For basketball fans, the NBA finals are the highlights of the year and knowing the champion turns the playoffs into a greater competition. The very first NBA finals were April 16, 1947 and there are 16 teams around the country that play in a 7 game series all the way to the finals.
Does Luka Doncic need to pull a 2011 Nowitzki? That is one of the biggest questions you see in these finals. Luka is putting up miraculous numbers right now such as 45 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. Luka is only 1 of 3 players to average over 32 points per game in the playoffs and is right behind Micheal Jordan.
“Luka is a goat and he should be MVP. I like Mark Cuban so I like the Mavericks and he’s just an insane baller,” senior Will Peterson said.
Our own team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, sought out to be a big challenge for the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round. However, that was the opposite of what happened. The Grizzlies are led by a 6’2 point guard Ja Morant. He is an athletic guard that takes a lot to stop him.
“Ja Morant is one of my new favorite players. This is exactly what I was just talking about. Ja came to play throughout all of the playoffs and this season as well. There was nothing stopping him and you can see that after they beat the Timberwolves in the first round and are fighting through with the warriors right now,” senior Leo Marzolf said.
A big question before the playoffs was if Jayson Tatum could get his offense going again? I think that question has been answered. The Celtics are taking it to the next level and out-competing the reigning NBA champions the Milwakuee Bucks. Jayson Tatum, just like Luka, has put up outstanding numbers in these couple series. Such as 46 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists against the Bucks on May 13th, or 30 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists on May 9th.
“In my opinion I think the Celtics are going to win. They struggled all year and had some bad games, but the way they came and swept the Nets really shows how talented they are and their defense is second to none to be honest. Also Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart have really stepped it up and led them to be super defensively active,” senior Cohen Kellogg said.
Ja Morant put on a show against the Timberwolves. However, the Golden State Warriors are a different story. The Warriors have the splash brothers Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole. Stephen Curry is the best shooter of all time and Klay Thompson doesn’t fall far behind him. They produced a show to watch against the Grizzlies and beat them 4-2 in the 7 game series. 2 games without star player Ja Morant with some knee injury.
“Jordan Poole, he has been standing on an already impressive team. He has been a leader when the starters have been hurt. I think Golden State will win it because they have such a dynamic offense,” senior Eliza Mckown said.
There still are the Phoenix Suns playing the Dallas Mavericks and the Milwakuee Bucks playing the Boston Celtics to see who will be playing in the 2022 NBA semi-finals. The Golden State Warriors and the Miami Heat have already clenched their spot in the semi-finals. The Miami Heat came through with a huge run against the Philadelphia 76ers and Joel Embiid the 7’0 280 pound monster of a player averaging 30.6 points per game, 11.7 rebounds per game and 4.2 assists per game. All around this NBA finals will be the one to watch.