Remedies for Heartbroken Playoff Losers

The NBA Conference Semi-Finals are officially over and just like every year, we're left scratching our heads at what could have been for four more hopeful (but now crushed) contenders. This Conference Semi-Finals might've been one of the most brutal in recent memory considering the ramifications that going home early from the dance will have for teams, coaches, team executives and impending free agents. That's why we, as avid NBA consumers LOVE this time of the year, narratives are flying around and our hypothetical thinking organs get whirling.

The last two weeks saw the Boston Celtics get absolutely dismantled by Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks after an extremely encouraging Game 1 performance (that also led yours truly to fatefully declare Boston would topple the Bucks in 7 games...oh how I was mistaken...) and are now staring hopelessly into the void that is Kyrie's impending free agency and whispers of bromance with former teammate LeBron James. North of the border we watched Kawhi Leonard hit the most incredible Game 7 game winner the league has ever seen to send the heartbroken Sixers back to Philly, facing some major questions about keeping the notoriously uncreative Brett Brown at the helm as well as signing or not signing Tobias Harris and Jimmy Butler to long term contracts this Summer.

Out West there was no less drama, the Houston Rockets are left facing their own demons (namely a huge Chris Paul contract as he ages noticeably) as their window for contention seems to be closing, after failing to capitalise on Kevin Durant's strained calf injury and losing in 6 to the throwback, pass-swinging, KD-less Warriors. Portland proved their haters wrong by toppling the Denver Nuggets in an epic 7 game series while riding a hot streaking CJ McCollum the entire way and now get to face the Champs in the Bay Area for what's looking to be an exciting series, with a face-off between two of the best backcourts in the NBA.

These four teams are facing a long summer with plenty of questions, and we're here to give some of our takes on how to rebuild/retool their rosters to attempt for an even better run through the playoffs next season.

Boston Celtics

Okay, what the f**k happened to the Celtics?! They had a super encouraging Game One performance that led me to predict their victory over the Bucks in seven games, and then they drop four straight games. The absolute decimation at the hands of the Bucks can be put down to two main components. Milwaukee's ability to adapt their playing style and the Celtic's fundamental attitude problem.

Firstly, Milwaukee deserves a lot of credit for what they did to the Celtics rather than what the Celtics did to themselves. After getting walled off by 3 defenders every time in transition in Game 1, leading some very uncharacteristic play, Giannis was absolutely unleashed for the next four contests - he was moving the ball quickly ahead to Milwaukee's shooters, taking advantage of the Celtic's commitment to controlling his fast breaks by forcing them to scramble to cover the other players while the ball was out of his hands - leading to more ball reversals and consequentially more off the dribble magic from the Greek Freak. After only logging 2 assists in Game 1 he then dropped 4, 8, 4 & 8 over Milwaukee's four straight wins. Just a small adjustment by Mike Budenholzer unlocked the Bucks stagnant offense that plagued them in the first game and the Boston Celtics couldn't deal with it.

Speaking of the Celtics they went from 100 to 0 real quick... What initially looked to be a savvy group of veterans and talented young players finally finding their groove and winning so convincingly against the NBA's best team in Game 1 quickly turned to a group of players who ultimately just didn't want to fight for each other. It's quite poetic that the same team who "found themselves" on a short 6 hour flight across the country, then happened to "unfind themselves" in just two days between Game 1 and Game 2. The Celtics had plenty of chances and plenty of talent to at least keep things competitive against Milwaukee, but when the going got tough, the tough... well, the tough just gave up... Perhaps Marcus Smart was the mental spark plug that Boston needed - but when you're relying on one guy to come back from injury mid-series and give you a boost, you're not a contender. Kyrie's end of series presser was pretty telling to the mentality that led the Celtics to crumble, when somebody who's meant to be your "lead-by-example guy" looked that checked out at the press table then you're in trouble. He looked like he had already booked his flight to the Cancun two nights earlier and had KD on speed dial ready for those Decision-esque phone calls to one another. So what should the Celtics do to remain competitive next year? Well with a treasure trove of picks and young assets all over the court, the answer is easier than you think.

Rebuilding Option

- Trade Jayson Tatum, Terry Rozier and 1st Round Pick for Anthony Davis.

- Re-sign Kyrie Irving

While I wish Boston could just flip the bird to the guy who's shown absolutely no love for the city (Kyrie by the way), they need a long term play here and Anthony Davis is a franchise-altering player unlike Irving, who's proven to be a great second option but not a great go-to guy. Boston needs Anthony Davis to be able to go head-to-head with Giannis, Embiid and Kawhi (presuming his recent success with Toronto convinces him to re-sign) year after year. After that, you hope that another full season of growth from Jaylen Brown, continued longevity from Al Horford and the incredible firepower of a 1-2 Irving-Davis punch is worth giving up a promising player in Jayson Tatum, for another shot at getting through the East's gauntlet to the NBA Finals.

The Potential?

Dependant on Kyrie Irving and Al Horford's health throughout the season, I'd predict if Boston made this trade then they'd meet a dangerous, proven Milwaukee team in the Eastern Finals - where I'd flip a coin for the winner.

