J-Speaks: Two Destined Teams Meet In Western Conference Semifinals

It had been six seasons since the Denver Nuggets reached the postseason and a decade since they won a playoff series. The Portland Trail Blazers entered the 2019 Playoffs on a 10-game postseason losing streak, which consisted of their last two postseason’s ending in four-game sweeps. Both teams came into the playoffs with something to prove and they did so by winning their First-Round series in dramatic fashion. Now both squads meet for just the second time in their respective history with a chance to move one step closer reaching the Conference Finals. 

Besides having to shoulder their last two postseasons ending in four-game sweeps, the Portland Trail Blazers entered the 2019 Playoffs without their starting center Jusuf Nurkic and that starting shooting guard CJ McCollum had missed a 10-game stretch to close the regular-season because of strained muscle in his knee. Also, their opponent the Oklahoma City Thunder came in with the 2017 Kia MVP in Russell Westbrook and fellow All-Star Paul George looking to end their playoff drought of two straight opening-round knockouts. 

Head Coach Terry Stotts’s squad had their best player in four-time All-Star Damian Lillard and he just simply willed his team to a 4-1 series win over the Thunder advancing the Trail Blazers to the Semifinals on a game-clinching three-pointer from 37 fee out to give the Trail Blazers a dramatic 118-115 win as they outscored their visitors 28-10 to close the game. 

Lillard’s game-winning triple capped a night where he set two new franchise records with 50 points making 10 for 18 from three-point range, finishing 17 for 33 from the field overall with seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. 

“Damian’s performance was probably the best performance I’ve seen in person, off the top of my head,” Coach Stotts said of the great performance by his All-Star lead guard, who averaged 36.3 points at home in the series against the Thunder. 

He added about his 34 points in the opening half, “I’ve seen 50-point games obviously. But the way he carried the team in the first half with CJ in foul trouble. The magnitude of the last shot, obviously to win a series. The fact that he’s now won two series on two shots. It was quite a performance.” 

The 2018 All-NBA First-Team selection did it all that night in helping the Trail Blazers advance to the Semifinals for the first time since 2016 and following his game-winning three he waived goodbye to the Thunder bench and then was suddenly mobbed by his teammates as he heard the chants of MVP from the Moda Center crowd. 

This moment was another shining example of the absolute greatness of Lillard in the postseason where he got the Trail Blazers pasted the opening-round, where they have not been able to get out of much in recent years. 

Five postseasons ago in the opening-round against the Houston Rockets, he hit a shot very similar shot from three-point range from the left side at the buzzer that clinched the Trail Blazers’ first playoff series win since the 2000 West Semis over the Utah Jazz in five games. 

That very well explains him being surprised at the reaction of those in attendance at the Moda Center to those that watched the game from sports bars and restaurants in Portland, OR when he hit that step-back heart-breaking triple to send the Thunder home for the summer. The mass hysteria caught Lillard off guard because he expected nothing else but for that shot to go down. 

Lillard said after digesting the reaction from his game-winning triple, “What if we win the Second-Round? What if we got to the Western Conference Finals?” 

“How are they going to react then? That was my mentality.” 

Throughout the series against the Thunder, Lillard repeatedly said that it is not about the other team—but about their team and them only. 

That if they do what they are supposed to do, the results will take care of itself. That is something the former Weber State product has preached, even the darkest of times during the regular-season from the passing of longtime owner Paul Allen before the start of the 2018-19 regular-season. When they lost as mentioned McCollum for 10 games down the stretch of this season because of knee injury and when they lost Nurkic in late March to a compound fracture in his left leg. 

Many teams would have crumbled under those tough moments. All the Trail Blazers did was simply continue to win, which they have done with including their five-game series win versus the Thunder improved to 11-3 since losing Nurkic. That includes an 8-2 mark when McCollum was out. 

That sparkling record is due in part to the rise in the level of play of now starting center Enes Kanter, Al-Farouq Aminu, Maurice Harkless, Evan Turner, Seth Curry, Zach Collins, and Meyers Leonard. 

“I don’t think anybody in here is satisfied,” Harkless said recently. “We’re happy that we were able to take care of business in the First-Round, but we’re not satisfied. We know that we’ve got more work to do. We’re capable of doing more things this postseason.”

The Trail Blazers next opponent in the Denver Nuggets also feel they are destined to advance this postseason, especially after taking down the mighty San Antonio Spurs in seven games. 

For this entire season, the young Nuggets, who missed the playoffs by one game the last two years rose to the each and every moment and were able to reach the No. 2 Seed in the stacked Western Conference. 

The big question for head coach Michael Malone’s team coming into the series against the seasoned Spurs and their future Hall of Fame head coach Gregg Popovich, and perennial All-Star tandem of LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan could they overcome their inexperience. 

They did when it mattered in Game 7 on Saturday night thanks to their star tandem of Jamal Murray who had 23 points, including the game-ceiling floater 36.8 seconds left as the Nuggets held on for a 90-86 win to advance in the Playoffs for the first time since 2009. 

“Obviously, you’re extremely happy and proud of your guys,” Coach Malone said after the Nuggets first Game 7 postseason victory since May 3, 1978 when they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks. “You know to come so close the last two years and miss the playoffs by one game and to challenge every player on our roster to come back an improved player, and the buy in, the commitment all season long—all summer long coming into the year.”

All-Star center Nikola Jokic also played big with his second career postseason triple-double with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists and he was the one who made the pass to Murray for what would be the eventual game-winner. 

The other big reason the Nuggets are in the Semifinals after as mentioned falling one game short of the playoffs the last two seasons was that they finally made the commitment to playing consistent defense and that showed in the most important game of the season. 

