Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images The Spurs’ season wasn’t the luckiest, but the NBA had a fun, surprise-filled year that could lead to an intriguing playoffs. The season is coming to an end. Looking at the standings, what’s the most surprising record? Marilyn Dubinski: Afte r looking so hopelessly lost last season, I’m surprised the Pistons not only leapt out of the cellar, but all the way up to securing a playoff spot— not play-in, PLAYOFF. It’s the leap we hoped the Spurs could make with similar off-season moves to add veterans, but injuries got in the way. Kudos to the job J.B. Bickerstaff has done. My surprise bad team would be the Suns. There is no reason a team with their talent level should more than likely miss the play-in, especially with the struggles of the teams in the 9-13 range. Mark Barrington: I’m not surprised that the Thunder are the winner of the West, but it’s a little surprising that they smoked the field and won by such a huge margin. I thought the Suns would be better, but they lack depth and have missed many games from Durant, making them vulnerable. What I thought was going to happen to the Clippers is what actually happened to the Suns, because the Clippers have been improbably healthy for most of the season, and have had a breakout season from Norman Powell. The most improbable development in the West has to be the Lakers, who were gifted a superstar at the peak of his powers for peanuts, and should make some noise in the playoffs. I’m not beating myself up for not predicting that, because it was kind of a crazy development. The East isn’t nearly as surprising as the chaotic West, although it’s a minor surprise that the Cavaliers are atop the Celtics. The Celtics are playing better towards the end of the season, and have got to be the favorite to go to the finals from the East. The Pistons deserve honorable mention for their incredible improvement this season, and they should have an entertaining series with the Knicks or Pacers. Bill Huan: The Clippers and Pistons are the obvious picks here for me. I genuinely thought that LA might be in the lottery this year given the loss of PG (or addition, perhaps) and Kawhi’s lingering health concerns. Instead, they have a chance of outright making the playoffs and could beat anyone in the West outside of OKC. Meanwhile, Detroit has somehow tripled their win total from last year, and the season isn’t even over yet! Them finishing the season as a top-six seed is one of the biggest year-over-year improvements in NBA history, and it’s a testament to Cade’s leap, JB’s superb coaching, and the additions that were made last offseason. Jesus Gomez: I didn’t consider the 76ers real contenders when they added Paul George, but I thought they would fight for a top-4 seed in the East. Sure, Joel Embiid is always hurt and George has not been the most durable guy, but they had some decent depth and Tyrese Maxey to carry some of the offensive load in the regular season. Instead, Philadelphia is near the bottom of the weaker conference and likely considering a teardown after going all in just a few months ago. Devon Birdsong: My first instinct is to go with the Pistons, but they’ve been quietly building over the years and just needed the right coach. Also, I’m not convinced that they’d be a playoff team if they played in the West. Instead, I think the Rockets all but clinching the 2nd seed is the real shocker of the season. I think if you asked most, they’d have pegged Houston as a playoff team prior to the season, perhaps even as high as a 4-5 seed. But the number two seed? Even with the improvements they’d made, that would have felt like a real stretch up against the likes of the Thunder, Timberwolves, Nuggets, and Grizzlies (and whoever else randomly surged). There’s a real question as to whether their seeding is more the result of other teams slumping rather than the Rockets excelling (52 wins is a low total for a Western Conference 2 seed), but it’s incredibly surprising nonetheless. Which team have you enjoyed watching the most, aside from the Spurs, if any? Dubinski: I don’t think I’ve watched a single game that did not include the Spurs this season, so if I had to pick a team whose style I admired from afar while watching them beat on the Spurs, I’d pick the Celtics. They move the ball, shoot threes, drive... all the things that originated from the Beautiful Game Spurs. Oh, and they have Derrick White. Have I ever mentioned how much I like him and how badly I wish he were still here? Barrington: The Nuggets are amazing, and that’s mostly because of one guy, and I think you know who. Late-season additions have made a few teams much more watchable. The Warriors with Jimmy Butler are pretty entertaining, and some of you may not want to read the next part: the Lakers are incredible with Luka and LeBron both playing