The first round of the Play In tournament could not have gone better.
Sure the quality of basketball wassometimesoften times pretty gross, but who cares.
Which brings us to Round 2.
Instead, just pray we get two more entertaining games on the eve of the real NBA Playoffs.
Let’s break it down.
It’s pretty simple, both teams had rather underachieving seasons.
Heading into tonight, I’m not sure the vibes around each team could be more different.
Shocking, I know.
We never hear the Heat are in on a star player, so this is a refreshing change.
Pat Riley has no shame, I’ll give him that.
The Bulls, on the other hand, their vibe could not be more different.
That’s not hyperbole either.
In terms of talent, these rosters aren’t all that close.
So much is made about their shooting woes, but the defense has flat out stunk for months.
Since the ASB, this is the 22nd ranked defense.
The Hawks, yes the Hawks, got whatever they wanted with relative ease.
We know that the Heat do not have quality wing/perimeter defenders outside of Butler.
Well guess who the best players are on the Bulls?
Who on the Heat is going to prevent DeRozan from getting to his spots?
Let’s say that’s Butler, OK. Who is stopping Zach LaVine?
A guy who just did this?
In terms of the bigs, how confident are you as a Heat fan that Bam actually shows up?
The way he disappears in these big games is so bizarre.
This isn’t exactly new, but it is surprising that we’re still seeing it.
On the other end, life is going to be much harder for Kyle Lowry.
They needed 33 from him just to stay close against the Hawks, but this is not Trae Young.
Pat Bev and Alex Caruso are MUCH better defensively, so that’s a bit of an issue.
That doesn’t mean they have no shot though.
The problem is they’re going to have to be close to perfect.
They have more offensive versatility, a better defense, and more top end talent.
I think it’s fair to say it’d be a choke if they didn’t get it done.
In one corner you have the Thunder, where the vibes could not be better.
Not only have they been playing with house money, but they actually look awesome!
In the other corner, you have the Wolves, who look like they may be ready for Cancun.
The Thunder play small and fast.
They do not have a center.
I imagine he’ll get the Anthony Edwards assignment, which should be awesome to watch.
The Wolves mortgaged their entire future so that they could play big.
Will he actually be aggressive or will he settle for jumpers/get stupid fouls?
The potential issue there is if Gobert is in drop, good luck.
The same is true for Josh Giddey (although he’s been getting better from deep).
It’s also pretty important that Anthony Edwards snaps out of whatever that was against the Lakers.
Maybe it was an injury, who knows.
The point is, he can’t no show two games in a row.
Personally, I don’t think he will which is why I’m excited for this game.
I can get behind a Edwards vs SGA battle and you should too.
It’s not like there’s an Anthony Davis on the other end waiting for him.
If he does that, it should be enough.