On a night where they shot just 39.8 percent from the floor and were just 2 for 20 from three-point range, the Nuggets held the Spurs to 36.5 percent from the field, including 6 for 23 from distance themselves. They out-rebounded them 61-53 and outscored them in the paint 56-44. Aldridge and DeRozan combined to score just 35 points on 13 for 37 shooting in the Game 7 loss. 

“I love the grit, the resiliency, the toughness we played with tonight,” Coach Malone said after the win. “Even late when they made their run…. we never lost our composure.” 

Coach Malone added about his team’s defense that they went from a bottom five defensive team to No. 1 in the league in defending the three-point line and a Top 10 overall defense during the regular-season. 

One player who really showed grit and toughness in the Nuggets first postseason series win was swingman Torrey Craig, who was moved into the starting lineup the last four games against the Spurs and he provided a tenacity at the defensive end where he made DeRozan work for every shot he got, which made a huge difference. 

For the Nuggets to get past the Trail Blazers this upcoming Semifinal tilt, they will need for Murray and Jokic to continue to play at a high level. 

They will also need stronger play offensively from Paul Millsap, Will Barton, Monte Morris, Mason Plumlee and Craig. 

They will need that same grit against a high scoring Trail Blazers team has the hottest player so far this postseason in the aforementioned Lillard. 

“We got a heel of a challenge waiting for us,” Coach Malone said of facing the Trail Blazers. “A team that’s been resting, getting ready, and Damian Lillard is playing at a whole another level. So, you enjoy this for a second and you start thinking about Portland, and all the challenges they present.”   

In the four wins the Nuggets had against the Spurs, Murray scored 24, 24, 23, and 23 points making 34 for 66 from the field. In the three losses, he scored just 17, six and 16 points making on 17 for 47 shooting. 

Murray being in attack mode offensively will keep Lillard occupied and maybe wear him down so those key shots he will take throughout the game possibly fall short. 

“It’s a great First-Round for us, but that’s a different beast,” Murray, who went 9 for 19 shooting in the Game 7 win versus the Spurs said to TNT’s Dennis Scott about facing the Trail Blazers. “Their very discipline. Their very talented. So, were going to have to bring a lot, especially in their arena.”

In their series against the Thunder, Kanter, Collins, and Leonard had to deal with the brute strength of starting center Steven Adams. In this series, they will be dealing with the most skilled center in “The Association.” The Trail Blazers’ reserve big men will have to be very productive with Kanter dealing with a very sore left shoulder that he injured in the team’s Game 5 clincher versus the Thunder. 

The other key to this series is which shooting guard will step up to provide support to their fellow backcourt mate. Will it be CJ McCollum for the Trail Blazers, who averaged 24.4 points, 5.4 boards and four assists in the First-Round, making 45.5 percent of his field goals and 44.7 percent of his threes? Or will it be Murray’s backcourt mate Gary Harris, who had a solid series against the Spurs averaging 14.7 points on 48.7 percent from the field and 46.7 percent on this three-point attempts. 

The Trail Blazers and Nuggets each came into this postseason with something to prove. The Nuggets were really put to the test against a playoff perennial in the Spurs and earned their first playoff series win in 10 seasons, while the Trail Blazers got a serious playoff monkey off their back with their first playoff series win since 2016. The star players for both teams in Lillard and McCollum for the squad of “Rip City,” and Jokic and Murray for the team that represents the “Mile High City” are eager for this tilt that will have one step closer to possibly competing for an NBA title. 

Prediction: Trail Blazers in seven games.
  

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 4/24/19 1 a.m. and 4/28/19 12:30 a.m.  edition of “Inside the NBA,” presented by Kia on TNT with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal; 4/27/19 10 p.m. “San Antonio Spurs versus Denver Nuggets,” Game 7 on TNT with Brian Anderson, Kevin McHale, and Dennis Scott; 4/28/19 www.nba.com “Nuggets versus Trail Blazers Series Preview: ‘Dame Time’ for Nuggets After Surviving Spurs,” by Sekou Smith; www.espn.com/nba/team/stats/schedule/_/name/por; www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/den; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Portland_Trail_Blazers_seasons. 

J-Speaks: Warriors and Rockets Run It Back in Semifinals

Last season the Houston Rockets had the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors on the ropes after winning Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference Finals. They lost their star lead guard due to injury and while they led both Games 6 and 7 at intermission, their inability to make threes and slow down the high-powered ball moving offense of their opponent they lost both games and saw the Warriors sweep the four-time defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers to win their second straight title. While took longer for this rematch to happen on the Warriors end, the two teams who played an epic Western Conference playoff series last season meet again for the second straight season and the third time in the last four years. The Rockets hope this time they can get shoot their passed them, especially since they enter this tilt more vulnerable than ever at least on the surface. 

As in any epic showdown between two heavyweight NBA squads, there will be serious star power with perennial All-Stars in two-time Kia MVP in Stephen Curry, 2014 Kia MVP and two-time Finals MVP in Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson on the Warriors side and reigning Kia MVP James Harden and nine-time All-Star Chris Paul on the Rockets side. 

While both teams had to fight off two game opponents in the First-Round in the Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz in five and six games respectably, but aside from the Warriors not having All-Star DeMarcus Cousins due to a quad injury both teams come into this series relatively healthy. However, according to Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr, the “Splash Brothers” in Curry and Thompson are questionable for Game 1 of the series that begins Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. on ABC due to right ankle injuries sustained in their 129-110 series clinching win in Game 6 at the Clippers on Friday night. 

“He’s OK,” Kerr said on Saturday of Thompson. “He and Steph both came in this morning to get some treatment…We’ll see how they’re doing [Sunday]. I’m not going to make a definitive statement on whether they’ll both play. Let’s just call it questionable. And there’s nothing implied there. They both came in today and got some work, and we’ll see how they’re doing [Sunday].” 

Just like their series last spring, head coach Mike D’Antoni team’s fate in taking down the Warriors will come down to whether they can make three-pointers consistently and can James Harden be productive offensively? 

