Among the five players who have sold the most jerseys in the second half of the season in the NBA, there is only one who is not in the playoffs that start tonight Is about Luka Doncic. The 77 of the Slovenian in the Mavericks is behind LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Doncic is fifth on the list, but he’s already on vacation. He can think of the World Cup that starts at the end of August or the numerous criticisms that his season finale has received and that have focused on his defense and his disturbing physical condition that many associate with excess kilos. But that is another story.
The American League playoffs start more open than ever in recent seasons. There are data that corroborate it, especially in the West. The Denver Nuggets are the conference leader with the worst winning percentage since 1979. and is the first time in 35 years that only two teams, the Nuggets and Grizzlies, have been able to surpass fifty victories. In the East, Bucks, Celtics and Sixers are one step ahead of the rest, but equality is also maximum.
And in this scenario there two Spanish protagonists. One on the track and one on the bench. Ricky Rubio he returns to the playoffs four years after his last foray with the Utah Jazz. He does it with the Cavaliers, from fourth place in the East, and he will have the Knicks in front. “We are a young and hungry team,” says the base of El Masnou. Ricky reappeared on January 12 after more than a year injured in his left knee and has become a reference in the locker room and a staple in the second unit of the Cavaliers. In 33 games his numbers do not stand out (5.2 points and 3.5 assists in 17:20), but his rise in the team goes beyond statistics.
The other Spaniard is sitting on the bench of the Kings de Sacramento. Jordi Fernandez He is a classic as an assistant in the NBA. On December 14 against the Raptors, he became the first coach of Spanish origin to direct a game in the American League. The Kings won and the team from the capital of the state of California has become one of the surprises of the season. They added 17 years without reaching the playoffs, the negative record among the major league franchises in the country, and they have finished third in the West. “We would not be being fair with our work dynamics this season if we were satisfied with having come this far,” he assured in an interview with Efe. The team is led by Sabonis’ youngest son, Domantas., born in Portland, trained in Malaga and who should be among the candidates for MVP. The problem for the Kings is that the madness that the West has become this season has given them a first round against the Warriors.
The two franchises that have the most followers in their Conference, Warriors and Lakers, sixth and seventh, represent the chaos of the West like no other. Both fight history. Since 2003, the seventh team in the conference has only been able to win one playoff and no sixth or seventh seed has reached the conference finals..
The irregularity of the Warriors has had an unexpected final prize. If those from the San Francisco Bay were allowed to choose a rival weeks ago, they would have chosen the Kings. The two cities are separated by just 140 kilometers and the defending champions arrive with a full squad. If Wiggins is fully recovered, the team is even better than the one that beat the Celtics 4-2 in the Finals a year ago. “If we are all healthy…”, threatens Klay Thompson. Nobody passes the ball like them, nobody has as much experience, they add 27 consecutive playoff series winning at least one game as visitors, the hard core accumulates four rings (2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022)… and they march through the infield in which the Nuggets and the Suns are not.
Because nobody wanted those from Arizona in the first round and the prize went to the Los Angeles Clippers who don’t have Paul George. The trio formed by Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant generates panic before starting. The Suns haven’t lost to Durant and his matchup with Kawhi Leonard is the star first-round matchup. The winner will cross paths with the Nuggets.
The return of LeBron
On the other side are LeBron James’ Lakers, who guaranteed their presence among the best by beating the Timberwolves in the first play-in game after extra time. After the failure of the last course, LeBron, at 38 years old and with 20 seasons in the League, returns to where he has almost always been at this time of the year. They are his sixteenth playoffs, although the fifth ring seems like a chimera. And that the Lakers, although it sounds incredible, are the best team in the League since the closing of the winter market on January 9 with a record of 18/9. Nobody defends like them and the roster changes have taken immediate effect to accompany LeBron’s incredible 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 35:30 minutes. If Anthony Davis recovers his best level – in the Grizzlies his starting center Steven Adams is low -…
In the East everything that is not a conference final between the Celtics and the Bucks will be a surprise. The alternative is in Philadelphia with the Sixers, but the performance of Joel Embiid and James Harden together in the playoffs remains to be seen. The Brooklyn Nets, without Durant and Irving, are no match, but having the NBA’s leading scorer and passer together doesn’t guarantee anything. The Sixers are the best team in the league since the second week of December, but the Bucks and Celtics have given the impression of being reserved for many moments of the season waiting to enter the jungle of the playoffs.