When you turn on ESPN, NBA TV, or if anyone watches Fox Sports, what are the stories you hear everyday? Golden State. How do you beat Golden State? What’s up with Boston? Lakers, LeBron, Lakers, and more LeBron. That’s usually what you get if you watch the main networks when they’re talking basketball. Usually I like doing my numbers by 5’s and 10’s because I’m a weirdo, but I went through this entire NBA season and I found 7 stories that’s been happening this season and they’ve gone completely unnoticeable in the eyes of the mainstream media.
1, Blake Griffin is Great Again.
It sucks so bad that this version of Blake Griffin is stuck in Detroit. He’s playing great basketball and he’s carrying the Detroit Pistons back into the playoffs and nobody is talking about this. Sure you saw the spotlight on Blake when he had a 50 point night, or when he almost murdered that fan a couple weeks ago. He’s averaging the most points in his career, 24.7 a game, 7.5 rebounds, and also shooting the highest three point percentage of his career. More importantly though he’s healthy and he’ reminding basketball fans that he’s a star. Blake is back and it’s good for the game of basketball. We all do this and it’s one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to sports. When a player gets really famous and his approval rating is through the roof, we immediately jump back and find ways to shit on the guy. That’s what happened to Blake. When the Clippers run didn’t work out, got handed a loaded contract, and then was sidelined with injuries, people turned on Blake. It’s time to jump back on the Blake Griffin bandwagon.
2, Kawhi Leonard has Missed A Lot of Games.
No seriously Kawhi Leonard has only played in 54 games this year. That’s one more game than LeBron James, and the media talks about LeBron missing time any chance they get. Kawhi Leonard is still putting up great numbers, and the Raptors haven’t missed a step mainly because of the breakout year from Pascal Siakim and the resurrection of Serge Ibaka. The Raptors will be fine, but Leonard missing time should be looked at carefully before some team backs up the Brink’s truck in his driveway.
3, The Kings Have a Number 2.
I’ll admit I was wrong. Marvin Bagley has played really well. The Kings are with the Nets, Hawks, and Bulls as one of the most excited non playoff teams to watch. Bagley is showing that he can be a solid number two behind Fox. Bagley has missed some games due to injury, but when he’s been healthy he’s averaging close to 15 and 7 a night. What’s more important is his potential in developing a consistent three point shot. Sacramento was on pace to make the playoffs, but as soon as Bagley suffered injuries their momentum vanished. The Kings are a team on the rise and you can make the argument that if Bagley was healthy he’d be in the Rookie of the Year conversation with Doncic and Trae Young.
4, The Market for Bojan Bogdanovic is Rising.
Before I get into the rise of Bojan, does anybody hate the Indiana Pacers? Honestly how can you not love what they’re doing without Victor Oladipo. It’s incredible. Anyways, Bojan Bogdanovic deserves more love. Sucks that Indiana will probably lose him, but he’s a solid 3, great 4 on a real championship contending team. Tough on defense, and a spot up shooter that is lights out from all over the court. People give more love to Khris Middleton, but the number he posts up with Bojan are nearly identical. Middleton tops him on defense with better numbers in rebounds, blocks, and steals. Bogdanovic tops him on offense with better shooting percentages and more points per game. Identical players and I can’t wait to see what type of contracts they get this summer.
5, Bulls vs. Hawks: NBA’s Next Great Rivalry.
These two teams are going to be linked together for the next 10 years. When fans and anyalists compare young rebuilding teams in the NBA they usually compare the Bulls and Hawks. Just ask Bobby Marks on twitter. We’ve seen the feud building with these two teams on the court. The back to back we saw in the beginning of March. That 3OT game is like a top 10 game of the 2018/2019 season, and two days later they met again at the UC where that game went down to the wire and you saw Kris Dunn literally slap Trae Young’s head. Right now you have Philly and Boston, and soon the East is going to have Chicago and Atlanta. Two passionate fan bases, two energetic cities, and two teams with great young talent.
6, Dame’s Run.
Damian Lillard is having a season to remember. An All NBA type season, and the sad thing is, nobody seems to care. NBA fans are taking Dame for granted and of course we are. We take him for granted because we know how the story ends. They’ll make the playoffs, be anywhere between the 3rd and 6th seed, maybe make it out of the first round and their journey ends there. For my Chicago readers, the Trail Blazers are like Franksville and Damian Lillard is like the gyro. When you pull up in the drive thru you know what you’re getting and you know you’re going to leave feeling full and satisfied. Every time and it never fails. Lillard is incredible and he’ll probably end up in the Hall of Fame. I really wish the media would talk about him more, and maybe they will if they make beat one of the super teams in the West.
7, The Potential Second Round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
The 2nd round of the playoffs in the East is honestly bigger than the NBA Finals. You’re going to have the Bucks where the entire world will be locked in on Giannis. They’re going to be dissecting every move, and if he loses, the entire offseason the question will be asked, “is he good enough to win by himself?” You have the Raptors who went all in acquiring Kawhi Leonard and Marc Gasol. They finally look like they can make a legit run at the NBA Finals, and in all honesty they look like they can actually win the championship. If they exit early, Kawhi is probably gone to LA. You have Philly. If not now, when? Joel Embiid is playing like an MVP, and they have two, two-way workhorses in Butler and Tobias Harris. Ben Simmons will be the reason why Philly wins or loses, and if Philly loses can they actually move Ben Simmons? It’s not out of the question. And then there are the Celtics. People don’t realize this, but the Celtics can go right back into a rebuild. One, Kyrie is not coming back and if they lose in the second there’s definitely no way he’s coming back. I don’t see the Celtics over paying Marcus Morris like some other teams that are desperate for big man shooting, same thing goes for Terry Rozier with how desperate teams are with getting a good point guard, and Al Horford might opt out of his deal to get a long term contract with less money for some stability as he’s getting older. The Celtics are on the verge of being in big trouble with only Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and a less than 100% Gordon Hayward with an un-tradable contract to work with. They need to at least make it to the Eastern Conference Finals.
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