NBA Playoffs Preview with Doris Burke

Doris Burke gives us her thoughts on which teams we'll see in the Finals, who got her vote for various awards, and more.

The NBA Play-In Tournament wraps up tonight, with the Playoffs set to begin tomorrow. If you’re an NBA basketball fan, this is the best time of the year, and Sling TV will have coverage of every single game, from the First Round all the way through the Finals on ABC, which will be simulcast on Sling with ESPN3.

ESPN NBA analyst Doris Burke will be on the call for plenty of those playoff games, and she recently shared her Finals prediction, her thoughts on this season’s close MVP race and other awards, and much more. All quotes are from this week’s Twitter Spaces with Doris and Malika Andrews of NBA Today; follow Sling on Twitter for more upcoming Spaces and other NBA content. You can also use the link at the bottom of this page to subscribe to Sling Orange and watch every NBA Playoff game for the best price.

NBA Playoffs - Second Round

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Can the Heat win the East?

Well, they’re such an interesting team with Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler on the floor. Then, obviously both guys have missed time, so it's a tribute to Erik Spoelstra and the group because there were significant stretches where they were playing without one of their top two players. Tyler Herro [is] a lock for the 6th Man of the Year. Their ceiling is very high, you know?

I [still] believe Milwaukee has the best chance to come out of the East. I think you walk, talk, and feel different as a champion, but I think that Miami Heat, despite some late season drama, are going to be formidable. So we'll see.

Who will play in the Finals?

My pick for the Finals at the start of the year was Phoenix and Milwaukee. I just think that, again, the experience, the way Phoenix dominated the regular season, despite the fact that you had to play extended stretches without Chris Paul and Devin Booker missed some time. Mikal Bridges has advanced far enough on the defensive end that he is, for many people, high on the list of Defensive Player of the Year candidates. For me, it's gonna be Phoenix-Milwaukee.

Who got your MVP vote?

I'm gonna say something that coach Michael Malone at Denver had said to me about a week ago. Mark Jones, my colleague, asked Michael [to make] his case for Nikola [Jokic]. Michael made his case for Nikola. But then he said, 'but I want you to know that Nikola and I, [if] either Giannis [Antetokounmpo] or Joel [Embiid] win, unequivocally, that either would be a worthy and most deserving candidate.' That is a long winded way of saying I have a very soft place in my heart for Joel Embiid, but I voted [for] Nikola Jokic. This was the single most difficult MVP vote because I'll tell you, at various points I had Giannis in the lead, I had Embiid in the lead, and I ultimately went with Jokic.

Coach of the Year?

Coach of the Year came down to two men for me, Monty Williams and Taylor Jenkins, and by the slightest of margins – if I could have [voted for] both, I would have – I went with Taylor Jenkins.

Defensive Player of the Year?

I think Rudy Gobert is still as dominant a defensive player in the league as there is. Mikal Bridges obviously [has] a lot of momentum. I think the metrics for defense are hard.

It is a perimeter based game, and for far too long we have not given those grinders – the Mikal Bridges’ and Marcus Smart’s – their due [with] the amount of space you have to cover. The number of screens you've got to run through, it takes physical and emotional stability and endurance, and I just thought it was time. Marcus Smart [and the Celtics], from essentially New Year's Day on, has been the most dominant defensive team, and I said, I'm going to give it to the best defensive player on the best defensive team. Marcus Smart got my vote this year.

Rookie of the Year?

I think Evan Mobley had this on lock for probably the first several months of the season. It was really down to him and Scottie Barnes for me, and I went with Scottie Barnes. I thought [about] the ascension of Toronto after the [slow] start, and the number of things they asked that man to do on both ends of the floor. And that too was a tough [vote].

Answers have been edited for clarity.

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