Giannis vs KD In Eastern Duel; Are The Lakers In Trouble? 5.2.21
It’s another day of NBA basketball and we have 8 games on the schedule tonight.
Brooklyn Nets vs Milwaukee Bucks
On The Bright Side
This was a hell of a game, again, I just wish the Nets were healthy. Don’t get me wrong, the game was great, it would likely be the best Eastern Conference Finals matchup, but I wish that it was the Nets Big 3 against the Bucks Big 3. Even the Nets Big 2 almost got it done, which is what I mean by on the bright side. The game was close throughout and really it was their defense against Giannis that killed them. Credit to Giannis, he was 4/8 from 3. He played a game like he was the 2x reigning MVP, which he is. The Nets did bring some double teams, but like we’ve said, personnel is lacking. No Nicolas Claxton, who is their most versatile big hurt big time, but I think that Blake Griffin did ok and doubling him worked a bit.
Offensively I don’t have any worries. Kyrie struggled with Jrue Holiday on him, who doesn’t? KD was special, hitting shots from everywhere, over guys, 42 points, the usual. Shamet had 17 off the bench, but Harris and Green were off. The Nets need more from them, especially when Harden gets back. A lot of what the Nets do is predicated that their role guys, very talented guys, do their jobs. Defensively, some of it comes down to personnel, which the Nets lack. I thought they did good jobs contesting Giannis’s shots and I thought they did a good job defending without fouling, only 6 free throws for Giannis with 49 points.
I think that a healthy Nets team is still unbeatable. Their defense has become solid, their rotation is easily the most talented in the league. They have shooting, scoring, and solid defenders. Now the one thing that can hurt them is seeding. With the loss the Nets and 76ers are now tied, giving Philly the #1 seed and Brooklyn #2. With the win, the Bucks are 2.5 games out of first, right behind them. The Bucks and Nets play again on Tuesday, which is a crucial game. A win for Brooklyn gives them breathing room while a Milwaukee win can give them a chance at the #1 seed. If I’m Brooklyn, I need the #1 or #2 seed, can’t afford to fall to #2. But hopefully Brooklyn can stay healthy and we can see what they truly can do.
Still A Chance
I thought that the Bucks had no chance to get the #1 or #1 seed, but here we are. The Bucks played really well but they played almost perfect and they almost lost, which is a little worrying. Giannis obviously carried, 49 points and 8 rebounds on 58% shooting. He’s still very good and him going 4/8 from 3 is a good sign. He took shots the defense gave him but also got shots he wanted. I think the Bucks and Giannis are going to have to find that balance. Getting him good shots and occasionally shooting a bit. Not too much, though, that could lead to problems.
Khris Middleton was also really good. He had 12 in the first but then didn’t do anything until the 4th where he added 10 more points. The Bucks need him to be big, like he was down the stretch. A lot of the Bucks potential playoff success falls on him and his ability to play like an All-Star, be that shot creator. Jrue Holiday had 13 in the first half but his damage was defense, where he hounded Kyrie and made him look uncomfortable. I think that Middleton has to the 2nd option and Holiday is your perimeter stopper/ball handler. The Bucks need those two to be on point in order to try and win the East.
Defensively I saw some things I didn’t like. Obviously Budenholzer has some flaws but some of his matchups were bad. They were to easily switching things, letting KD operate with smaller guys. I don’t get why Giannis isn’t on him more – one-on-one. He’s the DPOY, he can guard KD better than almost anybody. PJ Tucker is fierce, but too small. Pat Connaughton was on him at one point, and that was a joke. Like Tucker, Jrue is a great defender but KD is too big. He gets a good look, you aren’t getting to that. That’s why Giannis needs to not be a help defender mainly, let him guard guys one-on-one. I think he’s earned that right.
The Bucks did force 16 turnovers, but some of their matchups, mainly against KD were poor.
No Bobby Portis was a loss but he’s also big off the bench. I just feel like the Bucks can’t do much more than what they did today to win. The Nets aren’t at full strength and it took nearly 50 from Giannis to just try and outpace them. So it’s going to be an uphill battle for the Bucks and it’s only doable if their coaches make the right adjustments as well as some of their All-Stars stepping up when they need them the most.
