Two seasons ago, the New Orleans Pelicans looked like a team on the rise, winning 49 games to enjoy their finest campaign since 2008-09. They made the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, and while they still haven’t got past the first round since 2017-18, things were looking up.

In 2022-23, the Philadelphia 76ers racked up 54 wins, their highest total since 2000-01 — the last time they went to the NBA Finals. Things have gone downhill since, with the club slipping to 47 victories in 2023-24 before cratering to just 24 last season.

The Los Angeles Clippers slipped slightly to 50 wins in 2024-25, but have made the playoffs in each of the last three campaigns. However, with three straight first round losses, frustration has been mounting for L.A.’s “other” NBA team.

Since winning 58 games two seasons ago, it’s been a downward trajectory for the Milwaukee Bucks. They managed just 49 victories in 2023-24 and had one fewer last season while being sent packing in the first round for the third straight time. That championship season in 2020-21 seems like a distant memory.

Randle bounced back from a brutal showing in Game Two (six points on 2-of-11 shooting – really his first off game of the postseason) to pour in 24 points (9-of-15) while adding a pair of treys. He really regressed in rebounding this season, and it’s been even worse in the playoffs, but with nearly 23 PPG he’s come up way bigger this spring after averaging under 19 during the regular season (his worst scoring effort since he was a Laker, just before his breakout in 2018-19).

After being held to 16 points by the Knicks in the fourth quarter in the opener, Boston didn’t exactly light it up down the stretch in Game Two, managing just 17 points in the last stanza. And now, thanks to blowing 20-point leads in both games, the Celtics find themselves down 2-0 and heading to New York. Uh oh.