Category: NBA Playoffs Blog

NBA playoffs blog

Nuggets must find way to win Game 3 vs Lakers

The Nuggets came within one Anthony Davis jumpshot at the buzzer of tying their Western Conference Finals playoff series with the Lakers 1-1-. But Davis’ shot went in, so the Lakers are up 2-0. Here’s the Denver Post on the Nuggets’ situation:

Down 2-0, the Nuggets are in must-win territory. Despite their previous escapes, a loss in Tuesday’s Game 3 will all but start their chartered flight home.

Once the pain subsides and sober heads prevail, the Nuggets will take a fresh look at what happened. They’ll see 19 turnovers, including many that were unforced. They’ll see breakdowns on the defensive glass, which can’t happen against a team of the Lakers’ caliber. They’ll notice hesitation on the offensive end, a non-starter when the team’s best player is also the most unselfish.

But they’ll also see an unbending will that stormed back from 16 points down in the second half to take the lead late. And they’ll see a second-half defense reminiscent of the one that saved the Nuggets six times so far in elimination games this postseason. Maybe most importantly, and the reason why the Nuggets aren’t buried yet, is the film will show a dogged fight from Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, whose 31 points in the second-half bested Davis and LeBron James’ 28.

The Nuggets definitely need more from starters not named Jamal Murray or Nikola Jokic. In the Game 2 loss, shooting guard Gary Harris shot 1 for 6, small forward Jerami Grant did grab three steals but had just seven points and no rebounds, and Paul Millsap did grab eight rebounds but only scored six points.

There are no NBA games tonight. Game 3 of this series is tomorrow, and the Celtics vs. Heat series resumes on Wednesday.

Gordon Hayward upgraded to Questionable for Celtics vs Heat Game 3

Playing in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, the Celtics lost Game 1 in overtime, then were outscored 37-17 in the third quarter of a five-point Game 2 loss.

Boston needs a boost. And according to the league injury report as of Friday afternoon, they may soon have one in the form of Gordon Hayward. The forward, who has been out with a right ankle sprain, has been upgraded to Questionable for Game 3.

Players coming off of injury often play limited minutes, so if Gordon does step onto the court it doesn’t guarantee he’ll be out there for long, nor that he’ll be at his best. But it would certainly be a positive development.

Game 3 is Saturday night. And then the squads have a few days off, with Game 4 not until Wednesday.

No timetable on a Will Barton return for Nuggets

The Nuggets, who will face the Lakers in the 2020 Western Conference Finals, will remain without the services of Will Barton. Here’s the Denver Post with a report:

It’s been nearly a month since Nuggets wing Will Barton left the “bubble” to continue rehabilitation of his right knee, and there remains “no timetable” for his return, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly told The Denver Post.

Barton left Aug. 19 in search of a second opinion due to the knee issue that had lingered and had led to soreness in other areas of his body, a league source told The Post.

Barton was the third-leading scorer for the Nuggets this regular season, averaging 15.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

The Lakers in these playoffs remain without guard Avery Bradley, who was one of a small handful of players who elected not to participate in the league restart at the Disney NBA bubble.

Game 1 between the Nuggets and Lakers is tomorrow at 9PM ET, televised on TNT.

Some Nuggets vs Clippers notes heading into Game 7

With the Denver Nuggets and L.A. Clippers set to play their second-round Game 7 tomorrow, here’s the Denver Post on some of the matchup’s key issues:

The Nuggets knew the challenge they were in for in limiting Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Both two-way stars have been electric and caused myriad defensive problems.

Leonard’s bullish style is grueling for anyone to stop — his strength and ability to get to his spots almost unmatched in the NBA. And George has been a two-way terror, causing all kinds of headaches for Jamal Murray and draining 43% of his more than eight 3-point attempts per game. Together, they’ve averaged almost 50 points per game. And still, it’s probably fair to say that Jerami Grant and Gary Harris have done an admirable job on them.

But there’s something to be said about comfort. Leonard and George have never gone into a Game 7 environment together. Jokic and Murray have on three separate occasions, including last round against Utah.

Jokic’s attitude toward elimination has been well-documented. The pressure of going home doesn’t faze him at all. His numbers over their five elimination games are staggering.

Game 7 may come down to Murray’s ability to shake the avalanche of defenders coming his way. In their three wins, Murray’s averaged 24.7 points, including 53% shooting on 3s, six assists and 5.3 rebounds. In their losses, those numbers have plummeted to 14.7 points, on 33% 3-point shooting, 7.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds. To free up Murray, the Nuggets have to get stops, rebound and run. If they do that, they might just shock the world.

Leading scorers for each team in the 2020 playoffs so far:

Nuggets (PPG):
Jamal Murray 26.1
Nikola Jokic 26.1
Michael Porter Jr. 11.8
Jerami Grant 9.8
Monte Morris 8.8

Clippers (PPG):
Kawhi Leonard 29.4
Paul George 21.1
Lou Williams 13.3
Marcus Morris Sr. 12.2
Montrezl Harrell 9.7

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra speaks on matchup with Celtics

The Eastern Conference Finals series between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics starts tomorrow. The Miami Herald:

“You’re not expecting it to be easy,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after Monday’s practice of this year’s series against the Celtics. “When you get to the conference finals, there are four teams left and it’s not like the NCAA Tournament, where you can just get hot for three weeks. You have to be a good team that has proved it for months, that you’ve earned that right. So the last four teams should be the teams that have the most complexity and we feel that way. Boston is a really good team. They’re talented. They play the right way. They defend. Really well coached. You can’t expect there to be pushovers when you get to this point.”