In their Game 7 loss in the Conference Finals last season, the Rockets went 7 for 34 from distance, which included 27 consecutive misses. While Harden averaged 32 points in Game 6 and 7, but he made just 6 for 25 from three-point range in those contests. 

While Harden, a leading candidate for Kia MVP averaged 33.3 points and 9.3 assists against the Warriors during the regular-season, shot just 40 percent from the floor and 33 percent from three-point range.

The Rockets are dead set on playing their style with Harden and Paul in isolation sets with the floor spread or bust. 

Perhaps the biggest key to the Rockets finally taking down the Warriors in the postseason is Paul being healthy and productive. 

Without their floor general for Games 6 and 7 in last season’s Conference Finals, the Rockets fell to pieces in the second-half of both games and lost. 

It was a continuation of the aforementioned nine-time All-Star and his team’s dating back to his time with the Clippers and the then New Orleans Hornets of him coming up short in the playoffs whether it be due to an untimely injury or his team not being able to close out their opponent.

Good health, coupled with consistent defense, making threes consistently and a series victory over the Warriors would do wonders in changing the perception of the future Hall of Famer not being able to deliver in the postseason, where he has made just one appearance in the Conference Finals coming into this postseason in the Conference Finals. 

“We just got to worry about us,” Paul, who squad counting the playoffs improved to an 18-2 mark when holding opponent under 100 points said to TNT’s Allie LaForce about their approach going into the Conference Semis after the Rockets 100-93 win in Game 5 on Wednesday. 

Harden added in his postgame presser, “We’ve been playing some really good defense. Like I said, when we knock down shots it makes it tougher for the opposing team. So, tonight we barely got 100 but we held them [Jazz] under 100 and that’s the goal.” 

The Warriors on the other hand are dead set on moving the ball and setting screens to get each other open to score at the offensive end. That formula has served them well during this title of run of three titles in four seasons—looking to win their third in succession and fourth in the last five seasons. 

What has also helped the Warriors capture two straight Larry O’Brien trophies is that they have the most unstoppable offensive force in “The Association” in Durant, who after two below average performances in the opening-round against the Clippers finished the series in style with 38, 33, 45 and a playoff career-high 50 points in the Game 6 129-110 clinching win on Friday night on ESPN. 

The other factor that has separated the Warriors from the rest of the NBA is their ability to put the clamps on their opponent’s offensive production. 

When they brought a serious focus to that end of the floor it has resulted in victory and when they have not, especially in the First-Round against the Clippers, they have lost. 

In their victories in Games 1, 3 and 4 against the Clippers, the managed just 104, 105 and 105 points. In the defeats in Games 2 and 5 at home, the visitors from L.A. scored 135 and 129, with Kia Sixth Man of the Year candidates Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell dominating the two-time defending champs in the paint and from the perimeter. 

In the 135-131 loss in Game 2, the Warriors coughed up a 31-point second half as Williams scored a playoff career-high of 36 points and 11 assists on 13 for 22 shooting off the bench, while Harrell had 25 points with 10 rebounds hitting all nine of his field goal attempts. The Clippers in that epic comeback had 85 points after intermission making 8 for 14 from three-point range; had 34 points in the paint; registered 10 steals and scored 29 points off the Warriors turnovers. 

In their 129-121 loss in Game 5 at home, the Warriors surrendered 71 first-half points to the Clippers and finished the game shooting 54.1 percent from the field; were out-rebounded 53-43 and were outscored in the paint 54-38. It marked the third time in the Coach Kerr era they allowed 100-plus points in the first three quarters in a playoff game, which dropped them to 0-3 when that happens. 

Along with being consistent at the offensive end, the Warriors must bring a serious attention to detail at the defensive end, which starts with the three-headed monster at center with veteran Andrew Bogut, Kevon Looney and maybe Jordan Bell. Their main objective is to keep the lob-and-catch attempts at the rim for Rockets’ center Clint Capela off of either Harden or Paul pick-and-rolls to a minimum. 

Besides Bogut, Looney and Bell needing to make a impact at the defensive end, that is where former Kia Defensive Players of the Year Draymond Green, the Warriors heart-and-soul has made his presence known during this run of championships. 

The former Michigan State product has been up-and-down for much of the regular-season took responsibility for the Warriors poor defensive efforts in Games 2 and 5. In Game 6, while Durant torched the Clippers with the first 50-point performance of his playoff career, Green had the fifth triple-double of his postseason career with 16 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, and 4 block shots.  

The Warriors in that victory held the Clippers to 39.6 percent shooting; committed just 10 turnovers, while forcing 15 of their own that led to 23 points; registered nine block shots and outscored them in the paint 62-42. Harrell and Williams were held in check combining for 18 points on 7 for 28 from the field. 

“We’re confident in ourselves,” Green said to ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt after the Game 6 clincher on Friday night. “Our ability to turn defense into offense. We know what we’re capable of. We’ve shown that year-after-year, and it’s an opportunity for us to do it again.” 

Since the Warriors brought on Durant when he signed as an unrestricted free agent two summers ago, only the Rockets (8-6), Jazz (4-3) and Portland Trail Blazers (4-3) have had winning records against them, which includes the playoffs. The Warriors though have registered five wins by double-digits over the guys from “Clutch City” in their recent postseason tilts, which includes a 29-point and 41-point wins in Game 2 and 5 respectably in last season’s Conference Finals. The Rockets have had the advantage when the game have been close with a 7-3 mark in games within five points in the final five minutes. 

The quartet of Curry (4 for 13), Green (1 for 2), Durant (0 for 7) and Thompson (0 for 6) in those last 10 games shot a combined 5 for 30 from three-point range. In contrast, they shots a combined 40 for 87 from distance against the other 29 teams in the clutch during that span. 

