The defending champs and the team who many thought could win the championship this year are both out of the playoffs. This is what we all love about the playoffs. The intensity level goes up and the unexpected happens.
On May 12, the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler defeated the Philadelphia 76ers and Joel Embid. The Heat are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, but most analysts thought the 76ers still had a chance to win with Embid and James Harden. Embid was out the first two games because of injury, which Miami fairly easily won. Then, as soon as Embid came back in Game 3, the tone of the series changed.
Joel’s presence completely swung the pendulum back to Philadelphia’s favor. He led them to victories in Games 3 and 4, and even Harden stepped up and scored 31 points in Game 4. Everyone, at this point, knew the 76ers would continue to steamroll the Heat to a series win. But it wasn’t meant to be. Harden reverted to his old ways and wasn’t enough help in Games 5 and 6.
Embid didn’t play with the same spark after finding out he was the MVP runner-up to Nikola Jokic for the second straight year. Even though Embid continued to play fairly well, the injury might have slowed him some, as Jimmy Buckets played stellar and led his team to the series victory.
Even more surprising was the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks falling Sunday. The Celtics were playing elite level basketball by sweeping the New Jersey Nets out of the playoffs in the first round. However no one thought they could beat the mighty Bucks. Milwaukee didn’t have one of their star players in Khris Middleton the whole series, but the Bucks were still favored to win.
Milwaukee’s plan started great in Game 1 as star center Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied a triple-double with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists. Jrue Holiday picked up the slack of the missing Middleton by scoring 25 and sparking the Bucks to a 101-89 win. Everything seemed in order for Milwaukee to move on to the conference championship round. But Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the stifling defense of Boston had other ideas. They won Games 2 and 4, sandwiched around Milwaukee’s Game 3 win.
Holiday and The Greek Freak again showed who was boss as they led the Bucks to a gutsy win in the pivotal Game 5 in Boston. Everyone again thought that, for sure, the series was over as Milwaukee was headed back to their home court to close out the Celtics in six games. Boston would thwart the victory party again by following the coattails of Jayson Tatum’s stellar 46 point game and their impenetrable defense.
After the Celtics’ 108-95 drubbing, the Bucks would surely rise to the occasion. Celtics Grant Williams and Tatum made sure the victory party was theirs. Lights out Milwaukee.
So now there will be a new champion. With Embid and Antetokounmpo gone, who will step up and claim their place? Who will be the next great NBA championship team?
Article by: Chris Steele, iHearts143Quotes Team member
