Expected and shocking results

Cesar Gorillo .

IN the latest NBA play-off series, there were of course expected results as in the Western Conference some of which is the sure win of the Houston Rockets versus the Minnesota Timberwolves with the Trio of the Rocket’s James Harden, Chris Paul and Trevor Ariza against the top guns of the Timberwolves Karl-Anthony Towns, Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson and Jeff Teague. The main factor is the unguardability of Harden who can shoot the three points as an ordinary job at any distance and in any area of the court. There were many times when the Timberwolves could have the victory but James Harden simply waits for the third quarter to unleash his furies of three-pointers and whatever edge the Timberwolves have is immediately smothered. Score, 4-1 for the Rockets.

As expected, the Golden State Warriors versus the San Antonio Spurs even without Steph Curry is a sure win for the Warriors.  With the aging fleet of Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker with only the reliable LaMarcus Aldridge footing the sure scores for the Spurs,  the massive armaments of the Warriors such as Durant, Thompson, Green, Mcgee, Livingston, Iguodala and West are more than enough to dispense with the services of the injured Curry. Score, 4-0 for the Warriors.

Of course the Portland Blazers cannot match the firepower of the New Orleans Pelicans led by no less than the unstoppable Anthony Davis manning the offenses as against the sole lead of Damian Lillard of the Blazers.  Score: 4-0 for the Pelicans. They will face the Golden State Warriors in their next outing and your guess is as good as mine.

In the Oklahoma Thunder versus the Utah Jazz, it would seem that the OKC had a very easy assignment with its powerhouse of superstars Russel Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony.  But the Jazz has in its roster an equally fearless five like  Jae Crowder, Donovan Mitchell (a rookie) Rudy Gobert, Joe Ingles and Ricky Rubio.  In Game 5 at the game score of 3-1 in favor of the Utah Jazz,  the OKC had been destined to oblivion with a deficit of 24 points, but Russel Westbrook rose from his deep slumber and woke up like a possessed robot and eliminated the 24-point deficit almost by himself before the start of the fourth quarter. At 3-2 in favor of Utah Jazz, even gamblers in Las Vegas will be beating millions of dollars whether OKC will remain in contention or not.

In the Eastern Conference side, the other expected results is the Philadelphia 76ers who will prevail against the Miami Heat. I never expected Miami Heat to put up a good fight with the 76ers because the players of Miami Heats are aging led by tired and old Dwayne Wade as against the fresh and talented team of the 76ers composed of Simmons, Embiid, Saric and Ilyashova.  Result: 4-1 for the 76ers.

That leaves Toronto Raptors led by the unstoppable Kyrle Lowry, DeMar de Rozan and Serge Ibaka fighting with the gutsy Washington Wizards led by John Wall, Bradly Beal and Marcin Gortat vying for the quarterfinals in the Eastern Conference Their fight is simply bloody with no clear results unless after the last dying seconds.  Present score: 3-2 in favor of  the Raptors.  And the way the fight is being fought to its bloody end, we will end up with the Washington Wizards in the surviving end given their guts, tenacity and plain warrior ferocity.  Same is true with Boston vs. Milwaukee Bucks.  At a score of 3-3 with the Bucks led by the hard to pronounce Gianni Antetokunmpo and the Celtics without their superstar Kyrie Irving, it’s anybody’s guess and the games is simply too bloody

The biggest question is will the Cleveland Cavaliers survive against the Indiana Pacers in Game 6?  In Game 5, the game  was level at 2-2 and could have nearly wiped out the Cavaliers led by King James from the face of the championship, but this guy known as the greatest basketball player on earth simply swiped the sure lay-up of Oladipo and in the next two seconds made a miracle by throwing the ball from the three-point area and made three points making the score 98-95 in their favor.  All faces of the Pacers at the bench fell like melting candles.  Score 3-2 in Cavalier’s favor.

Huh! Grabe!