Miami’s Inconsistency Continues; Jazz Win With Mitchell Injured! 4.16.21
It’s a Friday slate of NBA basketball and we have a very busy day with 11 games on the schedule today.
Indiana Pacers vs Utah Jazz
Tale Of Two Halves
The Pacers played a very good half and a very bad half. The first half was great. The ball was moving and 4 guys were in double figures. Indiana led by double-digits for a lot of the 2nd quarter as they were controlling Utah, shooting over 50% from the field. When Donovan Mitchell left the game with 8:18 left in the 3rd, I thought the game was over. So did Indiana, apparently. The Pacers scored just 42 points in the 2nd half and their defense was terrible, constantly letting the Jazz penetrate and hit open 3’s. The Pacers just kept jacking up 3’s and they got out of rhythm. A terrible loss, especially considering the Jazz didn’t have Mitchell for almost half the game. With the Eastern Conference play-in race being incredibly close, every game matters.
Good Win, But..
I was very impressed with the 2nd half from Utah. The first half is what Utah has become, hoping 3’s fall and if they don’t hope Mitchell keeps you in the game. Mitchell was good but the Jazz were terrible defensively and they trailed by 13 at the half. Mitchell got rolled up on with 8:18 left and left the game with an ankle injury. It seemed Utah was out of gas, but then they found energy. Their 3’s started to fall as guys like Conley, Ingles, and Bogdanovic picked up the pace. The Jazz defense was excellent, holding the Pacers to just 42 points in the 2nd half. Rudy Gobert was a force down low, forcing the Pacers to hit their outside shots.
But the Suns have won 13 of their last 15 games and they are now just 1.5 games back off the Jazz. Mitchell’s x-rays came back negative but they are doing an MRI to see how bad the sprain is. The Jazz might lost their #1 seed after holding it for so long, but right now the Jazz hope Mitchell is back in time for the playoffs.
OKC Thunder vs Detroit Pistons
Choke
Even without SGA this game was there for the taking. 15-point lead in the first half just to be tied at the half. 10 turnovers in the 3rd quarter, 22 for the game. Cut a double-digit lead in the 4th to one, just to lose. Tough night for OKC.
Youth
No Grant or Plumlee, so 3 rookies were starting plus Sekou Doumbouya who’s 20. 29 from Josh Jackson but 18 for Saddiq Bey, 15 points and 21 rebounds for Isaiah Stewart, 7 assists and 5 steals for Killian Hayes, solid effort.
LA Clippers vs Philadelphia 76ers
A For Effort
A healthy LA team would have won this game, But why is Marcus Morris taking the last shot when PG has his 5th straight 30+ game. Good effort overall, I guess. Also Patrick Patterson is now Steph Curry.
(Fun Fact: The Clippers are the first team in NBA history with 10+ games shooting 50% on 30+ three-point attempts in a season. They are shooting 42% 3-PT this season, the best mark ever by a team with 20+ attempts per game).
God This Team Really Doesn’t Want To Win
This should have been a blowout. It was 20-3 at one point. But apparently the 76ers turn Patrick Patterson into Steph Curry as they very nearly lost this game. Again, this team’s offense isn’t good. It’s just Embiid doing foul baiting. I don’t know if that’s sustainable, or even enough to beat the Nets. Ben Simmons does cardio and offense and says he’s the DPOY 1,000,000 times while not even guarding PG for most of the game.
New Orleans Pelicans vs Washington Wizards
That Was A Terrible Call
That wasn’t a foul. They reviewed it and still got the call wrong. Zion didn’t even touch him, or he hardly did. That’s not a call you make in OT. The Pelicans didn’t deserve to lose this game. 34-7-5 for Ingram. Zion struggled with 7 turnovers and of course that horrible call late. Unfortunate.
Lucky
Beal had 30 points and Westbrook had 36-15-9, with 10 points in the 4th. Daniel Gafford had 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks off the bench. That’s all great, but this should have gone to Double OT. That wasn’t a foul and I don’t know how Westbrook flopped his way to getting that. Zion didn’t even touch him on that jumpshot. Whatever, Wizards coming for that 10th seed in the East.
