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The opening weekend of the NBA 2019 playoffs is already listed in the books. Three top seeds – Denver, Philly and Toronto – lost the first game while the Blazers were not an underdog per head nine of our 10 analysts chosen to lose in the first round, took a 1-0 lead over the Thunder thanks to the colossal efforts of Damian Lillard and Enes Kanter. Below you will find a handful of takeaways from each game 1.
Nets 111, Sixers 102 (Nets led 1-0)
In retrospect, it should have been a little more predictable than it was. The Sixers do not defend the pick and roll well, and the Nets are among the top 10 pick and roll teams. Joel Embiid was not 100% and not himself. Ben Simmons showed us that his inability to shoot was a much bigger problem in the playoffs than in the regular season. Indeed, he spent most of the match 1 to block by doing almost nothing in the ninth. points – most of which were in the end and pretty insignificant – on nine shots for a team minus 21 minus.
Finally, for a defensive team as strong as the Sixers in terms of metrics, they do not have a plethora of lockdown defenders against Jimmy Butler. The end result: The Sixers simply could not stay in front of the Nets, they executed to perfection their five-wide frame, spreading the Sixers to their breaking point, then tearing them down with their multiple playmakers for finishes to the rim and propulsion -kick three. Brooklyn had six types of double-digit players, led by 26's of D Angelo Russell, 23 from Caris LaVert and 18 from Spencer Dinwiddie. They hit 11 to 3 Philly points. The Nets only had 15 assists as they beat the Sixers one by one again.
None of this seems unbearable for Brooklyn. The Sixers have dropped their big shots on selections and bearings, and just in general, to invite mid-range shots, and Russell will not just stop doing those shots. It's his bread and his butter. Dinwiddie is not going to stop arriving at the edge. The Sixers can not stay ahead of him and he is seriously one of the best drivers in the league. The Sixers do not have the depth to run around all Brooklyn shooters. If Embiid can not come back and dominate inside (which he should be able to do if he is in good health) and maybe put the Nets in a tricky situation, the Nets can beat Philly.
Embiid shot a lot of three in the first game, but again, it's largely the presence of Simmons, who does not command a defender on the perimeter. So they put it down, which pushed Embiid towards the 3-point line. . All Philly does is to get around what Simmons can not do, what everyone can do. Jimmy Butler has been great and as Simmons becomes more and more an anchor, Butler will have to carry more and more of the offensive charge, not only from the point of view of the goal, but also from the point of view of the game. do not want to jump on the panic boat of the first game, but it was not a coincidence. Brooklyn can beat Philly three more times. That they do it, who knows. But they can certainly.
Magic 104, Raptors 101 (Magic leads 1-0)
Holy upset. No it was unexpected. But again, maybe that should not have been it. Toronto did not look great on the track while the Magic was one of the best teams in the league after the All-Star break. Kawhi Leonard was very good, but he did not fight hard enough in front of a screen and stayed in the place of the screen, in the decisive game of the game, allowing DJ Augustin – who ended up with 25 points and six assists – will make its entrance in the game with 3 indicators winning with 3.4 seconds to play.
Augustin completely buried Kyle Lowry in their leading match. Lowry finished with … wait … zero point on seven shots. Yes, he was a plus-11 for the game with eight assists and seven rebounds, which is a very good example of why you should never rely on statistics to tell your story, especially advanced statistics . This plus-11, clear and simple, was a product of circumstance. Lowry must be better in the world if Toronto wants to make this series relatively easy from now on, let alone if they intend to compete for a championship. This Lowry playoff match is like a thing. And it's not a good one. He has good games and / or series here and there, but his absolute elimination in the playoffs is hidden every minute.
Warriors 121, Clippers 104 (Warriors lead 1-0)
Not much to say here. Stephen Curry was brilliant and the Warriors are much better than the Clippers. It will be a very fast series. Curry had 38 points on typically ridiculous shots – 8 out of 12 out of three – but that was his defense and … 15 rebounds !!! … who really stood out. He was "the best player in the world" Stephen Curry in all areas of the game and when Draymond Green, the guy who will always open wide, will get 17 out of 12 to get 17 points at the top of Curry. turn it on, forget about it. The warriors looked terrific.
The Spurs 101, the Nuggets 96 (the Spurs lead 1-0)
For a one-way match of 2-7, that makes a lot of sense, is not it? The Nuggets did not play badly. They shot poorly, especially from three, which was a problem throughout the regular season; but they did not play badly. They made big shots / games for a team that is largely without playoff experience. They did not collapse, which would be easy to tell for a seed number 2 who abandons match 1 at home. The Spurs are a good team. They removed a lot of off-ball movement from Denver, or at least never let it open. Nikola Jokic had a triple-double with 14 assists, 14 rebounds and 10 points, but I think he has to attack more as a scorer for Denver to make real offensive moves.
The Spurs are going to make it difficult for him. They systematically sent several bodies to Jokic, trapping him and harassing him ruthlessly, when he touched the ball, and although he responded with the helpers, his average 20 game points are a big part of the game. Denver's offense. Jamal Murray and Gary Harris are not the "backyard" type. In addition, Jokic's 14 assists were NOT SO such a big number, as Jokic was forced to move the ball. Harris and Murray combined for 37 points, but they also shot 15 out of 36 total, including 1 out of 9. Murray looked wide open to give the Nuggets the advantage with just over 10 seconds to play, but he could not cash it. Then he stole the ball with Denver trailing by three and looking for a shot that would match the game. the last second checked.
