NBA Playoffs 2021

[SparzWizard]

Yeah well, if KG doesn't hurt his knee in 2008-2009 season...C's win 3 or 4 Championships with him.

Would've been on a 3peat if KG didn't get hurt in 08-09, and Perkins didn't go down in Game 6 of 2010. SIGH

[RodyTur10]

Crazy year. Of the Final 4 teams, with Giannis and Kawhi missing all or some games, who was the best player left playing and how does that player rank as top players?

CP3 at maybe top 25-30?
Is Paul George top 20 good?
Is Booker?
Is Trae?

This "Covid Era" of the NBA has thrown conventional rules about who wins titles out the window except one....health. The healthiest teams seem to be the best in this Era. At least for this year, so much for the idea that you need a top 5 player to win it all. You just had to be good AND healthy.

Sadly for the Celtics, like other teams that played a long time in the bubble, they were far from healthy.

It was never about stacking up on conventional top 5 players (there are like 10-11 of them in the league right now so it's really not only 5 guys) - it was always about assembling the best team, and you can achieve that without that level of player.

My eleven superstars (in order of position):

Guards: Curry, Doncic, Harden, Lillard
Wings: Durant, Leonard, Antetokounmpo, James
Bigs: Jokic, Embiid, Davis

But honestly Young, Paul, Mitchell, Beal, Butler, George, Tatum and Towns are also guys who can lead a team on the offensive end. The NBA is incredibly talented. Injuries unfortunately have had a big impact this year (even moreso than before), still there's a lot of parity right now.

And for the near future I believe the combo of Tatum/Brown can be sufficient to win a title when there's more defined roles, cohesion, teamplay and less injuries than we saw this season.

[nickagneta]

Crazy year. Of the Final 4 teams, with Giannis and Kawhi missing all or some games, who was the best player left playing and how does that player rank as top players?

CP3 at maybe top 25-30?
Is Paul George top 20 good?
Is Booker?
Is Trae?

This "Covid Era" of the NBA has thrown conventional rules about who wins titles out the window except one....health. The healthiest teams seem to be the best in this Era. At least for this year, so much for the idea that you need a top 5 player to win it all. You just had to be good AND healthy.

Sadly for the Celtics, like other teams that played a long time in the bubble, they were far from healthy.

It was never about stacking up on conventional top 5 players (there are like 10-11 of them in the league right now so it's really not only 5 guys) - it was always about assembling the best team, and you can achieve that without that level of player.

My eleven superstars (in order of position):

Guards: Curry, Doncic, Harden, Lillard
Wings: Durant, Leonard, Antetokounmpo, James
Bigs: Jokic, Embiid, Davis

But honestly Young, Paul, Mitchell, Beal, Butler, George, Tatum and Towns are also guys who can lead a team on the offensive end. The NBA is incredibly talented. Injuries unfortunately have had a big impact this year (even moreso than before), still there's a lot of parity right now.

And for the near future I believe the combo of Tatum/Brown can be sufficient to win a title when there's more defined roles, cohesion, teamplay and less injuries than we saw this season.

Kinda what I was leading into. That having those stars is less important than team quality, especially as the league is trending more to parity. So, yeah, a Tatum-Brown centric team can win it all. And soon, if the team is built right.

[SHAQATTACK]

my heart was leaning Hawks a tad ,but that said ,   I m glade Bucks won , I think  it helps keep Giannis in Milwaukee and off the Lakers or Heat for now.  He has been pretty loyal to Mil. needed to advance and keep the faith in his team.

[Birdman]

Love see 2 different teams in the finals, except for Celtics of course!

[Moranis]

Crazy year. Of the Final 4 teams, with Giannis and Kawhi missing all or some games, who was the best player left playing and how does that player rank as top players?

CP3 at maybe top 25-30?
Is Paul George top 20 good?
Is Booker?
Is Trae?

This "Covid Era" of the NBA has thrown conventional rules about who wins titles out the window except one....health. The healthiest teams seem to be the best in this Era. At least for this year, so much for the idea that you need a top 5 player to win it all. You just had to be good AND healthy.

Sadly for the Celtics, like other teams that played a long time in the bubble, they were far from healthy.

It was never about stacking up on conventional top 5 players (there are like 10-11 of them in the league right now so it's really not only 5 guys) - it was always about assembling the best team, and you can achieve that without that level of player.

