San Antonios playoff streak is alive and well!.
The Spurs havent missed out on the postseason considering that the Cretaceous duration, though this season postured a higher danger to that streak than ever previously. Entering the shutdown, San Antonio was on the bottom of a logjam in the standings, needing to pass the New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, and naturally, the No. 8 seeded Memphis Grizzlies to enter the playoffs. Under typical guidelines, the odds of them doing so would have been slim..
Now, 4 days into bubble ball, the Spurs not only lead the pack for the No. 9 seed but have a genuine shot at sneaking up to No. 8 and taking away Memphis play-in advantage. Memphis had the seventh-hardest, and Portland, their likeliest competition for No. 9 now that New Orleans has dropped their very first 2 video games, has 5 straight video games versus real contenders prior to mercifully drawing the Nets in their ending.
Dallas came up brief in the clutch … again.
Make that 18 losses by five points or fewer for the Mavericks this season, the most in the NBA. Get rid of games that included NBA-defined clutch circumstances and the Mavericks would have a 26-6 record. They have the most effective offense in NBA history and the third-best net rating in the Western Conference, yet theyre likely going to complete with the No. 7 seed after falling in the 4th quarter yet again, this time to the Phoenix Suns. They led by 13 at the half, but coughed up their lead in the 3rd quarter and could not create an excellent game-tying attempt in the final seconds..
Day 4 of the NBAs Disney bubble is in the books, and with many groups having played several video games by this point, the playoff image and the narratives that will follow it are beginning to take shape. A surprising group has jumped into the lead for the Western Conferences No. 9 seed, two champion contenders duked it out in a possible Finals preview, and sadly, weve had our first major injury of the rebooted season. Now, four days into bubble ball, the Spurs not just lead the pack for the No. 9 seed but have a genuine shot at slipping up to No. 8 and taking away Memphis play-in benefit. Memphis had the seventh-hardest, and Portland, their likeliest competitors for No. 9 now that New Orleans has dropped their first 2 video games, has five straight video games versus real competitors before mercifully drawing the Nets in their finale. For all purposes and intents, they have now clinched the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Day 4 of the NBAs Disney bubble remains in the books, and with a lot of teams having played numerous games by this point, the playoff picture and the stories that will follow it are starting to take shape. A surprising team has actually leapt into the lead for the Western Conferences No. 9 seed, two championship competitors duked it out in a possible Finals preview, and unfortunately, weve had our very first major injury of the rebooted season. Heres whatever you require to learn about today in the NBA..
Final Scores.
Nets 118, Wizards 110.
Celtics 128, Blazers 124.
Spurs 108, Grizzlies 106.
Magic 132, Kings 116.
Rockets 120, Bucks 116.
Suns 117, Mavericks 115.
The Rockets repaired their defense.
Houstons thesis is based upon three pillars: win the 3-point battle, the free-throw fight and the turnover fight. If they simply own those 3 categories, everything else is immaterial. In service of those goals, they have eschewed the center position completely. Not just does that give them more shooting, but it takes their worst ball-handler off of the flooring to help limit turnovers, and it permits them to change every screen defensively, efficiently cutting off all open 3-point attempts for a challenger while likewise making them vulnerable to more strips, suggestions and deflections from quicker protectors..
That strategy played out flawlessly in their fight with the Bucks. Milwaukee had 40 more points in the paint and 29 more rebounds than Houston on Sunday, and it didnt matter because the Rockets required 14 more turnovers, took eight more free throws and, most significantly, attempted 26 more 3-pointers. The Bucks are a relatively modern group in their own. They take just 5.6 less 3-pointers typically than the Rockets. However Houstons defense so successfully cut off their open attempts that Milwaukee not only took less 3s than they do typically but made only nine because of how couple of open appearances they got..
Flying around the court is tiring, especially for the wings who are also charged with protecting big men in the paint. The Rockets compromise size in the name of speed, but that just works when they in fact utilize it. They were lazy on Friday against the Mavericks.
The Mavericks are young. They arent, due to the fact that yet once again theyve fallen short in the clutch. Playoff games are hardly ever blowouts.
One of the days huge winners were … the Minnesota Timberwolves?.
With only Caris LeVert left to lead a group of backups, Brooklyn mightve theoretically tanked its way out of the playoffs and into the lottery. The Wizards would have needed to make up just two games in the standings to force a play-in. They have championship goals next season.
The Nets slammed it with a win over Washington on Sunday. For all intents and purposes, they have actually now clinched the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Timberwolves will likely get their choice now, when it is still rather valuable, as opposed to next season, when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will probably drop it into the 20s.
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Highlights: Bucks vs. Rockets
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Injuries, sadly, were inevitable.
The definite success of the bubbles very first couple of days made the sobering truth of Sunday that far more disconcerting. Jonathan Isaac was the very first player to suffer an apparently serious injury. In all likelihood, he will not be the last. Going from four months off back into high-level professional basketball so quickly was constantly going to increase the danger of injuries. Isaac already had warnings. Had the season not been extended, he would not have actually played at all for the Magic after suffering a severe knee injury in January. Ideally, that makes this an isolated occurrence. However unfortunately, we require to grapple with the probability that more soft-tissue injuries are coming..
