2020-2021 NBA Playoff Bracket and Analysis

This is giving me a ridiculously frustrating time right now, so I'll come back to this and format it later when I have some use of my eyes...good luck trying to read it...Tried 6 different times to format it, and nothing worked, so I'll just come back to it East Philly 4-2 over Washington Brooklyn 4-2 over Boston Heat 4-2 over Milwaukee Atlanta 4-2 over Knicks Philly 4-2 over Atlanta Heat 4-2 over Brooklyn Philly 4-3 over Heat West Utah 4-3 over Memphis Phoenix 4-2 over Lakers Denver 4-3 over Portland Clippers 4-3 over Dallas Utah 4-2 over Clippers Phoenix 4-2 over Denver Phoenix 4-3 over Utah NBA FINALS Phoenix over Philly 4-2 2020-2021 NBA CHAMPIONS Phoenix Suns Kind of a short synopsis for now, and maybe I'll go back and adjust it when I have more ability to use my eyes. A lot of this stuff is from earlier assessment, and I haven’t had the chance to go over any changes recently, but I still pretty much have an idea of the thought process behind these picks, assuming health, and assuming whatever rotatioo decisions are made aren’t too much of a surprise... Starting with this Heat- Milwaukee rematch, I think both teams kind of got a little better in certain areas, and also got a little worse in other areas, so that should be interesting to look out for. I felt like last year, while I did think the Heat would win, Milwaukee was hurt by the lack of any adjustment to their rotation, with certain players sitting that I felt would have a potential impact on the series. It should be interesting to see what Budenholzer does this year, with arguably a higher leverage situation for him. I think Milwaukee could get big offensive contributions from Bobby Portis, making jumpshots, as well as Bryn Forbes, and I could see someone like Donte Divincenzo or Pat Connaughton causing some problems at the guard spot, away from certain attention. Jrue Holiday is also an upgrade from what they had last year, with his size potentially being difficult to deal with on both ends. I also am still a little worried about the matchup with Brook Lopez, as I was last year, so those are things to watch out for. I also am not sure about what Trevor Ariza's contributions guarding Giannis might look like in comparison to Jae Crowder, and when factoring Crowder's big time shooting last year, that could be a big deal. I still think the Heat have enough to throw at Giannis defensively, and he is going to have to either make more jumpshots, or become more of a facilitator in certain moments, which are areas he hasn’t been able to overcome previously. For the Heat, their guards are going to have to come up big, and they need to knock down shots, and rebound. I feel like if they do those things, they should be fine, although I think this will be a lot closer than last year, even factoring the multiple close games in what was a short series last time. I am curious to see how the Heat decide to go with their rotation, as that has been unclear throughout this season. If things don’t go well, turning to young guys like KZ Okpala and Precious Achiuwa to give them length, and another defensive look at Giannis might be the move, but it might be hard to do that, unless one of them gives them something offensively. Nemanja Bjelica feels like he should matter in this series, with the Heat losing the element of a floor spacing big when they moved Kelly Olynyk. He can also potentially help mitigate some of the matchup problems I outlined earlier. I wouldn’t mind seeing him in a situation where maybe Portis is at the 5, and he might be able to put the ball on the floor, and make plays for the Heat in those scenarios, with Portis not being a great defender. Obviously, another factor to consider in this series is Giannis did tweak his ankle last year, and the Heat were also banged up. Those first 2 games are probably going to be extremely important in the outcome of this series, and I'm curious to see how Milwaukee responds to what happened last year, as well as how focused the Heat will be to get back to where they were, and finish unsettled business. The Heat are still playing with that chip on their shoulder, after being overlooked, and a little disrespected recently. If Butler and Bam come out aggressive, and they get something from any of their guards, I think they hold off, outside of a potential back breaking performance by Khris Middleton

After Trade Deadline/Buyouts 2020-2021 NBA Predictions (1st week of April, 2021)

