Leila Rahimi

I wrote a book on coaching and management structure in basketball.

These playoffs should be amazing, especially the Western Conference.

So, you know, NBA, Tiger Woods teasing the Masters.

I'm a huge golf fan.

So when football season ends, I actually get to take vacation and get to play golf and don't have to stay up crazy late every night watching games.

So, you know, it's seasons.

I think the Thunder versus the field I think is actually a fair bet.

Really?

Yeah, well, I think Oklahoma City will get healthy, and I know that the Spurs are 4-1 against the Thunder this year, but a lot of that was without Jalen Williams, who I still do think is the Thunder's second-best player, and I think that they're playing with their food a little bit now that they realize that they're not going to set the wins record because the Thunder have already matched last year's loss total, but if you go by point differential, it's the third-best point differential in the last 50 years.

First is last year's Oklahoma City Thunder.

Second are the 96 Bulls.

And then third are this year's Thunder.

So I still think the Thunder are clearly the best team.

The Spurs are so fun and so interesting, but they are so young.

Are they going to really go from no playoff experience to winning four consecutive rounds in the playoffs, led by a 20-year-old with Dylan Harper coming up behind at 19 and 20?

It just...

I love Vassell, Castle, De'Aaron Fox, Wemby.

It's a very exciting team.

I think the Western Conference Finals are going to be like the NFC title game in the NFL where whoever wins the West wins the title.

I don't think anyone out of the East can put up much of a fight this year, though my pick is the Cavs.