The Chicago Bulls may be the class of the Eastern Conference for the foreseeable future, but the Trail Blazers may well be the class of the league for years to come.

After dropping a total of three games prior to The Finals, the Trail Blazers put their best foot forward against the Bulls and swept Anthony Davis & company with an average differential of over 10 points.

HOW DID WE GET HERE:

The Chicago Bulls impressively ran through the Eastern Conference, not losing a game on it’s way to a showdown with the West’s best. Anthony Davis led the way for the Bulls, averaging 32.6 points a game in the postseason, which was good for fourth among eligible post season participants. Davis also ranked 4^th in rebounds for the postseason, tallying 14.3 per contest.

Yes, you read that right. AD averaged 32 and 14 this postseason. The statue outside of The United Center is being developed as you read this.  

The Bulls led the Eastern Conference during the post season in points scored, assists, and not shockingly margin of victory, sporting an average of 9.5 points per game.

With five players averaging over double figures in the postseason, it’s not news that Chicago was able to find the balance and rotations they needed to make their mark in the East. Louis Williams (20.1), D’Angelo Russell (14.8), Eric Gordon (10.5) and Julius Randle (10.1) all joined AD averaging double figures en route to their first Eastern Conference Championship.

Other notable standouts from the Bulls run include Lo Will and Jordan McRae making it rain from deep, and quite efficiently. The two shot at a clip of 45% and 44% respectively from deep during the postseason. If that doesn’t help AD and Julius Randle carve out space effectively, I don’t know what does.

On the other side of the bracket, the Trail Blazers were expected to have a run as dominate as Chicago, and dropping three games in the first two rounds opened some doors for doubters per Nelsbet. 

The Unicorn gave JMac and the Blazers fits, at one point tying the series at 2 games a piece. Game 5 set the tone for the rest of the series, however, as Portland dismantled Mark Cuban’s Mavericks by 46 points behind elite shooting efficiency from deep, making 16 of their 35 attempts. Portland goes on to close the series out in 6 in Dallas.

Portland was not challenged again until the West finals, sweeping San Antonio by dominating the boards and getting out in transition. The Blazers also shutdown San Antonio defensively. The Spurs only scored over 100 points in one contest, a game three loss 114-106.

Portland had a date with Klem and the Kings in the West Finals, and at least they showed some hospitality. The Blazers offering a gentlemen’s sweep, allowing the Kings to grab game 4 on their home floor in front of their fans(s). Lebron may be in trouble regarding Western Conference glory if the Blazers can keep their squad together.

We could point out all of the specific elite performances from the Blazers deep roster, but we don’t have enough bandwidth for that. With three players averaging over 20 points in the post season, and Jabari Parker shooting 45% from three (!!!), the Blazers were the odds on favorite to meet the East representative in The Finals, and they held court.  

THE SHOWDOWN:

Coming in, greatness was expected from this series, and it delivered in subliminal way.

As a viewer, the games were close enough to sit on the edge of your seat and just *wait* for Anthony Davis to take over in the Windy City as he did at Perspectives Charter in his younger years. AD did everything he could, and more. But his teammates could not answer the call, and that’s the drama. Will ownership look to surround AD with a more suitable cast to takes on the leagues top tier?

AD Dominated the East, and I mean dominated. Expecting him to do the same against the likes of Dwight Howard and  fellow alumnus Willie Cauley-Stein wasn’t far fetched at all. He delivered.

Davis raised his scoring average by 8 points from the regular season to The Finals in the NSL, from 30 ppg to an absurd 38 ppg in the post season. For historical context, the biggest playoff leap to this day in NBA history, averaged, is an increase of 4.1 PPG by Dirk Nowitzki. AD’s increase doubled that figure during the finals. Astonishing, really.

Not to steal the spotlight though, the Bulls supporting cast was simply outclassed by the depth and scoring power of the Portland roster.

The Blazers rolled out three top twenty playoff performers in terms of PPG, against Chicago’s one.

James Harden (9^th, 28.9), Kawhi Leonard (17^th, 22.5) and Rudy Gay (20^th, 20.4) all used the Finals to increase their scoring as well in relation to their average post season performance. Getting a double-double out of Dwight Howard, and another near double-double from WCS all but wrapped the series up with a bow for JMac and the Blazers’ faithful.

Keep an eye on this as a rematch for next year, that may look significantly different if Chicago can limit the turnovers that turn into fast break opportunities for the opposition.

Without further comment, congratulations to JMac and Merencio for the long journey they had to endure to represent their conferences in The Finals. With great squads, no one would be surprised to see them back in late postseason action next year.

The Portland Trail Blazers, the inaugural champions of the NSL, hoist the trophy high this offseason. The league has placed a bullseye on their back though, and many other talented GMs are chasing closely.

Here’s to a new season, and history being made.