It’s Play-Off Time in Houston
Dear reader, I am so excited. As I write this, it is about 12 hours from the start of the Houston Rockets first NBA Playoff game since September of 2020 - when the Bubble Champion Los Angeles Lakers knocked them out in 5 games. That series loss would lead to Mike D’Antoni and James Harden leaving the Rockets in the off-season, leading to four years of basketball hell. Now, like Dante and Virgil before them, the Rockets have made it through the 9 circles and have entered Paradiso - they are the second seed in the extremely tough Western Conference.
The Rockets have done it with mostly homegrown talent - Jalen Green, Alperen Şengün, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason - but they also have brought in veteran help in Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Stephen Adams, and Uncle Jeff Green, all of whom have a lot of NBA Playoff experience, with Fred and Uncle Jeff having been on Championship winning teams.
Now, I have no delusions. This Rockets team is very good, but they are very young and mostly inexperienced. I am not expecting a Championship - but I am expecting a good run. I think the Rockets could make a run to the Western Conference Finals, but it will be a tough road. They will have to face a very tough Warriors team in the first round, then the winner of the Lakers-Timberwolves series. If they do make it to the WCF, then most likely they will have to face the Oklahoma City Thunder - my pick to win the NBA Championship. Of course, just making the playoffs this year was the goal at the beginning of the season, so even entertaining the idea of a WCF appearance is just the cherry on this delicious basketball sundae.
However, first things first. The Rockets have to exorcise their playoff demons right off the bat - beating the Golden State Warriors. Loyal readers will be familiar with my extreme disdain for the Golden State Warriors. They were the bane of my NBA fandom for years and I thought they would never haunt my dreams again, but death, taxes, and Curry in the playoffs are the three certainties of Houston Rockets fandom. Familiar faces remain - the aforementioned baby faced sniper Steph Curry, the pesky Draymond Green, and the eternally smug faced Coach Steve Kerr. There are also new, equally infuriating players - Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga, and their trade deadline acquisition and playoff monster - Jimmy “Buckets” Butler. The Rockets have a difficult first round match-up - but I’m hoping we can show the world that we are still Clutch City.
Speaking of the Warriors, lets go over my:
(Probably Wrong) Predictions:
NBA Play-In Edition Results
To recap, here were my predictions for the final seeding:
Eastern Conference:
7. Orlando Magic
8. Atlanta Hawks
Western Conference:
7. Memphis Grizzlies
8. Golden State Warriors
And here are the actual results:
So, dear reader, to recap, here are my predictions for the final seeding:
Eastern Conference:
7. Orlando Magic
8. Miami Heat
Western Conference:
7. Golden State Warriors
8. Memphis Grizzlies
I am so disappointed in the Atlanta Hawks. I love Trae Young and I look forward to him in the postseason. I was correct about the Magic beating them however, I just never thought the Miami Heat would be able to pull it together to make it to the playoffs, especially after the unceremonious departure of Mr. Buckets to Golden State. Miami will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs while Orlando will play the Boston Celtics.
Memphis had a chance to grab the 7 seed from the Warriors, but a late game inability to inbound the ball squashed that, allowing the Warriors to take the seven spot to face my Rockets. The Grizzlies would go on to beat the Dallas Mavericks a game that saw Anthony Davis get hurt - surprising no one except Nico Harrison. The Grizzlies will travel to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder, a tough draw for Memphis.
So, while I got 3 out of the 4 teams correct, I was wrong about their seeding, so I have three more WRONG predictions and one shiny CORRECT! result to add to my collection.
Let’s update the (Probably Wrong) Prediction scoreboard:
OVERALL (PROBABLY WRONG) PREDICTION COUNT - 6 CORRECT! - 12 WRONG
That gives me a 33% success rate with my (Probably Wrong) Predictions. Hey, don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’m not an oddsmaker. I’m a Wranter.
Walker’s Weekly Wrecommendations
Each week I’m gonna review and recommend random things - TV shows, music, or a restaurant. IDK. Whatever I feel like. This is my blog.
This week's Triple W is Cixin Liu’s “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” trilogy. The three books “The Three Body Problem”, “The Dark Forest”, and “Death’s End” are beautifully written. I have written about Three Body Problem, but now that I have finished the trilogy, I cannot recommend it enough. The philosophical and moral questions raised by the series are explored with multiple angles - by the end of the ride, you are left wondering if decisions made in the book were correct or not - leading to some deep thinking and introspection. This series is a must read for any sci-fi fan.
NEXT WEEK: Walker’s Wranting’s presents “TBA” - I’m sure I’ll find something to Wrant about this week.