The NBA playoffs that start this weekend already have an extremely tough act to follow.
Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz Tuesday, April. 10, 2018, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)
The regular season ended with a flourish.
Wednesday's final night of the regular season was well beyond dramatic — an overtime game between Minnesota and Denver to decide the last berth, another overtime game between Miami and Toronto to determine some East fates, a 46-point first quarter by Philadelphia , an absurd 20-rebound, 19-assist night from Russell Westbrook.
And now, the best time of the NBA year is finally here.
The playoffs are back, with Golden State and Cleveland — who've met in the last three NBA Finals — not exactly looking like the overwhelming favorites the league has come to expect. A fourth straight Warriors-Cavs matchup is no guarantee. A fourth straight trip by either of those teams alone is far from certain, either.
It all starts Saturday, the 16-team tournament that will be a two-month grind following the six-month grind of the regular season.
"I feel pretty ready," Toronto guard Kyle Lowry said. "We're ready to go."
So are 15 other teams.
Start with the East pairings: Lowry and the top-seeded Raptors play No. 8 Washington, No. 2 Boston faces No. 7 Milwaukee, No. 3 Philadelphia gets No. 6 Miami and No. 4 Cleveland — with LeBron James bidding for an eighth consecutive appearance in The Finals — opening against No. 5 Indiana, a surprise team at the start of the season and one that isn't a surprise anymore.
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich disputes a call with referee Mike Callahan (24) in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans in New Orleans, Wednesday, April 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Scott Threlkeld)
"We're one of 16 teams that have a chance to win a championship," James said. "That's all you can ask for."
Philadelphia, after years of the rebuilding saga known as "The Process," has a chance as well. The 76ers are going into the playoffs on a 16-game winning streak.
"Take a deep breath, then reload," 76ers coach Brett Brown said, talking about what he wants his team to do before getting ready for Game 1.
Out West, it's No. 1 Houston meeting No. 8 Minnesota — which earned its berth by topping Denver in the NBA's first win-and-get-in, lose-and-go-home regular-season finale in 21 years. No. 2 Golden State opens its quest for a third championship in four seasons against No. 7 San Antonio, No. 3 Portland drew No. 6 New Orleans and No. 4 Oklahoma City opens against No. 5 Utah.
"The playoffs are about moments, and you just want a chance to have those moments," Miami guard Dwyane Wade said.
For the Timberwolves, Wednesday was a moment in itself. They needed overtime to beat the Nuggets and get into the postseason. It's Minnesota's first berth since 2004, and ended what was the NBA's longest playoff drought (which now is bequeathed to the Sacramento Kings, who last played a playoff game in 2006).
"They just made the plays at the end," Denver's Will Barton said of the Timberwolves. "Give them credit."
Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James, left, drives past New York Knicks' Trey Burke in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 11, 2018, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
There are some rematches from the 2017 playoffs already waiting. Cleveland swept Indiana in the first round last year, and Boston needed seven games to oust Washington in a thrilling East semifinal series.
But the most intriguing should be the Golden State-San Antonio matchup — because once again, just like a year ago, the Spurs will almost certainly be without Leonard.
Those two teams played in the West finals last season, and the Spurs were up by 23 points when Leonard left in the third quarter after getting injured on a play where he tried a jumper and Warriors center Zaza Pachulia closed out aggressively. Leonard got hurt when he stepped on Pachulia on the landing; he and the Spurs haven't been the same since.
Leonard never returned to that series, and played in only nine games for the Spurs this season.
"There is no pressure on us," Spurs star LaMarcus Aldridge said.
There is on Golden State.
The Warriors are trying for a third title in four seasons, and will play this first round more than likely without Curry while he continues recovering from a knee injury. Golden State went 7-10 in its final 17 games, and clearly sputtered across the finish line.
But the records all reset now, and the Warriors have been waiting to get the postseason started.
"It'll be our first meaningful game in about a month," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "Looking forward to that."