My eleven superstars (in order of position):

Guards: Curry, Doncic, Harden, Lillard
Wings: Durant, Leonard, Antetokounmpo, James
Bigs: Jokic, Embiid, Davis

But honestly Young, Paul, Mitchell, Beal, Butler, George, Tatum and Towns are also guys who can lead a team on the offensive end. The NBA is incredibly talented. Injuries unfortunately have had a big impact this year (even moreso than before), still there's a lot of parity right now.

And for the near future I believe the combo of Tatum/Brown can be sufficient to win a title when there's more defined roles, cohesion, teamplay and less injuries than we saw this season.

Kinda what I was leading into. That having those stars is less important than team quality, especially as the league is trending more to parity. So, yeah, a Tatum-Brown centric team can win it all. And soon, if the team is built right.

or it is just a weird year creating an abnormal number of injuries and isn't able to be duplicated.  I mean the Heat went to the finals last year and got swept in the 1st round. Boston was in the ecf and out in a non competitive 1st round series. 

And if Giannis plays and Milwaukee wins, the champion will fall right in line with history yet again.

[hpantazo]

Crazy year. Of the Final 4 teams, with Giannis and Kawhi missing all or some games, who was the best player left playing and how does that player rank as top players?

CP3 at maybe top 25-30?
Is Paul George top 20 good?
Is Booker?
Is Trae?

This "Covid Era" of the NBA has thrown conventional rules about who wins titles out the window except one....health. The healthiest teams seem to be the best in this Era. At least for this year, so much for the idea that you need a top 5 player to win it all. You just had to be good AND healthy.

Sadly for the Celtics, like other teams that played a long time in the bubble, they were far from healthy.

It was never about stacking up on conventional top 5 players (there are like 10-11 of them in the league right now so it's really not only 5 guys) - it was always about assembling the best team, and you can achieve that without that level of player.

My eleven superstars (in order of position):

Guards: Curry, Doncic, Harden, Lillard
Wings: Durant, Leonard, Antetokounmpo, James
Bigs: Jokic, Embiid, Davis

But honestly Young, Paul, Mitchell, Beal, Butler, George, Tatum and Towns are also guys who can lead a team on the offensive end. The NBA is incredibly talented. Injuries unfortunately have had a big impact this year (even moreso than before), still there's a lot of parity right now.

And for the near future I believe the combo of Tatum/Brown can be sufficient to win a title when there's more defined roles, cohesion, teamplay and less injuries than we saw this season.

Kinda what I was leading into. That having those stars is less important than team quality, especially as the league is trending more to parity. So, yeah, a Tatum-Brown centric team can win it all. And soon, if the team is built right.

or it is just a weird year creating an abnormal number of injuries and isn't able to be duplicated.  I mean the Heat went to the finals last year and got swept in the 1st round. Boston was in the ecf and out in a non competitive 1st round series. 

And if Giannis plays and Milwaukee wins, the champion will fall right in line with history yet again.

What if Giannis plays and the Suns win the series? People get too narrow minded  with this concept that you need two top tier superstars to win a title. The Suns have a great well rounded team, with a future HOF player in CP3 and someone who in a few years could be viewed as a top 20 player in Booker, and who knows how high Ayton's ceiling is. Yet, some people discard them and their accomplishments due to  preconceived notions driven by media hype.

Lebron is old, AD has never been healthy for very long, Embiid has a long history of injuries, same for  Kawhi, KD and Kyrie. Those guys aren't getting any younger either. You want top tier player narratives? Then why aren't Jokic or Luka or Curry in the Finals?  Or even the Blazers? You have to build a top tier overall team, not two top tier stars  and a bunch of leftovers and over the hill ring chasers.

Put some decent players that fit properly around Tatum, Brown and Smart and this team is in the Finals picture for the next several years.

[td450]

Crazy year. Of the Final 4 teams, with Giannis and Kawhi missing all or some games, who was the best player left playing and how does that player rank as top players?

CP3 at maybe top 25-30?
Is Paul George top 20 good?
Is Booker?
Is Trae?

This "Covid Era" of the NBA has thrown conventional rules about who wins titles out the window except one....health. The healthiest teams seem to be the best in this Era. At least for this year, so much for the idea that you need a top 5 player to win it all. You just had to be good AND healthy.

Sadly for the Celtics, like other teams that played a long time in the bubble, they were far from healthy.

It was never about stacking up on conventional top 5 players (there are like 10-11 of them in the league right now so it's really not only 5 guys) - it was always about assembling the best team, and you can achieve that without that level of player.

