What Is Wrong With Indiana?; Can The Kings Make The Playoffs? 3.29.21
It’s a Monday night of NBA hoops and we have a very busy day with 11 games on the schedule tonight.
Indiana Pacers vs Washington Wizards
Yikes
With no Beal for the Wizards, this was supposed to be an easy win. But the Pacers defense was awful and their offense stalled late. Let’s go over the Pacers production. 35-11-6 from Sabonis and 26 from Brogdon. That was it. Levert and Holiday struggled and bench was nowhere near as good as that of Washington.
Westbrook had 35-14-21 as he killed the Pacers. 26 from Hachimura. Then there’s the bench with dominated that of Indiana’s. 18 points on 8/11 shooting from newly acquired Chandler Hutchison. 15 from Raul Neto and 11 and 6 rebounds from Gafford who got hurt in the 4th. The Pacers even with Caris Levert just haven’t figured things out as they continue to cling onto a playoff seed.
Hail King Westbrook
Westbrook was an animal, with 35 points, 14 rebounds, and 21 assists. Incredible. Hachimura and the bench were solid and a late surge helped the Wizards win without Beal. Heck of a win for Washington.
New Orleans Pelicans vs Boston Celtics
New Orleans Pelicans
Yay! Shooting! If the Pelicans can make 16 3’s and shoot 52% from 3 more often, nothing can stop them.
Zion had 28 points and 8 rebounds as we are seeing what all the hype is about. He’s such a dominant force doing downhill and he’s so good at using his unique skillset. 25 points and 9 assists from Ingram as well as (trying) to hound Tatum on the other end. He also hit the dagger. 30 combined from Bledsoe and Alexander-Walker. 15 and 15 from Hart off the bench as the Pelicans offense couldn’t be stopped in this game.
Disappointments
This team is so disappointing. Their defense was an absolute joke as the Pelicans got whatever they wanted. When they needed to come out strong in the 4th, they fell flat until the very end but it was too little too late at that point. In the first half the Celtics were playing keep up because New Orleans was making everything, making 11 3’s in the first half. Tatum and Walker combined for 30 yet Boston still trailed by 9. The Celtics got a lead in the 3rd but they simply couldn’t contain the Pelicans.
Needing a push in the 4th the Celtics fell behind by double-digits. They were down 16 with 4:08 left but Boston made things interesting. 13 in a row for the Celtics led by Tatum got them back in the game, down 3 with 50 seconds left. But Brandon Ingram responded with a jumper and the Celtics couldn’t respond.
34-9-5 from Tatum as he was very good despite tough defense from Ingram. 23 from Walker and 15 from Smart. Kornet and Pritchard were good off the bench but Evan Fournier was 0/10 from the field in his Boston debut. No Jaylen Brown and essentially no Fournier killed Boston, but nothing killed them more than their defense which was terrible. Good job Boston, still mediocre.
Minnesota T-Wolves vs Brooklyn Nets
A For Effort
The T-Wolves were hanging in with the Nets who got Kyrie back. The T-Wolves fell behind by 12 early but they kept chipping away. Down 10 with 2:07 left, the game seemed to be out of reach. But 5 straight cut the lead in half and Anthony Edwards scored, stole the ball, and got an and-one. Unfortunately he missed the free throw and Minnesota still trailed by 1. The T-Wolves couldn’t score and the Nets iced the game at the line.
31-12-5 for Towns and 23 and 10 for Edwards. The T-Wolves can’t say they didn’t try in this game.
This Offense Is Incredible
Friendly reminder – No KD. James Harden had 38-11-13 as he continues to play at an MVP level. Irving had 27 in his return to the lineup. The Nets have turned themselves into a juggernaut and they have things going right now. A 2x Finals MVP is still sitting on their bench. This team is very, very scary.
Miami Heat vs New York Knicks
Ugly, But Needed
27-5-6 from Butler, 20 and 18 from Bam and 18 from Herro off the bench. The shooting wasn’t great and both great defenses were making the other wise work hard. But 39 points in the 3rd from the Heat really gave them the edge to win this game.
No Offense
This team needs offense.