With good reason. There's a trophy to go chase now.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Every year, Alon Gat’s mother led the family's Passover celebration of the liberation of the ancient Israelites from Egypt thousands of years ago. But this year, Gat is struggling with how to reconcile a holiday commemorating freedom after his mother was slain and other family members abducted when Hamas attacked Israel.
Gat’s sister, Carmel, and wife, Yarden Roman-Gat, were taken hostage in the Oct. 7 attack. His wife was freed in November but his sister remains captive.
“We can’t celebrate our freedom because we don’t have this freedom. Our brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers are still in captivity and we need to release them,” Gat said.
On Monday, Jews around the world will begin celebrating the weeklong Passover holiday, recounting the biblical story of their exodus from Egypt after hundreds of years of slavery. But for many Israelis, it’s hard to fathom a celebration of freedom when friends and family are not free.
The Hamas attack killed some 1,200 people, while about 250 others were taken hostage. About half were released in a weeklong cease-fire in November, while the rest remain in Gaza, more than 30 of them believed to be dead.
For many Jews, Passover is a time to reunite with family and recount the exodus from Egypt at a meal known as the Seder. Observant Jews avoid grains, known as chametz, a reminder of the unleavened bread the Israelites ate when they fled Egypt quickly with no time for dough to rise.
But this year many families are torn about how — or even if — to celebrate.
When Hamas attacked Kibbutz Be’eri, Gat, his wife, 3-year-old daughter, parents and sister hid for hours in their rocket-proof safe room. But fighters entered the house and killed or abducted everyone inside, except for his father who hid in the bathroom. His mother was dragged into the street and shot.
Gat, his arms and legs bound, was shoved into a car with his wife and daughter. During a brief stop, they managed to flee. Knowing he could run faster, Roman-Gat handed him their daughter. Gat escaped with her, hiding in a ditch for nearly nine hours. His wife was recaptured and held in Gaza for 54 days.
Passover this year will be more profound as freedom has taken on a new meaning, Roman-Gat told The Associated Press.
“To feel wind upon your face with your eyes closed. To shower. To go to the toilet without permission, and with the total privacy and privilege to take as long as I please with no one urging me, waiting for me at the other side to make sure I’m still theirs,” she said in a text message.
Still, Passover will be overshadowed by deep sorrow and worry for her sister-in-law and the other hostages, she said. The family will mark the holiday with a low-key dinner in a restaurant, without celebration.
As hard as it is in times of pain, Jews have always sought to observe holidays during persecution, such as in concentration camps during the Holocaust, said Rabbi Martin Lockshin, professor emeritus at Canada’s York University, who lives in Jerusalem.
“They couldn’t celebrate freedom but they could celebrate the hope of freedom,” he said.
The crisis affects more than the hostage families. The war, in which 260 soldiers have been killed, casts a shadow over a normally joyous holiday. The government has also scaled back festivities for Independence Day in May in light of the mood and fearing public protests.
Likewise, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, capped by the three-day Eid al-Fitr feast, was a sad, low-key affair for Palestinians. Over 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced by the fighting, and Hamas health officials say nearly 34,000 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive.
The scenes of suffering, devastation and hunger in Gaza have received little attention in Israel, where much of the public and national media remain heavily focused on the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack and ongoing war.
After several months of fits and starts, negotiations on a deal to release the remaining hostages appears at a standstill — making it unlikely they will be home for Passover.
The hostages’ pain has reverberated around the world, with some in the Jewish diaspora asking rabbis for prayers specifically for the hostages and Israel to be said at this year’s Seder. Others have created a new Haggadah, the book read during the Seder, to reflect the current reality.
Noam Zion, the author of the new Haggadah, has donated 6,000 copies to families impacted by the war.
“The Seder is supposed to help us to relive past slavery and liberation from Egypt and to learn its lessons, but in 2024 it must also ask contemporary questions about the confusing and traumatic present and most important, generate hope for the future,” said Zion, emeritus member of the faculty of Jewish studies at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.
The revised Haggadah includes excerpts from hostage families urging people not to hate despite their pain. It offers a guide for navigating the mixed feelings during the holiday, while posing existential questions about the Jews and the state of Israel.
