A Detroit Pistons fan guide to the NBA semi-finals
Detroit Pistons fan guide to the NBA semi-finals
The Smaller Markets
I tend to go for teams that don’t come from the big markets, as I like underdogs and get sick of most of the attention going to the same handful of teams on the coasts. The Lakers and Knicks, two teams that absolutely stunk and were miserable to watch this season, had 71 nationally televised games combined, while the Grizzlies and Pelicans, two playoff teams with exciting young players who are actually fun to watch, had eight combined, one of which was against each other.
The league is stacked against the smaller markets in terms of media coverage and free agency, where players tend to go for the warm cities or ones without state income tax.
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There are three smaller market teams in the semi-finals this season.
Phoenix Suns: lived in Phoenix for many years, so I do have some personal affection for the Suns after attending a lot of games there. They are the 12th-biggest NBA Market and even though I am not the biggest fan of Chris Paul, he’s playing out of his mind right now and is going all out to win a title. Dallas already has a title and Luka, so they will be just fine.
Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks are the 25th-largest NBA market, and are the only team in the playoffs with an ex-Piston, Khris Middleton, who is probably going to miss the entire series against Boston. The Bucks are playing the Celtics and I picked the Bucks as my preseason champion, so I’ll obviously be cheering for the Bucks in this one.
Memphis Grizzlies: I love the Grizzlies, as they are really fun to watch with Ja Morant flying all over the place, and I think they are the type of team the Detroit Pistons are trying to build. They’ve built their squad mostly through the draft and development, which is the route the Pistons are taking. The Pistons hope to follow Ja and the Grizzlies by building around a dynamic superstar guard and solid drafting. I’ll definitely be cheering for the Grizzlies, the NBA’s smallest market, against Golden State and really look forward to watching Ja and Stephen Curry go head-to-head.