The NBA season is coming down the stretch with only 27 games left in the regular season. The Eastern Conference is wide open. There are at least four teams that could win the conference, including the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, the surprise Chicago Bulls, the Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers.
In the Western Conference, I think the three teams that will be in contention will be the Phoenix Suns, the Golden State Warriors and the Denver Nuggets.
On a bit of a side note, I’m quite nervous about how Joel Embiid and James Harden are going to fit together as teammates. I hope they quickly learn how to share the ball and the scoring responsibilities or it could create real problems. I hope I am completely off base and that they end up being the best thing that's happened to the 76ers in a long time.
I hope the NBA playoffs are exciting since it looks like the Major League Baseball regular season is going to be delayed for some time. The owners have told the players if they don’t get a deal done by this coming Monday, there will not be a full season. I’m hoping there will be a deal in the next two weeks, which probably means a season of 100 to 120 games and an asterisk for 2022.
Regardless of the season setup, the Philadelphia Phillies will not be favored to make the playoffs as of right now because the World Champion Atlanta Braves are still very good and they get all-star Ronald Acuna Jr. back. In addition, whenever the parties reach a labor agreement, the free agency period will be very short which will limit the Phillies chances of getting any better with free agents.
MLB needs to get its act together. I'm hoping I have better news to report next week.
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A 2002 Cape grad and 2007 UD grad, Lewes resident Sumner Spence is one of the Cape area's biggest sports fans. Although he’s used a wheelchair his entire life, he has lived vicariously through his sports-playing father, brother, and friends, who gave him his love of sports. He hopes to provide new and interesting perspectives on the sports stories and issues of the day. Email Sumner at sumspence@gmail.com.