“We have a pretty good sense of what Houston likes to do,” Curry, who had 24 points, six rebounds and six assists in the Game 6 win at the Clippers said about facing the Rockets again. “They’ll be sutile nuances we’ll have to adjust but like the momentum we created tonight and hopefully can have that will carry over Sunday.”  

The Houston Rockets played this entire season with the goal of getting another crack at beating the Warriors. They will get that opportunity for the fourth time in the last five seasons and both teams are ready for Round three. 

“We said all year lets run it back. Well okay. I guess we’re going to run it back,” Coach D’Antoni said. 

“I want to face them,” Capela said after the Game 5 clincher. “We’ve been working on it all year long. I mean if you want to be a champion you got to beat the champion. So, at some point you got to do it, right?”

“This is a series everybody’s been waiting for,” Green said to Van Pelt. “They’ve [Rockets] been talking about it for a whole year about running it back. They got what they want. The fans got what they want. Now it’s time for us to go do what we do.” 

Green added, “We don’t care who we play. We’ve shown that year-after-year. Whoever you put up there we’re ready to go. So, they wanted us, they got us. We got what we wanted, which is another series, another chance to defend a championship.”  

Prediction: Warriors in six games. 

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 4/24/19 8 p.m. “Utah Jazz versus Houston Rockets,” Game 5 First-Round on TNT with Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, and Allie LaForce; 4/25/19 1 a.m. edition of “Inside the NBA,” presented by Kia on TNT with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal; 4/27/19 1 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by State Farm with Casey Stern, Steve Smith and Billy King; 4/27/19 www.nba.com West Semifinals Preview: “Rockets Aim To Finally Knock Off Rival Warriors,” by Shaun Powell; 4/26/19 10 p.m. “Golden State Warriors versus Los Angeles Clippers,” on ESPN presented by Mountain Dew with Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, and Doris Burke; 4/27/19 1 a.m. edition of ESPN’s “Sportscenter,” with Scott Van Pelt; 4/28/19 www.espn.com story, “Kerr: Curry, Thompson questionable for Game 1,” by Nick Friedell;  www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/gs; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Houston_Rockets_seasons.

J-Speaks: The 2019 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals Preview

The 2019 Eastern Conference Semifinals will feature the Top 4 teams record wise in the conference this season. While the teams that finished 5-8 in the East had great seasons, the best-of-the-best of the East are finally going to tangle. The unexpected No. 1 Seed in East will go against the supposed favorite coming at No. 4. While the No. 2 and No. 3 Seeded teams meet for the first time since the Semis 18 years ago. After this round, two franchises will be one step closer to The Finals, while two others will see their season end in disappointment and possibly be changed for a number of years. Here is the J-Speaks 2019 East Semifinals Preview.

(1)   Milwaukee Bucks versus (4) Boston Celtics
                (60-22)                                 (49-33)

Season Series: Bucks won 2-1.

Postseason History: Celtics lead all-time 5-1.

The No. 1 versus the No. 4 Seed features the boys from “Beantown” who were expected to be the best in the East against a team that not only was the best in the conference and beat them during the regular-season but had the best record in the entire NBA. 

Last season the Boston Celtics defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in the First-Round of the 2018 Playoffs in seven games, with each team winning on their respective home courts. This time around it is the Bucks who will have home court advantage to start this series but unlike last season, the Celtics will have their two All-Stars in Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. 

The Bucks will be different entering this series as well with the possible Kia MVP to be in Giannis Antetekounmpo and the leading candidate for Kia Coach of the Year in first-year head coach Mike Budenholzer. 

Behind Antetokounmpo’s averages of 26.2 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 blocks on 52.1 percent shooting, the Bucks swept the No. 8 Seeded Detroit Pistons in the opening-round 4-0 to win their first postseason series since 2001. 

“The Greek Freak” was especially brilliant in the close out game at the Pistons on Monday night with a playoff career-high of 41 points with nine rebounds and four block shots on 12 for 23 from the field and 15 for 20 from the free throw line. 

“I remember our first playoff series (in 2015),” Antetokounmpo said about the team’s six-game opening-round loss in his first playoff appearance against the Chicago Bulls four postseasons back. “Chicago, the last game, Game 6, they beat us by 50 or something insane. But where we were and where we are right now, it’s been an unbelievable journey.” 

He added about facing the Celtics again in the playoffs, "We lost Game 7. Hopefully we still have that in our minds. Focus on what we got to do now and try to win this series and not repeat what we did last year." 

First-year head coach Mike Budenholzer has not brought out the best in Antetokounmpo, he coached up the supporting cast. 

First-time All-Star Khris Middleton, who averaged 19.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists against the Pistons has become that secondary scorer to compliment Antetokounmpo. Eric Bledsoe had turned into that solid point guard who can score and run the team where he is getting the ball to his teammates like Middleton and Antetokounmpo to score. Those three will need to bring their A+ game and more against the Celtics and they know it. 

“It’s going to be a dogfight,” Bledsoe, who will be the primary defender on Irving this upcoming series said. “It’s not a one man, who-versus-who. It’s a team game. So, we definitely got to come here locked in.”  

The Bucks will also need to get even more brilliant play out of the likes of Brook Lopez, who has given the Bucks veteran leadership, a serious three-point threat and a shot blocker and rim protector at the defensive end. 

Veterans in George Hill, Ersan Ilyasova, Pat Connaughton, Sterling Brown, who went 11 for 19 shooting in the First-Round against the Pistons, Nikola Mirotic and D.J. Wilson have been great all season long and they brought that as well in the opening-round against the Pistons, which more than made up for the absence of Tony Snell, veteran big man Pau Gasol, and starting guard Malcolm Brogdon who were out with injuries but are expected to play at some point in the Semis against the Celtics. 

