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Well, gang: We did it. After a war of attrition of 82 games, we have only to sleep on our beautiful reward: the playoffs of the NBA 2019. Sixteen teams, four laps and at the end of it, there was more a team to celebrate by winning the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Even with a favorite on the procedure, it's going to be fun.
Before the quarter-finals start on Saturday, let's take a look at the five players that interest me the most in the playoffs, starting with the man of the moment in Milwaukee:
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks
In the NBA, Antetokounmpo is nothing more scary than a clear track and a momentum – and that's exactly what he has in the playoffs.
The Bucks will have home advantage in the finals, which will allow Giannis to start and finish all playoffs in Milwaukee, where they dominate 33-8 this season. Antetokounmpo is surrounded by a deep and talented support team, led by swingman All-Star Khris Middleton and by difference makers, Eric Bledsoe and Brook Lopez. He plays the best basketball of his life in a system optimized for his donations by the leader of the coach of the year, Mike Budenholzer, and he enters the spring cooler than ever; Giannis has played fewer minutes in 2018-2019 than he has done in a single season since he was a lean 19-year-old rookie.
Health is a concern for Milwaukee: Major contributors Malcolm Brogdon and Nikola Mirotic remain on the injured list, even though they are supposed to be back in time for the second round, and a number of other Bucks, including Antetokounmpo, have faced persistent ills. Beyond that, there does not seem to be anything for Milwaukee to fear; The Raptors, the 76ers and the Celtics could all pose their share of trouble, but the skyscraper wall that separates the so-called East candidates to the Promised Land for almost a decade has collapsed in July last, when LeBron James made the fatal decision to leave. Cleveland for Los Angeles.
James' absence in the playoffs is also important in the extrajudicial sense. The most popular and famous player in the NBA, sidelined for the playoffs, creates a void of attention. With all that seems to go towards the crowning of the Greek Freak – a first selection of the first team of NBA stars, and a real hit for the honors of the most useful player and the defensive player of the day. year – this is the opportunity for Antetokounmpo to seize the throne, to assert the league's next face, and take LeBron's place as a new immutable object that will prevent a generation of Oriental teams to seize the copper ring.
This climb will have to start with a small but significant step: get out of the first round of the playoffs. Antetokounmpo has not yet done this in three tries and the Bucks franchise has only done this one in the past 30 seasons. Do it by eliminating the Pistons (eighth seeded), stay healthy, put Brogdon and Mirotic in the game, and the way to a title starts to be much more manageable.
"People do not think we can not win everything, but at the end of the day we will play for that," Antetokounmpo told ESPN's Tim Bontemps recently. "We will play until the end. It's up to us to decide the end. "
There is only open space and opportunity in front of Giannis and the Bucks. Once they take off, we do not know how high or how far they can go.
Chris Paul, Rockets
A proponent of analysis like Daryl Morey would likely minimize the importance of momentum at this time of year, but Houston enters the playoffs as the NBA's best team. Mike D'Antoni's team recorded the NBA's best record and best efficiency differential after the All-Star break, ranking first in the league. 1 offense (which you expect) and That's no. 2 defense (which you certainly would not want!) In a game that is not garbage type, according to Glass cleaning. The only team crazier after the All-Star: Utah Jazz, with the same trend, that Houston will face in the first round.
It took the Rockets some time to get back into the form that led them to the seventh game of the 2018 finals, but as Morey said before the season, his job is to have his best team in the middle of the season. April. Well, we are in April and Houston once again looks dangerous, with James Harden acting as the most unstoppable offensive weapon in the sport, Clint Capela inside (15 points for 68 , 2% shots and 12.8 rebounds per game since the All Star break). ), and key players like Eric Gordon, PJ Tucker and the scrap savior, Danuel House Jr. burning the 3-point nets. Everything is planned so that the Rockets can once again take their best shot against the Warriors; to know if they can count the champions for the account this time could depend on Paul's health and efficiency at the time of the main event.
Paul, when he is at his best, is arguably the best banana in the league for non-warriors – a brain controlling the game, able to turn his team into a productive possession against any defense, to smother the best ball handlers and the world's top scorers, and keep the Rockets roaring when Harden hits the bench. We did not see much of this version of CP3 at the beginning of the season, which leads many people to wonder if injuries and age had cost the athlete nearly 34 years the athletics he had need to make a difference to the competition. the highest levels. However, although Paul's individual number has not been impressive since his return from a left hamstring injury in late January, his overall impact has been considerable.
Since the All-Star break, the Rockets have outscored their opponents by 8.2 points more per 100 possessions with Paul on the ground than when he left. Houston was an elite when Paul led the series without Harden, posting a net score of over-9.9 in the CP3 minutes, but not-Harden. And although the Houston margin was even greater in the Harden-no-CP3 speaking time, it is an astronomical record of + 17.6 points out of 100 while they shared the floor, the tenth best mark of all duets by recording at least 400 minutes together since mid-February. This was the model the Rockets were relying on last season: a global creator, a pick-and-roll facilitator and an all-time sniper, and for the big pieces of the game, two between them. As Paul struggled and was wounded, Harden was to become galactic. Now that he is back in good health, he will be able to shoulder some of that burden of Beard.
