Phoenix Suns through to 2021 NBA Finals

The Phoenix Suns have defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 4-2 and are through to the 2021 NBA Finals. Maybe feel a little but sorry for Steve Balmer who paid $2 billion for the Clippers. They've never made an NBA Finals. Probably, they never will. Hmm...nah, no sympathy from me.

NBA Finals Loom

In the Western Conference we have the LA Clippers and Phoenix Suns facing off, while in the east the Milwaukee Bucks will face either the Philadelphia 76ers or Atlanta Hawks. 

I'm sticking my neck out and predicting the championship will go to the Eastern Conference this year. That's because all remaining teams from the east look stronger than either the Clippers or Suns. Add to that, neither team from the west has ever won an NBA crown, while the Clippers have never even been to a finals. 

If the Clippers manage to pull it off, it must propel Kawhi Leonard to all-time great contention as he'd already pulled the Toronto Raptors up from nowhere. However, toward the end of the series with the Utah Jazz he suffered an injury and may miss early games against the Suns as well. Can the Clippers do it without him?

Of the remaining teams, my personal favourite would be Atlanta. Their one championship came in 1958. That's a long time between drinks. Remember the recent Al Horford era? Everyone got so excited when they had such a good 2015 regular season, but then they just crashed against Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals. If they beat the 76ers in game seven tomorrow, they have the chance to go to the Eastern Conference finals again and get the chance to erase that memory.

NBA Season Going to be a Blast

All that moving around in the off-season has had a real impact. Now it appears just about any team has a realistic chance of beating any other team. Look at the current standings; the Phoenix Suns are winning, partly due to their gaining some muscle, and I'm talking about Aron Baynes of course. Then over in the eastern conference you can throw a blanket over the top eleven teams. They're going to be absolutely throttling one another for a place in the top eight.

Regular readers will know I can be critical of regular season play in the NBA. I have statistically proven there is a tendency for teams to play 'I have a go, you have a go', meaning they don't contest possession often enough. This has the effect of padding individual player stats, self-interest amongst pro's is a real thing, and saves their bodies. Once the play-offs start, it's all on, do or die. But with this current spread of talent all bets appear to be off.

There is a movie just out about the betting scandal that rocked the NBA. It's called Inside Game, read about it here: https://deadline.com/2019/08/inside-game-tim-donaghy-scandal-movie-release-date-1202661501/  In the mid 2000's there were several highly suspect games refereed by Tim Donaghy, which in hindsight we now know turned out to be influenced by him. But right now, it can't happen as any calls will be noticeable, more so than back then, given the even spread of talent across the league.

I'm sticking with my picks about which team is looking good and which is not, read about that here: https://kenhorlor.blogspot.com/2019/10/nba-season-201920.html