What Does Lebron’s Injury Mean For LA?; Are The Hornets Actually Good? 3.20.21
It’s another day of NBA basketball and we have 5 games on the schedule today.
Atlanta Hawks vs LA Lakers
Are The Hawks For Real?
The Hawks have won 8 straight games and they haven’t lost since February. All of this under Nate McMillan who has single-handily turned this team around. The game was surprisingly close after Lebron left but a 22-12 3rd quarter helped Atlanta get the win. Without any rim protection, John Collins was amazing, shooting 11/13 from the field and having 27 points and 16 rebounds. Trae Young was awful, 6/18 from the field and 0/7 from 3. He did had 11 assists but that’s essentially all that he did. Huerter and Capela both struggled but Gallinari and Bogdanovic offered bench help.
Now that the Hawks have more depth guys can be bad and Atlanta won’t lose. Imagine when they get Reddish and Hunter back. Last month before the Lloyd Pierce firing the Hawks were a mess. In a couple weeks they are 22-20 on the season and currently the 5th seed in the East. Not a bad turnaround if you ask me.
Get Well Soon Lebron
This game was surprisingly close, considering Lebron only played 11 minutes. Lebron had a scary ankle injury and was forced to leave. The game remained close but LA couldn’t keep up. Harrell was great with 23 and 11 off the bench, but everybody else struggled. Schroder was 4/15, Morris was 5/13, THT was 4/12. Nobody else got going. But obviously the Lakers hope Lebron can come back soon, although that injury looked bad.
It was announced to be a high ankle sprain, which could mean Lebron misses multiples weeks. Assuming he’s going to miss the rest of March and some of April, LA needs AD back to stay somewhat afloat. But even with just AD the Lakers are mediocre. They are going to fall in the standings, maybe down to 4-5 or even lower with how good the West is. Lebron and AD have to be healthy for LA to be a title contender. Right now both those guys are injured and LA’s season is looking a little grim.
Sacramento Kings vs Philadelphia 76ers
The Return Of No Defense
Usually you don’t want bad things to return. The Kings bad defense keeps turning up like a bad penny. They simply can’t win with how bad their defense is. Doesn’t matter what the offense does (not much in this game) because the defense is so bad. I definitely think this team has to make moves this offseason. What to do with guys like Barnes, Bagley, Hield, or Richuan Holmes (UFA this summer). The Kings aren’t fitting together with their current roster. They’ll need to fix that.
Who Needs All-Stars?
The 76ers have been very good without Simmons and Embiid this year. They got another blowout win. Tobias Harris was excellent, finishing with 29-11-8 missing just 6 shots. He has been playing like an All-Star, in his and my own words. Shake Milton got to the free throw line a lot and got 28 points as a starter. Green and Bradley were solid as well and Thybulle played solid defense.
I like the opportunity no Embiid is for the 76ers. It gives guys like Milton, Green, and Thybulle more offensive touches. They get to shoot more and gain more confidence. Embiid gets so many touches (rightfully so), so when he comes back, he now has guys who are confident and can hit shots. It’s impressive Philly has been winning games while having key guys in and out of the lineup, but they remain the #1 seed in the East without their MVP.
Golden State Warriors vs Memphis Grizzlies
You Tried
The Warriors didn’t play well in this game. Their offense came in spurts but was a steep drop-off to what they were yesterday. But they had their chances to win, coming up just short in the end. In the first half the Warriors had no right to be in the lead. Golden State shot just 32% from the field but they scored 51 points. How? Free throws. The Warriors were 21/25 from the free throw line in the first half and it was the only reason they had the lead. In the 3rd both offenses got going but Golden State lost the lead. In the 4th it was close and Golden State started to comeback, hitting some 3’s. They led 100-99 with 2:43 left. The Warriors scored just 3 points the rest of the way, at the 32 second mark. Memphis forced a few turnovers and a Ja Morant putback sealed the deal as Golden State came up short.
Jordan Poole continues to play well, with 26 in this game. Wiggins was far worse in this game, shooting just 4/14 for 20 points. JTA was solid with 11-6-6 off the bench but the offense wasn’t nearly as good as it was yesterday. Not having Paschall, Curry, and Wiseman can do that to you.
These should have both been losses for Golden State. To dominate and win one and come close to winning both is a lot better than expected.
