What Went Wrong: Play-In Post-Mortem

In almost five years on Vocal, the "What Went Wrong" stories have been one of my signatures. The stories center on teams who have been eliminated during the Stanley Cup Playoffs and MLB's postseason, and depending on the team involved, the story could be matter-of-fact, heartfelt, or biting and humorous. I never do these when it comes to the NFL's playoffs, because the games run together, allowing me to simply do weekly recaps.

For those who have noticed, I have written more NBA stories lately, and I'll be honest, the NBA returning to NBC has been a bit of a factor. There were two things I had promised to do when I started mentioning the NBA more. One, I would do a weekly recap of the playoff races, and I've done that. Two, I would do the "What Went Wrong" regarding the NBA eliminations. Mind you, I only do this for eliminations that come from the opening rounds to the Final Four. I never do losses in the final round, because it's hard for teams to get to the championship, let alone win it.

So without further ado, let's talk about the four teams who didn't survive the Play-In Tournament (in chronological order).

Close Call (Miami Heat)

The Heat/Hornets game kicked off the Play-In Tournament; it was the Eastern Conference's #9 vs #10 game, meaning it's win or go home. This game was so back and forth between the clubs, and we actually got overtime in this one. It went down to the wire, and with four seconds left, LaMelo Ball's lay-up gave Charlotte the one point lead, and Miami couldn't get a shot off in that little time. 127-126 was the score in Charlotte's favor, ending Miami's season.

Angry Heat fans, as well as their longtime coach, Erik Spoelstra, have blamed Ball's hard foul on Bam Adebayo that took him out of the game, but I seriously don't think it's a factor. The Heat and the Play-In Tournament have gone hand-in-hand in recent seasons. We all remember their 2023 run, which began with the Heat actually losing the 7th seed game, but winning the 8th seed and turning that into an NBA Finals appearance.

However, the Heat are now a far cry from that team. That team had Jimmy Butler. He's not there anymore. The Heat simply don't have that spark they had three years prior, and any attempts to get it back have resulted in a lot of nothing. Miami really needs to figure things out if they want to either advance through the Play-In next year, or finish in the Top 6.

Good Grief! (Los Angeles Clippers)

You know, one of these days, I'm going to have to stop putting the Los Angeles Clippers up so much. They've been the Lakers' little brother for their entire existence, and even though the team's now pretty good, they continue to show why they will always be the Lakers' little brother. This team, in the last 10-15 years, should have at least reached the NBA Finals once. Hell, they had James Harden and Russell Westbrook together! But we've seen a bunch of nothing from them, and this year, it was less than nothing.

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled against NBA fans is convincing us that Kawhi Leonard is good when he's actually a talentless waste of skin. The Clippers blew it late against the Golden State Warriors, and Kawhi was the main cause. No points in the fourth quarter. That's who they kept while dealing Harden away, though at least they got a good player back in Darius Garland. Garland needs to get out of there. And the Clippers need to fire Tyronn Lue, too, he is such a lousy coach.

"A" for Effort (Charlotte Hornets)

At least the Hornets got this far. I do admire both the Hornets and the Orlando Magic, but I was hopeful that the Hornets would get over that proverbial hump and make it to the Sweet 16. However, it was over in the first quarter. The Magic were not messing around. They really wanted to earn the chance to get killed by the Detroit Pistons in the first round.

A huge part of me thinks that we'll see the Hornets improve from this year. They were actually within striking distance of the Eastern Conference's Top 6 this year, and I can actually see them avoiding the Play-In next year and actually getting an automatic playoff bid. I think the promise is there. I think the talent is there, and I truly think the potential is right there.

Every time the Golden State Warriors get eliminated, an angel gets their wings. NBA equivalent of the Patriots dynasty, from the rings to the entitlement to arrogance to the immense favoritism from the refs. Whatever you do, don't breathe on Steph Curry. If you do, that's a foul. And please don't get me started on Draymond Green. One of the dirtiest plyers in the Association, and he always bullies refs. And do the refs ever do anything about it? Nope.

Thankfully, biased officiating and refs going into "He hits me because he loves me" mode when it comes to Draymond are all we have to worry about. This Warriors team is a far cry from the team who won four rings in eight years. The Warriors only beat the Clippers because the Clippers are masters of getting in their own way. The Suns are not the Clippers. So glad this team is done and won't win any more rings anytime soon.

So with the Play-In Tournament over, the official NBA Playoffs are set and will start on Saturday. In the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Orlando Magic to get the #7 seed, and will face the 2nd-seeded Boston Celtics in Round 1, while the Magic's win over the Hornets earned them the #8 seed and the right to face the top-seeded Detroit Pistons. Also in the East, the New York Knicks will face the Atlanta Hawks, and the Cleveland Cavaliers will face the Toronto Raptors. In the Western Conference, the Portland Trail Blazers entered at #8, but defeated the Phoenix Suns (who entered at #7) to get the #7 seed and will face the 2nd-seeded San Antonio Spurs in Round 1. The Suns' win over the Warriors gave them the #8 seed, meaning that they'll face the defending champioin Oklahoma City Thunder. Also in the West, the Los Angeles Lakers will face the Houston Rockets, and the Denver Nuggets will face the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Regarding telecasts, this is the NBA's first year in a new 11-year arrangement with ESPN/ABC, NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime. TNT, which had been one of the main NBA networks for over a quarter-century, ended their partnership last season. ESPN and ABC had been airing NBA games since the 2002-03, and has also been the NBA Finals network since then, and will continue to be. This is Prime's first year airing NBA games, but for NBC, they returned to the fray for the first time since the 2002 Finals. The three networks will air the first two rounds, and regarding Round 1, it's all exclusive to those networks. No RSNs will be involved anymore; previously, RSNs could air Round 1 along with the national networks--similar to the NHL.

I do love the NBA Playoffs; I've watched that playoffs since I was eight years old, meaning that I'm definitely old enough to remember when the first round was best-of-five. I have a good feeling that this year's playoffs will be a thrilling ride all the way to the finish line!