My eleven superstars (in order of position):

Guards: Curry, Doncic, Harden, Lillard
Wings: Durant, Leonard, Antetokounmpo, James
Bigs: Jokic, Embiid, Davis

But honestly Young, Paul, Mitchell, Beal, Butler, George, Tatum and Towns are also guys who can lead a team on the offensive end. The NBA is incredibly talented. Injuries unfortunately have had a big impact this year (even moreso than before), still there's a lot of parity right now.

And for the near future I believe the combo of Tatum/Brown can be sufficient to win a title when there's more defined roles, cohesion, teamplay and less injuries than we saw this season.

Kinda what I was leading into. That having those stars is less important than team quality, especially as the league is trending more to parity. So, yeah, a Tatum-Brown centric team can win it all. And soon, if the team is built right.

or it is just a weird year creating an abnormal number of injuries and isn't able to be duplicated.  I mean the Heat went to the finals last year and got swept in the 1st round. Boston was in the ecf and out in a non competitive 1st round series. 

And if Giannis plays and Milwaukee wins, the champion will fall right in line with history yet again.

So what if Giannis wins? The point is that right now, there are no truly dominant players, with the possible exception of Kevin Durant, and he has perhaps a 2 year window and some very talented but also very sketchy co-stars.

Tatum and Brown will be better next year, and they are both already at a stage where they are able to play big against anyone. LeBron may not be over yet, but the LeBron age is over.

[Roy H.]

Crazy year. Of the Final 4 teams, with Giannis and Kawhi missing all or some games, who was the best player left playing and how does that player rank as top players?

CP3 at maybe top 25-30?
Is Paul George top 20 good?
Is Booker?
Is Trae?

This "Covid Era" of the NBA has thrown conventional rules about who wins titles out the window except one....health. The healthiest teams seem to be the best in this Era. At least for this year, so much for the idea that you need a top 5 player to win it all. You just had to be good AND healthy.

Sadly for the Celtics, like other teams that played a long time in the bubble, they were far from healthy.

It was never about stacking up on conventional top 5 players (there are like 10-11 of them in the league right now so it's really not only 5 guys) - it was always about assembling the best team, and you can achieve that without that level of player.

My eleven superstars (in order of position):

Guards: Curry, Doncic, Harden, Lillard
Wings: Durant, Leonard, Antetokounmpo, James
Bigs: Jokic, Embiid, Davis

But honestly Young, Paul, Mitchell, Beal, Butler, George, Tatum and Towns are also guys who can lead a team on the offensive end. The NBA is incredibly talented. Injuries unfortunately have had a big impact this year (even moreso than before), still there's a lot of parity right now.

And for the near future I believe the combo of Tatum/Brown can be sufficient to win a title when there's more defined roles, cohesion, teamplay and less injuries than we saw this season.

Kinda what I was leading into. That having those stars is less important than team quality, especially as the league is trending more to parity. So, yeah, a Tatum-Brown centric team can win it all. And soon, if the team is built right.

or it is just a weird year creating an abnormal number of injuries and isn't able to be duplicated.  I mean the Heat went to the finals last year and got swept in the 1st round. Boston was in the ecf and out in a non competitive 1st round series. 

And if Giannis plays and Milwaukee wins, the champion will fall right in line with history yet again.

I agree with Big Mo.  The best model to winning a title is either two superstars, or one superstar and two really good players.  I don’t think that the playoffs this year tell us a ton.

[jambr380]

my heart was leaning Hawks a tad ,but that said ,   I m glade Bucks won , I think  it helps keep Giannis in Milwaukee and off the Lakers or Heat for now.  He has been pretty loyal to Mil. needed to advance and keep the faith in his team.

You do know that Giannis signed a 5yr/$228M extension this past offseason that will keep him in MIL through at least 2025 (and 2026 if he picks up his $52M PO). Of course players can force their way out, but MIL doesn't have to think about that for several years now, regardless.

Either way, happy to see MIL in the Finals and hope Giannis can go. They built their team the right way - no free superstars wanting to sign there - and Giannis committing to MIL, rather than leaving to team up with others in LA or NY is refreshing. I'll be pulling for them in the Finals.

[BudweiserCeltic]

What stood out to me was the contrast between the celebration of reaching the finals by the Bucks and the Suns. The Suns were having a full-on party since before the game ended.