great basketball with good complementary talent. I’m sorry I had to say that last part in front of a bunch of Spurs fans. Huan: Watching OKC play guys who seem like they should be featured on who he play for? while still winning has been entertaining, and it’s a testament to their scouting and coaching over the years. It reminds me of the Spurs of old when they used to draft random guys in the second round whom no one had ever heard of before turning them into rotation players. I mean, Aaron Wiggins has a legit chance of being in some of OKC’s closing lineups in the playoffs, and he’s just one of many players who have carved out roles on the league’s deepest team. Who woulda thunk? Gomez: I normally watch a lot of games from Eastern teams that play earlier than the Spurs and Western teams that play late. The Eastern teams were mostly a disaster, but I enjoyed the Trail Blazers a ton, especially during their 10 wins in 11 games in late January and early February. It made absolutely no sense for a rebuilding team to try so hard to win, but as an outside observer, watching guys like Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Toumani Camara blossom and Deni Avdija make a leap under the supervision of veterans like Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant was extremely fun to watch. Birdsong: My earlier note about the Pistons’ playoff seeding notwithstanding, they are an absolute delight to watch. It doesn’t feel like they excel in any one area, but man, do they scrap for every last point and possession. They don’t shoot a lot of threes, but they play tenacious defense, rebound ferociously, pass shrewdly, and are physical as hell. In short, they succeed in adhering to the fundamentals and playing cohesive team basketball. If you haven’t seen them play this season, I highly recommend taking a look. Are you excited about the playoffs or already looking forward to the offseason and next year? Dubinski: My season usually ends when the Spurs’ does, so I’m looking forward to next season and ready to get back on track after this one was derailed by Wemby’s blood clot. We only got five games of him and De’Aaron Fox, which was some valuable lost playing time together, so the sooner they can get on any kind of court together, the better. Also, several players have shown me some intriguing things during the last month, so I’m intrigued to see if they can keep it up in a smaller role with the team at full strength. I’m expecting the Spurs to make the jump the Pistons did this season, and the six-month wait to start over again is going to feel longer than it has in quite a while. Barrington: The NBA playoffs are always interesting and mysterious. I’m going to watch a lot of playoff basketball, mostly of the Western Conference teams, primarily the teams I mentioned above. I think the winner of the East is a foregone conclusion, so I probably will only watch a few Pistons games in the first round. I think I’ll probably be onboard for the play-in tournament, because the single elimination format lends excitement to the games. Huan: Oh, I am absolutely STOKED for the playoffs to begin. While OKC seems like a slam dunk to make the finals in the West, them not having much playoff experience still leaves some intrigue. Not to mention the absolute cluster of teams behind them who are all capable of making it to the West Finals, and there will be a number of teams with all-time players who will go through an existential crisis this summer after getting bounced earlier than expected. The East isn’t as deep, but it could feature the best series this entire year between the Cavs and Celtics. It’ll also be fun to see Giannis put on a one-man show while the frisky Pacers and Pistons try and score an upset, and no team will rampage through the conference like what Boston did last year. Gomez: I’ll watch the playoffs and enjoy them, as I always do, but I’m really looking forward to the offseason and next year. The draft should be exciting, free agency should allow the Spurs to round out their roster, and we might even see a trade or two. More than anything, though, I just want to see Victor Wembanyama play again. Birdsong: I think for most people the season ends with that of the team they’re rooting for, but I’d like to submit that there’s plenty of joy to be had in watching the progress of the teams one enjoys rooting against. Only one team can win it all, which means there’s plenty of misery to delight in when it comes to the fates of squads that have earned my distaste. The Western Conference alone offers the potential demise of the Lakers, Rockets, and Clippers. And, of course, it’s always amusing watching the annual Knicks Twitter elimination meltdown. There’s nothing like a little postseason schadenfreude to cleanse the palate of a losing season, and I, for one, intend to feast. ...read more read less