Although last night we saw LeBron James make it to his 8th straight NBA Finals appearance, we went to sleep knowing that the future of the NBA is not in the Western Conference but in the East.
Averaging 17.9 ppg in the Eastern Conference Finals, we showcase Jayson Tatum’s TOP PLAYS of the series for the @celtics.
He passes Magic Johnson to become the youngest player to average at least 17 ppg in a conference finals.#CUsRise #NBAPlayoffs #NBARooks pic.twitter.com/zPivZLYOLx
— NBA (@NBA) May 28, 2018
The Eastern Conference playoffs was probably the most entertaining playoffs we have seen since LeBron dethroned the Boston Celtics almost 10 years ago. The First round of the Eastern Conference playoffs featured some of the future super stars of the NBA, and the future champions.
The 76ers have a bright future with Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and Markelle Fultz; the Bucks have arguably the next Kevin Durant in Giannis Antetokounmpo, or better known as the Greek Freak; and lets not forget the run made by the Boston Celtics without Kyrie Irving. The Celtics are prime for a Eastern Conference take over with Jayson Tatum and Terry Rosier.
. 15.8 PPG / 8.1 RPG / 8.2 APG
12 triple doubles
4x Rookie of the Month
All-Rookie First TeamBest of @BenSimmons25‘s rookie year.
🎥 » https://t.co/j6zSe0ITGv | #HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/2FmpJRT8px— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 23, 2018
Now that’s just the East, and if I forgot to mention some names let me know.
On to the West.
The West has a future that might resemble more of their past. The Lakers are a young team lead by Magic Johnson. The Lakers are building for the future, almost like the Golden State Warriors did when the picked up Steph Curry a few years back.
Now the Lakers have Lonzo Ball at the Point, Brandon Ingram at Small Forward, Kyle Kuzma at Small Forward, and Julius Randle at center. These pieces could change this off-season, but at the moment the Lakers are starting young and building up.
The Jazz made a great draft decision when they picked up Donovan Mitchell. He showed he can play with the best of the best when it’s crunch time. If the Jazz can add a few guys around him, we could be looking at a future west power in Utah.
But the biggest prize of them all is where will Anthony Davis go once his contract is up with the New Orleans Pelicans?
The small market team can only keep Davis for so long, and if the Lakers have any room in cap space to add a dominating center like Davis I would expect the Lakers to throw as much money and incentives his way to get him to sign with the purple and gold.
Watch out The Future is now!