Run. Rest. Repeat. First Wave of Playoffs Has Begun!
Run. Rest. Repeat. First Wave of Playoffs Has Begun! With the actual playoffs starting today and with the NBA Play-In Tournament Saturday; there has been so much going on lately.
To kick it off, we have the Play-In Tournament:
With this new tournament happening between the Blazers and Grizzlies for the eighth seed, so much has happened on that day.
If you didn’t listen to our podcast on Friday giving you a breakdown of the playoffs, how the playoffs are played, and talking about the Play-In Tournament. You need to go check it out… now!
When the Blazers and Grizzlies were getting ready, obviously before tip-off, reports were coming out that Jusuf Nurkic’s grandmother died because of COVID-19.
This is what Nurkic said when talking about the Pandemic:
“I think people don’t realize the (pandemic) is real out there,” he said at the time. “We’ve been fortunate to be here in a safe environment, we’re tested every day, but please take care of yourself, wear a mask if you need to wear it.”
He also said this on his grandmother moving him to play just hours after the announcement:
“I didn’t want to play,” Nurkic said. “She made me play, I guess. … I already came — all those decisions to stay here, be with the team, so I think she wanted me to play. I’m glad we win and we’re in the playoffs, what we came for.”
On the bright side, the Portland Trail Blazers did win having Damian Lillard on a 31 point double-double. Plus, Nurkic scored 22 points with 21 rebounds. Also, dishing out 6 assists. That man was a straight beast-mode for his team.
Onto the next matchup….. the Nuggets VS Jazz!
This one was a thrilling OT matchup as the Jazz and Nuggets were going back and forth. Even though the Nuggets did win, Donavan Mitchell played outstanding. He scored 57 points, 9 rebounds, and dishing out 7 assists.
As Donavan was getting hot all night, Jamal Murray was also feeling it as he was putting on a 30+ point game. Needless to say, him and the Joker were running wild on the Jazz. Both Mitchell and Murray had career-high games when in terms of shooting the ball.
The only thing that potentially cost the Jazz a win was this play; when Donavan was carelessly holding the ball for too long and having an eight-second violation.
This is what he said on the matter:
“It’s tough to lose the first game … but there’s a lot of things we could control,” Mitchell said afterward. “I put a little bit on myself for the 8-second violation, and then they come down and hit a 3, and that really changed the entire game, that sequence right there.”
This would cut down their lead from 4 to 1 in a hurry after a tremendous three-ball by Jamal Murray. That was the momentum they needed, and Nuggets capitalized on that moment.
So far the Nuggets take up a 1-0 run on the Jazz in the first round of the playoffs, can the Nuggets do it again this upcoming Wednesday? Can the Jazz get on the right track? Will Mithcell have another productive game? We will find out soon enough.
The Raptors POUND in their opponents!
The Raptors are on a hot streak with their players and it continues to show through the Nets-Raptors game. Serge Ibaka and Fred VanVleet were on fire tonight with a total of 52 points. Conversations were being brought up today during/after the Raptors game that is making VanVleet sound like a max-contract player.
He did get the double-double for his team in this game, the Nets didn’t seem to have an answer on how to stop them. They couldn’t stop Ibaka nor VanVleet, this Raptor’s team is proving to the world that they can’t be stopped. With or without “The Klaw” Kawhi Leonard.
Overall the Nets were exposed on offense and defense, thanks to VanVleet and Ibaka. This Net’s team looked dismantled as the team only shot for 46.7%, with no KD or Kyrie they need to step it up. Especially with this Toronto team, because they aren’t backing down from winning this playoff series.
Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot was the best player on the Nets tonight, they just got blown out by 24 points. Could they have a shot in this playoff series? Could this be a sweep? Find out on this upcoming Wednesday. I believe this is going to be a sweep, but you never know…
It’s the 76ers VS the Celtics!
Tatum, Brown, and Walker were playing with aggression, intensity, and the urge to win. Because Tatum got a 32-point double-double game, Walker got a 19 point game (which is great because the effects of his knee injury is preventing him), and Brown scored 29 points.
What we did notice from that game is the fact that the 76ers were missing a huge part of passing, Embiid had to do most of the work. Like in the paint, perimeter, and taking good-considered shots. As Embiid scored 26 points, along with 16 rebounds.
Besides Tobias Harris and Al Horford, no one has been passing the ball. How? Mainly because Harris had gotten eight assists and Horford six. Horford wasn’t shooting the ball great but made up for it when it came to rebounding and assists. The great news about Harris is the fact that he managed to dish eight assists and get fifteen points.
Also, most notably, Gordon Hayward suffered a critical ankle injury. Because this injury leaves him out for FOUR WEEKS! Yep, you read that correctly. Good news for the 76ers, that it evens out the playing field (kinda). One of Celtics’ players are down, and one of the 76ers’ players are down. The problem is that one was more vital than the other, this leans in the favor of the 76ers.
How will the lineups be effected with these injuries? Will the Celtics continue to dominant after their first game winning? Find out tomorrow as Game Two is being played!
“The Klaw” VS “Luka-Magic”
Oh yeah! It was a thrilling game for the Mavs and the Clippers, in some aspects. Because Luka Doncic scored 42 points in the game while being short of a triple-double, just by three rebounds and one assist. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard did their thing, but both getting 29 (Leonard) and 27 (George) points that game.
I don’t know how the Clippers fended off the Mavericks in their first game as Luka was tearing it up, having a historical night against the team. It didn’t help that Luka was the only one (the majority) scoring the points; as Porzingis was ejected after two technical fouls. He only scored 14 points in that game.
It was a really good showing for Doc River’s team, the Clippers, as Leonard and George are proving to everyone that they came here to ball and win a championship. With the way the Clippers have been playing so far, who can stop them? As Morris and Williams combined for 23 points, the 6th-man and rotational player getting it done.
This is what Porzingis said on the ejection:
“I saw him getting into Luka’s face and I didn’t like that,” said Porzingis, who had 14 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes before his ejection. “That’s why I reacted. That’s a smart, smart thing to do from their part. I’ve just got to be smarter and control my emotions the next time.”
This is what an NBA Legend had to say about the ejection:
It’s very clear that no one on the Mavs, past or present, wanted that call to happen. They think it is total nonsense, could this be a motive to play harder in the next upcoming game? It will certainly be interesting to see if they can contain PG13 or even Kawhi, also it will be interesting to see if Porzingis can keep his emotions in check. All very interesting, if I say so myself.
Who says home-court advantage doesn’t work in the Bubble?
This is pathetic, sickening, and very questionable. When Giannis didn’t play against the Grizzlies, due to a one-game suspension, the Bucks lost. Due to Eric Bledsoe’s poor shooting ability that game and Lopez’s lacking on the court, no one could kick it into full gear.
The Bucks, besides Giannis (who had 31 points and 17 rebounds), played horrible. Brook Lopez takes out his frustration on the Magic, as he was only able to score five points. Bledsoe has an okay game, shooting 5-11 for 15 points. Couldn’t get hot to save his life, and Middleton went 4-12 from the field. He played 31 minutes for 14 points and 6 rebounds, wow.
The Magic are tied for the third-largest upset in the NBA for the past 20 years. Nobody would have predicted that the Bucks were going to be losing to a team that didn’t have high expectations heading into this postseason, and that includes Aaron Gordon not playing.
One man led that team to victory, can you guess who? Nikola Vucevic, yes the man that has made history (well…. for himself). When he scored a double-double off of 35 points and 14 rebounds, he set off a playoff-career high in points. He won the rebound war, protected that ball, and hit the shots that were very crucial for his success in the shooting area.
WHAT IS GOING ON!?!?!
The team piggy-backed ride off of this man, he certainly was the player of today’s game. The Bucks need to do something about only having Giannis playing well, as the Magic have been sinking in with the upset. An incredibly wowing upset, what can the Bucks do to improve their team? Is there anything they can do before their next game, Game Two? Welp, we will be finding out soon enough! To me, I’m taking the Bucks because there will be more intensity, they will be getting out of this slump, and Giannis will be dropping 40 points. Hopefully, Bledsoe or even Middleton can get out of this bad shooting slump because Giannis needs more help on the court. In fast.
Heat bringing the fire!
HERE COMES THE FIRE! No kidding, the Heat dominated the Pacers in their first matchup. Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic, and Bam Adebayo were feeling tonight. Butler was making a case for being a great shooter, while Dragic was showing the people his range on three-pointers, plus we have Adebayo making a case for the MIP Award.
There was no stopping them tonight as they won by 12 points, the Pacers were just having two players scoring; that would have been Warren and Brogdon, who combined for 44 points. Twenty-two points each.
Now Pacers’ player Victor Oladipo did suffer an apparent injury to his left eye. It was being reported that he was poked in his left eye, and currently has no timetable to return. From what we know. Hopefully, he is able to get back on the court as soon as possible to help fend off against this heating-up team.