The Bucks were quite calm, they went about shaking hands with the other team, etc. just like a normal end of a game. But I didn't see the huge spectacle afterwards.

So I thought it was quite interesting.

Anyways, I think the Suns will win the series with or without Giannis.

[Moranis]

Crazy year. Of the Final 4 teams, with Giannis and Kawhi missing all or some games, who was the best player left playing and how does that player rank as top players?

CP3 at maybe top 25-30?
Is Paul George top 20 good?
Is Booker?
Is Trae?

This "Covid Era" of the NBA has thrown conventional rules about who wins titles out the window except one....health. The healthiest teams seem to be the best in this Era. At least for this year, so much for the idea that you need a top 5 player to win it all. You just had to be good AND healthy.

Sadly for the Celtics, like other teams that played a long time in the bubble, they were far from healthy.

It was never about stacking up on conventional top 5 players (there are like 10-11 of them in the league right now so it's really not only 5 guys) - it was always about assembling the best team, and you can achieve that without that level of player.

My eleven superstars (in order of position):

Guards: Curry, Doncic, Harden, Lillard
Wings: Durant, Leonard, Antetokounmpo, James
Bigs: Jokic, Embiid, Davis

But honestly Young, Paul, Mitchell, Beal, Butler, George, Tatum and Towns are also guys who can lead a team on the offensive end. The NBA is incredibly talented. Injuries unfortunately have had a big impact this year (even moreso than before), still there's a lot of parity right now.

And for the near future I believe the combo of Tatum/Brown can be sufficient to win a title when there's more defined roles, cohesion, teamplay and less injuries than we saw this season.

Kinda what I was leading into. That having those stars is less important than team quality, especially as the league is trending more to parity. So, yeah, a Tatum-Brown centric team can win it all. And soon, if the team is built right.

or it is just a weird year creating an abnormal number of injuries and isn't able to be duplicated.  I mean the Heat went to the finals last year and got swept in the 1st round. Boston was in the ecf and out in a non competitive 1st round series. 

And if Giannis plays and Milwaukee wins, the champion will fall right in line with history yet again.

So what if Giannis wins? The point is that right now, there are no truly dominant players, with the possible exception of Kevin Durant, and he has perhaps a 2 year window and some very talented but also very sketchy co-stars.

Tatum and Brown will be better next year, and they are both already at a stage where they are able to play big against anyone. LeBron may not be over yet, but the LeBron age is over.

If the Bucks win with Giannis, then the Bucks fall perfectly in line with basically all but 3 champions in history i.e. they have a top 5 player on their team.  If the Suns win, they would become just the 4th team in history to win a title without a top 5 player.  They happen every so often.  The last time was the 14 Spurs, but that was a team with 4 HOFers in various stages of their careers (TD, Manu, Parker, Kawhi) plus one of the greatest coaches in history.  Before the Spurs it was the 04 Pistons.  Before them it was the 79 Sonics.  That is it at least imo, some might argue the 78 Bullets or the 11 Mavericks, though I've always felt Hayes and Dirk were top 5 players those seasons.  That's it.  Every other champion had an unquestioned top 5 player and many had more than 1. 

I'm just not going to put much historical stock in the last 2 seasons.  The bubble was just weird, with the huge break and no home court.  And this year was a shortened season with less time off between games and a shortened off season, which has lead to BY FAR the most stars being injured and missing playoff games.  Even some that didn't miss games have been hampered (including Paul).  I just don't think you can read anything into these past two seasons.  Now if next year is a more typical season with significantly less star injuries in the playoffs and we still see a team like the Suns make the Finals, then maybe we can start talking about new trends and how things are different. 

[hpantazo]

Crazy year. Of the Final 4 teams, with Giannis and Kawhi missing all or some games, who was the best player left playing and how does that player rank as top players?

CP3 at maybe top 25-30?
Is Paul George top 20 good?
Is Booker?
Is Trae?

This "Covid Era" of the NBA has thrown conventional rules about who wins titles out the window except one....health. The healthiest teams seem to be the best in this Era. At least for this year, so much for the idea that you need a top 5 player to win it all. You just had to be good AND healthy.

Sadly for the Celtics, like other teams that played a long time in the bubble, they were far from healthy.

It was never about stacking up on conventional top 5 players (there are like 10-11 of them in the league right now so it's really not only 5 guys) - it was always about assembling the best team, and you can achieve that without that level of player.

