Category: NBA Playoffs Blog

NBA playoffs blog

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.

Heat star Jimmy Butler speaks on next possible playoff opponent

The Miami Heat are waiting to see who their opponent will be in the Eastern Conference Finals. It’ll either be the Celtics or Raptors, who on Friday will play a Game 7. NBA players tend to not name a preference as to who they’re about to face. And as outspoken as Jimmy Butler often is, he took that route as well. Per the South Florida Sun Sentinel:

“We know either way it goes, we’ve got a really good team that we’ve got to play against,” forward Jimmy Butler said. “But we still have to play our style of basketball. We’re not discouraged. We’re not scared. We’re not running from any matchups. I think that’s what makes us us.”

Based on the regular-season series, the preference might be Toronto, with the Heat 2-1 this season against the Raptors, but 1-2 against the Celtics. But that script was flipped after the NBA’s four-month layoff, with the Heat losing their lone matchup against the Raptors at Disney and winning their lone bubble matchup against the Celtics.

As the No. 5 seed in the East, the Heat will enter as the “road” team against either the No. 2 Raptors or No. 3 Celtics. However, with all games played on the neutral courts of Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex, such homecourt advantage is removed. The only spectators allowed are a limited amount of friends and families of the teams.

“It just gets harder from here,” center Kelly Olynyk said of either of the Heat’s potential opponents.

In disposing of the Bucks, who had the best record in the NBA this season, Heat sent the entire NBA a loud message, that they’re as much of a championship contender as any squad in the league.

Yes, Playoff Rondo exists

Yes, Playoff Rondo does exist. Here’s the OC Register diving into the hot-button, room-dividing topic:

He doesn’t always arrive on time, so he’s not like Santa Claus. But he’s not so rarely glimpsed as Bigfoot.

So it’s hard to find the perfect match among mythic characters for Playoff Rondo — most importantly because he’s not mythical at all…

“It’s real: Playoff Rondo is real,” Anthony Davis said. “His intensity picks up, he wants to guard the best perimeter guy. We see he guards James and Russ sometimes, he wants to… on the floor he’s shooting the ball very well, making the right passes, so his IQ is on another level.”

Historically, Rondo has distaste when people point out the difference between his regular season persona and who he is in the playoffs. But there’s a definitive gulf: His scoring, assists and net rating all rise in his playoff career versus his regular season career. He’s tied for fourth on the postseason triple-doubles list (10), and two of the four guys ahead of him are on the Lakers sideline.

But to really appreciate Playoff Rondo, you have to examine where he really shines. Looking at his Game 3 dimes, it’s telling to see how they came: off verticality, like the two times Davis spun off of his man, and Rondo delivered a picture perfect lay-up. They also came on cuts, like a bounce pass to a driving Kyle Kuzma in the fourth quarter that was close to a clinching basket.

Rondo has played in three playoff games so for in 2020 for the Lakers, all in the current round against the Rockets, for an average of 13.0 points and 7.3 assists per outing.

Raptors coach Nick Nurse says team needs more energy

The Raptors weren’t competitive yesterday in their Game 5 loss to the Celtics. Here’s the Toronto Star reporting what head coach Nick Nurse had to say:

“I think a lot of this game, in general, has to do with … energy and rhythm,” coach Nick Nurse said Tuesday. “It’s kind of hard to explain how we don’t have a little bit more energy (in Monday’s 111-89 loss), and it’s even probably harder to explain how we don’t have it in Game 1 of the series.

“The energy has got to be there. I think when we do bring the energy, we’re right there, we’re supercompetitive for sure, and look great.”

Strategically, it’s easy to pinpoint what the Raptors need. They could use more offence from Marc Gasol — “It’s not like we need 25 from him, but we need him to chip in with some, just because there’s opportunities there for him,” said Nurse — and a huge offensive game from Pascal Siakam would be a blessing.

The Raptors got off to a shockingly miserable start yesterday, falling behind 25-11 after one quarter and then getting outscored by seven points in the second quarter. Their play in the second half was solid, but no big comeback was launched, and then lost by a final score of 111-89.

The big winner in the game was Boston’s defense. Toronto shot horribly, both in two-point and three-point range.

We’ll see if the team can come out of the gates hot at the start of Game 6 tomorrow.