The Celtics took out the defending-champion Raptors — sure, Toronto is without Kawhi Leonard these days, but a series win is a series win. And the Heat took out the best-record-in-league Bucks. We should be in for a great series.

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray should be okay to play in Game 7 vs Clippers

The Nuggets and Clippers are tied 3-3 in their second round playoff series. Game 7 is Tuesday night. And it sounds like Denver will have star guard Jamal Murray in action. Here’s the Denver Post reporting:

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Monday he expects point guard Jamal Murray to be “ready to go” come Tuesday’s winner-take-all Game 7 against the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals.

Murray was leveled early in the third quarter on a layup by Clipper wing Paul George and was on the ground writhing in pain for a few tense moments. Though Malone hadn’t seen him yet Monday morning when he talked with the media, he said he expected that with rest until tomorrow night’s late tipoff Murray should be able to recover.

Both Murray and star Nuggets center Nikola Jokic are averaging 26.1 points per game so far in the 2020 NBA playoffs. After those two players, there’s a drop-off in scoring, at 11.8 PPG from reserve Michael Porter Jr.

Murray has put up some incredible games in these playoffs.

Tuesday’s Game 7 is must-watch.

The Lakers await the winner of the series.

Dwyane Wade keeping a close eye on Miami Heat playoff run

Former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade is an observer now spoke with the Miami Herald on the team, who stepped up and convincingly eliminated the Bucks to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

Future Hall of Fame guard Dwyane Wade, who retired at the end of last season and already had his No. 3 Heat jersey retired by the organization, is watching Miami’s playoff run closely but from afar in his home in the Los Angeles area.

“Even though I played for this organization and we’ve done some incredible things and I know these guys, I’m just a fan,” Wade said during an interview with the Miami Herald. “I watch from afar and I’m coaching like they can hear me. I’m screaming at them like they can hear me and I’m texting them after the game the same way. Hopefully they can hear me. I’m just a fan that knows the game very well and knows the organization and the team very well who has access to the players. It’s like the ultimate fan.” …

“You still have your connection to the team. It’s still there because it’s immediate,” Wade said. “Being able to be connected with the players and still have that conversation and back-and-forth banter, and giving encouragement or watching the game and giving my inside on what I see. It has been great. As I’ve been told for many years, you enjoy the success of others. I’ve been able to sit back from afar and enjoy the success of the individuals who I know that play for the team now.”

Game 1 of the Heat vs. Boston Celtics Eastern Conference Finals playoff series is tomorrow night.

Now on Celtics, Kemba Walker ready for renewed shot at Heat

Game 1 of the Celtics vs Heat Eastern Conference Finals series is Tuesday. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel setting the scene on where Kemba Walker is coming from in approaching the series:

The Boston Celtics spent most of the past two weeks preoccupied with escaping the conference semifinals against the Toronto Raptors. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t taking note of what the Heat were accomplishing on the other side of the East bracket.

“Those guys, they balled last series, man,” Celtics guard Kemba Walker said of the Heat after Boston closed out Toronto in Friday’s Game 7 at Disney World. “Those guys are nothing but players.”

The Celtics took Saturday off to recover from going blow for blow with the Raptors. The Heat, by contrast, have been idle since closing out the Milwaukee Bucks in Tuesday’s Game 5 of that best-of-seven series, after sweeping the Indiana Pacers in the first round.

Walker’s only previous playoff experience prior to this season came against the Heat while with Charlotte, where he spent his first eight seasons. He was swept by the Heat 4-0 in the 2014 first round, then lost to the Heat in seven games in the 2016 first round.

Now in his first season with the Celtics, Walker, 30, is relishing the opportunity for payback.

A possible X-factor in the series could be Celtics forward Gordon Hayward, who is still healing from an ankle sprain but appears to be progressing. There’s no evidence suggesting he might be ready by Game 1, or Game 2, but it now seems possible that he could return sometime during the series. That’s not a prediction. Just a possibility.

Lakers take 3-1 playoff series lead on Rockets

On Thursday, the Lakers beat the Rockets 110-100 to take a 3-1 second round playoff series lead. Things got close in the end, but lack of Rockets energy and execution through much of the game proved too much to overcome. The Lakers got their usual excellent production from stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but also got a boost from Alex Caruso, who came off the bench to score 16 points, contributing several clutch plays late in the game that helped secure the win. Here’s the Los Angeles Times with some thoughts on the game and beyond:

It’s pretty surprising to see a team be up 2-1 and unleash a drastic change, but here the Lakers were, inserting Markieff Morris, sitting JaVale McGee and trying out rookie Talen Horton-Tucker…

You can really feel when LeBron James takes over because he plays with so much force and power. Anthony Davis operates a little differently. His 29 on Thursday hit mostly with a whisper, silently being in the right spot – with a few exceptions when he loudly caught Rajon Rondo lobs…

Alex Caruso scored 16 – a playoff high, but more importantly, Vogel trusted him to play 30 minutes, his most this postseason. He’s been the Lakers’ most consistent defender on the perimeter, and he’s earning the Lakers’ trust.

The Rockets struggled from three-point range in the first half, but then woke up in the second, finishing 14 of 33 from beyond the arc. James Harden shot just 2 of 11 from the field, but got himself 20 free throw attempts to finish with 21 points and 10 assists. Russell Westbrook shot 8 of 16 for a team-high 25 points in the loss.