Some families say it’s too painful to celebrate at all.
The girlfriend of Nirit Lavie Alon’s son was abducted from the Nova music festival. Two months later the family was informed by Israel’s military that Inbar Haiman, a 27-year-old graffiti artist, was dead, her body still in Gaza.
“It’s impossible to celebrate a freedom holiday,” said Alon. Instead of being with family this year, she’s going to spend a few days in the desert. There will be no closure until all of the hostages are back, including the remains of those who were killed, she said.
Ahead of Passover, some families are still holding out hope their relatives will be freed in time.
Shlomi Berger’s 19-year-old daughter, Agam, was abducted two days after the start of her army service along the border with Gaza.
Videos of her bloodied face emerged shortly after the Hamas attack, one showing an armed man pushing her into a truck, another showing her inside the vehicle with other hostages. The only proof of life he’s had since was a call from a released hostage, wishing him happy birthday from Agam, who she’d been with in the tunnels, he said.
Still, he refuses to give up hope.
“The Passover story says we come from slaves to free people, so this is a parallel story,” Berger said. “This is the only thing I believe that will happen. That Agam will get out from darkness to light. She and all of the other hostages.”
Israeli soldiers visit the mailroom in Kibbutz Nir Oz, where mailboxes are labeled with residents' status - killed (red), kidnapped (black), and released (blue) on Thursday, April 11, 2024, at the communal dining hall during a Passover seder event for hostages held in Gaza, at the kibbutz in southern Israel, where a quarter of all residents were killed or captured by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. For many Jews, no matter how observant, Passover is a time to unite with family to eat and drink around what's known as a Seder table, remembering how the Jews persevered through harsh times. But this year, when Passover begins on Monday, many families are torn on how to celebrate, or if it's worth acknowledging at all. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Osnat Peri, right, whose husband, Hair is in Hamas captivity, takes part in a Passover Seder commemoration with relatives of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, at the communal dining room at Kibbutz Nir Oz, Thursday, April 11, 2024. For many Jews, no matter how observant, Passover is a time to unite with family to eat and drink around what's known as a Seder table, remembering how the Jews persevered through harsh times. But this year, when Passover begins on Monday, many families are torn on how to celebrate, or if it's worth acknowledging at all. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
A candle burns for Tamir Adar, killed by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 before his body was taken to the Gaza Strip, at a Passover Seder commemoration on Thursday, April 11, 2024, at the communal dining hall at Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel, where a quarter of all residents were killed or captured by Hamas on Oct. 7. For many Jews, no matter how observant, Passover is a time to unite with family to eat and drink around what's known as a Seder table, remembering how the Jews persevered through harsh times. But this year, when Passover begins on Monday, many families are torn on how to celebrate, or if it's worth acknowledging at all. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Israeli soldiers look at chairs for hostages held in Gaza at a Passover Seder table on Thursday, April 11, 2024, at the communal dining hall at Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel, where a quarter of all residents were killed or captured by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. For many Jews, no matter how observant, Passover is a time to unite with family to eat and drink around what's known as a Seder table, remembering how the Jews persevered through harsh times. But this year, when Passover begins on Monday, many families are torn on how to celebrate, or if it's worth acknowledging at all. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Chairs are set for missing members of the Bibas family who are held hostage in Gaza at a Passover Seder table on Thursday, April 11, 2024, at the communal dining hall at Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel, where a quarter of all residents were killed or captured by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. For many Jews, no matter how observant, Passover is a time to unite with family to eat and drink around what's known as a Seder table, remembering how the Jews persevered through harsh times. But this year, when Passover begins on Monday, many families are torn on how to celebrate, or if it's worth acknowledging at all. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Shlomi Berger sits in his daughter's bedroom in Holon, Israel, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Agam, 19, was abducted two days after the start of her army service along the border with Gaza during a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. "The Passover story says we come from slaves to free people, so this is a parallel story," Berger said. "This is the only thing I believe that will happen. That Agam will get out from darkness to light. She and all of the other hostages." (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
