What Has Happened To Portland?; Nets Take Back The #1 Seed! 4.23.21
It’s a Friday night of NBA basketball and we have 7 games on the schedule tonight.
Miami Heat vs Atlanta Hawks
Nice
Losing to a team without Trae Young and Clint Capela. Nice. The Heat had this game in the bag, against a team they are trying to catch up with no less, and they just couldn’t get stops against the Hawks bench unit. God this team is disappointing.
You’ll Take It
Thankfully Trae Young won’t miss too much time and on top of that Capela is out and Hunter/Reddish continue to be out. But getting a win against an Eastern Conference playoff team without all those guys? Now what is good. 20+ points for Collins and Bogdanovic and 6 guys in double figures overall. Big win for Atlanta.
Boston Celtics vs Brooklyn Nets
Injuries
For not having Kemba, Robert Williams, and Jaylen Brown, this could have gone worse. The game was only close in the first half thanks to 25 from Jayson Tatum. The Nets dominated things in transition, just getting easy runaway baskets. The Celtics cut a once 17-point lead to 3 in the 4th, but it was just too little too late. If both sides were healthy, this would have been a much better game.
38 points and 10 rebounds for Tatum, great game after a little two-game skid. 22 for Payton Pritchard with 6 3’s off the bench, and 19 for Smart. 19 turnovers killed the Celtics and they lost the fast-break battle 32-0. 32-0, that’s crazy. Definitely have to do a better job holding teams back and maybe not over pursuing rebounds.
Fastbreak & Turnovers
Without two of their superstars, the Nets had to find scoring from somewhere. They used their defense and got a 32-0 advantage on fastbreak points. The Nets just kept running away from the Celtics. The only reason the game was somewhat close in the first was because Jayson Tatum was amazing. They led by 17 at one point and while their lead did become just 3 at one point, the Nets hung on to win.
20 for Joe Harris, 19 for Jeff Green, 15-9-11 with 4 steals and 2 blocks for Irving. 15 for Bruce Brown and 13 Blake Griffin. Imagine if this was healthy. Unfortunately that’s a very big if.
The Nets now take back the #1 seed, as they continue to win without their stars. I can’t even fathom how dominate this team would be while healthy. It’s just insane.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Charlotte Hornets
Close But No Cigar
The Cavs had their chances in this game. A great second quarter gave them the lead at the half but they lost their double-digit lead with a poor 3rd quarter. It was tied entering the 4th and when they needed stops, they couldn’t get them. A Miles Bridges 3 was the eventual dagger.
28 from Sexton and 27 from Garland as these two have been on a tear lately. The Cavs might have their backcourt of the future along with pieces like Okoro and Allen. Time to trade Kevin Love and keep building.
Short-Handed
Good win for the Hornets when they’re this short-handed. Another win thanks to their Big 3 of sorts – Bridges, Rozier, and PJ Washington. All 3 of those guys had 25 points, accounting for nearly 70% of all the Hornets points. Bridges has been great from 3 this season and he’s been so good as a scorer. PJ Washington has shown glimpses and Terry Rozier has been great. Getting Lamelo Ball back soon is big, and you hope guys like Hayward and Monk will follow soon after.
LA Clippers vs Houston Rockets
Short-Handed
Like the Hornets, LA has mastered the art of winning while short-handed. No Kawhi and no Morris, leaving PG on his own. He was fine to say the least. After scoring just 11 points in the 3rd, LA trailed by 5 entering the 4th. They scored 33 points to comeback against the Rockets. Yes that’s a thing.
33 points and 14 rebounds for PG who has turned back into MVPG. 5 others were in double figures including 19 from Reggie Jackson. LA was 24-14 at the All-Star Break. They have been 19-5 since that point and are 12-1 since getting Rondo. Their offense has been so good even with guys being in and out of the lineups and nobody seems to care. Which might be a good thing for LA, who suffered in the spotlight last year.
Paul George In The Last 8 Games:
32.9 PPG
7.6 RPG
5.4 APG
52% FG – 45% 3-PT – 92% FT
He’s Back
Houston Rockets
Losing, the new reality in Houston.
Washington Wizards vs OKC Thunder
7 In A Row
The Wizards are peaking at the right time. After a close first half, the Wizards opened things up in the 2nd half with a flurry of offense as they built a 20-point lead. 7 in a row as they have been winning when they need to to try and get into the play-in.
33 for Beal and 37-11-11 for Westbrook who is a triple-double machine. He’s going to break Oscar Robertson’s 181 triple-double record, maybe even this season, which is crazy. The Wizards also shot 56% from 3, even though they have almost completely abandoned the shot during this win streak. The Wizards have a game lead on the 11th seeded Bulls and are 1.5 games behind a foundering Pacers team.
Expected
On to the lottery.
Denver Nuggets vs Golden State Warriors
Kryptonite
Not only did Denver get dominated by the Warriors again, they got another key player injured in the Bay. While it wasn’t a bad one like the Murray injury was, it’s not good. Literally 59 seconds into the game, and Will Barton leaves the game with a hamstring injury. Now the Nuggets lose another shot creator and that killed them. They couldn’t make shots and even when Curry wasn’t hitting shots they were losing. When he got going it was game over. Injuries have started to make things a little tough in Denver.
Balance
Curry started off slow but still finished with 32 points on the night, picking up after just one off game. But he got solid help and the Warriors again dominated Denver. 23 for Kelly Oubre who has been a lot better off the bench this season. 19 for Wiggins, 15 for Poole, and 14 for Mulder. Draymond Green had another Draymond Green game:
1/3 shooting, 2 points, 12 rebounds, 19 assists, +/- of +11. He is quite literally the engine of this team. The Warriors had 40 assists as the ball was moving very well. Golden State it tied with the Spurs for the 10th seed and they are currently 9th, 1 game behind the Grizzlies.
Memphis Grizzlies vs Portland Trail Blazers
Congratulations
I would give the Grizzlies more praise, but Portland sucks. Nonetheless Memphis did play a very good game. They pushed the pace and just got to the rim with ease, because why would Portland play defense? 33-5-13 for Morant who has been on an absolute tear lately. 25 points and elite Damian Lillard defense from Dillon Brooks. 23 from Jaren Jackson Jr. who is going to be an x-factor for the Grizzlies down the stretch.
Portland Trail Blazers
I am so done with this team. The defense is just so bad and our offense is spotty despite having some very good players. I would love to give the Grizzlies credit, guys like Morant and Dillon Brooks were excellent in this game. But it just feels like Portland is losing games more than the other team is winning. Portland has lost 6 of their last 7 games and are now the 7th seed. Yes, they are in the play-in. It’s going to be another year of wasting Dame’s prime, another first-round exit, and then next year do the exact same team. God this team is frustrating.
What Are Your Thoughts From The 8 Games Today? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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