Another heartbreaking end-of-season injury and a historic 3-point freeze that allowed Paul and the Rockets to play in last season's championship. But the guard will only age, cost more and be more difficult to build, especially for a team that seems intent on avoiding the repeater fee; this could be his last chance. Can he help Harden to get to the finish line this time around? Or will one of the greatest players of his generation be up to it again?
Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers
After a first lap that made the pelicans tremble in the first round, and a summer where Sauce Castillo was the most striking addition and whose main result of the search for "the other curry" seemed to be on the precipice of Portland. slide down in the western hierarchy. And even if it was not true – and it was not, the Blazers were over 50 wins and home field advantage in the first round – they still did not have much to do to change anyone's mind. they were.
Unless there is a miraculous surge of 70 wins or the addition of a legitimate superstar at the trade deadline, Portland would still look like the same old "very good" team that is running its way to a high total of wins. regular season before yielding to a better talent. The Blazers could prove that they are something different for us and for themselves. "We are really looking forward to buying back," said Lillard. SB NationPaul Flannery last month.
For a second, it seems like they could make the most of it by running, shooting and pushing Denver and Houston for no. 2 seeds … and then Jusuf Nurkic broke his left leg by catching two rebounds in overtime, only a week after CJ McCollum had a popliteal injury to his left knee. (McCollum will be available to start the first round, although he does not really look 100% in his first two games after his return; Nurkic will remain long on the board.) Just like this, the chances of the Blazers to qualify for the first time in the Western Conference since the year 2000, seems to have disappeared.
Another exit before the conference finale would not necessarily compromise Lillard's reputation. It's still a three-time All-NBA selection (and a virtual lock to add a fourth-end-of-season) that ranks among the NBA's most deadly playmakers and is constantly gaining praise as one of the cultures the most valuable in the league – setting up leaders. However, since his Rockets-winning drummer in Game 6 of the first round of 2014 was tough, Lillard struggled in the playoffs, shooting only 38.5% in the field and 32.5% in 3 points in 24 playoff games. In three seasons, the Blazers have lost in five games or less. In 2016, the only other year of Lillard's career in which they progressed, they lost 2-1 to Clippers superstar Chris Paul. and Blake Griffin for the rest of the series.
The Blazers' playoff series of successes is not entirely on Lillard's shoulders; They were injured and outmatched against Memphis in 2015, met two Buzzsaw Warrior teams in 2016 and 2017 and collapsed against New Orleans last season. But it seems odd that a star synonymous with performance in the clutch has spent five years without a signature after the off season. Rightly or wrongly, Lady's inability to push the Blazers further than they assume in the playoffs contributes to the tendency to make him fall in the league's top league scoring rank under the peers who might not be clearly superior, but who have top-notch resumes.
Lillard and Co. face Oklahoma City in the first round, which has beaten them four times in the regular season. Without the linchpin Nurkic, with McCollum still working from the knee, and with few points in the offensive match or playoffs in reserve, Lillard has once again some work to do. But he also has the opportunity to gain some redemption after last year and to strengthen his good faith as the most dangerous offensive player in the sport. The Blazers' survival in the playoffs could well lead to Lillard, setting a very good defense on his own. I am ready to grant for that.
DeMarcus Cousins, Warriors
It took more than six years of dysfunction in Sacramento, a brief stint in New Orleans and a career change, and a surprise phone call for Golden State General Manager Bob Myers, but Boogie is getting ready to go his first appearance in the playoffs. The big question: how will it behave on the biggest stage of the sport?
Cousins had a busy season. After a year of rehabilitation after an Achilles tendon tear, he made his comeback appearance on the pitch, seeming perfectly fit to score goals and pretend to play for a Warriors team that honestly did not need a lot of help to score. But a post-All-Star fall marked by a selfless and defective defense – including Cousins's difficulties in pick-and-roll coverage when they are far from the edge – leaves at least a pattern of concern over how the Star resists in the playoffs against opponents who can steer their offensive attacks in an attempt to exploit his lack of lateral quickness.
Since the introduction of Cousins in training in mid-January, the Warriors have outscored their opponents by 4.6 points per 100 possessions with him on the field … and 8.8 points per 100 when He is absent, according to NBA.com/Stats. range data. Overall, the selection of Golden State's five-star Cousins, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green was excellent, posting a net score of over-12.6. But among the Warriors units that score at least 75 minutes shared, this is only the team's fourth best mark, behind Death Lineup placing Green in fifth place and displacing Andre Iguodala to the wing, the program of the season with Kevon Looney. in the center, and the late-season model that places the warrior prodigal Andrew Bogut in the center. It's not that the Boogiefied Warriors are not impressive; that's like Ethan Strauss's L & # 39; athletics Written earlier this week, the queues featuring him often seem to be the third or fourth best option available for this particular team.