Murray did not play bad. I do not want to attack him. It was his first game in the playoffs and he made a lot of clutch buckets to bring the Nuggets closer to a shot at the win. He had no help. Once again, the Nuggets are used to Jokic doing so much DIY that they do not really have a lot of other guys you can rely on to keep creating the offensive. San Antonio will continue to harass Jokic and have him beaten by someone else. We'll see if the other Nuggets can do it. They are certainly capable. It's going to be a tough two-way series
Celtics 84, Pacers 74 (led by the Celtics 1-0)
Welcome to basketball from the Eastern Conference of the 1990s. On their way to their 74 points, the Pacers only scored eight points in the third quarter – they only managed their first bucket before more than eight minutes of quarter – to go from half-time to seven points to an 11-point deficit. enter the fourth. Indiana is going to have trouble scoring in the playoffs with Victor Oladipo, but gives credit to Boston. They defended hard. Kyrie Irving took up the challenge in this regard. The Celtics energy came from him, which is supposed to be with your best player.
I think it was the perfect way for Boston to start the playoffs. I know that they have not marked much themselves, but the energy, the adhesion and the chemistry that results are what comes and goes with this team. They have a ton of game leaders and shooters. They will be in every game if they play with as much passion as in the first game. After that, you try your luck with all those capable shooters and shooters. Good start for Boston.
Blazers 104, Thunder 99 (The Blazers lead 1-0)
Portland has broken a series of 10 playoff losses, which is hard to believe. Enes Kanter !!! Dude was amazing with 20 points and 18 boards. He played his game every second on the field, and without Jusuf Nurkic, the Blazers needed all that. This was a super pickup by Portland. Zach Collins can do some things, just like Meyers Leonard from time to time, but Portland needs numbers in the absence of Nurkic. They need points. Boards. Real tangible production rather than just a guy playing his role decently. Getting numbers at Kanter is not new. His defense can be terrible. We all know that. It was not even good in the first game, but we could go at any time. But he always managed to get numbers, which bothered Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum a lot.
Speaking of Lillard … my man. When will this guy get the superstar credit that he deserves? How is he not at the heart of the MVP conversation every season while he keeps this relatively pedestrian composition to himself? OK, maybe it's an exaggeration, but it's not an excellent list, far from it – in the top four -ish of the West year after year? Lillard was a full stallion, again, in the first game, scoring 30 of 5 points out of 11. For him, these numbers are not crazy. But it was the depth of the shots and the timing they achieved that made this performance so special. Lillard has been criticized relentlessly after the Blazers' sweep in the first round of last season. He was not going to let the Blazers lose on Sunday. How many other players have pulled the trigger on that shot while there is 12 seconds remaining at the shot clock in a one-run playoff with less than three minutes to go?
It's a thing without consciousness, right there. This is also a major mistake of Russell Westbrook. Lillard struck three times deeper than everyone else. He has been hitting them for four years. You can not give him that kind of space – especially at this point in the game, I do not care about the distance that separates him. You take this guy in the caucus.
The fact that Paul George is not himself is a major problem for OKC. George said that he could barely raise his arm in the days leading up to the first game, then he came out and shot 4 to 15 out of 3. The thunder just was not enough. offense, or certainly enough shooting, when George does not leave. They depend so much on him. If it is up to the player who was, at one time, a legitimate candidate of the most useful player, OKC will make a series. If he does not, Portland will move on. Nine of our 10 experts chose the Thunder to move on. We chose the blazers. Who is this daring guy?
Bucks 121, Pistons 86 (The Bucks lead 1-0)
Take out the broom. This one is going to be a sweep. Blake Griffin did not play in the first game, but even though he had done so, the Bucks are way too good for Detroit. It's even more unbalanced than Golden State-Clippers. Read here Milwaukee may well encounter some problems later, but they are crossing in this series. Boston would do better to work quickly on Indiana, because the Bucks will be well rested in the second round.
Rockets 122, Jazz 90 (the Rockets lead 1-0)
The Jazz looks a bit like the Pacers in that it's hard to imagine them scoring enough points to compete in their first round streak. The best thing to do in Houston: it did not seem like a tough game. It could be a pretty smooth series. Harden had 29 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds and only played 33 minutes. It's big. Many people think that the Rockets have gotten a tough draw and end up as the No. 4 seed, which probably means that they will have to face the Warriors in the second round rather than in the conference finals. Quietly, I think that's a good thing.
For starters, a 3-6 match with OKC could have been a much tougher and longer series for Houston than the one I think will be that of Utah. And on top of that, getting Golden State a turn earlier means that James Harden will be a cooler ride. To thwart the Warriors, Harden will have to be extremely productive and play more than 40 minutes each game. Fatigue is a real factor for a guy who has to carry that kind of load. At the end of the seventh game of the conference final, it was certainly last season when Harden obviously had nothing left at his disposal. It's important for Houston to take advantage of this opportunity to work on Jazz fast, because you know the Warriors will go through the first round without fear.
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