The Rondo: Can Lionel Messi and Inter Miami repeat as champions? Will Nashville fall short? Are Cavan Sullivan, Julian Hall and the kids taking over MLS?

Alex Labidou: The youth movement. Ahead of the season, there were hints the Red Bulls would fully tap into a youth movement under Michael Bradley, but did anyone expect them to start three teenagers? Or for Sullivan to be putting up MVP-caliber numbers in the second half of the season?

Credit to the league for the investment in youth academies, as it finally looks like it’s bearing fruit.

Ryan Tolmich: It feels a little crazy to say, but the Union’s resurgence. They win the Shield last season, were bad in the first half and then they let the kids run wild. Sullivan, Neil Pierre and Frankie Westfield are now national team players and there is real reason to be excited about their postseason prospects. No one could have seen that pre-World Cup 

AL: This is going to be unpopular, but here’s to Inter Miami and the repeat. There’s no denying Nashville have had a great season and are deserving Supporters’ Shield winners. But once you get to the single-elimination rounds, can you really go against an Inter Miami team that has Lionel Messi and two strikers in Luis Suárez and Germán Berterame who can also take over games?

The biggest threat to Miami, on paper, should have been LAFC. Yet the Black and Gold have struggled to reach their potential this season, so we’re staring at another Miami championship run.

RT: Until Messi is out of this league, you’d have to be a moron to bet against him. If he’s on the field, Miami are favorites, full stop. 

AL: Nashville or Chicago. Nashville, again, have been MLS’s best regular-season team, but the playoffs are so matchup-driven that the worry is they’ll run into a star who catches fire.

Just look at last year, when Messi scored twice in the deciding game to send Nashville home in the first round. Nashville got their revenge against Miami in the Champions Cup this year, but winning the Shield doesn’t mean the job is done.

And for Chicago, it’s great that Gregg Berhalter has them back in the playoffs for a second straight year after spending almost a decade on the outside. But with Berhalter in charge and Robert Lewandowski signing, expectations are higher for this ambitious side. This team, at the moment, screams early exit.

RT: Based on my above answer? Nashville. They’re the best team this season by far, but we all know how that translates to the postseason: it often doesn’t. Their regular season record puts them in “Cup or Bust” territory and, more often than not, a team in their position busts. 

AL: In the East, I’m going to swing for the fences and say Toronto will join FC Cincinnati in the wild-card spots - even though a Hell Is Real playoff edition is always fun. Robin Fraser likely needs the playoffs to remain manager, and his squad is largely healthy for the first time in a long time. Expect the Reds to be in.

In the West, Seattle will likely pip Colorado for seventh, with the Rapids and the LA Galaxy grabbing the wild-card spots. The Galaxy squeeze their way back into the postseason in ninth.

RT: Let’s take the Red Bulls to break the Eastern Conference playoff mix and both LA Galaxy and Portland Timbers on the West. The Red Bulls should get in solely on the confidence of their youngsters while the West is there for the taking largely because the teams currently in those spots seem flawed. Even so, it’s MLS, which means it’s a crapshoot. 

AL: Cheating here, but let’s go with three: Fraser, Greg Vanney and Mikey Varas.

Yes, injuries have hit Toronto FC hard this season, but when you spend a club-record fee on a signing like Josh Sargent, the expectations are going to be incredibly high.

And Vanney’s remit is simple: make the playoffs or bust. It’s hard to imagine an MLS Cup champion failing to capitalize on and off the pitch as much as the Galaxy have. Their 2024 title is starting to feel more like the answer to a “Did You Know?” question than the beginning of something lasting.

Finally, Varas is going to be feeling a lot of heat after San Diego failed to return to the playoffs. This is another club with big ambitions, and it mismanaged its decision to move on from Chucky Lozano - something Varas was at the forefront of. San Diego’s first two seasons feel a lot more like St. Louis’ than LAFC’s, and this club desperately wants to avoid following the former’s path.

RT: NYCFC's Pascal Jansen . It’s been a weird and tense season and, at the moment, they’re on the outside looking in. With a shiny new stadium in the way, NYCFC don’t need much of an excuse to take a swing in a big coach. Missing the playoffs is more than enough to justify that call.

AL: Sort of? The shortened season, in theory, should mean every game is played with a lot more pressure. But keeping a 16-team playoff feels like a missed opportunity. Why not try something closer to the NBA Cup, with a group stage and a smaller knockout field? Ironically, that’s basketball’s attempt to be more like soccer.

Still, with just 14 regular-season games, every result will matter a lot more. And with the Sprint Season wrapping up in May, there won’t be a summertime lull to worry about.

RT: Sure! MLS is always crazy and weird, so what happens is you condense a whole season into a few short weeks? Hopefully, a lot of chaos and a lot of fun. Let the games begin!