NBA issues flagrant foul to Anthony Davis

Upon reviewing game footage, the NBA decided an action needed to be taken. Here’s the Los Angeles Times reporting:

The NBA determined two incidents that occurred during Game 2 of the Lakers’ series against the Rockets deserved further discipline, one was committed against Anthony Davis while the other was committed by him.

Officials determined Davis deserved a flagrant 1 foul for contact he initiated with Houston’s Jeff Green with 15 seconds left in the first half. Green doubled over after Davis drove by him, with pain in his midsection or groin area. As the quarter expired, Green lay on the ground for several minutes while medical personnel observed him.

Game 3 of this fascinating series is tonight.

Patrick Beverley fined by NBA for verbal abuse of referee

LA Clippers guard Patrick Beverley has been fined $25,000 for verbal abuse of a game official, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Beverley was assessed two technical fouls and ejected, occurred with 1:04 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Clippers’ 110-101 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sept. 5 at AdventHealth Arena on the campus of ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando.

Rajon Rondo back in action for Lakers, who lose Game 1 to Rockets

The Lakers lost Game 1 to the Rockets yesterday. But at least they won in getting guard Rajon Rondo back in action.

That’s a win of sorts, right? Maybe?

Here’s the OC Register reporting:

With Rajon Rondo, the story is always refracted depending on the eye of the beholder.

Some fans saw his return – an eight-point, four-assist, four-turnover debut after a month and a half on the shelf – as a rusty disappointment. But Rondo’s Laker teammates hope it’s just a starting point for him to build on after missing every bubble game with a fractured thumb followed by back spasms.

Alex Caruso said he thought Rondo’s first in-game action since March 10, in a 112-97 loss to Houston on Friday night, was about where he should be at this point.

“I thought he looked about his normal self,” Caruso said. “Maybe he missed a layup or a shot he normally makes and maybe that’s a little timing and getting used to playing the game again. But I mean, Rondo’s a guy that’s mentally locked in whenever he steps on the court, so I thought he looked pretty good conditioning-wise.”

The Lakers have a lot of work to do. The Rockets’ Game 1 win was convincing. They’re an unusual team, playing super-smallball. Teams going against them have to make some adjustments, but not too many, or else they’d pull themselves out of their own gameplan. It’ll be fascinating to see what, if anything, the Lakers do differently in Game 2. And of course, Rondo’s role going forward.

Down 3-0 in series, Bucks star Giannis speaks on Heat

The Heat are up 3-0 on the Bucks, who had the best regular season record in the league and were favorites in the series. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting:

As for the state of the Bucks’ mental state, perhaps this from Giannis Antetokounmpo after Game 3 summed it up best:

“Miami is a great team. You know they are going to play hard. They play hard for 48 minutes. To be able to beat them, you have to match that. You can’t play hard for 36 minutes, you can’t play hard for 24 minutes, you have to play hard for 48 minutes to beat a team like that. We knew that coming into this series. They were playing harder than us. We’ve got to play harder and we’ve got to play better. That’s it.”

The Bucks face an incredibly uphill battle in keeping their championship hopes alive.

P.J. Tucker plays a huge role for Rockets

P.J. Tucker is one of the most important players in the NBA playoffs who doesn’t put up big numbers in the scoring department. Here’s the Los Angeles Times on a key member of the Houston Rockets, who currently lead the Los Angeles Lakers 1-0 in their second-round playoff series:

If the Rockets have dog inside of them, Tucker is a mastiff. Friday he scored six points but scrapped for nine rebounds against the Lakers’ bigger frontcourt. With him on the court, Houston was 16 points better than the Lakers — a Rockets best in the plus-minus rating.

The 35-year-old forward played professionally in Israel, Ukraine, Greece, Italy and Germany before finding a home in the NBA. Among coaches, he’s revered for his toughness and his awareness, a player willing to take on the toughest challenge on defense while parking in the corner on offense, ready to catch and shoot if the ball makes its way to him.

After beating the Lakers, Tucker was asked about the Rockets being small and having to body up with James and Davis, and in his answer, he delivered his mission statement.

“Yeah, I’m short. But I’m strong and I can move my feet,” he said with defiance. “And I can stay in front of anybody. I’m not going to quit. I’m going to fight every play. They’re going to score. Those guys are two of the best players of our generation — they’re going to score the ball. They’re going to score a lot of times. But we’re going to try and make it tough, try and make them work hard, and try to wear them down throughout the game.”