The Saturday Blues Column

Hopefully, you read and enjoyed part one of this piece where I broke down the second round of the playoffs. While the last round was more chaotic and less predictable, at this point, when we already know what each team is about, it’s a bit more about analysis and less about playing a guessing game based on who I trust the most. So, before the round gets started, let’s run through the final two matchups of the postseason before the big one. Eastern Conference Finals 2. Boston Celtics vs 8. Miami Heat My Pick: BOS in 6 BOS X-Factor: Al Horford MIA X-Factor: Gabe Vincent Ah, here we go again. As a Celtics fan and Boston resident, it felt like the entire city knew that this matchup was coming as soon as the Heat won game one against Milwaukee. This iteration is a little more one-sided, though. Not that I’m unafraid of the Heat for the Celtics, but there are fewer matchup problems than there were last year. The Heat come into this series without two key pieces from last year with P.J. Tucke...

The NFL Schedule release be damned, the NBA had to steal the show again. While I’m mostly referring to the Philly-Boston and Lakers-Warriors matchups, the second round was at the forefront of sports for the past month and did not disappoint. At about this time every year, when we widdle the NBA Playoffs down to a final four, we tend to be reminded of why the NBA has an amazing case for the best playoff format in American sports. With that being said, the same two questions are often given different answers every year. Those questions are what can we take away from the second round and what the hell is going to happen next? Without further adieu, this part one of a two-part series will tackle what I took away from the second round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.  Second Round Takeaways Eastern Conference *Bold denotes winner 2. Boston Celtics vs 3. Philadelphia 76ers It felt like a matter of time. Despite how intriguing they were in this round, I’m actually going to stray away from discu...