"For the most part Giannis is going to do his thing. I'm going to do my thing. Bled is going to do his thing, but the supporting cast is much more ready I think this year to step up and provide big minutes for us," Middleton, who averaged 24.7 points on 60 percent from the field and 60 percent from three-point range against the Celtics in the 2018 postseason.   

The return of Brogdon, who has been out since sustaining a plantar fascia tear in his foot on Mar. 15 when he does return gives the Bucks another ball handler, three-point shooter (42.6 percent-8^th NBA) but an offensive threat who can make plays off the dribble to score himself or make plays for his teammates. 

Coach Budenholzer said that Brogdon will not be available the first two games against the Celtics. His status will be reassessed after that. 

“When he’s we’ll welcome him back with open arms,” Budenholzer said about Brogdon. “Until then the group needs to continue to do what they’ve been doing…Looking forward to when he comes but we’ll figure that out when it happens.”  

In their three-game season series where they won two of those tilts, the Bucks averaged 110.3 points on 47 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Bucks by an average of nine (51.7 to 42.7). They will need to have the kind of production against a Celtics teams that comes in on a high note after their four-game sweep in the opening-round.

After a season which featured more twist and turns for the Celtics, they got it together and sweeping the Indiana Pacers 4-0 in the opening round, displaying that togetherness, depth and defensive focus that was lacking at times during the regular-season.

Irving, who averaged 22.5 points and 7.8 assists, hitting 42.3 percent of his threes against the Pacers was able to find a very solid balance from scoring himself and making plays for his teammates in Jayson Tatum, Marcus Morris, Al Horford, Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward. 

Hayward, who spent much of this season trying to regain the form he had during his days with the Utah Jazz before the serious leg injury he sustained minutes into last season played like he was nearly back to the form that made him an All-Star. 

In the team’s 110-106 victory last Sunday afternoon on ABC, Hayward had 20 points off the bench going 3 for 3 from three-point range. Also, in that win Tatum and Morris had 18 points and eight boards each and Horford had 14 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. 

To bring home the point of what Hayward did on Sunday, he scored 20 points for just the seventh time this season, his first of this postseason. The Celtics have not lost in those seven chances. 

In their 104-96 victory in Game 3 last week, Brown, who had eight total points on 4 for 11 shooting, including 0 for 5 from three-point range in the Celtics two home wins in the series had 23 points on 8 for 9 shooting in the 104-96 win, including making 4 for 5 from three-point range. 

“Different nights it might be somebody different based off a matchup. Based off somebody’s potentially a little banged up. Based off somebody’s just having a good night and somebody’s not,” Hayward said after the win in Game 4. “I think that’s where we can be dangerous.” 

Irving, who had 14 points and seven assists in the Game 4 clincher added by saying, “We have a great diet of plays that we want to run that work and we have guys that want to make plays. And when you put the ball in their hands, and they’re able to do that then we’re pretty successful.” 

What has made the Celtics successful the last couple of seasons as the East runner-up has been their ability to play consistent defense, which they did against the Pacers, who went from averaging 107 points during the regular-season to 91.8 in the four-game sweep. 

What made that even more impressive is they did it without their best defender in Marcus Smart, who was on the shelf due to a serious oblique injury that he sustained late in the regular-season and is out indefinitely. 

A key loss like that would cripple most teams but because of the Celtics depth and their display of focus and maturity that was lacking at times during said regular-season have shown well so far in the Playoffs and will have to continue if they want to beat the best team in NBA in the Bucks, who not only can strike a match from three-point range but put a lot of pressure on you defensively with their ability to score in the open floor led by Antetokounmpo. 

“We talked about it as a positive,” Coach Stevens said about the team’s depth. “We knew coming into the year it was going to be a challenge. But if it all comes together it can be a positive. We’re still hopefully trending upward. We want to be playing better each time we take the court.” 

The Celtics will have to play at an even higher level especially defensively because the Bucks do have a star player that will require their undivided attention in Antetokounmpo, who averaged 31.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.7 blocks against them during the regular-season. 

Horford like in last season’s playoffs got the assignment of checking “The Greek Freak” and in two of the three games of the season series did a decent job against him. 

The Bucks might also use reserve forward Semi Ojeleye, who barely played in the First-Round as another defender on Antetokounmpo. 

The main key for the Celtics to win this series against the Bucks is they have to keep them from scoring in the paint and at the charity stripe. In the three-game season series, the Bucks outscored them combined with free throws made and points in the restricted area 174-117.

The Celtics enter this series as the more experience team in the postseason, who has shown that they can execute a game plan when they can focus their attention on a single opponent. This time around against the Bucks they have Irving and Hayward in the battle with them and they have won already two games on the road in the postseason after going just 1-7 away from TD Garden last year. The Bucks however are a different team. Antetokounmpo, who averaged 25.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists against the Celtics last postseason has gotten better individually and the supporting cast around him is even better. 

Prediction: Bucks in seven games.   

(2)   Toronto Raptors versus (3) Philadelphia 76ers

                       (60-22)                                  (49-33)

Season Series: Raptors won 3-1

Postseason History: 76ers defeated the Raptors in 2001 East Semis 4-3.

Both the Toronto Raptors and the Philadelphia 76ers made major roster moves either this past off-season, during the season and at the February trade deadline with the intention of representing the East and competing for the Larry O’Brien trophy. While continuity has been very foreign to these two teams, who went the distance in their East Semis tilt in 2001, their talent and how they responded to challenges in their respective opening-round matchups has them primed to move one step closer to The Finals. 

The All-Star tandem of Kyle Lowry and blockbuster acquisition in two-time Kia Defensive Player of the Year and 2014 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard played just 43 games together in the regular-season for the Raptors, which included just 19 total games after acquiring All-Star and former Kia Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies for the Raptors. 

