Power Ratings:
Golden State 14
San Antonio 6.75 (3 without Leonard)
Cleveland 8
Boston 3.75
Notes on Kawhi Leonard:
The Spurs beat Houston game 5 in OT without Leonard, and then won without him Game 6 in a blowout. After that, the narrative was that Leonard really was not critically important. The Spurs had been 8-1 in games without Leonard at that point, and 7-2 ATS.
What a difference a few games make. The Spurs have now been outscored by 60 points in 1.5 games without him, and now all the talk is how much he is worth. I have made almost a 4 point adjustment, and that looks right to me, however, one can certainly make the case maybe he is more important vs. Golden State, since without him, there is simply too much a gap between the teams for them to compete.
Are the Markets Overreacting to Cleveland's 8-0?
Golden State is 10-0 SU, and playing like perhaps the greatest team ever. However, Cleveland's 8-0 comes much more with an asterisk. They only beat the Pacers by an average of 4 points a game, and then we witnessed Toronto get their star point guard Lowry injured, and frankly play bad basketball the entire series. Cleveland has been making 43% (38% during the season) of their 3s, and Lebron is making 47 percent of his, numbers that cannot continue. One simply has to look at Boston at select games in this series.
Boston was LAYING -4 a month ago hosting the Cavs. Now, at home, they are getting +4...........
"Another OVER""
The one theme in these playoffs has been all the scoring. We have now seen 11 more overs than unders, despite the average total being dealt at 214, vs. 200 just one year ago. I will be the first to admit, I have taken a bath playing UNDERs, taking perceived value, and watching as the over train just kept rolling.
Put me down for the Celtics game 1, in a game that I hope will start a turnaround for me in these NBA Playoffs......