For the 4th year in a row, the Detroit Pistons have already begun their offseason workouts by the time the NBA Playoffs are into the second round.
There are just eight teams remaining in the hunt for the title and the chase is more wide open than it’s ever been, with no clear-cut favorite to win it all.
As a die hard Pistons’ fan, I am not in the habit of cheering for other teams, but it makes the playoffs more enjoyable to back someone, so I usually pick from the teams I hate the least.
Hopefully this tradition will end next season and I’ll be cheering for the Detroit Pistons in the playoffs, but for now I’ll have to settle for one of the teams that got there this year.
With no real small markets or underdogs left in the playoffs, this year it just comes down to which team has the most ex-Pistons, and there is a clear choice.
Detroit Pistons: Which playoff team do you want to win the title?
I immediately eliminated all teams in the Eastern Conference, as the four remaining teams are really the who’s who of teams to hate. The Knicks? No way, although their fans do deserve some winning after supporting that dumpster fire of a franchise for so long.
The Heat? Cheer for a team from Florida? Never.
The 76ers? Hahahahahaha. There’s only one group of fans worse than Philly’s and that’s the Boston Celtics, the team I hate most. There’s not much in the East to work with.
The West isn’t much better. It will take a few years for the Sarver stink to be off the Suns. The Warriors are the model franchise and it’s hard to hate them, but enough is enough already, though Steph Curry continues to make his case as the greatest point guard of all time.
The Lakers? I’d rather cheer for another pandemic. I’ve been hating the Lakers since before most of you were born. The LeBron vs. Curry matchup is one all real basketball fans will enjoy, but I can’t say I’ll be cheering for either team.
That leaves the Denver Nuggets, which is the team I hope takes home the NBA title. The Nuggets are practically the Detroit Pistons 2.0, as they have four ex-Pistons in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Bruce Brown, Reggie Jackson and Ish Smith, all players I enjoyed watching in Detroit.
The Nuggets are flying under the radar a bit, as everyone is focused on LeBron and Curry and ignoring the two-time reigning MVP and the team with the best record in the West. After flaming out in the playoffs for the last several seasons, the Nuggets know that it’s Finals or bust for them if they want their season to be considered a success.
I tend to like the understated superstars and Nikola Jokic is certainly that, as you get the sense he doesn’t care at all if he takes home his third straight MVP and really just wants his team to win by any means necessary.
So I’ll be throwing my support behind the ex-Pistons on the Nuggets and hope to see Bruce Brown raise the championship trophy this season.