Their opponent the Philadelphia 76ers, had played, including the postseason a total of 14 games with their starting quintet of All-Stars Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, who they acquired back in November 2018 and Ben Simmons; Tobias Harris, who was acquired on Feb. 6 and veteran sharp shooter JJ Redick. 

Both squads stumbled to open the First-Round against their respective opponents dropping Game 1. Both squads quickly got back on track as the 76ers and Raptors took down the Brooklyn Nets and the Orlando Magic in five games respectably. 

The Sixers ousted the Nets 4-1 by outscoring them by a plus-52 points in the paint (292-240). Their 68 points in the paint in their 122-100 victory in the closeout Game 5 versus the Nets on Tuesday night on TNT were the most by a team in a postseason game the last five years. The 76ers average of 122.4 points against the Nets was the most through five playoff games since 1989. 

The biggest reason the Sixers were able to dominate the Nets down low was Embiid made it his business to dominate, averaging 24.8 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in the five games on 51 percent from the field. 

Head Coach Brett Brown will need Embiid, who has been dealing with a sore left knee that shelved him for 14 of the final 24 games of the regular-season as well as in the team’s 131-115 win in Game 3 at the Nets to be healthy and focused if they want to not only to get past the Raptors but win a championship. 

They will also need to have better production in the paint, where the Raptors in winning three of the four games during the regular-season outscored them on average of 54.5 to 45.5 in the paint. 

“We think we can win it all,” Embiid, who averaged 26.3 points and 11.8 rebounds against the Raptors this season said to the media after the Game 5 win, “Obviously it’s going to take a lot. You got some great teams in the league. We about to play one of them.” 

“We just got to take one game at a time. But we understand that we got all the talent we need, especially to win it all.” 

That talent around Embiid includes Simmons, Harris, and Redick, who got themselves right in the final four games of the series after a clunker of a performance in Game 1, where they combined for a total of just 18 points in the 111-102 loss versus the Nets two Saturday ago. The trio combined for 54 points in the 76ers 145-123 win in Game 2 and 86 combined points in the 131-115 win in Game 3. 

“We have a team that is slowly coming together,” Coach Brown, whose starting five counting this past series has played a total of 14 games together. “Like they don’t have the luxury of lots of games and lots go context to share upon. And so, you know, you have Jo [Embiid], you don’t. You have Jimmy Butler, you don’t. These guys have been great on Trying to form a team and so, this is good Beating Brooklyn and advancing to the Second-Round, this is good. So, when you say lofty goals versus reaching the Second-Round, we have more to do.”

After dropping Game 1 versus the Magic on Apr. 13 104-101 thanks to a game-winning triple by guard D.J. Augustin, the Atlantic Division champion Raptors never allowed their opponent from Walt Disney World to hit the century mark again in the series allowing an average of just 91.4 points in the series. 

First-year head coach Nick Nurse’s team forced an average of 16.8 Magic turnovers and held them to 38 for 145 from three-point range for the rest of the series after the went 14 for 29 from three-point range in Game 1. 

While the 76ers have perhaps the best starting quintet outside the back-to-back defending champion Golden State Warriors, the Raptors boast one of the best two-way players in “The Association” in Leonard, who was sensational against the Magic with averages 27.8 points and 6.6 rebounds on 55.6 percent from the floor and 53.8 percent from three-point range in the opening-round. 

He was exceptionally impressive against the Raptors during the regular-season with averages of 30.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, four steals on 48.1 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from three-point range. 

As good as he was offensively, he was just as exceptional defensively, especially against Simmons forcing him into 24 total turnovers in the three games he played he played against the 76ers during the regular-season.

In the 76ers lone victory versus the Raptors 126-101 on Dec. 22, 2018, Leonard did not play as the 76ers outscored the Raptors 61-42 in the second half. The Sixers out-rebounded the Raptors in that win 61-47; had 33 assists to just 13 turnovers; forced the Raptors into 17 turnovers, 10 of which on steals; scored 33 fast break points and outscored them in the paint 60-44. 

In the four-game series against the 76ers, the Raptors forced them into an average of 18.8 turnovers per game, while only committing 13.8 themselves.  

Along with the play of Leonard, the Raptors have gotten great play from leading Kia Most Improved Player candidate in Pascal Siakam, who averaged 22.6 points and 8.4 rebounds against the Magic. 

For the Raptors to go get past the 76ers and be one step as mentioned closer to The Finals, Kyle Lowry, who in his postseason career has had his high and low points and that continued in the opening-round. He did not score in Game 1 going 0 for 7 from the floor but played well with outputs of 22, 12, nine and 14 points the next four games. That said he cannot shoot 39.8 percent from the floor if the Raptors are going to beat his hometown squad.  

“It’s going to be a good matchup,” Lowry, who went 6 for 10 shooting in Game 5 clincher said to TNT’s Jared Greenberg. “It’s going to be fun but we got to go out there. Do our job. Try to impose our will on them and stay the course.”

He added about playing against his hometown squad, “Just another stepping stone for our big goal. We know what type of team they are. What they represent. What they bring and we got to go out and play our brand of basketball.”  

They will also need the supporting cast which includes the likes of former Spur and NBA champion Danny Green, who came in the off-season trade with Leonard along with Gasol to perform as they have in the past postseasons. 

In his two prior tilts while with the Memphis Grizzlies, Gasol had some success guarding Embiid, who went 8 for 28 shooting. Gasol will also need to make shots from the perimeter to drag Embiid and his backup Bojan Marjanovic away from the basket, which will give his teammates driving lanes. 

“Obviously it’s a team with tremendous size, right? Starting right off the bat with Embiid inside, but there big all over,” Coach Nurse, whose team counting the playoffs is 11-2 their last 13 games said. “They got the biggest center in the league and maybe the biggest point guard in the league in Simmons.” 

