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Leonard wasn't even at the Arena tonight. Not a good look for his future with the Spurs.
Leonard's injury is certainly a mysterious one. As much as I don't like the Spurs, I can't help but wonder what is going on with the relationship between the team and Kawhi.
East:
Raptors in 6
Cavs in 5
Sixers in 6
Celtics in 6.
Wiz aren't winning, but the Raptors like to keep series interesting. I can see the Wiz winning game 1 or game 2 in Toronto than probably game 3 in Washington before the Raps turn it on. Cavs haven been playing like crap but still got to pick them in the playoffs. I love this Sixers team, but feel they may have peeked a little too early. How they respond coming off a loss will be a key to this series. I don't think any of the top 4 East seeds are losing, but I'd pick the Heat as the most likely team to upset that East apple cart. Giannis can win 1 or 2 games for the Bucks and can expand this series a couple extra games with all the injuries the Celtics have, but the Bucks aren't a serious threat to win this series. The Celtics will have problems the next series regardless of who they play, but they'll get through this relatively unscathed.
West:
Rockets in 4
Warriors in 5
Blazers over Pelicans in 7
Jazz over Thunder in 6.
Rockets won't have much trouble. I could see the T'Wolves winning 1 game. Warriors should dispatch the Spurs pretty easily too. Remember last year when this was the Western Conference Final?? Blazers Pelicans will be a great series, and both teams seem evenly matched. I can't see how this series ends before game 6 and I would pick this series as the "series most likely to go to a game 7." Jazz were an overachieving team this year while the Thunder underrachieved. I say the Jazz split in Oklahoma games 1 & 2 and close them out in game 6.
Assuming these predictions hold out (and there's about a 100% chance it won't happen) here's the rest of my picks:
East:
Cavs over Raptors in 7, Sixers over Celtics in 6, Cavs over Sixers in 7.
West:
Rockets over Jazz in 7, Warriors over Blazers in 6, Warriors over Rockets in 7.
Yawn another Golden State Cleveland finals. I'll take Warriors over the Cavs in 6 games.
I see the Warriors finishing off the Rockets in six games should they be at full strength. Otherwise, Rockets in six.
Leonard's injury is certainly a mysterious one. As much as I don't like the Spurs, I can't help but wonder what is going on with the relationship between the team and Kawhi.
In my opinion, the rift is between Leonard and Popovitch. And since Leonard is such a quiet, unassuming guy, he doesn't know how to confront the situation--publicly or privately. So "I'm indefinitely injured even though I've been cleared" is how he chooses to handle it. The problem is, even if Leonard has a legit gripe, the odd behavior is casting a cloud over him.
Over the years, the media has drooled over Popovitch's style so much, that he has become a rock star in the NBA world. To me, he has become manufactured and calculated, and he annoys the crap out of me. His postgame remarks after Game 1 are just another example of this.
It is quite possible that a quiet personality like Leonard just doesn't feel he is equipped to stand up to Popovitch, and/or win a public war against such a fixture in that organization. I'm speculating of course. But there is no way that Leonard is still injured, given that his teammates have started calling him out over the past month, and that he wasn't even on the bench yesterday. If this was a dispute with a player, I think it would be out in the open and handled. Again, the only untouchable, true rock star in that organization is Popovitch.
I think a #8 beating a #1 in a 7 game series has happened only once or so (due to decimating injuries) so did I miss some news or is this something else that would make it not a surprise?
They just look evenly matched to me...don’t see anything about the Raptors that makes me think “wow they’re good”.
Also, I knew there was something off with the Spurs and Leonard.
When I posted on this forum months ago of a possible discord between the two, some poo poo'd the notion that there was anything wrong and it was making a mountain out of a molehill.
Well, what say you now prior doubters?
I think Leonard will be gone from the Spurs. It's never good when your leaders such as Parker openly question your character about not playing due to an injury.
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