How The West Was Won.
How The West Was Won.
The Cast
By The Fillerbuster
05/04/2026
I had to trash a mostly written dual championship parade in Denver piece. It had some great ideas on paper. But, oh well. Thanks, Nuggets. Let’s move on to the new idea.
Everything is cyclical. I never get concerned about a conference being in a cycle of being better than the other. Heck, even the NFL sort of had that problem, as most of us thought that whoever won the Rams-Seahawks game would most likely beat the winner of the Pats-Broncos. But, let’s talk about BOTH sports going on right now with that exact situation, in my opinion.
Let’s start with the NHL. The East. I am ecstatic that my home-town Flyers (but I have converted to an Avs fan more or less now) are still in it, but between them and the Canadiens, they are just happy to still be playing. The Sabres and Hurricanes have had fantastic seasons, but if I am in the West, I am only slightly concerned about the Hurricanes. The West. By the way, the league needs to fix their playoff system. The fact that only one team of the Avs, Stars, and Wild would make the conference finals is out of whack. Fix it, NHL. Two of those teams SHOULD be meeting in the finals. Vegas and Anaheim are no slouches, and Vegas just won the whole thing in 2023, but we pretty much know that the winner of the Avs and Wild will be the Cup favorites. The Wild are…irritatingly and boringly good. The Avs are SOOO deep this year, have star power, their leader on the ice back, and if the coaches can’t fix their power play, I am not sure who can. Such a weird thing that they have that problem. They also have no “star” at goalie, but always have the “other guy” on the bench who can come in with trust from all players. If the Ducks or Golden Knights end up in the Stanley Cup Finals, I am willing to reconsider, but says here, barring a massive star injury, that the winner of the Avs and Wild takes out whoever pops out from the other side. And, the Western Conference has one other thing going for it. Edmonton is out, so they won’t have the chance to lose to the Florida Panthers again, who are also done for the year. The future series for the Avs and Wild will most likely be EASIER actually. I lean Avs over the Sabres in five in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The NBA. The East. The Cavs have two stars with a historical playoff problem in Donovan and James. We will root for them to overcome those said problems, but it won’t be easy. The Pistons literally are relying on Tobias Harris or someone to be the second scoring option, hoping Cade brings it every night, and praying defense does continue to travel. It won’t be enough offensive firepower for the Western opponent though. I say probably Cavs in six. The Knicks probably have the complete starting five left in the conference, and the Sixers have that scary starting five IF Paul is healthy, IF Joel is healthy, etc. I think the Knicks win it in seven, but HOPE the Sixers pull off a miracle (I have also converted in my thirty years in Denver to being a Nuggets fan rather than Sixers). Important Side Note: I will NEVER stop liking the Steelers though-no local conversion to the Broncos happening there. The Knicks might win two games against the winner of the Western Conference, and the other teams will get smoked. Smoked…by ANY of the remaining teams except the Lakers. They would make the Finals fun at least. The West. OKC is scary, all-time good even without Jalen Williams (a touch and go, game to game situation), Wemby has the scoring help he needs but maybe not the needed playoff experience, and Minnesota has Anthony Edwards back and length, length, length galore. Any of those teams would smoke the East. With LeBron providing the adding-to-the-legend element, and possibly Luka returning later in the playoffs, it would be the most entertaining Finals if it was Lakers vs. Anyone our East. I think OKC beats the Lakers in five, and the Spurs have to go seven to beat the Timberwolves. If Edwards remains healthy though, this series could be for the taking. Overall, I think it will be OKC vs. the Knicks, but I hope that it is something goofy like the Timberwolves or Lakers vs. the Cavs or Sixers. More fun storylines, and I really don’t want to hear about OKC dominance (and a ridiculous amount of draft picks still) for the next year.
My ONLY problem IF the Lakers should make a run, which they won’t, is this. I have said that I will go to my grave knowing that MJ is the best basketball player…ever. No contest, no question, for me. If, by chance, LeBron does more stupidly brilliant stuff and wins another one with THIS roster, I might have to reconsider. Don’t make me do that, OKC, Minnesota, and San Antonio.
Enjoy these non-Finals series, everyone. Because I don’t think each sport’s final will be that crazy good. So, how was the West won? We will see. But, HOWEVER it is won, the “final” series is won most likely also…in either sport.
Oh, and May the Fourth be with you, and don’t add more teams to the NCAA Tournament. Peace…
