It's A Series--and the New WNBA

 Four games into the second round of the NBA playoffs, and both Western Conference matchups are tied at 2-2.  The Denver-Minneapolis series is remarkable.  MN surprised the Nuggets by beating them on their own court in the first game, but Denver was expected to reassert itself in the second.  Instead, MN played an excellent defensive game--even without their recent defensive player of the year Gobert, and shut down the Nuggets again.  So sports bloviators (specifically Charles Barkley and Stephen A,) declared the series over, MN would sweep, especially as the series moved to their court.

But then Denver outshot them in two straight games in MN and tied the series.  Suddenly they were (of course) the favorites again.  The ever-popular pivotal game 5 is in Denver.

Meanwhile, the lumbering Dallas Mavs were manhandled by the young Oklahoma Thunder, but then seemed to find their game to take a 2-1 lead and were ahead in game 4 going into the fourth quarter.  But the Thunder stormed back and took a close one in Dallas, to tie the series, heading back to OC.

In the East the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers have a more traditional split, each winning 2 games at home.  Indiana's blowout victory in game 4 suggested to some observers that they had figured out the Knicks and were on their way to an upset in the series.  However, game 5 is in New York. 

The only series that seems to be moving decisively in one direction is Boston up 3 games to one over the Cavs, and going back to Boston for game 5.  But the battered Cavs gave the Celtics a run for their money in game 4, so at least an extended series isn't out of the question.

Off the court, the blah blah blah is hitting a new level.  It's not enough to speculate on Steph and LeBron playing together, or Steph and Kevin Durant reuniting--now it's Steph AND LeBron AND Durant.  Of course it is going to happen, and soon--at the Olympics.

Meanwhile the WNBA season starts tonight with four games.  Caitlin Clark's debut with the visiting Indiana Fever has sold out the Connecticut Sun arena for the first time in a decade.  There seems little doubt that the WNBA is suddenly at a new level, with national stars from the recently completed college season among their own rising and established stars.  Caitlinmania shows no signs of ending soon, and it's hoped that her rising tide will lift all boats.  Maybe I'll even start getting the admittedly generic team names matched up with their cities at last.