackets. It seems like the Blue Jackets are just a middle of the road team and the Bruins are better. They're quicker, tougher, and the goalie performed quite well. Stanley Cup Playoffs- Western Conference Finals Was it surprising to see the Blues defeat the Sharks? I'm not sure because both of those teams were underdogs earlier in the playoffs. Overall, I would say the Blues played more consistently and stronger during the playoffs in general. I'm actually surprised the Sharks got this far. Stanley Cup Playoffs- Eastern Conference Finals The Bruins eliminated the Hurricanes and I assumed it would happen. Overall, the Hurricanes didn't have enough speed and effective goaltending to fend off the Bruins. It's hard to beat a fast team who's really good at making goals. Stanley Cup Finals This was an exciting match, but the Blues eventually won in the seventh game. I thought the Bruins might be the frontrunner, but their ability to make goals was disrupted by their opponent's hardnosed defense. Both teams were quick on the ice and the Blues had a better goalie. I have to admit, in the finals, the team with the better goalie usually wins. In the end, the Blues won their first Stanley Cup and NHL championship. We're all done! I hope this was a fun and interesting post for sports fans. Did you watch the NBA or NHL playoffs? Are you surprised with the results? We won't be seeing more NBA or NHL games until next year, but the upcoming college and professional football seasons will begin in the summer. At some point, I'll probably cover a couple pay per views from the WWE and maybe a few episodes of UFC Fight Night. Enjoy the remainder of your Father's Day weekend and come back soon for next week's post.
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