Can Anybody Stop The Healthy Nets?; Playoff Races Come Down To One Game! 5.15.21
It’s another day of NBA hoops and we have 6 games on the slate tonight.
Chicago Bulls vs Brooklyn Nets
Fantasy For 3 Minutes
The Bulls started this game on a 12-0 run. Safe to say that didn’t last long, no matter if Lavine was playing or not. The Bulls lost their lead in the 2nd quarter and then Brooklyn led for basically the entire 2nd half. Vucevic was 4/18 from the field and Coby White was 1/10. Patrick Williams was 9/14 and Thaddeous Young was 9/18, but this wasn’t exactly a great game for the Bulls who have a lot of work to do this offseason.
Scary Hours
The Nets woke up after falling behind by 12 point early. They took a lead and never looked back. KD was 4/17 from the field, Harden only took 4 shots, and guess what? Brooklyn won by double-digits. 22 for Kyrie, 7 assists for Harden, 16 points and 12 rebounds for Bruce Brown, aka the Rover. The bench was great, 10 points and 8 rebounds for Nicolas Claxton in 25 minutes. He needs to be playing 20-25 minutes in the playoffs. 19 for Jeff Green as this team is healthy. Scary Hours indeed.
The Nets are 6-2 when their entire Big 3 plays. Joe Harris is hopefully going to be back for the playoffs. I really wouldn’t want to face this juggernaut. (Standings)
LA Lakers vs Indiana Pacers
Dang It
Schroder came back and Lebron and AD were playing against a Pacers team missing everybody. It was closer than it probably should have been but LA gets the win and now things even more weird.
24-7-8 for Lebron, 28-10-5 for AD. If those two play like this, doesn’t matter how LA does it, they can win a title. Marc Gasol better play in the playoffs, because they aren’t doing well with Harrell or Drummond in. The shooting was ok, 38%. But the Lakers have done what they needed to do.
The Lakers and Blazers are tied, with Portland at the 6th seed and LA at 7th. The Lakers need to win and Portland to lose tomorrow to get into the playoffs. If Portland wins, LA is in the play-in. If both teams lose, Portland is in. Here’s the best part. Portland and LA play at the same time, 6:00 PM PT tomorrow. Dallas also plays at 6:00 PM PT tomorrow. So all of these games will start and end around the same time. What could go wrong?
Injuries
No Brogdon, Sabonis, or Turner. This team has been hit hard by injuries and a jerk coach. They are now in a three-way tie with Charlotte and Washington and currently they are 10th. This season has been a mess, to say the least.
Charlotte Hornets vs New York Knicks
Close
The Hornets feel behind by 18 in the 2nd quarter of this game and it seemed over. But they cut into the lead in the 3rd and took the lead in the 4th. Both teams struggled to score in the 4th but a Rozier layup with under 40 seconds to go tied the game. Devonte Graham missed the final shot of regulation and we headed to OT, where the Hornets were promptly stomped, losing by 9.
Miles Bridges came back after Covid H/S protocols and dropped 30 off the bench. He’s going to be their x-factor in the play-in. 25 for Graham off the bench, Rozier and Ball shot a combined 8/29 from the field, and PJ Washington was 2/11. Nice.
The Hornets shot 27% from 3 but they are getting healthier for the play-in. Hayward won’t be available it looks like but Bridges coming back is big. The Hornets stay at 8th place, but we have a problem. The Hornets are now not only tied with Indiana, but also Washington. All 3 teams have the same 33-38 record with one game left. Charlotte is 8th, Washington is 9th, and Indiana is 10th. This last game is going to be good.
Nearly
The Knicks nearly blew an 18-point lead as they started off the 4th quarter horribly. But they got things together and dominated the OT session, getting a crucial win in the EC playoff race. 33-10-13 for Randle. Burks, Rose, and Quickley were all in double-figures off the bench. 17 for Bullock. The Knicks offense is going to be spotty, but if their bench trio of Rose, Burks, and Quickley can do something like this, the Knicks can become a solid offense.
The Knicks are the 4th seed, tied with the Hawks who are 5th. Both the Knicks and Hawks have a one game lead on the Heat.
Boston Celtics vs Minnesota T-Wolves
Surprising
No Walker, Brown, Thompson, or Williams meant that Boston was thin for this game. When Luke Kornet has the task of guarding KAT, the most offensively versatile big in the league, your chances aren’t great. So Boston made a friend to help them win this game, the 3-PT line. Boston hit 8 3’s in the first quarter alone and 13 in the first half. They finished with 18 3’s for the game on 43% shooting.
26 and 11 for JT who is going to need to turn things up in the play-in. 18 for Fournier, and solid outings from others. The Celtics needs an aggressive JT, healthy Kemba Walker, and Evan Fournier to shoot like he’s been shooting along with Robert Williams and Tristan Thompson to be healthy. That is a lot of variables but if Boston can get most of those things, they can at the very least make the playoffs.
Defense
Just draft some defense in the draft, trust me.
Phoenix Suns vs San Antonio Spurs
Easy
Even with no Ayton, the Spurs were more beat up as the Suns keep their slim hopes for the # 1 seed alive. Phoenix led by 42 at one point and never trailed. 27 for Booker, 18 for Bridges, 16-5-10 for CP-3. Solid outing. Phoenix is 1 game behind Utah for the #1 seed. Tomorrow, they need a Utah loss and a win to claim the #1 seed.
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs rested DeRozan and let Dejounte Murray recover from injury. The Spurs are the 10th seed but they are a distant 5 games behind the Grizzlies. They aren’t going anywhere so these last few games are irrelevant. They just have to prepare for the play-in now.
Miami Heat vs Milwaukee Bucks
Health
Health has been the main problem for the Heat all year, causing inconsistent play on both ends. No Jimmy Butler tonight mean Nemanja Bjelica had to start and lets just say it didn’t go well. The Bucks shot 71% from the field in the first quarter and scored 44 points. The Heat trailed by 24 at one point as the Bucks dominated this game. The Heat will have to be healthy for the playoffs, otherwise their inconsistency problems will continue.
The Heat are the 6th seed, one game behind both the 4th seeded Knicks and 5th seeded Hawks.
Easy
The Bucks demolished the Heat, like they should as Miami didn’t have Butler. The Bucks led for most of the game and got an easy win. The Bucks are 3rd place in the East, one game behind the Brooklyn Nets with one game left to go this season. The Bucks need a Nets loss tomorrow and a win to become the #2 seed.
What Are Your Thoughts From The 6 Games Today? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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