This year, the NBA introduced the In-Season Tournament, and, so far, it’s been amazing basketball and a great addition to the basketball season. For those who don’t understand what it is, it’s a tournament within the season (that doesn’t add or subtract games in the season except for the Finals in Las Vegas) that divides the 30 NBA teams into 6 groups. From November until the end of December, a team plays the other teams in their group in a game that counts for both the regular season and the tournament and whichever team in that group has the best record within that group moves on; also, the team that lost their group but had the best record among none-group-winners in their conference advances as a wildcard. The remaining 8 teams play in a Knock-Out tournament, and the winner is the first NBA In-Season Tournament Champion. If you don’t fully understand the concept, here’s the NBA’s explanation. From buzzer beaters to blowouts, it’s been super exciting. This time it’s the West; here is the link to the East In-Season Tournament Summary. Although one of the groups already has a winner and some teams are already eliminated, that doesn't mean there’s nothing to discuss. Here’s a summary of the West In-Season Tournament for each group, where the winner of the group could end it.
West Group A:
Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trailblazers, Utah Jazz.
Right now, the Lakers have already clinched the division, being the representative of Group A in the West, but they did so by going 4-0 against all the other teams in the group. Utah, Memphis, and Portland are already eliminated, even for the Wildcard, but Phoenix has a great chance of being the Wildcard. I’ll get into detail in the West Wildcard section.
West Group B:
Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Pelicans.
In this Group, surprisingly, Denver, Dallas, and Los Angeles are eliminated from the tournament, all three of them being contenders to win a championship this year. It’s a race between New Orleans and Houston, and it all depends on whether Houston beats Dallas in their upcoming game, for the Rockets hold the tie-breaker with the Pelicans. Regardless of the winner of Group B, they will be heavy underdogs, but in a Tournament that’s single elimination, it does NOT matter - and I love that. I believe the Houston Rockets will win this group, because they have a fantastic defense (something I thought I’d never say when talking about the Rockets), and they have nothing to lose being a young team.
West Group C:
Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Sacramento Kings.
With a stacked group, it can go three ways: Min, Sac, or GS. Although the Thunder are the second seed in the Western Standing, Oklahoma City and San Antonio were eliminated. If the Warriors beat the Kings, the Kings will be bumped down and unable to be the champion of Group C; it all depends on their game tonight. Also, the Timberwolves are playing the Thunder, a game between the top two seeds in the West; if Minnesota wins, they have to hope that the Warriors win, for they beat them, but if the Kings win, a team Minnesota lost to this week, they won’t win this round. I believe the Kings will win this round, for they don’t need to depend on anything other than their game, and they have a chance to send the Warriors home, a feat they failed to do last year in the Playoffs.
West Wildcard
What a crazy conference! Because of point differential statistics that aren’t able to be predicted, it’s almost impossible to have a team as a wildcard when every group has a 3-1 loser; however, if it was determined purely by entertainment and “the best team”, it’s between the Timberwolves and the Suns, two fun teams to watch with proven stars. My personal opinion: I think the Sacramento Kings will win Group C, and the Minnesota Timberwolves will be the Western Wildcard.
Quarterfinals:
The first matchup will be, according to my prediction that has no bearing on reality whatsoever, between the Lakers and the Rockets, a reunion of the rivalry between Lebron James, the NBA All-Time Scoring Leader and a 4x Finals MVP, and Dillon Brooks, a good defensive player. It will be a close game because of Anthony Davis’s inconsistency and the Rockets have a fantastic defense, I am confident that, if this game happens, there is no way Lebron will lose, not only for this team but for his legacy; even as a 38-year-old, he can’t have Dillon Brooks beat him in a Tournament game. So, for obvious reasons, I have the Lakers winning.
The Kings vs the Timberwolves will be an epic game: DeAaron Fox, one of the most clutch players in the league, and Anthony Edwards, one of the most talented and entertaining players in the league, face off to prove who is the better upcoming star of the league and the best young team in the NBA. I see the Timberwolves winning, not only due to their fluid offense that is ranked Top 15, but they have the 3rd best defense. Putting aside the stats, the Timberwolves have a much greater variety on offense, as opposed to the Kings who run a dribble handoff 70% of the time.
Las Vegas:
Vegas is the city of unpredictability, a chance to win big or lose big. The game to decide the 1st ever NBA In-Season Tournament Western Champion will be, according to my predictions, between the Timberwolves and the Lakers. I know the majority of basketball fans would want Lebron to be the first-ever Tournament MVP, a worthy competitor for the trophy, I believe the offense of Anthony Davis will be minimized by the all-time great defense of Rudy Gobert. The ability of Karl-Anthony Towns to shoot but also drive laterally is one of the best in the league, behind only Giannis and Lebron. However, the biggest factor will be Anthony Edwards, the player who completely changed their franchise and, I believe, the league for the next decade. His ability to create for himself on offense and then be a game-changer on the defensive side is fantastic. He has the potential to be the next face of the league, and I believe that this year will be the year he makes the leap to superstar status and becomes the first to lead his team to the NBA In-Season Tournament Championship from the West.
Who’s Excited? Cause I Am!:
With a stacked West, the amount of possibilities for how the tournament will go is infinite. Regardless of the winners or losers, the entertainment will be out of this world. So… who do you think will prevail?
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