The NBA regular season restart wrapped up last week with the Portland Trailblazers winning an exciting play-in game vs. the previous 8th seed Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. As the NBA postseason begins today, there is no telling what to expect from the bubble. Teams have been shooting lights out in the new fanless, AAU-atmosphere of the bubble and as we have seen with surprise teams such as the Blazers, the Pheonix Suns (RIP🙏🏾), and Indiana Pacers, just about anyone can get hot on any given night. This is a big reason why the postseason should not be overlooked and written off as "an asterisk" in October when an NBA champion is announced. Every game, players have proven that they are going to be playing like it is their last and putting it all out on the floor for us fans to enjoy.
The NBA recently released awards for the seeding games including Damian Lillard being the unanimous NBA Bubble MVP and Michael Porter Jr., Devin Booker, and T.J. Warren receiving less likely predicted First and Second Team selections for the 8-game season, our power rankings from before the restart have definitely shifted. Here's an inside look of what the AFTR PRTY Sports team expects the rest of the NBA playoffs and 2020 regular season awards to happen in the next coming weeks:
MVP? Finalists: (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks; James Harden, Houston Rockets; LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers)
Tye Town- Giannis Antetokounmpo
BTB- Damian Lillard, "They should've included the bubble in MVP and if they did I’d pick Dame ten out of ten times"
Jack Emilius- Giannis
Charlie Benjamin- Giannis
Kobe Dellers- Giannis
Jalen Carr- Giannis
Most Improved Player?
Tye Town- Brandon Ingram
BTB- Pascal Siakam
Jack Emilius- Bam Adebayo
Charlie Benjamin- Brandon Ingram
Kobe Dellers- Bam Adebayo
Jalen Carr- Bam Adebayo
DPOY?
Tye Town- Giannis
BTB- Bam Adebayo
Jack Emilius- Anthony Davis
Charlie Benjamin- Giannis
Kobe Dellers- Giannis
Jalen Carr- Anthony Davis
Eastern Conference Finals Matchup
Tye Town- Bucks vs Raptors
BTB- Celtics vs Heat
Jack Emilius- Bucks vs Celtics
Charlie Benjamin- Bucks vs Raptors
Kobe Dellers- Bucks vs Celtics
Jalen Carr- Bucks vs Celtics
Western Conference Finals Matchup
Tye Town- Lakers vs Clippers
BTB- Lakers v. Clips
Jack Emilius- Mavs vs Lakers
Charlie Benjamin- Lakers vs Clips
Kobe Dellers-Lakers vs Clips
Jalen Carr- Blazers vs Clippers
Player That I'm Most Excited to Watch
Tye Town- Damian Lillard
BTB- Luka Doncic
Jack Emilius- Jayson Tatum
Charlie Benjamin- Giannis
Kobe Dellers- LUKA
Jalen Carr- DAME TIME😎
Upset in the 1st Round
Tye Town- "They're not going to actually win but Portland😅"
BTB- 5-Heat over 4-Pacers
Jack Emilius- 7-Mavs over 2-Clippers
Charlie Benjamin- 5-Thunder over 4-Houston
Kobe Dellers- 5-Heat over 4-Pacers
Jalen Carr- 8-Portland over 1-Lakers
2020 NBA Champion👑
Tye Town- Lakers
BTB- Clips
Jack Emilius- Bucks
Charlie Benjamin- Raptors
Kobe Dellers- Clips
Jalen Carr- Clippers