i would agree if embiid comes back healthy. philly is a more compelling narrative + entertaining to watch then any other individual team - they have young flashy players, theres alot of question marks, embiid shit talks alot. there's also the outside possibility boston's rookies play like all stars or lebron james channels god mode, both of which have happened sporadically throughout the season. any of these things could make the east more compelling than the west
i dont think theres any chance houston/gsw lives up to the billing. assuming curry doesn't hurt his ankle again houston should get smoked. however good harden is, curry and durant are at least as good. and as great as cp3 is/was, he's never been on their level except maybe on the hornets. relying on massive defensive contributions from gerald green and luc mbah a moute doesn't seem like the best strategy vs one of, if not the greatest assembled team across major sports in the modern era
stylistically i was rooting to see por/okc and utah/no. i wouldve enjoyed two teams try to out gun each other or two old schools teams trying to out muscle each other more than the crossover match up, especially since there's a fairly large talent disparity. anthony davis going god mode would def be fun to watch
hopefully the best part of these playoffs is the unexpected shit and/or philly. i would be quite pleased to see lillard drop 55, AD or Lebron post some completely insane statlines, the cavs implode against the pacers, and the cavs facing elimination vs toronto
just for the hell of it im goin to rank the worst coaches
1. mr. bean & the bucks
2. scott brooks
3. thibbs
4. lebron james
5. billy dee
rest i like