Checking in on the fans of all the other playoff failures in the West
There can only be one Western champ! But that doesn’t mean the other eliminated teams feelings don’t matter.
As one of the greatest bloggers of all time, whether it be here or at the bastion of Golden State Warriors fandom Dub Nation HQ, I just gotta be plugged into the hoops convo.
A big part of that is seeing how die-hards translate their emotions about their team into the written word, especially when they make the playoffs but see it all come crashing down. So, for anyone who just hasn’t been tapped into the Western Conference basketball conversation, I scoured the internet for the realest fan takes on the demise of their favorite heroes for your reading/scouting pleasure. Enjoy!
#1 seeded Thunder
Here’s an excerpt from Thunderous Intenntions talking about magic and defeat entitled “Thunder: 3 studs, 2 duds from crushing Game 6 loss to Mavericks”:
Though the 2023-24 campaign was truly a magical one, the OKC Thunder should look back on Saturday night’s Game 6 loss once feelings aren’t as fresh and see the areas in which they can improve upon moving forward.
The Thunder squandered a 17-point lead and faltered in their elimination matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, which seemed to be a key example of inexperience and a lack of composure down the stretch for the second-youngest team in the NBA.
Losing the series revealed so much about this team. For head coach Mark Daigneault, this will be a learning experience. The youthful coach bet on Dallas’ perceived non-shooters PJ Washington, Derrick Jones Jr., and Tim Hardaway Jr. to miss their shots. Unfortunately for him, he never wound up profiting from such a game plan.
#2 seeded Nuggets
Recap: Nuggets blow 20-point lead to finish their season with a 98-90 loss to Minnesota in Game 7:
The Nuggets just need a little more. Someone to take the pressure off of Murray in the regular season so he can get the maintenance rest he obviously needs, and who can run a competent offense in the playoffs. Someone who can play a big man role off the bench, because this year Denver had no one they could rely on and wore Aaron Gordon down by using him in his playoff role during the regular season to compensate. A reliable bench scorer. Maybe that’s Strawther or Braun, maybe Watson can increase his shooting consistency and therefore his playability in year 3. When the starters are cooking there is no one better in the NBA than the Nuggets, but when the stove is on fire there isn’t anyone on the bench who can put it out and serve up a decent meal. That has to change.
The squad is one year removed from a title, have the best player in the world, and most of the pieces that make him a title winner. This sucks, it will continue to suck, but for as long as Nikola Jokic calls Denver his second home this squad has life. So enjoy yours while they recover and make some choices about how to get back to another title.
#3 seeded Timberwolves
Mavs 124, Wolves 103: Dallas Duo Dazzles, Punches NBA Finals Ticket:
It was unfortunate — to say the least — that a team that brought us all as much joy as the 2023-24 Minnesota Timberwolves went out in the fashion that they did. But there is no shame in losing to a generational back-court comprised by a pair of future Hall of Famers who two of the best closers the league has ever seen. A blowout Game 5 loss can’t take away all the good this Timberwolves team did, either.
The great news for the Wolves is that although it is no guarantee that they will make it back to play on the Western Conference Finals stage in the future, they have a tremendously bright young core that affords the front office flexibility in how to build moving forward. You need a megastar to make it this far and the Wolves certainly have that in Edwards; knowing that, they’ll have plenty of cracks at it in the years to come. Minnesota also has two selections in the top-37 of the 2024 NBA Draft, which should help them improve around the margins.
#4 seeded Clippers
213 Hoops Roundtable: Clippers’ 2024 Offseason Preview:
If “run it back” is bringing back the Big 3, I think I’m out. Paul George is the guy I’d move on from, as he seems to want a deal way, way beyond what he’s worth at this point in his career. And, personally, I’m sick of his vibes. The Clippers can’t “replace” him, but if he walks for nothing, the Clippers would go well under the second apron and open up some much needed flexibility. Letting Russ walk, Mason walk, and cutting or dumping PJ Tucker are the other moves I’d like to see. You can then sign a true power forward with the now-open MLE, move guys like Bones Hyland and Kobe Brown into bigger roles, and maybe even get looks at Jordan Miller, Kai Jones, and Moussa Diabate. That is what I’d call a re-tool.
This is all, however, dependent on James Harden not having a real market in free agency and returning to the Clippers on what I’d consider a reasonable deal: a 3 year contract (to align with Kawhi) that is at most $40M annual average value (AAV) and hopefully somewhat less. However, if Harden wants more than that – and could somehow find a team that would give it to him (I’m very skeptical) – I would be fine letting him walk, too, and going full-fledged “young guys around Kawhi”. If that makes Kawhi unhappy, well, I’m sorry, you’re under contract and keep not playing in the playoffs. So while my ideal is a re-tool, I think I’d probably rather go more into a blow it up then run it back if those extremes are the only options even if such an option is unpalatable to the Clippers in Intuit’s first year.
#6 seeded Suns
Suns Reacts Survey: How do you fix the Suns?
The wounds may be too fresh, the scars too new to the skin. But there is no doubt that the 2023-24 Phoenix Suns were a disappointment in every sense of the word and turn of the phrase. To not win a single damn playoff game? None of us would have predicted such a fate just 9 months ago.
That is exactly what happened. Zip. Zero. Nada. None. That is the total number of postseason victories for the 2024 Suns.
Between now and then we will navigate all the stages of grief until we reach acceptance. What we all will do along the way is what we always do: try to be constructive in the way that this team can improve for the 2024-25 NBA season. We’ll have our thoughts, suggestions, free agency and trade targets, and justifiable reasoning behind it all.
The challenge the Suns face this season is the daunted second apron, and we are about to learn how constrictive that can be.
#7 seeded Lakers
3 takeaways from Lakers season-ending Game 5 loss to Nuggets
There are no moral victories in the playoffs and the Lakers will never claim one. But for a second series in a row, and even more so this time around, they went toe-to-toe with the champions and gave them everything they could handle.
But there’s no banner to be raised for losing eight of nine games to the Nuggets in the playoffs this year even if they were close games.
The Lakers’ exit from the playoffs was only barely less embarrassing than being swept last year. Sure, the team fought hard and that’ll be remembered by fans. But, the fact is they’ve now lost eight of nine games to this team in the postseason and 12 of the last 13 overall.
#8 seeded Pelicans
2023-24 Pelicans Season In Review Part II: What Went Wrong?
New Orleans built its defense around shutting off driving lanes and keeping defenders out of the paint. But the Pelicans struggled to defend the rim when attackers found their way to the paint, often via spread pick-and-roll attack. Opposing teams shot 65.1% at the rim against New Orleans good for the sixth worst in the NBA.
Statistics and film can’t measure the Pelicans’ issues with consistency and discipline. They barely eclipsed .500 at home. New Orleans toyed with expectations far too often throughout the season, looking like an elite team one night and losing to bad teams the next. The Pelicans flashed the highs of a great team and the lows of a bad one.
The Pels can remedy many of these failures through shrewd roster construction. Focusing on ball-handlers, high-feel passers, and rim defenders should be a priority this offseason to push New Orleans over the hump.
Wellp that’s all folks. Unfortunately the Warriors didn’t even make the playoffs, so they don’t deserve this type of eulogy I suppose....sigh.