East	West
1. Philadelphia 76ers	1. Utah Jazz
2. Brooklyn Nets	2. Phoenix Suns
3. Milwaukee Bucks	3. Denver Nuggets
4. Boston Celtics	4. Los Angeles Clippers
5. Atlanta Hawks	5. Portland Trail Blazers
6. Miami Heat	6. Dallas Mavericks
7. New York Knickss	7. Los Angeles Lakers
8. Washington Wizards	8. Memphis Grizzlies
9. Indiana Pacers	9. Golden State Warriors
10. Charlotte Hornets	10. San Antonio Spurs
11. Chicago Bulls	11. New Orleans Pelicans
12. Toronto Raptors	12. Sacramento Kings
13. Cleveland Cavaliers	13. Oklahoma City Thunder
14. Orlando Magic	14. Houston Rockets
15. Detroit Pistons	15. Minnesota Timberwolves

Eastern Finals  

Philly over Heat

West Finals

 Phoenix/Denver/Lakers over Utah

NBA Finals

I'm going with Phoenix. I feel like they have strong versatility, and if healthy, can matchup with anyone. Its very close between them, Denver, and Utah, and I can throw the Lakers in there, and I think they edge those teams out, although its obviously hard to pick againsst Lebron and Anthony Davis carrying them, but I also think they made themselves worse by signing Andre Drummond

2020-2021 NBA Champions

Phoenix Suns

After All Star Break/Pre Trade Deadline 2020/2021 NBA predictions

East	West
1. Philadelphia 76ers	1. Utah Jazz
2. Brooklyn Nets	2. Los Angeles Lakers
3. Milwaukee Bucks	3. Phoenix Suns
4. Miami Heat	4. Los Angeles Clippers
5. Charlotte Hornets	5. Portland Trail Blazers
6. Boston Celtics	6. Denver Nuggets
7. Indiana Pacers	7. San Antonio Spurs
8. Toronto Raptors	8. Dallas Mavericks
9. Atlanta Hawks	9. Golden State Warriors
10. New York Knicks	10. Memphis Grizzlies
11. Chicago Bulls	11. Oklahoma City Thunder
12. Washington Wizards	12. New Orleans Pelicans
13. Cleveland Cavaliers	13. Sacramento Kings
14. Orlando Magic	14. Houston Rockets
15. Detroit Pistons	15. Minnesota Timberwolves

Eastern Finals  

Philly over Milwaukee

West Finals

 Lakers over Utah/Clippers

NBA Finals

I'm going to have to stick with LeBron again, for now. Multiple possibilities still there.

2020-2021 NBA Champions

LeBron James and Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers)

2020/2021 End of Preseason NBA Predictions

East	West
1. Boston Celtics	1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Philadelphia 76ers	2. Dallas Mavericks
3. Milwaukee Bucks	3. Los Angeles Clippers
4. Miami Heat	4. Denver Nuggets
5. Toronto Raptors	5. Portland Trail Blazers
6. Brooklyn Nets	6. Utah Jazz
7. Detroit Pistons	7. Phoenix Suns
8. Indiana Pacers	8. Houston Rockets
9. Washington Wizards	9. Memphis Grizzlies
10. Charlotte Hornets	10. New Orleans Pelicans
11. Orlando Magic	11. Golden State Warriors
12. Atlanta Hawks	12. San Antonio Spurs
13. Cleveland Cavaliers	13. Sacramento Kings
14. Chicago Bulls	14. Oklahoma City Thunder
15. New York Knicks	15. Minnesota Timberwolves

Eastern Finals  

Boston over Heat/Bucks

West Finals

 Lakers over Dallas/Clippers/Denver

NBA Finals

I'm going to have to stick with LeBron again after that preseason, for now. Multiple possibilities still there.

2020-2021 NBA Champions

LeBron James and Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers)

Top 50 NBA players heading into 2020-2021?

