Column: Could this be the year Cinderella wins NBA title?

More than any other sport, the cream of the NBA assuredly rises to the top in the playoffs.

This, of course, is a postseason unlike any other.

No fans. No home-court advantage. Everyone hunkered down in the same place.

Will a Cinderella team emerge from the pack at Disney World? Maybe even claim an improbable title?

“I felt that way coming into the whole thing,” said Rick Carlisle, coach of the seventh-seeded Dallas Mavericks. “Look, there’s no travel, you’ve got really the same environment virtually every game. The digital boards look different and stuff like that, but there’s just a great opportunity here for everybody.”

Indeed, we’ve already seen signs of a topsy-turvy tournament unfolding in the land of Mickey Mouse.

Milwaukee, top seed from the Eastern Conference, lost Game 1 of its opening-round series against eighth-seeded Orlando. The top team in the West, the Los Angeles Lakers, dropped their opening game as well to No. 8 Portland, a team that had to win a play-in game over Memphis just to quality for the postseason.

Both powerhouses bounced back for double-digit wins in Games 2, but these series look like they’ll be more competitive than they would 'e been if not for the season being upended by the coronavirus pandemic.

Underdogs provide some of the most compelling stories in sports, and there are no shortage of non-NBA teams that have pulled off shocking triumphs.

Just last season, baseball’s Washington Nationals finished second in the NL East but went on to capture their first World Series title, knocking off the 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers and the 107-win Houston Astros along the way. Then again, the Nats’ triumph wasn’t all that usual; since MLB added a wild card to its postseason mix a quarter-century ago, seven teams have won...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Column-Could-this-be-the-year-Cinderella-wins-15506075.php