Miami has a great deal of shooters and Bam Adebayo is the center at the top of the offense, so it establishes well for Butler to wander lower on the court. You wonder if the Heat can expect to make a deep playoff run when their finest player is having the worst, and most restricted, shooting season of his profession..
T.J. Warren hangs 53.
If you were unaware, the Phoenix Suns traded T.J. Warren to the Pacers for cash factors to consider. The guy was balancing just under 19 points per video game coming into Saturday when he continued to put 53 on the Sixers. Those are both profession highs, but again, dont get it puzzled that this was some kind of total aberration: Warren has constantly been able to score.
Enjoy Now:
T.J. Warren Drops 53 Points In Pacers Win Over 76ers
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And once again:.
Paul has probably been a top-five MVP candidate this season and need to make an All-NBA group. When Houston traded him to OKC, it continues to be hilarious that individuals believed he was done. Hes having a historical season in clutch scenarios, but that wasnt necessary on Saturday as the video game was never ever close in the 2nd half..
Day 3 of the NBA reboot in Orlando remains in the books, and neither No. 1 seed has been clinched. The Lakers had an opportunity to do so in the West with a win, but they lost the Raptors, which likewise kept the Bucks from clinching in the East. Toronto continues to appear like a real hazard to return to the Finals when damn near everyone counted them out the 2nd Kawhi Leonard left..
Heres the full set of arise from Saturdays bubble action, followed by 5 main takeaways:.
Heat 125, Nuggets 105 (box rating).
Thunder 110, Jazz 94 (box rating).
Clippers 126, Pelicans 103 (box rating).
Pacers 127, 76ers 121 (box score).
Raptors 107, Lakers 92 (box rating).
LeBron, A.D. lay an egg.
LeBrons numbers vs. Toronto looked fine by the end: 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists on 7-for-15 shooting. He wasnt on his game. Offensively, that makes two straight difficult trips for James, who is now a combined 13-for-34 (38 percent) from the field in the bubble..
Davis, meanwhile, was a ghost on Saturday. After scoring 34 points in the Lakers bubble opener, he only took 7 shots against Toronto, linking on two of them. He wound up with 14 points due to the fact that he went 9-for-9 from the free-throw line; in reality, the very same thing conserved him against the Clippers, when he went 16-for-17 from the line but only 8-for-19 from the field. Simply put, the Lakers stars are struggling to make shots so far in Orlando..
Jimmy Butler loves the freebies.
Butler has nearly completely put the cover on his jumper this season, running pretty exclusively in the brief mid-range location, as an at-rim finisher and as a supplier (hes averaging a career-high in assists). His 2.2 3-pointers attempted per game is his lowest mark considering that his 2nd year in the league, and hes just making 24 percent of those, which is a profession low if you do not count his novice season when he only played eight minutes a game..
Hows he still balancing over 20 points a video game? Coming into Saturday, Butler was getting to the charity stripe a career-high 9.1 times per game.
No Embiid … huge issue.
The Sixers have a history of going in the tank when Joel Embiid is off the floor, and it happened again on Saturday in Phillys loss to the Pacers. Embiid was an absolute monster, going for 41 points, 21 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and a steal, and the Sixers were plus-21 in his 34 minutes.
He was expected to be the person who reduced the Sixers struggles when Embiid was out. Horford was minus-26 on Saturday.
The idea was that Shake Milton, the new starting point guard, would bring more shooting and playmaking to that position. Its only one video game, however he installed a donut on Saturday. Zero points in 19 minutes..
Embiid was an outright monster, going for 41 points, 21 rebounds, four helps, three blocks and a take, and the Sixers were plus-21 in his 34 minutes. Its only one video game, however he put up a donut on Saturday. Hows he still averaging over 20 points a game? Coming into Saturday, Butler was getting to the charity stripe a career-high 9.1 times per video game. The person was balancing simply under 19 points per game coming into Saturday when he proceeded to put 53 on the Sixers.
Chris Paul the master.
Paul was remarkable for OKC on Saturday, as hes been all season, ending up with 18 points, 7 helps and 7 rebounds on 7-of-11 shooting as the Thunder blasted the Jazz. Paul controlled pace, set everyone around him up with excellent shots and got to his trademarked elbow jumper at will..
The bright side is the Sixers most likely didnt even desire to win this game. By losing, they remain in the No. 6 seed, which today would imply a first-round matchup with Boston, versus which the Sixers are 3-1 this season. Had they won, they wouldve jumped to the 5 seed, which would presently pit them versus Miami, against which they are 1-3 this season, while also putting them in line to face Milwaukee one round earlier need to they get that far. Itll be fascinating how tough Philly attempts to win games over the rest of their seeding schedule..