(Also, 6/12 from the line? Really? We’ve got to do better than that, especially against the Nets).
Portland Trail Blazers vs Boston Celtics
Improving
There we go. This is how we should have been playing since we got Norman Powell because this was a great game on both sides execution wise. One of the better games of the year. The first half was a classic shootout. 10 3’s for Portland and 12 for Boston in the first half. It was tied at 71 because of the Big 3; CJ, Dame, and Powell. Here’s what they did at halftime;
18 for CJ
16 for Dame
15 for Powell
That’s 49 points as they were great. The defense was solid, good job on Jaylen Brown. But Jayson Tatum was a problem. He had 24 points and other guys like Fournier and Pritchard had 10 each. It was a solid half but the team who played better defense in the 2nd half would win. Surprisingly it was Portland. Portland held Boston is check somewhat and grew a lead. They held the Celtics to 48 points in the 2nd half and 5 straight points from a Carmelo 3 and Powell layup sealed the deal. Impressive road win, that’s 4 straight wins for Portland now who keeps pace in the West.
33-5-5 for CJ on 12/20 shooting and 26-6-13 for Dame. Those two were great, both playing off each other. 23 for Powell and a double-double for Nurkic as well. Melo was solid off the bench as Portland shot 50% from 3 with 19 makes. 22/26 from the free throw line and only 9 turnovers on the game, compared to 18 for Boston.
The reason this game was close was because of the bench. Portland only went 3 deep in their bench while Boston got great minutes from Robert Williams, Nesmith, and Pritchard. But Portland has recovered well since their ugly stretch marred by poor offense and defense. The defense is good in spots and the offense has been flowing well. 27 assists, unusually high for Portland who ranks high in isolation and low in assists. Portland is playing well and hopefully that can continue here in the last few weeks of the year.
Shot Distribution
I talked about this on the Clippers against Denver recently. Why is the guy who is struggling shooting more than the guy who has things going? Jaylen Brown has been struggling and the same was true in this game, 6/22 on the night. But Jayson Tatum was great, not so much in the 2nd half but 11/19 is a lot better than 6/22. So why isn’t he getting more shots. Evan Fournier was 8/10, shouldn’t he get more shots? I get Brown is an All-Star, but he didn’t exactly have things going. Sometimes you just have to give it to the guys who have things going.
I am encouraged by the young guys. Aaron Nesmith hadn’t played much all year but he’s been great lately. He closed out the Spurs comeback game and he got 20 minutes in this game. He was always a good hustler but now he’s clicking offensively, 6/7 shooting, 4/4 from 3 in this game for 16 points. He was always a good shooter but with his hustle, he’s valuable. 13 for Pritchard who has been solid all year. Fournier was great, Tatum was also good. But I just wish Boston would give it to the right guy more, just not give it to the All-Star because he has All-Star in his title.
Also Brown and Tatum had a nasty collision late, both of them left the game for the locker room. Didn’t seem to be a head injury, but Boston obviously hopes they’re both ok.
Miami Heat vs Charlotte Hornets
Control
This was a big game and the Heat won it. They needed a win to climb in the East and they got one against a team in direct competition with them. The Heat led by 22 in the 2nd half as they controlled things. 7 guys were in double figures, as the Heat scored 121 points on just 29% 3-PT shooting, which is just impressive. The Heat now move into 6th place, 1 game ahead of Boston. The Heat are tied with the 5th seed Hawks. The Heat might still have a chance to do some damage in the playoffs.
Good, But Not Good Enough
6 guys in double figures, but the defense was awful. That tends to be the case with this team. Anyway the Hornets are 8th in the East, 2.5 games behind the Celtics. The Pacers are just 0.5 games behind them as the Hornets have to win to avoid sliding even more.
Sacramento Kings vs Dallas Mavericks
Injuries Suck
No Fox and no Barnes and the Kings led comfortably most of the way. Good win, season sweep of Dallas believe it or not. 27 for Buddy Hield, 23 points and 9 rebounds for Marvin Bagley, 17 and 7 rebounds for Holmes, and 14 for Delon Wright. Oh, right the title.
