Indiana Embarrasses Charlotte!; Tatum’s 50 Gives Boston Playoff Birth! 5.18.21
It’s the start of the NBA playoffs and we have the first two games of the NBA play-in. The journey to a title starts here.
Charlotte Hornets vs Indiana Pacers (117-144)
Inexperience
I swear there isn’t a DeLorean in my garage. I didn’t know this would happen, but I predicted the future. I said that Indiana would win for one, which not a lot of people predicted. But I said that their formula of all offense no defense would struggle against a pass heavy Indiana team. I said that the Hornets would have hit be reliant on guys like Rozier and Graham who are so streaky. It all didn’t work and I would just like to say that I was right.
Bridges was good, Zeller was 7/7 from the field, but Rozier was 7/20, Ball was 4/14, Graham was 1/8. The Hornets never led in this game and trailed by 39 at one point. They shot just 30% from 3 compared to 46% from Indiana. The Hornets are a very young team with a bright future, but this just reinforces the fact that it’s rare for young teams to win in the postseason. Back to the lottery for MJ and company.
Turmoil Who
Everywhere I kept seeing that the Pacers would lose because of all that they had been through this year. They are likely losing Caris Levert for the year thanks to Covid and guys like Brogdon and Sabonis were banged up before the game. We already know the coaching situation with Nate Bjorkgren has been less than ideal. But yet they dominated this game. I was one of the few people to predict that Indiana would win, but this was surprising.
The Pacers got their duo of Brogdon and Sabonis back and they used Sabonis masterfully. They put him in situations with lots of all ball movement and just confused the Pacers. Doug McDermott was flying around around screens, scoring 21 points for the game but 16 of those game in the first quarter. The Pacers literally ran circles around Charlotte.
23 points for Oshae Brissett who has been really good to end the year in place of Myles Turner, 14-21-9 for Sabonis, 17 points and 4 steals for McConnell, 16 and 8 assists for Brogdon, dominating win overall. Indiana shot 55% from the field, 46% from 3, scoring 144 points, led by 39 at one point, all without Caris Levert. Indiana will take on (standings) in a battle for the #8 seed in the East.
Washington Wizards vs Boston Celtics (100-118)
I’m Sorry
I saw an Instagram post where people were predicting this game. There were 16 people in total and only 5 people picked Boston, which went with the national consensus. Boston had been inconsistent and Washington was red-hot. Unfortunately I said exactly why Washington would lose and it happened. I said that the Wizards would be sloppy in both turnovers and fouls. Look what happened. The Wizards had 31 fouls and Boston was 27/32 from the free throw line. The Wizards had 15 turnovers which led to 20 Celtic points. I’m sorry.
The Wizards only had one good stretch in this game, the 2nd quarter where they looked good, getting scores and stops. But they couldn’t pull away because they only made one three in the first half. Tatum had 18 in the first half but 32 in the 2nd half with 23 in the 3rd alone. I said that the Wizards couldn’t guard him and they couldn’t. Beal obviously didn’t look 100% as he struggled. Westbrook went back to tunnel vision Russ as he struggled.
3/21 shooting from 3 for Washington. Meanwhile Boston his 15 3’s. The hoopnotions curse strikes again. The Wizards now take on the Pacers for the 8th seed and I don’t see why this outcome won’t happen again. Beal isn’t 100% and this team is very flawed. A hot end to the year doesn’t change that.
Jayson Christopher Tatum
This guy is going to be so good. I said that nobody could guard him and I was right. He struggled shooting in the first half (5/15) but he had 18 points. But he turned it up in the 2nd half. He was aggressive at getting to the rim and his jumpers were falling. 23 in the 3rd, 32 in the 2nd half, and a 50 bomb to give the Celtics the #7 seed. The best thing? He was 17/17 from the line. Aggressive Tatum is scary.
The Celtics hit 12 more 3’s than Washington, outscored them by 14 in points off turnovers, and hit 10 more free throws. Walker added 29 points alongside Tatum as he was solid. There wasn’t much else scoring but because the Wizards were so bad from 3 and turned it over 15 times, Boston didn’t need a lot of scoring.
Very good for Boston who punches their ticket to the playoffs. You should be happy in this situation, but you have to play the Nets. Yeah…………….. this won’t end well.
What Are Your Thoughts From The First Play-In Games? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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