What Is Next For The Heat?; Powell Powers Portland To Pivotal Win! 5.29.21
It’s another day of NBA playoff basketball and we have a busy day with 4 games on the schedule, thankfully not at the same time.
(3) Milwaukee Bucks vs (6) Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks (4-0)
The Bucks dominated this series. Their shooting was poor in the first half as Giannis was just 1/7. But the Bucks turned things around in the 2nd half. They held the Heat to just 39 2nd half points and outscored the Heat by 24 in the 2nd half, taking Game 4 en route to a dominating sweep.
4 guys scored over 20; Middleton, Giannis, Lopez, and Bryn Forbes who hit 7 3’s off the bench. Holiday had 4 steals and Portis was also in double figures. The Bucks started Pat Connaughton in place of Donte DiVincenzo who will be sorely missed. I don’t know who they’re going to be starting in the 2nd round, likely against Brooklyn, interesting to see who that is.
The Bucks played really well and assuming that they are playing the Nets, they matchup pretty well. They are much bigger than Brooklyn and have guys who can guard their Big 3. No DiVincenzo does hurt, but Holiday and Middleton are good and hopefully Giannis guards KD. The Bucks can dominate the offensive glass with their size and Brooklyn’s lack thereof. That series will be very good as we see how good the Bucks can be.
Also, Bryn Forbes had more points (60-58) than Jimmy Butler in this series. Sooooo Forbes>Butler, I guess.
Miami Heat (0-4)
God this team really flamed out like this. I was so excited for this series, especially with what happened last year. But Miami just didn’t show up. I didn’t see that grit and that passion that we saw last year. Almost no urgency, this team needs another star. Victor Oladipo isn’t the answer and I don’t know if they can realistically get anybody great. Goran Dragic is old but Kyle Lowry is the other option and he’s also old.
The team lacks consistency offensively, as the Heat need youth. Ariza, Dedmon, Iguodala, Dragic, all older guys. Tyler Herro doesn’t offer much outside of scoring, same thing with Nunn. This team isn’t winning in the East with this roster. They need more scoring, youth, things like that. It’ll be interesting to see what they do this offseason.
And when your best player is getting outscored by Bryn Forbes, come on Jimmy, come on man. The Heat are going to need to look a lot different next season.
(3) Denver Nuggets vs (6) Portland Trail Blazers
Denver Nuggets (2-2)
This was embarrassing. The Nuggets came out with no energy on either end as they were just embarrassed. Jokic saw more pressure. Nurkic was very good one-on-one vs Jokic for the first time this series. Portland sent some double-teams and Jokic was awful. MPJ didn’t even get that many shots. The Denver bench was the only group that was good, actually giving them energy. Denver’s starters were awful on both ends.
Jokic was 7/18 from the field, only 16 points with 1 assist. Portland not only took away his play-making, he also didn’t score. Jokic has to play better than this and we know he can. I’m guessing this is a fluke game, not too much to worry about.
MPJ only shot the ball 3 times. Unacceptable for the 2nd best scorer on your team to do that. Gordon was 2/7, Rivers and Campazzo shot a combined 5/15 from the floor, River getting a nasty hip injury. Didn’t look good, as Denver really needs Will Barton back. He might come back some time this series, nothing is known at this time.
Denver shot 34% from the field and 30% from 3. Don’t shoot 44 3-pointers (10 of them coming from Markus Howard) if you’re shooting that poorly. Portland scored more in the paint, in transition. Denver had 10 more offensive rebounds and they didn’t do anything. Very ugly game for Denver, but they go back home tied 2-2, essentially a best of 3 series with 2 home games. Not the worst thing in the world.
Another thing I find interesting is that Denver plays better from behind. Last year, they came back from down 3-1 twice. But in 2019, they led 3-2 against Portland and lost. This year they’re up 2-1 and what’s the outcome? Just a thought.
Portland Trail Blazers (2-2)
We made a Terry Stotts defense look good. Incredible. The Blazers came out very well and this time they held the lead. Nurkic went at Jokic down low and Portland attacked him in the pick and roll. Nurkic held his own one-on-one with Jokic, not picking up fouls. Portland also sent help his way occassionally, which is good. Definitely want to see this type of defensive effort throughout the series.
Portland is the more talented team this series and they acted like it in this game and in Game 1. Norman Powell did a great job on MPJ and the defense seemed lively, nothing Denver got was easy. Really good win, tied the series 2-2, we move.
Powell was great. Held MPJ to just 3 shots and he was 11/15 from the field, 4/4 from 3, 29 points. This is why we got him, because no offense, I don’t think Gary Trent can do this.
Nurkic had 17 points, great game from him. CJ had 21 points and 8 assists. Dame was 1/10 from the floor, 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists. Portland won by 20 with Dame’s (by far) worst game this series. Very good sign.
Melo was solid off the bench as this was a very good game on both sides. 50% shooting from the field, 36% from 3. Not too many turnovers, complete game.
I like Portland forcing guys to make 3’s. Markus Howard shot 10 3’s, I love that. Make guys make outside shots. Jokic defense was very good, just have to double-him a little bit more, keep Nurkic out of foul trouble like he was in Games 2 and 3. Dame and CJ are fine, Denver can’t guard them, I’m not worried. Nurkic has to keep being aggressive offensively.
Portland is by far the more talented team. In their two wins they have dominated. The ball has been moving (29 assists in Game 1, 24 tonight). The defense has been good, especially tonight against MPJ and Jokic. The Blazers know how to win this series, they have the talent. It’s just about playing well. Portland just needs to be consistent. Steal a game on the road and they can win this series.
(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs (8) Washington Wizards
Philadelphia 76ers (3-0)
Not surprising. Just win Game 4 and onto the next round.
Washington Wizards (0-3)
This was expected. Headed for the lottery.
(1) Utah Jazz vs (8) Memphis Grizzlies
Utah Jazz (2-1)
The Jazz won. Yeah, that’s cool. The Jazz shouldn’t lose another game in this series unless they shoot the way they did in Game 1. This series is over in 5, one more game than the Heat vs Bucks series (last joke, I swear).
Memphis Grizzlies (1-2)
Memphis trailed for most of this game, came back in the 4th to take a lead, and then fouled a bunch to lose. The Grizzlies led 107-105 with exactly 5 minutes left in the game. After that, Memphis got outscored 16-4. The Grizzlies fell apart late. There isn’t much hope for them in this series with a healthy Donovan Mitchell. But at least you won one game. That’s better than the Heat (sorry Heat fans, this is the last time;).
What Are Your Thoughts From The 4 Games Today? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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