Alex Speers

You know, the whole idea with Darius Garland having this jaw injury coming back, having a new coach that everyone kind of universally agrees is was a good coach, you know, based on what he had done in Brooklyn. With Kenny Atkinson. And I think what happened with me is I liked some of these other East teams more. For instance, like the Philadelphia 76ers, who I took the over.

And as a result, I was like, well, I got to take someone under. I was just focused on the wrong teams. And I didn't take the Cavs as seriously as I should have. Which makes me feel bad because when we started this podcast, they were the first team I picked for surprise team. And that was when they had drafted Evan Mobley. They came out and they were the surprise team that year.

And as a result, I was like, well, I got to take someone under. I was just focused on the wrong teams. And I didn't take the Cavs as seriously as I should have. Which makes me feel bad because when we started this podcast, they were the first team I picked for surprise team. And that was when they had drafted Evan Mobley. They came out and they were the surprise team that year.

And as a result, I was like, well, I got to take someone under. I was just focused on the wrong teams. And I didn't take the Cavs as seriously as I should have. Which makes me feel bad because when we started this podcast, they were the first team I picked for surprise team. And that was when they had drafted Evan Mobley. They came out and they were the surprise team that year.

And I felt like I abandoned them this year. And so I am embarrassed by that. And it was so wrong.

And I felt like I abandoned them this year. And so I am embarrassed by that. And it was so wrong.

And I felt like I abandoned them this year. And so I am embarrassed by that. And it was so wrong.

So that brings us to our final award. It's not really award. It's the bold prediction for the NBA playoffs award. I'm just realizing the sequence of these and what I'm about to say. So first of all, making a bold prediction is, I feel like it has to be something that you are uncomfortable saying, that you feel dumb when the words come out of your mouth. For sure.

So that brings us to our final award. It's not really award. It's the bold prediction for the NBA playoffs award. I'm just realizing the sequence of these and what I'm about to say. So first of all, making a bold prediction is, I feel like it has to be something that you are uncomfortable saying, that you feel dumb when the words come out of your mouth. For sure.

So that brings us to our final award. It's not really award. It's the bold prediction for the NBA playoffs award. I'm just realizing the sequence of these and what I'm about to say. So first of all, making a bold prediction is, I feel like it has to be something that you are uncomfortable saying, that you feel dumb when the words come out of your mouth. For sure.

I feel like it's kind of hard to do that in the Western Conference because you could kind of make a case for any of these things. Unless you're saying like the Kings are going to win the first round series or the Mavs are going to win. Outside of that, you can kind of believe anything. So I was trying to think of something that would be bold but is like kind of believable.

I feel like it's kind of hard to do that in the Western Conference because you could kind of make a case for any of these things. Unless you're saying like the Kings are going to win the first round series or the Mavs are going to win. Outside of that, you can kind of believe anything. So I was trying to think of something that would be bold but is like kind of believable.

I feel like it's kind of hard to do that in the Western Conference because you could kind of make a case for any of these things. Unless you're saying like the Kings are going to win the first round series or the Mavs are going to win. Outside of that, you can kind of believe anything. So I was trying to think of something that would be bold but is like kind of believable.

So what I settled on coming off of the very last award, the Pacers are going to make their second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals. Now, here's the case. Since December 13th, that's 54 games. They have the fourth best record overall in the NBA. Not just the fourth best record. They've won 70%, over 70% of their games in that 54-game span.

So what I settled on coming off of the very last award, the Pacers are going to make their second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals. Now, here's the case. Since December 13th, that's 54 games. They have the fourth best record overall in the NBA. Not just the fourth best record. They've won 70%, over 70% of their games in that 54-game span.

So what I settled on coming off of the very last award, the Pacers are going to make their second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals. Now, here's the case. Since December 13th, that's 54 games. They have the fourth best record overall in the NBA. Not just the fourth best record. They've won 70%, over 70% of their games in that 54-game span.

That's kind of incredible because I don't think people are thinking of them in that way. But that's a huge chunk of the season. They were just so bad at the start that now you just look at them and it's like, oh, yeah, they're a four seed. They beat Cleveland this week. I don't really care about that because Cleveland was shorthanded.

That's kind of incredible because I don't think people are thinking of them in that way. But that's a huge chunk of the season. They were just so bad at the start that now you just look at them and it's like, oh, yeah, they're a four seed. They beat Cleveland this week. I don't really care about that because Cleveland was shorthanded.

That's kind of incredible because I don't think people are thinking of them in that way. But that's a huge chunk of the season. They were just so bad at the start that now you just look at them and it's like, oh, yeah, they're a four seed. They beat Cleveland this week. I don't really care about that because Cleveland was shorthanded.

But there is at least something we can look back on, which is that they beat Cleveland at home when Cleveland was at their absolute peak. They ended a Cavs 12-game winning streak at that point in the season. So they've at least shown that they match up decently with the Cavaliers. Now, the Cavaliers are going to be the overwhelming favorites if that ends up being the matchup in round two.