God I hate injuries. In this year’s draft, Tyrese Haliburton was my favorite prospect. I had him as a top-7 pick and he somehow fell to the Kings, who even more surprisingly took him even with their history of terrible drafting. But Haliburton went down with a non-contact leg injury in this game. Now it looked like it might have been an achilles injury, which would have sucked. But it does look like a knee injury. But any time you see those injuries, it doesn’t end well. I hope it’s nothing serious, he was so good this year. I hate injuries.
Nice
Luka had 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Jalen Brunson had 17 off the bench. That was it. Finney-Smith was 1/7, Kleber was 2/8, Richardson was 4/10, the Mavs were 6/35 from 3 (17%). Help the man, please. Thank you.
New York Knicks vs Houston Rockets
It’s The Rockets
No more needs to be said
You’re The Rockets
Correct.
Phoenix Suns vs OKC Thunder
Close?
I don’t know how this was close, but whatever, a win is a win I guess. 32 for Booker, 18 for Paul, 18 for Craig, 17 for Bridges, and only 3 shots for Deandre Ayton. All is normal in the world. The Suns are now tied with the Jazz again, meaning they get the #1 seed back.
Close?
How did OKC make this close, this team is historically bad without SGA.
Philadelphia 76ers vs San Antonio Spurs
Chill
The 76ers nearly lost to a team without DeRozan or Dejounte Murray. This went down to the wire in OT. It shouldn’t have. It took a game-winner for them to win. It shouldn’t have. Off the Embiid miss, Simmons came from the weak side and tapped it in and then Philly kind of walked off the court. No celebration or anything. Simmons only had 5 points for the game because he’s Ben Simmons but 40% of his points came at a very big moment.
You Tried
Good job.
Toronto Raptors vs LA Lakers
Siakam and Lowry Show
Where was this all season? Anyway, it’s probably too late now to make any sort of difference, as Toronto is likely to miss the postseason for the first time since the 2012-13 season when Rudy Gay was their leading scorer. A lot has changed. Siakam had 39 points and 13 rebounds as he had things going from the start. He was aggressive getting to the rim, again, where was this all season? Lowry had a season-high 37 points and 11 assists on 8/13 shooting from 3, 12/20 overall. It was rumored that LA could have gotten Lowry but they refused to give up THT. I think I would rather have Lowry.
The Raptors likely aren’t making the playoffs, but a strong showing no doubt.
The Crazy West
The Lakers might be in trouble. Not only do they have one of the worst center rotations in the league, they also have no shooting. Last year they had Dwight Howard and Javale McGee. Oh how the Lakers miss them. Marc Gasol is washed, Andre Drummond can’t defend, and Montrezl Harrell can’t defend. This is a problem. The Lakers get better defensively when Drummond isn’t playing.
Opponent Offensive Rating W/ Drummond On Floor: 114.6
Opponent Offensive Rating W/O Drummond On Floor: 107.2
The Lakers are a whole 7 ratings better with Drummond off the floor. This guy doesn’t help. AD continues to struggle shooting and LA’s shooting continues to be bad. It was at 38% today which is a big step up, but I don’t expect 6/11 3-PT shooting from Kyle Kuzma every night. The Lakers could have Kyle Lowry, who just hit 8 3’s in a game today. The Lakers haven’t had anybody hit 8 3’s in a game this season. The Lakers have two growing problems and their third problem is the standings.
Current Western Conference Standings – Seeds 5-7
5: Dallas Mavericks / 36-28
6: LA Lakers / 36-28
7: Portland Trail Blazers / 36-28
Seeds 5/7 are tied and it’s going to be chaotic. All 3 of these teams have 5 games left. Of those 5 games, here are how many above 0.500 teams they play:
Mavs: 3/8 games
Lakers: 5/8 games
Blazers: 5/8 games
So the Mavs have it easy and Portland LA have tougher routes. But there’s another twist. Portland and the Lakers have only played twice this year, each side winning one game. These two teams play each other on Friday, May 7th. That will one of the biggest games of the year. This Western Conference race is going to be crazy, but LA might be a 7th seed. That might actually happen.
To make matters even, even worse, Lebron left the game with some ankle soreness. He said he might not ever be 100% again and unfortunately he might be right.
What Are Your Thoughts From The 8 Games Today? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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