When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves, maybe then would the Golden State Warriors fail to make it out of the Western Conference, but in the meantime, they’re headed to their 5th straight NBA Finals. And if you thought there was a happy ending for the rivals of House Warriors, you haven’t been paying attention; Clippers, Rockets and Blazers all gave their best, but for now, the Bay Area dynasty lives on. (Special shout out to Game of Thrones and Game of Zones for countless hours of entertainment.)

As the Warriors swept past the Blazers in the West and the Bucks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the East, the Conference Finals were looking like a wash. But behind Kawhi and a suddenly productive bench, the Raptors held home court to even up the series, ensuring a Game 6 and a return to Toronto. A big win for the Raptors for sure, but a big win for NBA fans and executives as well. Personally, a prolonged ECF means my basketball jones won’t be too rough with the Warriors out of action for 9 days, we may yet still get a little excitement out of the Conference Finals, and we get that always exciting Game 6, and we all know Gaber loves a Game 6. Plus, the Warriors are resting and rehabbing while their two potential opponents are leaving it all on the court going head to head, and that dynamic could affect the Bucks or the Raptors in the upcoming Finals. So sit back, it’s the NBA Playoffs, in all their glory, and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

You know we love Game of Thrones around here, but who needs scripted drama when you have the NBA Playoffs, or the Pelicans, of all teams, winning the Zion sweepstakes? Last week we expounded upon the virtues of a 7-game series, how the truth always emerges after 7, and watching the Conference Semifinals play out, I feel fully justified in our faith in the system. Emerging from the East are the Bucks and the Raptors, led by the two best players in their conference. Are you kidding me? We get Kawhi vs Giannis? Who could write up that clash of the titans? Giannis is taking the league by storm, it’s been his year, but Kawhi is already a champion, a Finals MVP, and the silent assassin is fresh off closing out the Sixers with the first buzzer beater in Game 7 history. Meanwhile in GS, since KD’s calf strain left them without the most dominant offensive weapon we’ve seen since MJ, the Warriors have got retro, as Steph, Klay, Draymond & Sir Iguodala try to recapture the glory of 2015. But rumors of KD’s return have surfaced, and that could spell an early exit for Dame, CJ and the upstart Blazers. We’ve had action, we’ve had excitement, we’ve had disappointment, but now, 7 more games will tell us who will play for the title. And oh yeah, did I mention that the Pelicans really just won the Zion sweepstakes? Wow. So sit back, it’s the NBA Playoffs in all their glory and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

 A 7-game series is the truth. We all know the old adage about “any given Sunday” in football, and March Madness annually illustrates how the underdog can pull off a random upset in one game. But in 7? Seven games is just long enough for a team to expose any shortcomings, to show it’s flaws, and for the opposition to adjust to take advantage of any weaknesses. If you lose in a one-off, you can chalk it up to the breaks of the game, but lose four times in a few weeks to the same team and that’s a referendum. The better team in that series won. And that’s what we’re seeing in the NBA Playoffs this year, with the best 8 teams of the 2018 season battling it out. We watch as Giannis imposes his will on a deeper but overwhelmed and underperforming Celtics squad; as Kawhi cooly re-establishes his former dominance, eviscerating the Sixers with an icy precision; as Dame and CJ trade blows with Jamal and the Joker; and in what may be the real NBA Finals, as the Rockets try to bomb their way past Golden State with a record-breaking 3 point barrage. It may not go the way you thought, or the way you wanted, but after 7, you know that the best team won. So sit back, it’s the NBA Playoffs in all their glory and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

All season long the consensus seemed to be that it was a foregone conclusion that the Golden State Warriors would hoist their third straight Larry O Brian Trophy, but nobody loves Goliath, and at this point, if there’s one thing for certain about the NBA Playoffs, it’s that the Warriors have worn out their welcome. The Warriors’ opening round stumbles drew a lot of attention, as Golden State had a hard time finding a consistent flow throughout the series, leaving NBA fans questioning the Warriors’ presumed clear path to another ring, and it’s become abundantly clear that they’re no longer the public team they once were. Now, with a Conference Semis matchup with the Rockets underway, the Warriors will continue to try to level up against an even tougher opponent, even through the injuries and inconsistency. In Denver, Nicola Jokic and the Nuggets couldn’t hold home court against the Blazers, and with Damien Lillard playing his best Denzel in Man On Fire this postseason, I refuse to doubt his ability to carry Portland to the next level. Meanwhile, the Eastern Conference is blowing up like we haven’t seen in decades. It’s Giannis and his front-running Bucks against the collective as yet untapped potential of the Celtics, who feature one of the Association’s premier prime-time players, Kyrie Irving; and the quiet, buttoned-down Raptors, led by the most stoic of NBA superstars Kawhi Leonard, battling the brash Sixers, fronted by Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. So sit back, it’s the NBA Playoffs in all their glory and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

