King Lose 9th Straight Game; Are The Celtics Back For Real? 4.15.21
It’s a Thursday night of NBA hoops and we have just 4 games on the schedule tonight.
Milwaukee Bucks vs Atlanta Hawks
Balance
With Giannis back the Bucks were at full strength and they cruised in this game. They built a lead as big as 14 in the 2nd quarter. The Hawks made a run in the 3rd but the Bucks recovered and blew things open in the 4th. 7 guys were in double figures as everybody got involved.
The Bucks forced Trae Young to shoot 3/17 from the field and the Bucks bench was much better than the Hawks bench. Solid outing for the Bucks overall.
Wings
The Hawks continue to miss 3 forwards which was a key loss on defense. While Giannis didn’t dominate they didn’t have size for him or Middleton. The bench was underwhelming without Gallinari as this team’s only flaw seems to be injuries. Trae Young was held in check but the other starters were good. 18 for Solomon Hill, 16 points and 16 rebounds for Capela, 28-6-7 for Bogdanovic, and 16 for Huerter.
But this team needs to get fully healthy otherwise this will happen when they face top tier teams without a fully healthy team.
Golden State Warriors vs Cleveland Cavaliers
Help, At Long Last
After going absolutely ballistic over a stretch of games, Curry cooled off. I mean he was 4/13 from 3 but still had 33 points, so take that with a grain of salt but he finally got some help. 23-6-6 from Wiggins. 20 and 7 rebounds from Juan Toscano-Anderson off the bench. 14 from Jordan Poole and 11 from Damion Lee. You give Curry this type of help consistency, and the Warriors can do some real damage.
Offense
The Cavs got 67 points from Garland, Sexton, and Allen. They scored 101 points overall. That’s a bit of a yikes.
Boston Celtics vs LA Lakers
OMG Jaylen Brown
Over this Celtics hot streak, where Boston has now won 5 in a row, it’s been Tatum, Tatum, and more Tatum. Tonight it was Brown, Brown, and more Brown. Brown was 9/10 in the first half, and finished with 40 points on 17/20 shooting. He’s the first Celtic with a 40-point game on 85% shooting since the NBA merger. He was unstoppable at getting the rim, making all sorts of tough finishes. The rest of the starters were all efficient and great.
15 for Smart, 14-5-5 for Tatum, 14-6-5 for Thompson, 12 and 7 for Walker, along with 15 off the bench from Payton Pritchard. Sure the Celtics nearly blew this game, but they won and they are now tied for 4th in the East. The offense has come alive thanks to their two amazing All-Star wings and Evan Fournier hasn’t played much yet due to Covid. The defense has been picking up and the Celtics have made their playoff push to get right back into the thick of things in the East.
Good Effort (Nets 2.0)
The Lakers trailed for most of this game as they couldn’t contain Jaylen Brown. They did remain close until Boston blew things open in the 4th. But like the Nets did against Philly, the bench unit got them back into the game, cutting the lead to 5 at one point. Sure they didn’t win, but it builds confidence. AD is set to come back very soon and Lebron isn’t that far away from returning. LA just had to try and weather this storm.
Sacramento Kings vs Phoenix Suns
A For Effort
For once I’m not using sarcasm to describe the Kings. The Kings actually held their own and made this a game. Sure they couldn’t get any stops but it wasn’t really a blowout. So good job there, I guess? 27 points and 8 assists for Fox and 24 for Hield. The bench was great, 16 from Wright, 12 from Haliburton, and 11 from Whiteside. The offense continues to be there, but the defense is consistently not there.
But that’s also 9 straight losses.
A Win Is A Win
I would expect the Suns to dominate the Kings, but they held a lead for most of the game. The Suns couldn’t be stopped as their starters were excellent. 26 points and 11 rebounds for Ayton on 10/11 shooting, the first Suns player since Marcin Gortat in 2011 to have 25/10 on 90%+ shooting.
23 for Booker and 13 and 11 for CP-3. The Suns continue to play well and look like contenders.
What Are Your Thoughts From The 4 Games Today? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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