How Was This Close
I get a win is a win, but both of these games against the Warriors should have been decisive wins. They nearly lost both of them. The Grizzlies defense was uncharacteristically bad in the first half, committing lots of reach in fouls, allowing the Warriors to go 21-25 from the free throw line in the first half. In the 3rd the Grizzlies defense was better but not great as the game remained close. In the 4th the Grizzlies had a tough time pulling away until the end. In the final 2:43 they allowed just 3 points and forced multiple turnovers. Memphis squeaked out a win, something that shouldn’t be happening against the very short-handed Warriors.
Balanced scoring again for Memphis, led by 19 from Brooks and a double-double from Valanciunas. Anderson was solid and Morant continued to struggle, nothing new. But the bench was very good. Brandon Clarke has been playing more center minutes as he has been very good, with 16 minutes in this game. Desmond Bane has been one of the best all-around rookies, having 15 points and solid defense in this game.
The Grizzlies are only as good as their offense is. If Morant continues to struggle they aren’t going very far. If they shoot 31% from 3 they aren’t going very far. They need rookie Ja Morant back and they need better shooting. I’m doubt this defensive performance (fouling in particular) is an anomaly. The Grizzlies have great defenders all throughout this roster and they usually aren’t that undisciplined. But again, offense continues to be shaky for Memphis, and the key for them trying to make the playoffs.
San Antonio Spurs vs Milwaukee Bucks
Curse The 2nd Quarter
No Dejounte Murray and a terrible 2nd quarter really hurt the Spurs. They were in this game throughout but that 2nd quarter was the reason they lost. After a very good start in the first quarter the Spurs were awful in the 2nd quarter. They scored just 17 points and they went from leading by 7 to trailing by 7. The offense was good in the 2nd half but not good enough to win as the Spurs came up just short.
Lonnie Walker finally played well, shooting 13/21 from the field and having a career-high 31 points. DeRozan had 22 and 13 assists and Keldon Johnson had 17. With no Murray they needed more from Derrick White but he had just 6 points on 3/14 shooting. Rudy Gay led the bench with 15 but but not having White score hurt the Spurs.
The Spurs are good but I don’t know if they can contend with the best of the best. They have talent but it’s not overwhelming talent. On a good day they can be good not great. It’s why their good record can be a bit deceiving.
Turning Things Around
After a terrible start to the season, the Bucks have won 11 of 12 and are right back at the top of the East. Am I sold? No, Mike Budenholzer is still the coach and teams can expose the problems that the Bucks have. I think that there are better teams, however they have found out what works in their flawed system.
Giannis had 26-8-15 as he continues to be great. Middleton and Holiday each had 20+ points and the bench was solid. This is the best Bucks team from the past 3 years. But Brook Lopez is a liability and the bench is iffy. PJ Tucker was a great addition, but he has to shoot well to be very impactful. The Bucks can be good, but I’ll have to see changes in the playoffs for me to believe in them.
Charlotte Hornets vs LA Clippers
Back To Earth
After torching the league for a bit, the Hornets have hit a wall of sorts. They’ve lost their last 3 and their back down below 0.500. Yes those 3 games were against Denver and both LA teams. All 3 are very good playoff teams. But they’ve gotten dominated in two of them and they were controlled against the Lakers. Their defense is nothing special but they just haven’t been good against good teams. As of right now the Hornets have a 20-21 record. As of right now only 9 of those wins have come against teams currently 0.500 or better. So that means more than half their wins are against lower level competition. Welcome to the East.
Currently the Hornets have 21 losses. 12 of them have come from teams at or over 0.500. So they have a 9-12 record against good teams. They have a 11-9 record against teams currently under 0.500. The Hornets aren’t very good at beating good teams. Their defense isn’t very good and their offense has struggled lately. Luckily they are in the East and have a lot easier games. But I’m not sure the Hornets are as good as everybody things they are.
The Missing Ingredient Can Wait, For Now
Kawhi and the Clippers know what we all know. LA is missing that point guard. But thanks to the PG trade and going all-in, they don’t have youth or the picks to make a move. So they’re likely stuck with what they have. It didn’t matter in this game as they dominated but they need that PG. Reggie Jackson and Pat Bev isn’t good enough. The Clippers sometimes struggle with maintaining the offense. A floor general would greatly help them. Since they refuse to play Luke Kennard, making trading for him as well as giving him a big extension look stupid. Landry Shamet is cheaper and has been great for Brooklyn. Maybe instead of paying Kennard you could have gone after a PG. Just a thought.
What Are Your Thoughts From The 5 Games Today? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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