Are The Nuggets Contenders Now?; Raptors Struggles Continue! 3.28.21
It’s another day of NBA basketball and we have 4 games on the schedule today.
Phoenix Suns vs Charlotte Hornets
Near Choke
This game wasn’t very pretty the Suns almost did their best to lose before winning in OT. The first half was a lot of missed shots and both teams couldn’t get an advantage. But the Suns got control of things in the 3rd with some good defense but they couldn’t finish late. With 5:59 left the Suns left by 12 but then the Hornets got going. 8 straight from Devonte Graham in under 2 minutes helped tie the game and force OT. The Suns scored just 2 points in the final 6 minutes of the 4th. In OT it was mostly free throws as 8 of the 11 Suns points in OT came from the line but they were able to hang on and win.
Booker had 35 and 6 rebounds as he didn’t have a problem scoring over the small Hornet guards. 16 from CP-3 but just 14 from Ayton makes me mad considering he had 10 in the first quarter. They still don’t give this man the ball consistently. The bench did next to nothing and the shooting was bad, just 20% from 3. The Suns have been in a shooting slump and they’ll have to do better than that to win in the West.
You Tried
The Hornets mounted a ridiculous comeback in the 4th but even that wasn’t enough for them to win. Down 12 with under 6 minutes to go, crazy things happened. Two straight 3’s from Rozier and Bridges helped lower the deficit. Then Graham got to work, with a layup and back-to-back 3’s to tie the game and force OT. But in OT the Hornets just couldn’t stop fouling. 8/8 free throws for Phoenix and they only had to make one FG to win. That’s got to hurt.
30 from Graham as he hit 7 3’s. 22 and 10 from Rozier, 18 and 12 from Bridges off the bench, and 15 from Hayward. The offense was pretty good against a good Suns defense but 7 missed free throws and fouling the Suns 23 times does hurt your chances of winning a bit.
Portland Trail Blazers vs Toronto Raptors
2nd Half
This was a game that I fully expected the Blazers to lose given how the first half went. But I am very impressed with how they played in the 2nd half as they clamped down on the Raptors and their defensive effort was the reason they won this game. The first half was horrendous for Portland. Offensively, scoring 68 points in a half is great but not if you allow the Raptors to score 74 points themselves. The Raptors were making everything from 3 and every single 50-50 play was going to them. Portland needed their defense to step up if they wanted to win. In the 3rd it stepped up in a big way Portland only allowing 10 points. There were lots of forced turnovers and making the Raptors uncomfortable. Portland took a lead into the 4th and they just kept playing keep away. 7 straight from McCollum with under 2 minutes to go put Portland ahead and Dame iced the game at the line as Portland gets another road win.
CJ had 23-7-5 including 10 in the 4th. It’s good to have CJ back. Dame had 22 points and 11 rebounds as he struggled but he had 9 assists in the first quarter alone. Roco had 13 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals, and 4 blocks. He was everywhere. Derrick Jones Jr had 3 combined steals and blocks off the bench with 16 points. Kanter was also good off the bench as now that Portland is healthy their depth is much better.
Anfernee Simons and Melo were solid and Norman Powell was solid. He’s going to have to adjust playing with Dame but 6 shots seems like too low. He deserves more shots and should be aggressive. I like where Portland is going. Getting Nurkic back vastly helps the offense and defense and Kanter off the bench is much better than him starting. All Portland has to do is hope that they can stay healthy and they’ll be fine.
Dinosaurs Went Extinct In The 2nd Half
The Raptors played about as well as you could have wanted in that first half. Everything they shot was seemingly going in, en route to 74 points in the first half. Siakam and VanVleet were a problem, as were Boucher and Anunoby as Portland simply had no answers. To go from that offensive outburst to what they did in the 2nd half is pretty surprising. The Raptors kept shooting 3’s in the 3rd but now that they weren’t making them their offense went cold. Portland pulled ahead as Toronto didn’t score for the first 3 minutes of the quarter as well as for 6 minutes from the 6:27 mark to under a minute. Scoring just 10 points in the 3rd the Raptors needed a comeback. But every time they scored Portland had an answer. 10 4th quarter points from CJ and some foul shots from Dame iced the game for the Raptors.
Siakam had 26 and 8 as he continues to play really well. VanVleet couldn’t make a 3 as he had 20-5-8. Gary Trent was 2/10 from the field and while OG Anunoby had 19 points, he also had 7 turnovers. The bench was very good. Boucher had 18 and 11 rebounds, Johnson had 11, and Rodney Hood finally decided to do something with 13 points. The only problem was Hood did basically all of that in the first half.
The Raptors shot 46% from 3 in the first half and they finished the game with just 33% 3-PT shooting. They just went ice cold and couldn’t keep up with Portland. The Raptors have lost 11 of 12 games as they continue to slide in the standings.
Atlanta Hawks vs Denver Nuggets
Get Healthy
Please
AG With Denver Is Scary
Before the trade deadline the Nuggets were missing that defensive wing that they had last year in Grant before he got paid and headed north to Detroit. The defense lacks a wing defender but now with Aaron Gordon they have that defender. Denver is going with a very big lineup – Murray, Barton, Porter, Gordon, and Jokic. Lots of length and Gordon is their best wing defender. Denver dominated this game and Gordon made his impact. I would now give Denver a lot higher odds to make the WCF with Gordon as they have found their glue guy again.
All 5 starters were efficient and played well. 20 off the bench from JaMychal Green led the way scoring wise. I was worried that Gordon might take shots from MPJ along with Barton and that may still be a problem, but I like the way Gordon picked and choose his spots. I really like this pickup more after seeing it in action and now I think we can debate whether or not Denver is a contending team in the West.
Orlando Magic vs LA Lakers
Peak Offense
Orlando might have too many forwards. Birch, Carter, Okeke, and Bamba (also Jonathan Isaac when healthy), are all viable forward options. Splitting up the playing time is going to be hard. Despite the fact that the Magic almost won this game had Otto Porter hit that 3 to force OT, they played hard. The offense is still terrible but it’ll be interesting to see who they play and how much for the rest of the season.
An Ugly Win Is Still A Win
This is how LA has to win. Sure their last two wins against Cleveland and Orlando haven’t exactly been hard games, however LA still had to work for them. The Lakers were fighting and fighting until they finally pulled through, perhaps getting lucky that Otto Porter didn’t force OT. As I said, defense is going to be how LA clings on for life in the West without both of their superstars.
What Are Your Thoughts From The 4 Games Today? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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