“So, it presents some matchup issues. I know it’s a lot of talent on the floor on both teams. So, it should be a great series.” 

Perhaps the biggest key in this series is the play of the benches. On paper, the Raptors have the advantage with the likes of Serge Ibaka, Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell, Jeremy Lin and Jodie Meeks over the 76ers reserves in the previously mentioned Marjanovic, James Ennis III, Jonathon Simmons, T.J. McConnell, Greg Monroe and Mike Scott, who may not be available to start this series after sustaining a contusion to his right heel in the aforementioned Game 5 clincher versus the Nets. 

Given all that both teams invested giving the trades they made for players, who will be unrestricted free agents this summer, both teams come into this series motivated to win and get one step closer to The Finals, with the loser having potentially having to really revamp their respective roster. 

The 76ers have a matchup advantage in the middle with Embiid and he looked very healthy the final two games of the First-Round than at the start. However, the defensive savviness of Gasol along with lengthy and athleticism at the wings and at power forward, the Raptors matchup well with the 76ers. The Raptors will have home court advantage, a deeper team and are have no injuries to any of their key personnel. However, they are just 2-14 all-time in Game 1s coming into this series, including just a 1-8 mark at home. 

In 2001, the series went seven games, won by the 76ers on their home floor with former Raptor and future Hall of Famer Vince Carter missing the potential series-winning jumper at the buzzer and Hall of Famer and 2001 Kia MVP Allen Iverson led 76ers eventually went on to The NBA Finals falling to the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant led Los Angeles Lakers in The Finals in five games. The Raptors hope with having home court advantage history does not repeat itself. 

Prediction: Raptors in seven games.

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 4/19/19 1 a.m. edition of “Inside the NBA,” presented by Kia on TNT with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal; 4/23/19 East Semifinals Preview: Milwaukee Bucks versus Boston Celtics and 4/24/19 East Series Preview: Toronto Raptors versus Philadelphia 76ers by John Schuhmann via www.nba.com ; 4/24/19 1 a.m. edition “Inside the NBA,” presented by Kia on TNT with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal; 4/24/19 3 a.m. edition of ESPN's "Sportscenter;" www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/3032977/type/nba/seasontype/3; www.espn.com/nba/player/splits/_/id/3032977/giannis-antetokounmpo; www.espn.com/nba/team/stats/_/name/mil; 4/27/19 2 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by State Farm with Casey Stern, Steve Smith and Billy King; 4/28/19 12:30 a.m. edition of "Inside the NBA," presented by Kia on TNT with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O'Neal; www.espn.com/nba/matchup?gameid=404071162; www.espn.com/nba/team/stats/_/name/tor; www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/6450/kawhi-leonard; and www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/3012/kyle-lowry.

J-Speaks: Thunder Fall In First-Round Again

There is nothing more disappointing then losing in the opening-round of the NBA Playoffs, especially when you have two dynamic players and you go against a team you swept in the regular season, and that you have a serious monkey you are trying to get off your back. The Oklahoma City Thunder enter the 2019 NBA Playoffs with a favorable matchup despite not having homecourt advantage against the Portland Trail Blazers, who they swept 4-0 in their regular-season series. Even on the brink of elimination in Game 4 on Tuesday night, they were pretty confident about sending the series back to their gym up 15 with 7 ½ minutes left. Unfortunately for the Thunder, who did a lot of talking showboating during this series the Trail Blazers and their All-Star lead guard would have the last word. 

Trail Blazers four-time All-Star Damian Lillard capped his 50-point performance by nailing a game-winning three-pointer at the final buzzer over fellow All-Star Paul George to win Game 5 118-115 and the series over the Thunder 4-1. 

Despite a triple-double by 2017 Kia MVP Russell Westbrook of 29 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds with four steals and two block shots in 44 minutes and 36 points and nine rebounds in 42 minutes from George, the Trail Blazers closed the game on 28-10 run that was capped by Lillard’s 10^th three of the night in 18 tries in the Game 5 cincher. 

“That’s a bad shot. Don’t care what anybody says, that’s a bad shot,” George, who was 14 for 20 shooting in the loss said during his postgame presser. “But hey, he made it. That story will be told it was a bad shot. You live with that.”

What is hard to live with though is this was the 12^th straight road loss in the postseason for a Thunder team that also dropped to a 4-12 mark in the postseason since 2014 Kia MVP Kevin Durant left in free agency to join the now back-to-back defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors.  

There are a lot of questions of what went wrong for a Thunder team that had their perennial All-Star lead guard in Westbrook average a triple-double for a third straight season of 22.9 points, a league-leading 10.7 assists and 11.1 rebounds (10^th NBA) and a sidekick in George, who averaged career-highs of 28.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.2 steals (2^nd NBA), on 38.6 percent from three-point range? 

For starters, after going 37-20 in the unofficial first half of the 2018-19 regular-season, they went 12-13 following the February All-Star break. 

The other issue is that Westbrook despite averaging a triple-double during the regular-season for a third consecutive season, he went through the worst shooting season of his career. He shot just 42.8 percent from the field, the second worst of his career; 29.0 percent from three-point range, his lowest since shooting 29.8 percent last season and career-low 65.6 percent from the charity stripe. 

Throughout the season, the entire Thunder squad from head coach Billy Donovan, to Westbrook to the rest of the roster did not seem too concerned about Westbrook’s shooting struggles and thought that things would eventually turnaround for him. 

It did not and it only got worse against the Trail Blazers, whether it was from distance or from in close.

In the Game 5 loss at the Trail Blazers, Westbrook was just 11 for 31 from the floor, which included going 4 for 11 from three-point range and made just 5 of his 13 shot attempts within five feet of the basket. 

To bring this point into clearer context, Westbrook made just 20 of his 41 shots from less than five feet in the series.  