Every year, I generally follow some others in putting together my list of top players heading into that season, usually with what they did the previous season, and projecting production for that upcoming year. It started as a top 25, ended up as a top 32 last year, and kind of evolved into a top 50. I'll post my list heading into last year, which had some misses, as a barometer for my list for this year, and you see where changes were made to accommodate young players, or the improvement of others, as well as veteran players declining. There are numerous valuable rotation players that didnt make this list, but that doesnt mean they arent valuable pieces....

2019-2020 list	2020-2021 list
1. LeBron James	1. LeBron James
2. Kawhi Leonard	2. Kevin Durant*
3. Anthony Davis	3. Kawhi Leonard
4. Joel Embiid	4. Anthony Davis
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo	5. Joel Embiid
6. Paul George	6. Giannis Antetokounmpo
7. Stephen Curry	7. Jimmy Butler
8. Bradley Beal	8. Luka Doncic
9. Nikola Jokic	9. Stephen Curry
10. Jimmy Butler	10. Bradley Beal
11. Karl Anthony-Towns	11. Nikola Jokic
12. Chris Paul	12. Chris Paul
13. Damian Lillard	13. Karl Anthony-Towns
14. Russel Westbrook	14. Damian Lillard
15. Kyle Lowry	15. Khris Middleton
16. Kyrie Irving	16. Paul George
17. James Harden	17. Russell Westbrook
18. Rudy Gobert	18. Kyle Lowry
19. Marc Gasol	19. Jaylen Brown
20. Al Horford	20. Jayson Tatum
21. Pascal Siakam	21. Kyrie Irving
22. Mike Conley	22. James Harden
23. Blake Griffin	23. Rudy Gobert
24. Draymond Green	24. Bam Adebayo
25. Nic Vucevic	25. Devin Booker
26. Jrue Holiday	26. Pascal Siakam
27. Ben Simmons	27. Nic Vucevic
28. Donovan Mitchell	28. Jrue Holiday
29. Luka Doncic	29. Ben Simmons
30. De'Aaron Fox	30. Donovan Mitchell
31. CJ McCollum	31. Marc Gasol
	32. Al Horford
	33. Ja Morant
	34. John Wall
	35. Victor Oladipo
	36. Kristaps Porzingis
	37. Blake Griffin
	38. De'Aaron Fox
	39. CJ McCollum
	40. Brandon Ingram
	41. Gordon Hayward
	42. Draymond Green
	43. Myles Turner
	44. Goran Dragic
	45. Jamal Murray
	46. Mike Conley
	47. Trae Young
	48. Jonas Valanciunas
	49. Jusuf Nurkic
	50. Domantas Sabonis

Will Atlanta's Free Agent spending get them to the Playoffs?

Last season saw Atlanta add more versatile youth to their roster, and the continued development of Trae Young as a lead guard. As the season went on, we saw Cam Reddish continue to get more comfortable offensively, while giving them much needed defense at multiple positions at times, as well as DeAndre Hunter showing flashes of what allowed him to be a starting wing for his entire first full season. Kevin Huerter had some injuries, but showed more playmaking ability, while continuing to space the floor at a high level for them, and giving them some of the better defense on their roster. John Collins has shown to be a really good offensive player, but I personally think he should probably play the 5 on a team with good defense around him, or next to a really strong defensive 5 that can defend the perimeter, and lengthy, disruptive wings. There are ways to put lineups around him on this roster, but it isnt the perfect fit, as constructed. I see him as a really good option for them as a scorer off the bench. It should be interesting to see if they decide to keep him, especially after some of the moves they made in the offseason.

Heading into the offseason, it was clear Atlanta needed to do something to improve their defense significantly, as well as their league worst 33.3% 3 point shooting percentage. Outside of continued development from within, they needed a playmaker that can defend, and play next to Trae Young in certain lineups, and they needed defense, and some added shooting from the 3/4 spots. They had a lot of money to spend in Free Agency, and they're super young, so it was probably time to add some veterans, and not necessarily try to develop too many people at the same time, but I think there were ways for them to continue to upgrade intelligently in free agency, while also allowing their young players to get better.

