After Monday night’s NCAA championship game, teams in the upcoming NBA Playoffs will have to step up their game.
The bar has risen. Kriss Jenkins’ Stephon Curry-like three at the buzzer, winning the chip for Villanova, not only palpitated the hearts of my Aunt Myrtie in Hillsboro, N.C., and all basketball fans of the University of North Carolina, but also raised the expectations for what fans would like to see.
The excitement of Marcus Page’s Stephon Curry-like three, tying the game with 4.7 seconds to go, helping to bring Carolina back from a 10-point deficit before the Jenkins shot, also gave the audience their money’s worth. With the Golden State Warriors, the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma Thunder and the Los Angeles Clippers, their expectations should be met while watching the NBA’s Western Conference games, but what they’ll find in the Eastern playoffs is yet to be determined.
If the playoffs began today, the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards, three and five seeds last season, would be spectators. The Miami Heat, out last season, are back in. The Indiana Pacers, also out last season, are back in.
Michael Jordan’s Charlotte Hornets are in, too. The Detroit Pistons, who haven’t been in the postseason since 2008-2009 hold down the eighth and final spot for now. It could change. Chicago and Washington knock at their door.
One positive this season is that none of the lower-seeded East teams will have a .500 or less record. Last year, the sixth, seventh and eighth seeds, the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets, went from 41-41 to 38-44.
Brooklyn barely made it, but to their credit, they were formidable opponents to the first-place Atlanta Hawks, taking them through a competitive six-game series before succumbing the first round.
Although Brooklyn has had a modicum of success, they’ve been in a state of decline since the 2013-2014 season,when they placed sixth in the seedlings. That year, 44-38, they survived to the second round of playoffs but were beaten by the Miami Heat in five games—LeBron James’ last season with Miami.
Fast forward to last season’s 38-win total, and the 20-something, a low 20-something, that they’ll total this season.
In 14th place, Brooklyn is searching, or will search, for a new head coach if they don’t retain interim head coach Tony Brown, who replaced Lionel Hollins in early January, after his firing. Brooklyn general manager Billy King was demoted from his position and replaced by Sean Marks, who held the assistant GM position in San Antonio. To improve the roster, Marks signed the NBA’s D-League standout, Sean Kilpatrick, at the end of February to a 10-day contract, then another, before officially signing him to a two-year deal.
With considerable more losses than wins overall this season, and since Kilpatrick’s signing, Brooklyn is ready to start over.
They’re ready for the season to end. It’s over. Center Brooke Lopez and forward Thaddeus Young, Brooklyn’s two blue-chip players, will not play the remainder of games. They’ll sit it out. Although it’s not said, the underlying meaning is with only four games remaining and no hope of a postseason, why take a chance on an injury to your best players. This decision allows the bench players to get some minutes to prove and improve their on-court skills. But losses at any time can be disheartening, as is knowing your postseason experience will be as a fan.
“It’s frustrating,” said Kilpatrick, who’s averaging 10 points per game. “I’m sure everyone on this team is frustrated with the fact that we’re not playing well enough to grab wins. At this point of the season, you just have to continue to play with a lot of energy. We just have to come out with the type of intensity that’s expected of you.”
Maybe Kilpatrick, who has proved to be a valuable asset as well, should also be benched alongside Lopez and Young.
