Bright lights, big cities

I noted on Friday that the pro basketball playoffs seemed to be narrowing down to mostly small- and medium-market teams, which must have been making the bean counters of the league nervous. But over the weekend, the picture changed quite a bit. The gods of hoops were smiling on the NBA bank account. Or maybe it was the referees.

Anyway, the L.A. Clippers took two straight from Dallas and ushered the Mavericks out the door. The Clips faced down elimination twice. I knew they were dangerous, but I had no idea how dangerous. Now they've flipped the switch and are rolling. They're scary.

Meanwhile, back east, the store-bought Brooklyn Nets demolished Milwaukee in their Game 1, and the Nets didn't even have James Harden, who limped off with an injury, probably from excess flopping. Blake Griffin played a spectacular game for Brooklyn alongside a couple of guys named Kevin Durant amd Kyrie Irving.

And so now, guess what? The NBA Finals could very well be in L.A. and NYC, the two biggest markets in the country. Funny thing.

But first things first. The Clippers have to get past Utah, which I now think is no problem, and then play whoever wins Phoenix vs. Denver. I think Phoenix will take the Denver series easily, and as a Blazer fan I can't wait to see old Chris Paul carve up Lil' Facundo. 

Philadelphia against Atlanta is the other current matchup. You would think Philadelphia will win, but Atlanta could give them quite a bit of trouble, especially that youthful assassin Trae Young. No matter; Brooklyn will prevail and be world champs in the end.