What a weekend of NBA Playoffs action. Two teams advanced to the second round. The NBA’s top dogs seem to be finding their form. CP3 shows he’s still got a little something left. Denver’s defense is a problem…for Denver. Players are getting injured left and right. Oh yeah, and I guess Luka Doncic played this weekend too. Let’s look back, shall we?
Luka Doncic’s Historic Performance Helps Shorthanded Mavs Tie Series 2-2
I was planning on starting this recap with NBA Playoffs injuries, which we will no doubt get to.
But the injury that I had anticipated being the most disappointing so far, Luka Doncic’s sprained ankle, now seems like it never happened!
We didn’t even know if Luka was going to play in Game 4 because of his sprained ankle, which he could barely walk on after Game 3.
He played … boy did he play.
Luka Doncic had one of the best playoff performances of all-time on Sunday with 43 points, 17 rebounds, and 13 assists. Oh, and Kristaps Porzingis was a late scratch with a knee injury.
Doncic was unstoppable. He went 18-31 from the field, picked the Clippers apart in pick & roll all day, his body control allowed him to score against any defender they threw at him, and he hit clutch threes all game including the game-winning buzzer-beater in overtime.
This statement could be reactionary, but I have a hard time saying Luka Doncic isn’t a top-5 player in the NBA.
It’s not just Luka, though; Rick Carlisle deserves a ton of credit. When Doncic rested in the fourth quarter, the lineup the Mavs extended their lead with was Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway, Seth Curry, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Maxi Kleber. Luka’s confidence and intensity rubbed off on every player on this roster.
And now the series is tied 2-2. What if Porzingis didn’t get ejected Game 1? What if Luka played all of Game 3. This could’ve looked really different.
Whatever happens, going forward, the Mavs are playing with house money. The Clippers need this series to avoid perhaps the biggest letdown in NBA Playoffs history.
This was a classic game that surely should continue into what could end up being an all-time classic series.
Injury Bug Continues to Hit the Bubble Hard
Unfortunately, injuries have become a major storyline early in the NBA Playoffs.
Most medical experts were at least a little concerned about how quickly the NBA was restarting after sitting for a longer period than their normal offseason.
And although some injuries are freak injuries, the bubble list speaks for itself.
First off, guys with season-ending injuries:
Jonathan Isaac, Jaren Jackson Jr. Justice Winslow, Zach Collins, and Marvin Bagley.
Looking at that list, you have to ask yourself — Would we even have Dame Time in these playoffs if it weren’t for Jaren Jackson Jr getting hurt? Not to mention Ja Morant said that he played his last four games in Orlando with a broken thumb.
Speaking of Dame Time, he’s playing with a previously dislocated finger, to add to the Zach Collins injury and CJ McCollum playing with a fracture in his back.
We’ve seen injury impact in almost every series — The Sixers were swept without Ben Simmons, who was out with a knee injury. The Celtics are without Gordon Hayward with an ankle injury. Houston’s trying to survive OKC without Russell Westbrook, who’s out with a quad. Aaron Gordon, Domantas Sabonis, and Pat Beverly have all been out with injuries of their own.
The Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis injuries don’t seem to be crushing the Mavs, but there’s still plenty of basketball left to play in that series.
The most recent injury was Kyle Lowry rolling his ankle vs. the Nets. The Raptors already know they have the Celtics in the second round, so we’ll see how much impact this has.
Health and luck are always significant factors in winning a championship, talk to last year’s Warriors. But it’s looking like this year more than ever staying healthy may be the most critical factor in winning a title.
Top Dogs Take Control of Their Respective Series
It was fun while it lasted, wasn’t it?
It feels like months ago when the Blazers and Magic upset the Lakers and Bucks in Game 1. And while neither of the top seeds has looked perfect, both have asserted their will on the defensive end, which looks like enough in the first round.
The Lakers haven’t allowed more than 108 points by the Blazers. Damian Lillard’s bubble MVP performance is well documented, and before the playoffs, Portland’s 122.5 offensive rating was tops in Orlando. The Blazers have an atrocious offensive rating of 98 in the postseason, the worst of the 16 teams.
The Lakers offense hasn’t been much better; they’re 11th in offensive rating in the playoffs. But of course, there’s AD and LeBron. Anthony Davis is averaging 29.3 ppg in the series, and LeBron went off in Game 3 for 38 points. It looks like LeBron and AD may just have to take turns carrying this offense through the playoffs.
In the East, The Bucks have gone into complete lockdown mode after giving up 122 points to the Magic in Game 1. Orlando averaged 101.5 ppg in Games 2 and 3 on 39.7 percent shooting.
On the offensive end, Giannis has continued to do what he does, averaging 31.3 ppg. And in Game 3, Khris Middleton seemed to snap out of his funk, scoring 17 points on 3-of-7 shooting from three. Milwaukee is going to need much more production from Middleton to go deep in these playoffs. For now, though, this series looks to be in Milwaukee’s control.
The East Second Round Could Be Incredible
Both second-round matchups in the Eastern Conference Playoffs are lining up to be bangers.
Let’s start with the one that’s set:
Raptors and Celtics to Meet in NBA Playoffs Second Round
The Raptors move on in the NBA Playoffs after sweeping the Nets and the Celtics advance after sweeping the Sixers.