My eleven superstars (in order of position):

Guards: Curry, Doncic, Harden, Lillard
Wings: Durant, Leonard, Antetokounmpo, James
Bigs: Jokic, Embiid, Davis

But honestly Young, Paul, Mitchell, Beal, Butler, George, Tatum and Towns are also guys who can lead a team on the offensive end. The NBA is incredibly talented. Injuries unfortunately have had a big impact this year (even moreso than before), still there's a lot of parity right now.

And for the near future I believe the combo of Tatum/Brown can be sufficient to win a title when there's more defined roles, cohesion, teamplay and less injuries than we saw this season.

Kinda what I was leading into. That having those stars is less important than team quality, especially as the league is trending more to parity. So, yeah, a Tatum-Brown centric team can win it all. And soon, if the team is built right.

or it is just a weird year creating an abnormal number of injuries and isn't able to be duplicated.  I mean the Heat went to the finals last year and got swept in the 1st round. Boston was in the ecf and out in a non competitive 1st round series. 

And if Giannis plays and Milwaukee wins, the champion will fall right in line with history yet again.

So what if Giannis wins? The point is that right now, there are no truly dominant players, with the possible exception of Kevin Durant, and he has perhaps a 2 year window and some very talented but also very sketchy co-stars.

Tatum and Brown will be better next year, and they are both already at a stage where they are able to play big against anyone. LeBron may not be over yet, but the LeBron age is over.

If the Bucks win with Giannis, then the Bucks fall perfectly in line with basically all but 3 champions in history i.e. they have a top 5 player on their team.  If the Suns win, they would become just the 4th team in history to win a title without a top 5 player.  They happen every so often.  The last time was the 14 Spurs, but that was a team with 4 HOFers in various stages of their careers (TD, Manu, Parker, Kawhi) plus one of the greatest coaches in history.  Before the Spurs it was the 04 Pistons.  Before them it was the 79 Sonics.  That is it at least imo, some might argue the 78 Bullets or the 11 Mavericks, though I've always felt Hayes and Dirk were top 5 players those seasons.  That's it.  Every other champion had an unquestioned top 5 player and many had more than 1. 

I'm just not going to put much historical stock in the last 2 seasons.  The bubble was just weird, with the huge break and no home court.  And this year was a shortened season with less time off between games and a shortened off season, which has lead to BY FAR the most stars being injured and missing playoff games.  Even some that didn't miss games have been hampered (including Paul).  I just don't think you can read anything into these past two seasons.  Now if next year is a more typical season with significantly less star injuries in the playoffs and we still see a team like the Suns make the Finals, then maybe we can start talking about new trends and how things are different.

What are your criteria for who is a top 5 player and who isn't?

If we look at the top 5 finishers in the MVP voting this season, they are:

Jokic
Embiid
Curry
Giannis
CP3

So, based on that alone, the Suns have a top 5 player, plus a young star in Booker and a young developing star in Ayton. So wouldn't the Suns also fulfill that criteria and then some?

[RodyTur10]

Crazy year. Of the Final 4 teams, with Giannis and Kawhi missing all or some games, who was the best player left playing and how does that player rank as top players?

CP3 at maybe top 25-30?
Is Paul George top 20 good?
Is Booker?
Is Trae?

This "Covid Era" of the NBA has thrown conventional rules about who wins titles out the window except one....health. The healthiest teams seem to be the best in this Era. At least for this year, so much for the idea that you need a top 5 player to win it all. You just had to be good AND healthy.

Sadly for the Celtics, like other teams that played a long time in the bubble, they were far from healthy.

It was never about stacking up on conventional top 5 players (there are like 10-11 of them in the league right now so it's really not only 5 guys) - it was always about assembling the best team, and you can achieve that without that level of player.

My eleven superstars (in order of position):

Guards: Curry, Doncic, Harden, Lillard
Wings: Durant, Leonard, Antetokounmpo, James
Bigs: Jokic, Embiid, Davis

But honestly Young, Paul, Mitchell, Beal, Butler, George, Tatum and Towns are also guys who can lead a team on the offensive end. The NBA is incredibly talented. Injuries unfortunately have had a big impact this year (even moreso than before), still there's a lot of parity right now.

And for the near future I believe the combo of Tatum/Brown can be sufficient to win a title when there's more defined roles, cohesion, teamplay and less injuries than we saw this season.

