As the curtain prepares to fall on the regular season in the National Hockey League, the NBA campaign concludes in spectacular fashion on Sunday, as all 30 teams are in action and the playoff portrait will be finalized.
Montrealer Luguentz Dort, who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder, will certainly be the player to watch in the coming weeks for basketball fans in Quebec.
The last game of the season for Dort and the Thunder includes a duel against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday afternoon, after which the Quebecer and his teammates will turn their attention to the playoffs. The New Orleans Pelicans, the Phoenix Suns or any team coming out of the play-in tournament are among the potential opponents for the Thunder in the first round while Oklahoma City, with a record of 56-25, comes provisionally for first place in the Western Conference, in a three-way tie with the Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Luguentz Dort, in action, in the Oklahoma City Thunder uniform. Photo Julio Aguilar/Getty Images via AFP
Having averaged 11 points per game since the start of the season, Dort has been particularly effective since the start of the month. He thus managed four games of 15 points or more, out of a total of six, in April. The number 5 of the Thunder notably scored 22 points on April 5, during a game against the Indiana Pacers.
Pacers without Mathurin
Quebecer Bennedict Mathurin, of the Pacers, could also see his team make some progress in the playoffs. Injured in a shoulder, the young Mathurin, however, finds himself on the sidelines for the balance of the season and the series.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper, despite a supporting role in Dallas, also reached the playoffs with the Mavericks. They are logically likely to face the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round.
Olivier-Maxence Propser plays for the Dallas Mavericks. Photo Sam Hodde/Getty Images via AFP
The Nuggets: defending champions
The NBA playoffs are coming as, earlier this season, the league also presented for the first time in its history a playoff tournament in the middle of the season. LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers got their hands on the new NBA Cup in December, after defeating Mathurin and the Pacers in the grand final.
Without being uninteresting, this mid-season competition obviously does not have the same prestige as the traditional playoffs and the conquest of the coveted Larry-O’Brien trophy. In 2023, the Denver Nuggets won, still fighting to secure first place in the West.
The ordeal ends for the Raptors
Regarding the Toronto Raptors, let’s remember that they have been guaranteed to miss the playoffs for quite a while. Before their game on Friday night in Miami, they had a poor record of 25-55. The ordeal will end on Sunday for the Raptors, also in Miami, against the Heat.
Led by Jayson Tatum, the Boston Celtics (62-18) are the big favorites in the East, who also dominate the general NBA rankings.
2024-04-13 13:00:00
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