Side Note: Since we won’t dive too far into the Sixers, shoutout to Tobias Harris, who took a scary fall during Game 4 and looked like he was done for the day. He hit his head on the ground, was bleeding, and certainly looked like he would’ve gotten a concussion. But he passed the concussion test and got back out on the floor. Happy to see he’s not seriously injured.
So now we get a Celtics-Raptors series that could be the best series we see in these playoffs.
Both teams are top-4 in the playoffs in offensive, defensive and net rating. It’s hard to have watched either of these teams and say that they aren’t playing the best basketball in either conference. There are some real fun individual matchups — Kemba Walker vs. Kyle Lowry. Jayson Tatum vs. Pascal Siakam. And each team has another guard averaging 20-plus in Jaylen Brown and Fred VanVleet.
We’ll have to monitor Kyle Lowry’s rolled ankle from Game 4 vs the Nets, but unless it’s bad, I can’t see a Lowry allowing a rolled ankle to impact him to keep him out against the Celtics.
The Raptors seem like they have the early edge because of experience, but the Celtics young stars could be emerging into something special already. This is going to be good.
Then there’s the matchup that’s not set, but penciled in pretty firmly:
Bucks, Heat Look To Be Headed Toward Second Round Clash
Obviously, both teams have to get out of their respective series, but we already discussed the Bucks, they shouldn’t have any more hiccups on the way to the second round.
And the Heat are now up 3-0 on a Pacers team that just gave Miami its best shot and still lost. The Pacers aren’t chumps, and the Heat have controlled that series. In the playoffs, Miami is tied for 4th in net rating. And it hasn’t just been Miami’s stars, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. The Heat are 2nd in three-point percentage in the playoffs and getting incredible performances from the ageless Goran Dragic, who’s averaging 22.7 PPG, Tyler Herro, who’s taken his game to the next level averaging 16.7 APG, and Duncan Robinson who’s shooting an absurd 55 percent from three.
Miami is a TOUGH second-round matchup for Milwaukee. They’re tough, deep and talented and will be a handful for the Bucks.
By the way, Giannis vs. Bam is a head-to-head matchup I’d pay to watch any day of the week. I’m excited for both these series.
CP3 Still Has a Little Left in the Tank, and OKC May Have Found the Harden Stopper
Just when it looked like the Rockets were going to roll through their series with the Thunder, here comes Chris Paul.
Similar to the Pacers, the Thunder needed their three guards, CP3, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Dennis Schroder to be clicking on all cylinders to win this series, and they did in Game 3 combining for 78 points to go with Danilo Gallinari’s 20 points.
We should’ve known Chris Paul wasn’t going to let this Thunder team go down without at least putting up a hell of a fight in these NBA Playoffs, and fight they did winning Game 3 119-107 in overtime.
And as good as CP3 and OKC’s guard trio were offensively, it looks like if the Thunder are going to come back and win this series, the MVP might be undrafted rookie Lugentz Dort.
Since returning in Game 2, Dort has been the primary defender on James Harden, and he’s been giving him fits. The Beard is shooting 39.5 percent from the field and 20.8 percent from three in the past two games. In those games, when Dort was matched up directly with the Beard, he shot 3-of-21 from the field and 2-of-16 from three, 14.2 percent, and 12.5%, respectively. How did this kid go undrafted?
I’m not sure what to think about this series anymore. On @nbamorningdeuce, I said before the series I could see it going seven games. But in the first two matchups, Houston looked like way too much for the Thunder. Now that OKC has their Harden stopper and their offense has found its rhythm, maybe we’re going to get the four vs. five matchup we all expected. Let’s see if the Game 3 result puts more of a sense of urgency for the Rockets to get Russell Westbrook back from injury.
Donovan Mitchell Continues Historic Scoring Postseason to Take 3-1 Series Lead
I’ll keep this section relatively short. Denver is cooked. They lost 129-127 in Game 4, and they’re now down 3-1 to Utah.
After handing the Jazz an incredibly demoralizing Game 1 loss, the Nuggets have lost three in a row behind what is easily one of the worst NBA Playoffs defenses in recent memory. Utah, who averaged 111 PPG in the regular season, are scoring 125.5 PPG through four games. The Nuggets have zero rim protection and can’t guard pick and rolls. It’s an absolute mess.
We also need to take a second to recognize what Donovan Mitchell is doing in this series. He scored 57 in Game 1 and lost by ten points. That’s enough for a lot of guys to give up on their team. All Mitchell’s done is continue to torch the Nuggets to the tune of 39.5 PPG. Those are historic numbers. With his 51 points in Game 4, Mitchell joined Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson as the only players in NBA Playoffs history with multiple 50+ point games in the same series. If it weren’t for Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell would be the story of the playoffs.
Assuming they win this series now, Utah won’t be playing against such an atrocious defense in the second round. But for now, let’s enjoy what Mitchell is doing for at least another game, maybe two.
For even more breakdown of the NBA Playoffs, listen to the NBA Morning Deuce, Belly Up Sports’ newest Daily NBA Podcast. The deuce covers everything you need to know from the night and day before in the association by 6 am Monday through Friday.
