April 14, 2025
I told you this way back in October when the season started. The Lakers have a chance to be a top 3 seed in the West this year. Yes, I realize none of us ever thought Luka Doncic would be on the 2nd by February, but still, they finish as a top 3 seed. They could have still been a top 3 seed with AD, but the ceiling on this team is now much higher with Luka. As for the playoff seeding, nothing is an easy matchup, but playing the Timberwolves with home court is probably one of the best outcomes they could have had. They avoid the Warriors in round 1, while the Clippers and OKC aren’t in their bracket. ANT man is great, but Luka, Lebron, and Austin are going to be too tough for the Wolves to match up with, and usually this is where Rudy Gobert gets exposed when teams have great perimeter defenders. As Shannon Sharp would say, “Ant Man, Pac Man, Spider Man, it don’t matter! Lakers in 6!”
I couldn’t help watching that Clippers v Warriors game yesterday and think, “I can’t believe one of these teams will be in the play-in game!”. Both teams are very dangerous right now, but the Clips won a very impressive game. Both Kawhi and James Harden are looking very good right now, and this team looks almost as dangerous as they did in 2020. I dismissed the Clippers a couple of months ago, thinking Kawhi wasn’t going to return to form, but he has, and the support from Ivica Zubac and Norman Powell. The Denver Nuggets have the best player in the world, but they are also in complete turmoil after firing Mike Malone. The Clips are peaking right now, and should be able to win this series in six games, assuming that Kawhi doesn’t suddenly get injured, which feels like an annual tradition.
The Dodgers are suddenly scuffling, losing 2 out of 3 to the Cubs over the weekend, which was their 3rd straight series loss. I’m not so bothered by the losses to the Phillies and Cubs because they are good teams, but the losses to the Nationals feel sloppy. It also just feels extra bad for Dodger fans because the Padres and Giants are playing so well right now, and everybody likes to rub it in when the Boys in Blue take a loss. The bullpen looks a bit overused right now, but reinforcements are on the way. The offense is a little reliant on Tommy Edman, but I expect that to change in short order. This is all very fixable, just with the talent and law of averages.
As for the Angeles, just when you think they are ready to take early control of the division, the Astros come along and take 2 of 3 from them. I think where the Angels can feel good about themselves is that the power numbers are there from the lineup. Mike Trout, Jorge Soler, Kyle Paris, and Logan O’Hoppe are all hitting the long ball. It always come back to pitching with this team, and if they can hold it together. The Halos continue their Texas tour on Tuesday when they take on the Rangers. The Halos have never been great in the division the last few years, so if they want to take control of it, now is the time to do with these early season divisional matchups.
Congratulations to Rory McIlroy on winning the Masters yesterday! He certainly earned that Green Jacket, and completed a career grand slam after an 11-year wait for his fifth major. It really blows my mind that he went that long without winning a major, let alone 14 years without winning at Augusta. When he took the PGA by storm over a decade ago, at one point they thought this guy might be the next Tiger Woods. He wasn’t that, but he’s still a pretty damn good golfer.
Tonight is a huge game for the LA Kings. They take on the Oilers on the road at Edmonton. They only need 2 points to secure home ice advantage against the Oilers in the 1st round of the playoffs. This is going to be the 4th straight year the teams have played in the 1st round. The Oilers have won the previous 3, and have had home ice in each of those series. I explained recently how this is put up or shut up time for the Kings to get past the Oilers finally, but it’s also worth pointing out the Oilers lost top defenseman Mattie’s Ekholm to an injury that will knock him out for the playoffs, which is all the more reason the Kings have to win this series.
