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LeBron James and the Miami Heat are now closing in on not their first, not their second, but their third consecutive NBA Finals appearance, where they will be looking for their second ring with “The Big Three.”
But before we can punch Miami’s ticket to the Finals, the Heat still have four games left to
win against an Indiana Pacers team they’ve lost 2 straight against (1-2 in regular season).
The Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks both skidded into the playoffs with uninspiring performances in April. It was only a few weeks ago when the Pacers looked solidly positioned to secure the Eastern Conference’s second seed. Instead, they went 2-5 in April and fell to third.
Meanwhile, the Hawks also struggled at the end of the season and appeared to strategically tank their final two games in an attempt to avoid the Heat in the early rounds of the playoffs.
Danilo Gallinari’s season-ending injury this week put the Denver Nuggets in a club whose membership seems to get larger every day.
Playoff teams missing key players.
There are very few teams who will be at full strength when the playoffs start two weekends from now. But two of those teams are last year’s NBA Finals combatants, which could make for a relatively mundane postseason.
As the NBA season winds down, several teams are gearing up for the playoffs. Unfortunately for some, they are gearing up without some of their key players. The Lakers, Pacers, Knicks and others are loading up for the final push, whether it be for playoff or draft position. Maybe even a championship chase.