Philadelphia 76ers

This one hurts.

No, not only because of my prediction that the Sixers would make it to The Finals before toppling Golden State.

It's the way that they got beat. One of the greatest game winning shots of all time and first ever Game Seven game-winning shot by none other than Mr. Iceman himself, Kawhi Leonard. The Sixers whole immediate future was just spun on it's head by one possession. Brett Brown was already on the hot seat this summer, needing to prove that he was able to take the Sixers over the hump, Jimmy Butler is an impending free agent and is sure to command a max-contract this off-season, same goes for Tobias Harris. The sexiest starting five in the NBA outside of the Hampton Five in Golden State is now in a state of flux, here's my recipe for an off-season not filled with finger pointing and skewed front office decisions.

Retooling Option

CODE NAME: RUN IT BACK

- Keep Brett Brown

- Re-sign Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris to potentially team-friendly options

- Trade Furkan Korkmaz, Zhaire Smith, Greg Monroe & 1st Round Pick for Lou Williams

Look, I'm aware that the NBA is a big business and we as consumers love entertainment, but I think the best approach here is to more or less run this squad back. I'll be the first to admit that Brett Brown's coaching versatility is off the charts terrible... But, and stay with me here... What if FOR ONCE in this current era of player power and constant team shuffling, a team could just look at their mistakes, acknowledge them, hold a team meeting and agree to change their habits for the greater good? I don't believe for a second that any one of the Sixers core players don't have a winning mentality, they're all dogs on the court and they play their asses off. They need to take a long look at themselves this summer, Elton Brand needs to give them the security and flexibility they need to make winning decisions - everybody's seen from the LA Lakers that just ditching a perfectly competent coach because of the team's disappointment in one season can lead to some weird coach hiring choices being made. Brett Brown is by no means perfect, but he has the respect of these guys, particularly Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid - which is why they need to keep him. I do not believe Brown is naive enough to not see the need to give Embiid more post touches, or to believe running J.J. Redick through 10 screens is the best play the Sixers can run. If Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris actually want to win, and not just get a payday, then their best option is to find a way to re-up together with the Sixers this season and commit to making the best out of this experiment long-term. The Sixers starting five only played ten games together before the Playoffs began, that's not nearly enough to determine them a failure, and neither is one of the greatest buzzer beating shots in the history of the league.

What? The Clippers love Sixers rookies! (See Landry Shamet) While the LA Clippers are going to certainly be a hot free agency destination this year after proving they could hang with Golden State, I don't think they're going to get Kawhi. The Raptors are going to sell him on staying for more money, more years and more opportunity to win rings. He's not going to go to the Lakers, his alpha-dog play has proven that he's got no interest in being LeBron's understudy. Toronto can sell him on the fact that they only play half their games in snowy, cold Canada, he can go to LA anytime he wants over the off-season to enjoy the weather (guy's a freaking multi-millionaire with a second home there c'mon...) AND he can remain competitive year after year in the East no matter how thin the roster. Ultimately this needs to be a basketball decision at this stage in his career, he's not like LeBron - he's not won a ring yet, has no Hollywood ties and is still in his young-prime - there's no need to make a "homecoming" decision yet if it sacrifices his chances of winning. #

Anyway...

Kawhi rant aside - The Clippers should be looking at developing their young guys for the future while keeping those max-slots open still, why not add a mouth-watering prospect like Zhaire Smith to their war chest (ala Boston Celtics) and let Lou-Wil go chase some rings?! God knows the Sixers need SOMETHING out of their bench behind that crazy starting lineup, why not the best Sixth Man in the league? Just imagining a time where Embiid can check out of the game and the 76ers remain competitive in the game is a mouth watering prospect after the series they just had...

Continuity has been the key to Philadelphia's "process", and the pain of defeat at the hands of the Raptors should be the motivation to recoup, re-up and run it back.

The Potential?

A real chance for the Sixers to play the right way, learn from their mistakes and make the Conference Finals next year. From there, who knows? Maybe I'll be able to bounce back from my own failure and see the Sixers win the ship.

Denver Nuggets

A year ago the Denver Nuggets didn't even make the Playoffs, losing their spot at the hands of the Timberwolves on the final day of the regular season. This year they grabbed the 2nd seed improving by 8 wins, which makes it almost more impressive how much weaker the Western Conference got this season compared to the Nugget's actual development. A seven-place jump with an 8 win improvement was pretty rare in the usually highly competitive West. Comparisons aside, this season ended in a relatively disappointing Game 7 performance against the Portland Trailblazers in which they only made two three point shots. In a series that was defined by close games, a historic quadruple-overtime game and some clutch performances, it was only right that Game 7 was capped by an incredible clutch game by CJ McCollum. The Nuggets are pretty much secure for the future, but how can they prepare themselves for an even deeper playoff run next year?

