The best month of the basketball year is here! It’s March Madness time!!
It is by far one of the greatest spectacles in sport, where one bad night can eliminate all the hard work for the season and get you bounced out of the tournament!
There are some Hall of Famers (or future one’s at that) that have made a name for themselves in the month of March, playing big time in the NCAA Tournament.
Carmelo Anthony led his Syracuse Orange to an unforgettable tournament win as a Freshman back in 2003, earning the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, then going on to cement a 3rd pick in the NBA Draft to the Denver Nuggets.
Dwyane Wade led his Marquette Golden Eagles to the Final Four for the first time since 1977 in the 2003 tournament that Carmelo Anthony led his team to a championship.
Wade was nothing short of heroic for Marquette, beating the highly favoured Kentucky Wildcats in the Elite 8, on his way to a triple double (29 Pts, 11 Rbs and 11 Asts) which at the time was only the 4th ever Triple Double recorded in the tournament’s history.
Wade decided to skip his senior season after a break out tournament, and was selected 2 spots after Melo to the Miami Heat at 5, and the rest is history!
There are plenty of big names in this tournament this season, as the likes of Jalen Suggs, Cade Cunningham and many others will be looking to cement their place in history, as well as up their Draft stock for the 2021 NBA Draft.
Which now brings us back to the NBA, after a weeklong all-star break, we are back in action tomorrow!
Brooklyn have reloaded their roster (like they needed to) with the acquisition of Blake Griffin.
If they can bring a player of Blake’s status off the bench leading the 2nd unit, and he shows anything of his former self, then this could be good night for the NBA Championship if this team stays healthy.
Blake was needed to be a 1st or 2nd option in Detroit outside of Jerami Grant this season. He moves into a 5th or 6th option in Brooklyn, which will only open things up for their entire squad and make this team a formidable out come playoff time.
Health will be a big sticking point for a lot of teams in the 2nd half of the season, with the Lakers back to back title hopes hinging on the health of Anthony Davis.
If Davis is no good to go in the back end of the season, there’s no way this team survives the onslaught of the likes of the Clippers and Utah, and could very well be bounced early if AD can’t go.
Philly and Milwaukee are now somewhat on the outside looking in in the East, which is why home court will be such a big deal for Philly if they can get it (as well as fans eventually being allowed back into most buildings), if they want any chance of knocking off this star studded Brooklyn line up.
Phoenix and Portland have been the big surprise packets of the season, with Phoenix ending the 1st half of the season in 2nd place out West, as Chris Paul has once again worked his magic with this young squad, and has them very well placed for a deep playoff run.
There will be no play in for this squad this season!
Portland have survived the loss of CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, through the incredible play of Damian Lillard, ending the 1st half of the season in 5th place.
Get these two bodies back for them soon and we could be seeing Portland make some noise come playoff time if they can sneak into a top 4 seed in the West.
Hope everyone enjoys the month of March and the Madness that ensues, on the college scene and in the NBA, it’s sure to be a belter!
Let us know your favourite March Madness moment!
Bauky