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The Season of the Chip -- 2023-24 NBA Conference Finals Recap and Finals Preview

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            In basketball, we often associate a quiet whimper with a series ending in four or five games. These conference finals, while blowouts on paper, were made up of close games, interesting dynamics, and surprise breakouts. As a primer for my perspective on these playoffs, the deeper we’ve gotten into the postseason, the worse the takes have been surrounding individual players as well as teams. For the most part, I’m going to try and focus my recaps and analysis on what I saw rather than lazy and contrived takes but I’m leaving this as a warning that as I dive into the finals matchup, which is the most toxic NBA Finals in a while, I could fall victim to focusing on a narrative. I’ll do my best because the basketball itself is actually quite intriguing but there are certain ways of thinking about these playoffs that do need some critiquing. That being said, there have been two series of basketball since I last wrote here, and there is one more to go before the season is over, so
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Closing Time, One Last Call... -- 2023-24 NBA Playoffs Round Two Recap and Conference Finals Preview

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                 The NBA playoffs, much like the life of current college seniors like myself, are a bit of a blur. Just a week ago, it felt like we already knew what the Conference Finals matchups would be and that this year’s playoffs would be predictable and boring, much like last year. However, much like my life of five graduation ceremonies in three different cities over a week, things went a little sideways. As we slowly wind down the playoffs and get serious about the championship, let’s recap a crazy second round and predict what might happen in the conference finals. Second Round Recap (1) Boston Celtics vs (4) Cleveland Cavaliers Winner: Boston in 5 My Prediction: Boston in 5 As soon as I heard what this matchup would be, I knew it wouldn’t be a long series. Injuries aside, the Cavs just lacked the depth and scoring to compete with Boston. Like in the Miami series, it took a terrible Boston shooting night and a fantastic scoring night from all five of Cleveland’s starters t
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Finishing Touches -- 2023-24 NBA Playoffs Round 1 Recap/Round 2 Preview Part 2

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            You guys got your dessert first with that giant recap of round one and round two previews, so it’s only right that I feed you some vegetables with a recap of the one remaining round series and subsequent only second-round series that I didn’t already cover. While boring, the last first-round series did affect my Celtics, so I’m happy to get right into it.  First Round Recap (4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs (5) Orlando Magic Winner: Cleveland in 7 My Prediction: Orlando in 6 This was an expected rock fight. This series had everything from traded blowouts to blown leads to close finishes. While defense ruled for most of the series, at the end of these close games, Donovan Mitchell’s offensive grace and experience won out. To say that the Magic were bad down the stretch in this series is an understatement. Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs were 3-28 in game seven, but that’s far from the problem. Late-game turnovers, poor shot selection, and inexperience were the downfall for a promisin
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Intensity, Pettiness, and the New York Media Cycle -- 2023-24 NBA Playoffs Round One Recap and Round Two Preview Part 1

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            What a first round. We knew that the matchups would be good, but damn, that was some of the best basketball in the last few years. Ironically, the drama has come from the series that were expected to be blowouts. Very few first-round series were not worth a deeper dive, but in preparation for the second round, I’ll recap the first-round series that are finished and preview the different second-round series that are set to kick off this weekend. Essentially, if you’re here for the Celtics round two stuff or anything Magic and Cavs related, that’ll be in part two.  ‘ First Round Recap (1) Boston Celtics vs (8) Miami Heat Winner: Boston in 5 My Prediction: Boston in 4 In the only part of this piece that’ll be solely about the Boston Celtics, this series, as expected was about Boston's dominance and a symbolic end to the Jimmy-era in Miami. Even though he didn’t play, this series was all about Jimmy Butler. From his social media posts to his mid-game interviews, the s
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