Dan Fegan's Unexpected Death (1/5! Please Vote!)
The Pelicans and Trail Blazers were the final Conference Semifinals matchup to be set.
Before that, the first round had already concluded in full, and some second-round games had even begun.
In the West, in the other bracket, the Mavericks eliminated the Jazz 4-1, while the Warriors eliminated the Thunder 4-2. The two teams met in the second round.
Before the Pelicans and Trail Blazers, their first matchup had already ended, with the Mavericks narrowly losing to the Warriors, 103-106.
In the East, after the Cavaliers swept the Magic 4-0, they waited for a while before drawing the Nets, who had emerged victorious from Game 7.
Their game would take place on the same day as the Pelicans-Trail Blazers matchup.
In the other Conference Semifinals series, the Bucks swept the Heat 4-0, while the Raptors defeated the Pacers 4-2. The Bucks and Raptors met head-on.
Their first game had also ended, with the Bucks crushing the Raptors 108-91 and continuing their dominant run.
At this pace, an Eastern Conference Finals matchup between them and the Cavaliers was something to look forward to.
If the Bucks really won, then the Pelicans would face this opponent they had beaten so badly they doubted their own lives in the Finals.
But the Conference Semifinals in both the East and West had only just begun. It was still too early to talk about that.
The same went for the Pelicans. The Trail Blazers had been in excellent form since the All-Star Game, and they had taken it to another level in the Playoffs.
To win the championship and complete the Three-peat Dynasty, this was the opponent they had to defeat.
And they had to defeat them without losing a game—in other words, sweep them.
The first game