Happy Monday!
So this weekend I restocked some Principle Cigar blends and added some new ones to the site. One of the new ones was a different vitola of the Accomplice Maduro I have carried in other vitolas. It is a 4 1/2 x 46 Perfecto and is a tasty little treat. It accompanied this morning while I did some work at the bench.
Alright, well the conference finals matchups are set in the NBA Playoffs. I figured it was the perfect time to discuss how wrong my predictions were back on 04/17. The Celtics are the only team I got right. What a wild playoffs so far. The ECFs matchup is the Celtics and Pacers, and the WCFs matchup is the Mavs and Timberwolves.
I am definitely the least surprised by the Celtics and Timberwolves - though I really did not expect the Timberwolves to get out of that series against the Nuggets. What a record breaking game 7 win that was for them! I will be interested to see how that energy carries over into the conference finals against this Mavs team that has really found their stride. I think the Timberwolves should handle them fairly easily given their defensive prowess, however, it is still Luka and Kyrie..
As for the East, I am unsure how I feel about the Pacers making it into the ECFs. Number 1, they got some breaks in the first two rounds (obviously the Celtics did too, but the Celtics also should have had no issues anyway). The Pacers took down the second seed Bucks thanks to some critical injuries, and they took down the two seed Knicks thanks to an overworked and unhealthy roster. That being said, this Pacers squad is good. They play fast, they move the ball, and they have a couple good defenders that can muck up an offense - or at least rough them up.
The Pacers did best the Celtics in 2 out of 5 games this regular season. However, only 1 of those games was with this current lineup. Then again, KP will be out of the C’s rotation for at least a couple games.
I think the Celtics should cruise along fairly well to a 4-2 series win over the Pacers. I am also calling it that Jaylen Brown should win the Larry Bird trophy, but I am sure Tatum will end up with it. The “#1” on a team always seems to - think Jimmy Butler winning it over Caleb Martin last year. Granted that could be argued that JB was a beast all playoffs (till the finals), but then again, Caleb Martin came through in the most important series.
All that said, the Celtics can’t sleep on this Pacers squad. They need to match intensity and pace and protect the ball at all cost. This Pacers team will beat them on points off turnovers.
As for the West, I am going with the Wolves. I actually feel like this series has potential to be better than the East, but I think it’ll be over in 5. The games will be close but the series won’t be. Of course Ant Man will get the Magic Johnson trophy, and he’ll be deserving.
Take care and have a good week,
-Trevor