As the series progress, this may not be the case. The first opponent of the Clippers' eighth-seeded Warriors features a heavy pick-and-roll attack driven by Lou Williams, the sixth-man's favorite of the year, and a central squad of third-place surprise. Ivica Zubac year (thanks, Magic!). Ace reserve Montrezl Harrell – not the kind of killers or defensive defenses that could cost Steve Kerr much time, but potentially a match that would be better suited to Looney, Bogut or Green than the Cousins challenging. Beyond the first round, however, the path that Golden State could reach for the third time in a row could include clashes with larger, more physical and more disturbing pivots.
The second run will bring a stab, be it Clint Capela Rockets or Rudy Gobert Jazz. And in the final phase of the Western Conference, opponents could be Steven Adams, the mustachioed brick wall, LaMarcus Aldridge, very talented in shooting, or the playful playmaker Nikola Jokic; If the Portland Nurkic had not fallen to the ground, the four potential fighters would have presented Golden State with a thorny problem. And the four favorites to represent the Eastern Conference at the NBA finals could each pose their own problems at the center, with Brook Lopez of Milwaukee, the Toronto tandem of Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, and Al Horford of Boston all offering a Firing Button That Can Stretch An opposing defense to its breaking point, while Joel Embiid, of Philly, is able to turn a cover into deep submission.
The Warriors have added Cousins to punish heavier and heavier defenses like Houston's, but also to fight the biggest villains they could face along the way. Boogie has done very well lately, hitting Capela and the Rockets 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists on March 13 …
… and completely dominating Jokic en route to 28 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in a Denver win on April 2nd:
If the Cousins can do that by keeping a four-round cover, he'll be well on his way to the lucrative long-term deal he missed last summer because of the Achilles tear. Warriors are waiting for what he can and will want; As Green recently said: "Someone else is playing his best game with his center and we are playing our best game? We will win. It's as simple as that. However, it remains to be seen how much Boogie is Golden State's best game against the best opponents.
Gordon Hayward, Celtics
It has become exhausting, this season, to try to find out if Hayward was or was not return after returning from the fractured left tibia and dislocated left ankle that cost him nearly all of his first season in Boston. It looked like that, then it was not, then it was, then it was not; and this has somehow continued throughout the winter and spring, the max-salaried swingman struggling to find consistency and stability in his return from the most overwhelming injury of his nine-year career.
When Hayward felt sufficiently confident in his surgically repaired leg to attack the bounce and explode in the basket, he looked like All-Star who shined so loudly in Utah. When that self confidence faded, it became a "responsibility on both sides of the court" that sometimes disappeared completely, leaving the Celtics and their fans wondering if the carpenter did everything they'd seen Salt Lake City was gone for good. Hayward told ESPN's Jackie MacMullan that Paul George had stated that it took him "two full years before he could play freely" after suffering such a devastating leg injury in 2014.)
After 72 games and nearly 1,900 minutes, the final answers are hard to find. But the good news for Boston is that at the end of the regular season, Hayward appeared to be solid again. In the last five weeks of the season (a period interrupted by a short stay in the league's concussion protocol), Hayward averaged 14.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 26.3 minutes per game. He shot 60 percent of the pack in this sequence, scoring a perfect 9-on-9 performance in a dazzling victory over the same Pacers team that the Celtics will face in the first round.
Hayward was also more aggressive in reaching the basket at the end of the season. Until March 4, he had accumulated an average of 5.2 orders per basket, gave the ball to a teammate with 48.4% of those incursions and only shot 44.8% during attempts. field placement that he had taken. However, in his last 14 games, he improved things, leading to the basket 7.4 times per night, dropping the rock after a penetration of 35% of the time and shooting with a hot score of 68.3%. He also began to seem more comfortable making contact with the body with potential opponents. During this 14-game stretch, Hayward shot 48 free throws, against 130 fielding attempts, a free throw rate of .369, just off the mark of his All-Star season in Utah and for miles above the .275 rate (which would have been a career low) that he had managed before his strong closing kick.
A bold and bold Hayward – someone who is actively seeking to play the game for himself and for others, rather than resigning to corners in a complementary role – is a good thing for Boston. This means that Kyrie Irving is not the only Celtic that Brad Stevens can count on to create his own high-percentage photo; When Hayward scored 15 points or more this season, the Celtics were 17-4. If Hayward is on, Irving and Al Horford will not have to take on so much responsibility to get the Celtics in their sets, or to find great looks for their teammates; when he gave five assists or more, Boston was 12-5. Hayward also gives Stevens another reliable bidirectional contributor, with the size and skills to integrate into any range. Despite all the peaks and valleys, Boston still dominates by almost two points his 100 points over his opponents. Hayward is on the ground in the regular season compared to the time he was seated.
With each uneven performance and each unbearable sound, the Celtics have spent the last six months giving us reason to doubt them. (The news that they will be without Guardian Marcus Smart for at least the first round does not help.) Hayward continues his late-season breakthrough in the playoffs, alongside a very Irving motivated and fully operational player. Horford, could provide a compelling enough reason to think that after all that has happened before, Boston could still have a chance to be the much-anticipated team.
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