In October 2021, when this National Basketball Association (NBA) season began, JustBet and almost every other bookmaker placed the Brooklyn Nets as the odds-on favourite to win it all, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers as a close second-favourite. But, after a ferocious and drama-filled regular season, the Lakers failed to make the play-in (much less the play-offs) and the Nets are the only team to get swept in the first round this year.

The demise of the Nets came at the hands of the Boston Celtics who have been the best team in the league for the past three months. They finished the regular season with 26 wins from their final 32 games — ranking first in both offensive and defensive efficiency in that span — and carried their top-tier performance into the play-offs by being the first team ever to sweep any NBA’s pre-season favourite in the first round. The Celtics swept a team featuring the storied talents of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, both of whom have never been previously swept in a play-off series.

Durant laboured throughout, shooting just 37 per cent over the four games and his effective field goal efficiency of 42.8 per cent was his third-worst mark in a play-off career that spans 30 series. The primary reason for his struggles was Boston’s defence in general, but particularly one Jayson Tatum, who made one of the greatest scorers in NBA history look like a mere mortal. On one end of the court, Tatum was Durant’s primary defender, on the other end, Tatum averaged 29.5 points and 7.3 assists over the series, completing the shutout with an efficient 29 points in Game 4 last Monday (April 25).

As it is, for the first time in 15 years, the NBA play-offs will be devoid of Durant or LeBron James in the second round, but there have been enough showings in this post-season to ensure that the future of the league is in good hands. Tatum (age 24) aside, the performances of Jordan Poole (age 22) of the Golden State Warriors and Ja Morant (age 22) of the Memphis Grizzlies, have been particularly eye-opening.

Poole has been promoted to a starting position (albeit temporarily) with Stephen Curry coming off the bench due to an injury late in the regular season, and Poole has not disappointed. After averaging 18.5 points in the regular season, he averaged 28.7 points in the first three games in the playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, as a third-tier scoring option. He did have a poor outing in Game 4 (11 points) but has earned the trust of head coach Steve Kerr and, with him in the line-up, the Warriors must be considered a genuine threat in the Western Conference. The challenge for Poole is consistency once he is relegated back to the bench, and for Curry and Klay Thompson to give him enough touches to ensure his confidence is maintained. Curry and Thompson will carry the team, but the Warriors probably won’t go deep into championship territory without positive production from Poole.

Morant was voted the Kia NBA Most Improved Player on Monday, following a record-setting season. The three-year pro becomes the first Memphis player to win the award and averaged a career-high 27.4 points, 6.7 assists and 5.7 rebounds with a career-best 49.3 per cent from the field. He is the third player in NBA history to reach these numbers in points, assists, rebounds and field goal percentage within his first three seasons, joining the elite company of Oscar Robertson and Dwyane Wade.

In addition to an 8.3-point increase in scoring and 4.3 per cent improvement in field goal percentage from last season, Morant established career-high averages in minutes, rebounds, steals (1.16 per game), free throws made (5.5), free throws attempted (7.3) and three-pointers made (1.5). He also recorded a career high in three-point field goal percentage (34.4). He registered six games with at least 40 points after having only one 40-point game over his first two regular seasons. He set the Grizzlies’ single-game regular-season scoring record in back-to-back games, first with 46 points against the Chicago Bulls on February 26 and then with a career-high 52 points against the San Antonio Spurs on February 28. As part of his success as a scorer this season, the six-feet three-inches Morant led the NBA in points in the paint per game (16.6).

Morant willed Memphis to a 56-26 regular season record (second-best in the NBA behind the Phoenix Suns), matched the franchise’s single season record for victories and secured their highest play-off seed ever (No 2 in the Western Conference). He, along with Jaren Jackson Jr and Desmond Bane, appear to have the right formula for a team on the rise but may lack the experience necessary to journey deep into these playoffs. They face the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight in an effort to close out a tightly contested series — This should be really good.

With the surging play of the Splash Brother (plus Poole), JustBet has catapulted the Warriors into the favourite spot and Boston’s takedown of Brooklyn has them nestled in second favourite, slightly ahead of Phoenix. It’s early days yet and those that deserve to be here are staking their claim, but as the season drags on and the mileage begins to take its toll, only the fittest of the fittest shall survive — Stay tuned.

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