Say what you will about the opening round of the NBA Playoffs, that they drag on too long, that you’ll always have lopsided 1 seed vs 8 seed matchups like the Bucks and Pistons, but there isn’t an argument you could make with which I won’t vehemently disagree. Give me multiple, high-level competitive basketball games, featuring most of the greatest players in the world, on my screen every night and I’m in hoops heaven. The biggest names, the sheer volume of games, while the best advance and the rest go home? Sure, as the stakes get higher, the games and matchups obviously mean more, but with two or three games on every night for two weeks, the First Round is the real sweet spot of the season. That is, until I start looking ahead to the matchups Round 2 has to offer. Wait, we’re gonna get Bucks/Celtics, with both fresh off the sweep? And oh, that Raptors/Sixers matchup is looking good, especially with Kawhi back to MVP form. And then there’s the promise of Warriors/Rockets, a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals, if GS can finish the Clippers tomorrow. So maybe the 2nd Round is the sweet spot…Either way, the Association has delivered so far this postseason; approaching the weekend, there are two series still undecided, as we move on to Game 6 tonight, and as we all know, Gaber loves himself a Game 6. So sit back, it’s the NBA Playoffs in all their glory and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

If I were to tell you how I spent my Sunday last weekend, you’d either say I did absolutely nothing, or that my day was chock full of excitement, and that in turn would tell me a lot about you. First, it was Tiger at Augusta for the Masters, and you know how that went, then a nice run at the Greenbelt with my Golden, Boogie, then a whole lotta first round NBA Playoff basketball upsets, all capped off by the return of Game of Thrones. Just pure synchronicity. But the best thing is, that was just the beginning. Tiger still has 3 more Majors to challenge, the NBA Playoffs will grace our screens nightly for the next month and we have 6 more weeks of Thrones to boot! All I know is that I’m all in. Sunday was just the beginning, then you throw in some MLB action and the upcoming NFL Draft and you can get ready for an exciting spring. So sit back, it’s the NBA Playoffs in all their glory and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

With the arrival of spring and MLB, the end of winter’s long college and NBA regular seasons is finally here, and hoops fans are finally treated to the grand culmination of all the basketball we’ve watched all season, as the Final Four rolls through and the NBA Playoffs tip off. It’s a shame that the Zion experience is on hiatus until the fall, but fans of the Association are already fitting him for an NBA jersey, and imagining what might come to be for the almost 19 year-old, almost rookie. But for now, we’ll have to make do with some high-level NBA Playoff basketball each and every night, as the first round of the Playoffs gets underway. It’ll be Giannis and his Bucks one night, then Harden and his Rockets another, maybe some Steph and KD in action to sweeten the deal. What more could you ask for? Almost all of the stars are out to shine for the next few weeks, every game won is another step towards the Holy Grail of hoops, the NBA title, and today, we’re crowning our regular season MVP and Luka as Rookie of the Year, and looking at each and every first round matchup.  So sit back, it’s the NBA Playoffs in all their glory, and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

The triumph of the human spirit, sometimes fragile while other times unbreakable, is a common theme in our sports competitions. We watch to see who rises to the opportunities for glory, and who comes up short in the face of adversity, but there are certain guys you just know will never fall. Take Dame Lillard for example. With his Blazers poised for an underdog Playoff run, the All-NBA guard suddenly lost the 2nd and 3rd best players on his team to untimely injuries. But instead of fold, we all watch as the Blazers just keep on winning. Then there’s the case of young phenom Zion Williamson, who, despite the defeat of his Duke squad, was really the big winner of the NCAA Tournament. Zion is now a household name. But my biggest takeaway from the Zion experience wasn’t about his athleticism or even his game, it was about his spirit and his passion for just hooping, his competitive drive and that heart of a champion that showed up every time he took the court. In a way, Zion never really lost; he won by just showing up and showing what he’s made of, and it’s these intangibles that will not only ease his transition to the Association, but also hint at many future triumphs to come. So sit back, it’s the dawn of Zion, the NBA stretch drive and the return of MLB, and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

What you see is what you get. After five months and 70-plus games, could’ve, would’ve and should’ve are out the window. And that’s why the NBA regular season marathon actually means something. Sure, I’d like to think that the Celtics have another gear, that they’re more than the underachievers we’ve watched all year, but the eye test tells you all you need to know; they’re not the contenders we thought they were. By now, everything is already on the table for would-be champions, and over the span of the season, all of a team's flaws have been exposed. At this point, the season starts to come down to absolutes, and a team is what it is headed into the NBA Playoffs. Sixteen teams will make the postseason, but based on what I’ve seen all year, only 4 have a solid shot at making the Finals with more 2 teams as long shots, and today, the NBA Power rankings are back, sorting out the contenders as the schedule plays out. So sit back, it’s the NBA stretch drive and the return of MLB, and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

While the Bucks, Raptors, Nuggets and Warriors watch the NBA Playoff seeding sort out from on high, a race for a different prize plays out. As it stands, the Knicks, Suns and Cavs have the inside track in the Zion sweepstakes, but the Bulls, Hawks and Mavs all have real chances to hit the jackpot in the NBA draft. And with the talent some of these teams already have stockpiled, hitting on an impact player makes a lot of them instantly relevant. Imagine Zion hooking up with Trae Young and John Collins. Or the Mavs sneaking into a top 3 pick and giving playmaker Luka Doncic a pure scorer like RJ Barrett to run with. With the dubious distinction of being among the worst, a team can, and almost certainly will, end up winning for losing, and we’re taking a look at what these lottery teams already have to build on, and what they might need to move forward. So sit back, it’s the NBA stretch drive, NFL offseason action and the quiet return of MLB, and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .