Takeaway from Round 1 so far

 

The NBA Playoffs are underway and many of the series have played at least 2 games with some having played 3 games. I will point out three things that I learned from watching each series so far.

 

Eastern Conference

Philadelphia 76ers vs Washington Wizards (PHI leads 2-0)

            1.       Ben Simmons is having a dominate series averaging a triple Double through the first 2                                     games in the 7 game series. 

            2.     The wizards are over matched the 76ers have won both games by atleast 7 points                                         including a 25 point win in their most recent game on Wednesday 

           3.       Tobias Harris will be the deciding factor on how far the 76ers go. He is currently                                         averaging 28 points through 2 games

Milwaukee Bucks VS Miami Heat (Mil leads 3-0)

          1.  Jrue Holiday has been amazing for the Bucks this series.  He has a plus 88 plus minus                                 rating which gauges how well the team does with you on the floor.

         2.       Jimmy Butler is struggling against the Bucks he has a minus 77 plus minus rating.
                   He is also shooting below 50% from the field

        3.  Bucks dominating rebounding in the series. The Bucks have out rebounded the Heat by 17                         rebounds a game.

New York Knicks vs Atlanta Hawks (ATL Leads 2-1)

            1.       Knicks are starting slow in the beginning of games

            2. Trae Young has been terrific in his playoff debut. 

                 He has had a double in each of the Hawks Victories.

            3.       Derek Rose is all by himself. Rose is playing wonderfully for Knicks scoring 24 points a                         game. Too bad for the Knicks their star player Julius Randle is struggling.

Brooklyn Nets vs Boston Celtics (Brooklyn Leads 2-1)

            1.       Brooklyn’s Big 3 are clicking on cylinders.

            2.       Jayson Tatum is doing everything he can to carry the Boston Celtics.

            3.       Blake Griffin turned back the clock with his ability to dunk.

 

Western Conference

Utah Jazz vs Grizzlies (Series tied 1-1)

            1.       Ja Morant is ready for the moment. Morant dropped 47 in a lost Wednesday night.

            2.       Donovan Mitchell will be key for the Jazz to win this series.
                   

            3.       Dillon Brooks will have to slow down Mitchell. Brooks must make Mitchell work for                             everything otherwise the Jazz will win comfortably.

Phoenix Suns vs Lakers (LA Leads 2-1)

1.       Anthony Davis must be dominate. With the size advantage against the Suns Davis has to take advantage of his size. 

2.       Cameron Payne’s time to step up. With Chris Paul compromised with his shoulder injury, Payne must continue his good play that he has show in the first 3 games 

3.       Andre Drummond is an X Factor in the series and uses his ability well.

Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trailblazers (Den Leads 2-1)

1.       Jokic showing why he will be winning MVP this season

2.       Portland defensive struggles continues. They were one of the worst defensive teams of the regular season 

 3.       Michael Porter Jr will be the reason the Nuggets win or lose the Series

Los Angeles Clippers vs Dallas Mavericks (Dal leads 2-1)

      1.       Luka Doncic is doing whatever he wants. He is getting everything any shot he wants and                         setting up teammates for easy baskets
      2.       Paul George is bouncing back from his playoff performance in the bubble last year.                                     
       3.Mavericks 3pt shooting has been terrific.   The Mavs have gotten many great open looks                            through their ball movement

Bucks VS Heat Prediction

 Bucks looking to avenge their lost to the Heat.  Heat will look to knock off the Bucks for the second year in a row. The Bucks have. solid team and are the only eastern conference team ranked in both the top 10 in both defensive and offensive efficiency.

The Heat player at one the slowest paces in the league. They enjoy sharing the ball with them assisting on 67% of their goals and look to drive and kick many times in their offense. They pass the ball back out on 46% of their possessions in which they driving to the basket.

The key to this series for the Heat to win is weather or not Jimmy Butler plays in the 4 games these two teams have played this season the Heat 1-0 with Jimmy and 0-3 without him. If the Heat can continue shooting the 3pt shot at the top 10 percentile that they have since April Miami will pull off the upset again.

I’m order for Milwaukee to win a third scorer needs to consistently contribute. This role falls on Jrue Holiday who was brought in for not only his great defensive prowess but also his ability be that 3rd scoring option. It will be interesting to see how Holiday performs because he has playoff experience but he’s never been on playoff team with expectations of winning. Pressure makes diamonds and burst pipes ; we’ll see if the Bucks learned anything from last year. Will they fall back to Giannis trying to bulldoze his way through a wall of defenders while everybody else watches. 

I predict the Heat will beat the Bucks in 6 games. The Heat are just the perfect team to face the Bucks from a personal standpoint. Miami has knock down 3 point shooting with a tenacious defense anchored by Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. In addition, the Bucks have been in 28 games which is 3rd fewest games this season decided by 5 points or less; they were just 13-15 in such games this season. This is a recipe for disaster in my opinion. The Heat send the Bucks home again this season. 

BATTLE FOR THE 8TH SEED IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS

 

The 8^th and finals playoff spot in the Western Conference is on the line when the Golden State Warriors go against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Warriors won the season series 2-1 including winning the season finale which determined the 8^th seed for the play in tournament. The Grizzlies will look to knock off the Warriors who coming off a close game against the Lakers. Steph Curry dropped 37 points in Wednesday game against the Lakers and looks to continue that momentum against the Grizzlies Friday night.

 

The key for the Grizzlies to win the game is for them to help contain Curry by throwing multiple bodies at him. Ja Morant needs to be aggressive in the game and must hit at least 2 threes since the Warriors will leave him open. In addition, Memphis must take advantage of their size and use Jonas Valanciunas ability to score in the post to their advantage. Memphis does not want an up and down game because that will play into the Warriors hands and lead to a 3-point contest which the Grizzlies will lose.

 

The Warriors must play through Curry and free him up with several screens so he can have so open shots. In addition, the Warriors must get Curry help specifically from Andrew Wiggins scoring and Draymond Green’s facilitating ability. Wiggins had a good game during the first half of the Laker game on Wednesday but faded down the stretch. Lastly, they must limit turnovers they gave up 29 points off 20 turnovers on Wednesday; if that happens on Friday night they will be going home.

 

I predict the Grizzlies will get revenge against the Warriors and win 115 to 111 while containing Curry to just 30 points. Also, this time Dillion Brooks will not foul out this game and be able to frustrate Curry on defense. This will make Memphis the first road team to win a game in the Play in Round this year. I predict that Jaren Jackson Jr will have breakout game and score 25 points and 15 rebounds.

 

 

BATTLE FOR THE 8TH SEED IN THE EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS

 

With the 8^th final playoff spot on the line, you will see the Indiana Pacers vs the Washington Wizards.  The Pacers are coming off their blowout win vs the Charlotte Hornets where the Pacers scored 144 points. Domantas Sabonis had a near triple double against the Hornets. The Pacers welcomed the return of Malcolm Brogdon who returned from injury. The Wizards lost to the Celtics in a game in which Westbrook struggled from the field; also, Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics dropped 50 points while leading the Celtics to victory. Bradley Beal is essentially playing on one leg with his lingering hamstring injury clearly hindering his ability as he plays.

 

The Pacers will be out without Caris LeVert who is out due to the League’s Health and Safety Protocol. The Pacers will try to beat the Wizards for the first time in 4 tries. The Wizards swept the season series 3-0 and Westbrook put up a triple double in every game against the Pacers this season. The Pacers shot over 50% for their game on Tuesday and in order to beat Wizards if they are able to shoot 40% from 3 they will win the game. For the Wizards to win the game is not only Westbrook has to play better but he also will have to play defense instead of hoovering around the paint searching for rebounds.

 

I predict the Pacers will knock off the Wizards to become the number 8^th seed and play the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. Sabonis will have a huge double double 20 points and 15 rebounds. Westbrook may get the triple double, but he will once again labor to do so.