Retooling Option

- Trade Torrey Craig, Isaiah Thomas, Will Barton & 1st Round Pick for Mike Conley & Kyle Anderson

There's only one step here, and that's finding a second reliable scoring option for this team. When Jokic was having an off game or taking possessions off to rest they were really struggling to put the ball in the basket. This trade allows them to pick up a hungry-for-winning Mike Conley and a versatile forward which they desperately need to give the older Paul Millsap some rest. The Nuggets already have a bevy of versatile guards, they can play Jamal Murray at the second guard spot and still have Malik Beasley and Monte Morris playing reliable bench minutes. For a Grizzlies team that knows Mike Conley is bouncing outta town, this is a great payoff and a chance to develop the already defensively-gifted Torrey Craig into a future defensive juggernaut alongside Jaren Jackson Jr.

The Potential?

An almost certain return to a top-three seed and a real chance to go to the NBA Finals by escaping a conference no longer ruled over by the KD-led Warriors.

Houston Rockets

Ouch... This was meant to be THE year. After their crushing Game 7 loss to the Warriors in last year's Conference Finals, this Rockets squad had the potential to learn from their previous battle scars, lick their wounds and come back hungrier than ever. The stage seemed to be set after Kevin Durant went down with a calf injury in Game 5, but it almost looked like they failed to realise the significance of the moment, instead allowing the Warriors shift gears into pre-KD ball movement mode and run them off the floor in the final quarter. A keen fan would have realised that they missed the chance to steal that one from Golden State but still had the advantage of game planning for a weakened Warriors' roster in Game 6 to get a punter's chance at winning a Game 7. It was almost like they used Kevin Durant's injury as a cushion for feeling good about their chances and instead got their asses kicked by a GSW squad playing with the hearts of champions, afraid to end their incredible era of championship basketball.

Houston are going to have a long summer of questions, what ifs and doubts about their Championship window that's closing as quickly as Chris Paul is gaining wrinkles. So how can they approach this summer? Even if KD doesn't come back to The Bay, Golden State will still likely be a top-four seed and a major roadblock again - perhaps with an even deeper squad created by Durant's departure. The Denver Nuggets aren't going anywhere, neither are the Portland Trailblazers, Utah just needs to add a second scorer behind Donovan Mitchell to make the leap, the LA Lakers are chasing dreams of pairing LeBron with another superstar, Oklahoma are still dangerous and have Russ and PG locked in, many young teams like the Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings are all expecting to get their young stars playoff minutes...This isn't going to get any easier for Houston, and they're in need of some real tinkering in order to remain competitive.

Retooling Option

- Trade Chris Paul & Clint Capela for Nikola Vucevic & Aaron Gordon

- Start Harden at Point Guard with E.Gordon (SG), Tucker (SF), A. Gordon (PF) and Vucevic (C).

Okay at first glance this looks a little drastic, but stick with me. Chris Paul got absolutely exposed in these playoffs, he had some nice scoring games sure, but when James Harden took a break he just couldn't fill the scoring void anymore, his 20 seconds of dribbling around the court, under the basket, back out to the three point line before either passing to a shooter with 2 seconds to shoot or jacking up his own mid range shot just wasn't cutting it. He was being exposed on defense and might be on the most ridiculous contract (not named John Wall) in the league. Clint Capela was similarly exposed, the Warriors weren't allowing him to roll to the rim out of screens or from the weak side, and he looked stumped. If the Rockets are going to really lean into Daryl Morey's "live by the three or die by the three" motto then they should lean HARD.

For Houston this trade gives James Harden a chance to stop sharing plays with Chris Paul down the stretch and instead use his supporting cast much more often when he needs a break. Starting P.J Tucker at the 3 spot allows Houston to play big and versatile, Eric Gordon was a flamethrower from deep this postseason, let him continue to get his. Aaron Gordon is an underrated shooting forward with the ability to guard multiple positions and switch onto smaller players (when he's focused, let him play some meaningful basketball and you'll see). Nikola Vucevic, while sacrificing rim protection, allows Houston to throw a different offensive look at teams with some low post isolation, he's a willing three point shooter so opponents are going to need to step out to guard every player 1-5, allowing James Harden more room than ever to work his magic. This team is going to sacrifice a lot of easy buckets, but Houston has played three straight seasons banking on their ability to straight up outscore opponents, why stop now?

For the Magic this gets a little trickier to sell - but they're the Magic, so they're probably going to jump at the chance to get a feature point guard. They're fully aware that they don't really want to give Nikola Vucevic a big contract, so no worries there. They'd be losing Aaron Gordon (promising but not overwhelmingly convincing), but gaining a uniquely athletic and versatile player in Clint Capela, sure they've got Mo Bamba coming up through their ranks, but he's nowhere near ready for a starting role right now - and when it comes to starting Bamba, they've got long term plans of building a super long lineup with Jonathan Isaac, starting five of Paul, Ross, Isaac, Bamba and Capela anyone? That team's not going to cause major problems in the East but it'd be enough to make the playoffs through sheer athletic dominance combined with enough Chris Paul lob passes to last a lifetime. They're probably eager for an extra taste of playoff games after making the 8th seed this season, give the people what they want Orlando!

The Potential?

Probably not a top-four seed next season, but surely enough to cause some trouble in the First Round, that's probably as hopeful as it gets for these Rockets after failing to capitalise on two years of potential.

Got any ideas for helping these brokenhearted teams mend themselves and make a run for the 'ship next season?! Comment below and we'll let you know what we think!