With Kris Dunn and Solomon Hill, as well as drafting Onyeka Okongwu, they did exactly what they needed to do, grabbing 2 of the top available options for them on my personal list, and by adding Rajon Rondo, they improved their team's basketball IQ significantly. Kris Dunn gives them that playmaker that can defend multiple positions, and play next to Trae Young. He could potentially be a really significant piece for them, and could be a perfect fit next to Young to allow him to play off the ball, and maximize their shooters, while also allowing them to hide him on defense. Solomon Hill used his time with the Miami Heat well, and should give them strong minutes defensively, and space the floor well enough to be a good fit around the rest of their wing rotation. I thought they could use another player like him, someone along the lines of a Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Sterling Brown, Shaq Harrison type, with the more expensive options ending up elsewhere.

Instead, they decided to spend their money on Danilo Gallinari and Bogdan Bogdanovic. Offensively, they should make them a potentially high scoring team, with lineups that could put a lot of shooters on the floor, although with arguably multiple players that need the ball in their hands. Defensively, I question this team's ability to make them competitive enough to make the playoffs. I think they have the ability to be one of the teams fighting for a playoff race, but I think they still need to make a move or 2 for that to happen this season, which is entirely possible, as they have a lot of assets to use, as well as young players they can potentially trade, with some redundancy on their roster.

Trae Young
Kris Dunn
DeAndre Hunter
Danilo Gallinari
Clint Capela

John Collins, Cam Reddish, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kevin Huerter, Onyeka Okongwu, Solomon Hill, Rajon Rondo, Tony Snell

I feel like this gives them the most balance in their rotation, and gives them some really dangerous second units. If they have enough development from within, they could be a really tough matchup every night, and should play some exciting, close games that could potentially decide their entire season. With them spending the way they did, the playoffs are likely becoming more of a hopeful reality for them, sooner than later, so they should be a team to watch in making moves, because they will need to do something to add another defender, if they want to make that reality true this season.

NBA Team Wins Over/Unders 2020-2021 and interesting MVP odds?

I have a pretty good overall record in terms of daily betting lines, but I'm not saying you would take all of these. I'm not someone that regularly personally does it, but I sometimes keep up with some things, just out of curiosity. I'll probably go back soon after the season starts to actually calculate what my record was overall last season. I usually get a decent amount of these, with some surprising ones, although injuries and bad coaching can still play into it with others...I', actually not aware of favorites on these lines, but I'm sure there are some good bets in there, not that I'm saying anyone should listen to me overall...again, just a barometer for myself

East

Milwaukee Bucks over 49.5

Boston Celtics over 45.5

Brooklyn Nets under 45.5

Philadelphia 76ers over 45.5

Miami Heat over 44.5

Toronto Raptors over 41.5

Indiana Pacers under 39.5

Atlanta Hawks under 36.5

Washington Wizards over 32.5

Orlando Magic over 31.5

Chicago Bulls under 30.5

Charlotte Hornets over 25.5

Detroit Pistons over 23.5

New York Knicks under 22.5

Cleveland Cavaliers over 22.5

West

Los Angeles Lakers over 46.5

Los Angeles Clippers over 45.5

Denver Nuggets over 44.5

Dallas Mavericks over 42.5

Utah Jazz over  42.5

Portland Trail Blazers over 41.5

Phoenix Suns over 38.5 

Golden State Warriors under 36.5

New Orleans Pelicans over 36.5

Houston Rockets over 34.5

Memphis Grizzlies over 30.5

San Antonio Spurs over 29.5

Sacramento Kings over 27.5

Minnesota Timberwolves under 28.5

Oklahoma City Thunder under 22.5

NBA MVP interesting odds: Luka +400, LeBron +700, Damian Lillard +1500, Joel Embiid +2500, Jayson Tatum +2500, Kawhi Leonard +900

Interesting playoff odds: Detroit Yes +610, GS No +155, New Orleans No +145, Indiana No +145, Memphis Yes +185, Spurs Yes +360