Kinda what I was leading into. That having those stars is less important than team quality, especially as the league is trending more to parity. So, yeah, a Tatum-Brown centric team can win it all. And soon, if the team is built right.

or it is just a weird year creating an abnormal number of injuries and isn't able to be duplicated.  I mean the Heat went to the finals last year and got swept in the 1st round. Boston was in the ecf and out in a non competitive 1st round series. 

And if Giannis plays and Milwaukee wins, the champion will fall right in line with history yet again.

So what if Giannis wins? The point is that right now, there are no truly dominant players, with the possible exception of Kevin Durant, and he has perhaps a 2 year window and some very talented but also very sketchy co-stars.

Tatum and Brown will be better next year, and they are both already at a stage where they are able to play big against anyone. LeBron may not be over yet, but the LeBron age is over.

If the Bucks win with Giannis, then the Bucks fall perfectly in line with basically all but 3 champions in history i.e. they have a top 5 player on their team.  If the Suns win, they would become just the 4th team in history to win a title without a top 5 player.  They happen every so often.  The last time was the 14 Spurs, but that was a team with 4 HOFers in various stages of their careers (TD, Manu, Parker, Kawhi) plus one of the greatest coaches in history.  Before the Spurs it was the 04 Pistons.  Before them it was the 79 Sonics.  That is it at least imo, some might argue the 78 Bullets or the 11 Mavericks, though I've always felt Hayes and Dirk were top 5 players those seasons.  That's it.  Every other champion had an unquestioned top 5 player and many had more than 1. 

I'm just not going to put much historical stock in the last 2 seasons.  The bubble was just weird, with the huge break and no home court.  And this year was a shortened season with less time off between games and a shortened off season, which has lead to BY FAR the most stars being injured and missing playoff games.  Even some that didn't miss games have been hampered (including Paul). I just don't think you can read anything into these past two seasons.  Now if next year is a more typical season with significantly less star injuries in the playoffs and we still see a team like the Suns make the Finals, then maybe we can start talking about new trends and how things are different.

I think the difference with previous eras is that back then you had about 5-10 superstars who could be labeled as franchise players, while nowadays there's a lot more talent in the NBA. Now you have about 15-20 players who are really world class on the offensive end.

Neither Young, Morant, Mitchell or Tatum is considered a top 10 player, but they can go toe-to-toe with anyone. Only exception perhaps is Durant. Globalization and modernization in this case has done a great job. Basketball has never been played at such a high level by so many great players.

[gouki88]

Crazy year. Of the Final 4 teams, with Giannis and Kawhi missing all or some games, who was the best player left playing and how does that player rank as top players?

CP3 at maybe top 25-30?
Is Paul George top 20 good?
Is Booker?
Is Trae?

This "Covid Era" of the NBA has thrown conventional rules about who wins titles out the window except one....health. The healthiest teams seem to be the best in this Era. At least for this year, so much for the idea that you need a top 5 player to win it all. You just had to be good AND healthy.

Sadly for the Celtics, like other teams that played a long time in the bubble, they were far from healthy.

It was never about stacking up on conventional top 5 players (there are like 10-11 of them in the league right now so it's really not only 5 guys) - it was always about assembling the best team, and you can achieve that without that level of player.

My eleven superstars (in order of position):

Guards: Curry, Doncic, Harden, Lillard
Wings: Durant, Leonard, Antetokounmpo, James
Bigs: Jokic, Embiid, Davis

But honestly Young, Paul, Mitchell, Beal, Butler, George, Tatum and Towns are also guys who can lead a team on the offensive end. The NBA is incredibly talented. Injuries unfortunately have had a big impact this year (even moreso than before), still there's a lot of parity right now.

And for the near future I believe the combo of Tatum/Brown can be sufficient to win a title when there's more defined roles, cohesion, teamplay and less injuries than we saw this season.

Kinda what I was leading into. That having those stars is less important than team quality, especially as the league is trending more to parity. So, yeah, a Tatum-Brown centric team can win it all. And soon, if the team is built right.

or it is just a weird year creating an abnormal number of injuries and isn't able to be duplicated.  I mean the Heat went to the finals last year and got swept in the 1st round. Boston was in the ecf and out in a non competitive 1st round series. 

And if Giannis plays and Milwaukee wins, the champion will fall right in line with history yet again.

I agree with Big Mo.  The best model to winning a title is either two superstars, or one superstar and two really good players.  I don’t think that the playoffs this year tell us a ton.

Except that the off-season should probably be longer, not shorter