Charlotte Hornets vs Brooklyn Nets
Injuries
No Ball, Hayward, Graham, Monk, Washington, or Zeller. It’s a hospital in Buzz Town right now. I mean Miles Bridges had a career-high 33 points on 13/18 shooting, 27-6-10 for Rozier, and 21 for rookie Vernon Carey. But they couldn’t stop the Nets.
Offense
Yeah, the Nets are good at this whole offense thing. 25 points and 11 assists for KD on 67% shooting. 26 for Joe Harris with 6 3’s. Kyrie only had 12 and they still had 130 points. 20 for Landry Shamet with 6 3’s off the bench. 21 3’s overall on 51%. Nobody is stopping this team when healthy.
Orlando Magic vs Toronto Raptors
Misery
Paul Watson Have A Day
The Magic had 19 points in the 3rd. Paul Watson had 20 in the 3rd, 30 for the game on 10/13 shooting. Have a day. 21 for Watanabe as without Siakam, Lowry, or Trent the Raptors won.
Memphis Grizzlies vs Chicago Bulls
Balance
Another win for Memphis. 32 from Dillon Brooks, with 15 in the 3rd to lead the way. The game was very close in the first half but the Grizzlies pulled away in the 2nd half with 37 points in the 3rd and 32 more in the 4th. 6 were in double figures for the Grizzlies who have won 6 of their last 9 games and are streaking towards a play-in birth.
Re-Tooling
No Lavine and this team is very flawed with their personnel. Need better pieces, and now they are out the play-in and 3-9 overall with Vucevic. Yikes.
Denver Nuggets vs Houston Rockets
It’s The Rockets
Not that impressive, moving on.
God This Team Is Bad
True Statement above.
Miami Heat vs Minnesota T-Wolves
Same Inconsistent Team
This Western Conference road trip hasn’t been nice for the Heat. I thought they had turned the corner or sorts and gotten more consistent. But no, the defense is having problems again. Bam Adebayo isn’t being aggressive. He shot 7/8 which is great, but All-Stars should shoot more than 8 times per game. The bench other than Dragic was terrible. The Finals really were a fluke with how they’ve been playing this season.
Balance (For Once)
Usually this team’s scoring comes from Edwards, Towns, Russell, and Beasley (when healthy). But today they got a lot of guys involved. Towns led the way with 24-5-5 but you got 6 others in double figures, including 3 guys off the bench. Overcoming 21 turnovers is no easy feat, but Minnesota did that. After getting dominated by both the Nets and Bucks (without Towns) they had a solid showing in this one to get a rare win.
Portland Trail Blazers vs San Antonio Spurs
Finally
Portland without Damian Lillard somehow won this game, but I will take it. The Blazers fell behind by 16 in the first half which was to be expected, but they closed the gap in the 3rd. In the final two minutes they forced two turnovers and got 3 missed shots to take the lead, thanks to a Norman Powell layup with 22.8 seconds left. The Spurs got multiple chances to win, but they couldn’t get it done.
29 for CJ and 22 for Powell led the way. 39 combined points from Melo, Kanter, and Simons was big as Portland desperately needed this to try and weather this tough end to the year.
L
2-7 in April, 4-11 in their last 15 games. The Spurs are fading hard.
New York Knicks vs Dallas Mavericks
Julius Randle Aka God
Julius Randle was on a tear against Dallas. He was simply unstoppable. He had 44 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists on 16/29 shooting 6/11 from 3. Hit 3’s were falling, his mid-range was a problem as he just dominated Kleber/any would be Dallas defender. RJ Barrett added 24 points as he has been very good lately. 15 for D-Rose off the bench but this was the Randle show. The Knicks didn’t give Luka any room as a scorer and made others do work. The Knicks played a very good game and got a good win on the road.
Luka The Passer
Luka didn’t have a bad game. Lower than his usual standard? Sure. But not bad. He didn’t shoot that much. He was just 1/4 from the field in the first half as he couldn’t get shots. He only shot the ball 13 times in the game and finished with 22 points. But he also had 8 rebounds, and 19 assists, which tied a career-high. He was great but his teammates didn’t do enough. The bench was solid but Porzingis was just 8/20 and Dallas shot just 33% from 3. I wouldn’t put this one on Luka, his teammates have to help him at some point.
What Are Your Thoughts From The 11 Games Today? Leave A Comment Down Below!
Follow My Instagram To Never Miss A Post: @hoopnotions
Check Out My Patreon For Extra Content!