Speaking of shooting, the Thunder’s shooting struggles as a team really showed in this series. Take away their 15 for 29 performance from distance in their Game 3 win, The Thunder shot 37 for 128 (28.9 percent) from three-point range combined in the other four games of this series. 

“The one thing that Sam Presti [Thunder general manager], one of the best GM’s did to fail Russell Westbrook and this squad is their lack of shooting,” NBA studio analyst Jalen Rose said on ESPN’s morning show “Get Up!” on Tuesday morning. “When you have a guy like Russ who can get to the basket at will, you have to surround him with knockdown shooters. They don’t have that.” 

“So, all of sudden, a guy like CJ McCollum can rest on D [Defense] and stand next to [Terrence] Ferguson because he’s not going to get the ball. [Dennis] Schroder played well but I don’t want to see Raymond Felton playing playoff minutes. Every time he checks into the game, I’m like, ‘I’m glad I did not file my retirement papers. Like, there’s still hope for me.’”

The point that Rose was trying to drive home is that the supporting cast of Jerami Grant, Schroder, Markieff Morris, Steven Adams have had their moments during the regular-season and in the playoffs but they did not a serious difference needed to beat a team like the Trail Blazers. 

For much of Game 5 when Lillard got going offensively, especially in the pick-and-roll, it was Adams who they put in the action where Lillard was coming off and shooting uncontested shots, especially from three-point range. 

What makes this even more tough for the Thunder is they will not be able to do much in terms of improving the supporting cast around Westbrook and George this off-season as their projected payroll for the 2019-20 season will be $150 million, which does not include a $60 million luxury tax bill.

Even with the likes of reserves Patrick Patterson ($5.7 million) and Nerlens Noel with player options for next season, the Thunder only have the $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception to bring in a difference maker to the team.  

The other way to look at this though is the Thunder have roster stability for the first time in nearly five seasons, a similar position that as the team that beat them. 

The Trail Blazers hung together and not making a move out of desperation from firing the head coach, trading of the star player, or doing something to shake things up after 10 straight postseason losses, which includes a four-game sweep at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans last spring in the First-Round. 

It only works though when you take a good hard look in the mirror and face the reality of their postseason failures. That is what Lillard displayed in this series on the court and to the media. 

That brings us back to Westbrook. Throughout his career, he has shown an unwavering confidence, unshakable mental fortitude, and a relentless competitive spirit. When it is in the right calibration to where he is not taking on all comers from getting his teammates consistently involved but does not allow the naysayers from the outside from fans and the media, his way works. When one of those is not in concert with the others from his will to win supersedes smart decisions and making sure the Thunder have quality possessions, the team as they showed in this series fell apart. 

The Trail Blazers dared Westbrook to beat them, as a Trail Blazers assistant coach told his players that checked into the game during the series, “Let Russ shoot.” 

The result in Game 5, Westbrook had as mentioned his second triple-double of the series and 10^th of his postseason career but it took him 31 shots to get his 29 points. 

It did not help either that George played a majority of the post All-Star break with both shoulders injured. 

This occurrence put a reset a lot of the Thunder’s makeup as Westbrook went back to the primary offensive option after playing more of a secondary role to George for much of the season. 

While Westbrook caught a better offensive rhythm compared to the start of the season shooting wise, the triple-doubles came in bunches but the locker room became more tense and the joy that was evident early on in the regular-season was gone.

Which leads to the question is can Westbrook change? 

As great of talent that he is, he is a very stubborn person who feels that how he plays is good enough even when it can be a detriment to the team at times. Also, he can be very difficult to ask questions to, especially after games. Just ask Barry Tramel of The Oklahoman, who repeatedly when asked a question by him would answer, “Next question?” 

“It’s all part of the business,” Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said to “The Athletic” at the start of this week about how Westbrook has treated the like of Tramel when asked questions they do not like. “You’ve got to feed information to the fans. You don’t have to give a great answer, but it’s dangerous when you go down that path of no communication because one of the reasons people like the league right now is, we have a lot of great players, really good guys who handle themselves well. So, don’t kill that. You’ve got to keep that going. That’s a big part of the business.” 

The other thing that this does is it sends a bad message to the rest of the team to where they can be disrespectful to the press when they have to face the music when they face tough times like failing to make it out of the opening-round for the third straight season. 

The Thunder for over a decade have been known for having a rock-solid culture. They have been a regular in the postseason, even in the three seasons following Durant’s departure via free agency. Beginning with this off-season though, the Thunder have to make some kind of change internally to get over this playoff hump. 

It is unfathomable that for three straight seasons that Westbrook has averaged a triple-double and the team has just four playoff wins to show for it. 

The other options from trading Westbrook or George or firing head coach Billy Donovan are not viable. They have to get better from within. 

In order for this team to reach its full potential, Russell Westbrook the face of the franchise and one of the best players in the NBA has to change in his game and in his demeanor both on the floor and with the media. 

If Westbrook does not adjust in some way and the team does not show growth, this trend of early exits in the postseason will continue and the career of a dynamic talent will go to waist. 

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 4/22/19 3 p.m. edition of “NBA: The Jump,” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Amin Elhassan, and Byron Scott; https://www.nba.com/games/20190423/OKCPOR#/video/boxscore; 4/24/19 www.espn.com story, “The Questions Get Interesting for Westbrook, PG and ousted OKC,” by Royce Young; 4/24/19 1 a.m. edition of “Inside the NBA,” presented by Kia on TNT with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal; 4/24/19 6:30 p.m. edition of NBATV’s “The Starters,” presented by Jack Daniels No. 7 and Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey with Tas Melas, J.E. Skeets, Leigh Ellis, and Trey Kerby; www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/okc; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Thunder#Franchise_accomplishments;  www.espn.com/nba/statistics; www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/3468/russell-westbrook; and www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4251/paul-george.