Toronto Raptors vs Detroit Pistons
Really, The Pistons
This team has far too much talent to be 18-29 on the year. Are they flawed? Yes. Are they 11 games under 0.500 in the Eastern Conference flawed? No. The defense again struggle as even with Jerami Grant going 3/12 from the field the Pistons scored 118 points. The Raptors might have to rebuild and trading Lowry might have been a missed opportunity to get some good return.
Detroit Pistons
Saddiq Bey: 19 points on 6/10 shooting, 5/7 3-PT
Saben Lee: 19 points and 5 assists on 7/12 shooting.
Hamidou Diallo: 19 points and 10 rebounds on 6/10 shooting off the bench.
Cory Joseph: 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists on 5/8 shooting off the bench.
Isaiah Stewart: 14 points on 5/7 shooting off the bench.
Frank Jackson: 12 points on 4/8 shooting off the bench.
Balance for key.
Memphis Grizzlies vs Houston Rockets
It’s The Rockets
The Rockets are miserable and Memphis took care of business. 30 and 15 from Jonas Valanciunas and 40 combined from Bane and Melton off the bench helped Memphis win this game. Again, it is the Rockets.
Fade For Cade
It’s your best hope at this point.
Dallas Mavericks vs OKC Thunder
It’s The Thunder
Easy win
No SGA
This is how must OKC games without SGA should go going forward.
Sacramento Kings vs San Antonio Spurs
Surging
The Kings offense has been on fire since Tyrese Haliburton was entered in the starting lineup. The offense again couldn’t be stopped as 41 points in the 2nd and 35 in the 4th was simply too much for the Spurs.
De’Aaron Fox had 24 points and 5 assists.
Richuan Holmes had 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Buddy Hield had 20 points.
Tyrese Haliburton had 15 points and 10 assists.
Harrison Barnes had 14.
Terrence Davis had 14.
Mo Harkless had 13.
Offense, offense, and more offense. The Kings have won 7 of their last 8 games as Tyrese Haliburton being put into the starting lineup has turned their season around as they are right on the heels of that #10 seed in the West.
Offense Not Good Enough
The offense was good in this game, in large part due to the fact that the Kings don’t play defense. 4/5 starters in double figures and 5 total guys were in double figures. But the Spurs just struggle to score and allowing 132 points doesn’t exactly help a struggling offense. The Spurs have lost 5 of 6 as they have lost that momentum that had them streaking in the Western Conference.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Utah Jazz
No Offense
Sexton and Garland combined for 38 points, literally half of the Cavs points. This offense is beyond terrible.
It’s The Cavs
Easy win
Chicago Bulls vs Golden State Warriors
Growing Pains
The Nikola Vucevic trade might not result in much for the last 30 games or so. I didn’t expect the Bulls to make this big turnaround and it’s not like mid-season trades for stars change much. The Bulls definitely can make the playoffs but it’ll take them a few more games to get acclimated to each other.
Curry Is Back, So Is Golden State
Stephen Curry does so much for this team. He obviously is their best offensive player but he makes other guys better. James Wiseman was great today because of Curry’s gravity. Other guys get easier shots and they usually make them. The Warriors now have their leader back and now I don’t think the playoffs are in jeopardy anymore. Because no matter who Curry has on his team, he can take them somewhere.
Milwaukee Bucks vs LA Clippers
Mike Budenholzer
I continue to be right about this team, scheming holds them back. LA absolutely torched the Bucks in the 2nd half with their 3-PT shooting, a shot that the Bucks willingly give up. The Bucks led by 12 in the first quarter. After that it was all LA as this team continues to show me why they aren’t contenders. The Bucks Big 3 did all the scoring and even then it was mainly Jrue and Giannis. The Bucks can only do so much with a terrible coach coaching them.
Shooting
Who needs a PG when you have Luke Kennard. I was overjoyed to see Kennard starting in place of PG who was out and he shined. Wonder why he was ever out of the rotation. Marcus Morris had 25, Kawhi had 23-9-8, 21 from Luke Kennard, and 20 from Reggie Jackson. 14 more from Terrence Mann off the bench.
But 89 combined points from Morris, Kawhi, Kennard, and Jackson was huge. LA made 19 3’s on a blazing 56% shooting. I definitely like where LA is going. They have talent and emerging guys like Mann and Kennard. Bring in Rajon Rondo as a true floor general and as long as LA doesn’t get in their own way, a title isn’t out of the picture.
What Are Your Thoughts From The 11 Games Today? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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