This is what Nate McMillan had to say on the situation at hand with Oladipo:
“It wasn’t an option,” McMillan said. “His vision was really blurry, really couldn’t see out of his eye when we spoke to him at halftime, and he was going to get that checked out.”
Either way this injury plays out, I am predicting that the Heat will continue this run and win this series within the next 4-5 games. I believe they will be winning this series 4-2 against the Pacers, who’s with me? Only time will tell!
A family reunion! Well… sorta
The Thunder, being projected by the experts, had no shot of making the playoffs. Even with the addition of CP3, they thought that Chris Paul was going to leave OKC and find a different team. So many different options and routes were being taken by experts around the NBA saying they won’t make it, but here they are.
This is an interesting family reunion, to say the least. As former OKC player Russell Westbrook is going up (Rocket’s player) will be going up against the Thunder. Same with Chris Paul, former Rocket, now with OKC just have to face his old teammates.
James Harden played like the James Harden we all knew for his famous shots, and even without Westbrook they had backup, as Eric Gordon and Jeff Green show whats up. As they combine for 43 points.
The game was always in favor of the Rockets as the Thunder didn’t withstand a chance because they couldn’t really get anything going. The one time they win the quarter (in terms of points), they started in the fourth quarter.
The Thunder did play well with Danilo Gallinari and Chris Paul combining for 49 points, but the truth of the matter is this: they didn’t have the support they were looking for. As they were the only two players to get something going, something to spark on the stat sheet and in the game.
This game was a blowout that nobody thought to come, but does it get worse for OKC? Can the Rockets put an end to this? We will be finding out soon enough! I am actually predicting the Thunder to win this series 4-3, even with the favors going with Houston. Who you got?
It’s Dame-Time… playoff edition!
“Every game since we’ve been here has been a playoff game. So that prepared us for a game like this,” Lillard said. “It’s only one win. I’m happy to be here competing in the playoffs again, but we’ve got to move on to the next one.”
Damian Lillard had 34 points, Nurkic being Nurkic when pulling down a 15-16 double-double, and McCollum scored 21 points. The Trail Blazers spoiled, crushed, and defeated a Laker’s long journey back to the playoffs. For about seven years, this was also upset as an eighth seed defeated the first seed. Crazy to see how teams are pulling off upsets, especially decent/kinda good.
The Lakers’ LeBron James and A.D. did everything in their power to win this game, but even with Jame’s triple-double and Davis’s 28 point double-double. This was a great game coming down to the wire, in some aspects.
This isn’t how the Lakers wanted to start off the postseason, since having all the hype being James and his conquest to win another championship and try to compare to the late, great Kobe Bryant. Plus, the Lakers have been the fan and expert favorite to win all year. This will be interesting to see how their next approach will be to take on the Trail Blazers. Imagine the Blazers going up 2-0? We will just have to wait and see as they don’t play again until a few days later.
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Thank you for reading today’s article called, “Run. Rest. Repeat. First Wave of Playoffs Has Begun!”
According to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, the Boston Celtics and Jayson Tatum have agreed to a supermax contract that is set for the next five years.
Tatum’s five-year supermax is worth $315 million, the largest contract in the NBA’s history. He jumped to number one after beating Jaylen Brown’s $295 million supermax contract.
Derrick White Signs Four-Year Extension With Celtics
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Boston Celtics continue to check things off their to-do list by extending Derrick White. His new contract will keep him in Boston until the age of 34.
White is officially signing a four-year, $125.9 million deal with a player option attached. He was seen as a big piece to get re-signed due to him being in the final year of his contract.
The $125.9 million they gave White was the max amount of money they had available, at least at this current time. White joins Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Jaylen Brown as players given extensions. It’s expected Jayson Tatum will receive one as well before summer is over.
One of the most clutch players in the NBA, now reigning champion, averaged 15.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.2 assists in 73 games played.
According to the man himself, Al Horford wants to continue playing basketball in the National Basketball Association. Something that was on everyone’s mind after seeing him win his first career championship Monday night.
When asked how many more years he wanted to play, the 38-year-old never committed to a set number. Horford says as long as he’s healthy and still enjoying it, he will continue playing.
“For me, I never really put a timeframe on it,” Horford told ESPN. “I want to make sure that I feel healthy, that I’m enjoying what I’m doing and for me, thankfully, I have my wife’s support and my family’s. That’s a big deal to me. … I feel like I’ve been asked this for a few years now and I feel good, I want to keep playing. Why not keep going? I don’t want to limit myself.”
He has one year left on his contract with the Boston Celtics.
