J-Speaks: 2021 NBA Playoff Preview

 

In a season like no other where the 2020-21 National Basketball Association NBA season took place in the middle of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and a slew of injuries to some of the best players in the league, the most exciting stretch of campaign is about to begin season, the Playoffs. This upcoming NBA postseason like previous others will be chalk full of questions like can the defending champions from Hollywood repeat title without having any homecourt advantage. Can the so-called little brother of the defending champions final break through and at least reach the so-called NBA’s Final Four? Which of the East’s Top three squads from the boys from the City of Brotherly Love, the boys from the main borough of New York or from the cheese state represent the East in The Finals emerge to represent the East in the Finals? Which of the three squads from “The Valley of the Sun” from the ATL or from “The Big Apple” make their first playoff appearance in quite sometime can show that they will have their voice heard? That is what will be explored in the J-Speaks: 2021 NBA Playoff Preview.

Eastern Conference

(8) Washington Wizards versus (1) Philadelphia 76ers

                   (34-38)                                     (49-23)

PHI: Won the season-series 3-0

The boys from the “City of Brotherly Love” begin their playoff journey with aspirations of reaching The Finals for the first time in two decades against an opponent who overcame being 15 games under .500 in early April to winning if you count the just completed inaugural Play-In Tournament 18 of their final 25 games to earn their first appearance in the postseason after a one-year absence.

After a disappointing First-Round exit at the hands of the Boston Celtics in a four-game sweep in the playoffs in Orlando, FL a season ago, the Philadelphia 76ers new they had to make some changes if they wanted to make their title dreams a reality.

For starters, the 76ers front office added new general manager extraordinaire Darryl Morey, who went out and hired new head coach Glenn “Doc” Rivers.

They added via free agency and trade veterans and championship experience in Seth Curry (12.5 ppg, 46.7 FG%, 45.0 3-Pt.%), Danny Green (9.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 40.5 3-Pt.%), and Dwight Howard (7.0 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 58.7 FG%) to add to the supporting cast of Furkan Korkmaz (9.1 ppg, 37.5 3-Pt.%), Shake Milton (13.0 ppg, 45.0 FG% 35.0 3-Pt.%) Matisse Thybulle, and rookie Tyrese Maxey.

That being said, the 76ers in the championship conversation because of their All-Star duo of Joel Embiid (28.5 ppg-4^th NBA-career-high, 10.6 rpg, 51.3 FG%, 37. 3-Pt.%, and 85.9 FT%), a top candidate for Kia MVP and Ben Simmons (14.3 ppg, 6.9 apg, 7.2 rpg, 1.6 spg-6^th NBA, 55.7 FG%), leading candidate for Kia Defensive Player of the Year.

Over the past three seasons, the 76ers led by Embiid and Simmons have been a talented team that many believed were going to break through and reach The Finals. That has not happened, and that was a major reason why Rivers was brought in to coach this team up to reach that goal of bringing a title back to Philadelphia, PA.

So far, things have worked quite well with Embiid having a career year thanks to solid health, even though he missed 21 games, when he was on the floor, he dominated the competition with 23 games scoring 30-plus points, including five games scoring 40-plus points.

Simmons who finally had a coach in Rivers who allowed him to play to his strengths like how he can score in the paint and defend nearly all five positions and not put too much emphasis on his inability to make jumpers, let alone take them and his inconsistencies at the foul line.

Simmons will be looking to make his mark in particular as he missed last postseason because of a knee injury that occurred during the restart last season.  

Along with the strong play of Embiid and Simmons, Tobias Harris (19.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.5 apg-career-high, 51.2 FG%-career-high, 39.4 3-Pt.%) has played at a level that he did in his time with the Los Angeles Clippers, where he was coached by Rivers a few years ago.

When Harris scored 20 points or more during the regular season, the 76ers have gone 24-8.

When Simmons, Curry, Embiid, Harris, and Green have started together this season, the 76ers went 27-5 (22-18 with any other starting combination), including 16-0 at home at Wells Fargo Center.

Their continuity was especially displayed at the defensive end, where they tied for No. 1 in steals per game at 9.1; No. 2 block shots per game at 6.2; No. 4 in opponent’s field goal percentage at 45.3 percent; No. 9 in opponent’s three-point percentage at 36.0 percent; and No. 5 in point differential.

That completeness the 76ers have shown this season is a major reason why they finished with the 2^nd best home record in the NBA (29-7), and over the past two seasons when it has been safe enough for fans to attend games at the Wells Fargo center, the 76ers have gone 42-6 at home.  

As for the 76ers opponent in the Washington Wizards, the fact that they are even in the playoffs is cause for celebration.

After a last second loss (103-101) at the Raptors on Apr. 5, the Wizards were 17-32 and their realistic hopes of making the inaugural Play-In Tournament all but dashed.

From that point on, the Wizards went 17-6 the final 23 games to close the regular season, and after losing 118-100 at the No. 7 Seeded Celtics in the first Play-In game, they took down the No. 9 Seeded Indiana Pacers 142-115 earning their first playoff appearance since 2018.

The two biggest reasons the Wizards are back in the playoffs are Russell Westbrook, who for the fourth time in the last five seasons averaged a triple-double of 22.2 points, 11.7 assists (led NBA), and 11.5 rebounds (6^th NBA).

His backcourt mate in fellow All-Star Bradley Beal was just as spectacular averaging 31.3 points (career-high), No. 2 in the NBA behind fellow perennial All-Star and two-time league MVP Stephen Curry on a career-high 48.5 percent from the field, and 34.9 three-point percentage.

To put into context how great the Wizards starting backcourt was for head coach Scott Brooks this regular season, Westbrook finished second behind Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets in double-doubles with 59 and led the league in triple-doubles with 38, and the Wizards went 20-18 when Westbrook registered a triple-double, including a mark of 20-13 after starting the season 0-5.

Beal had registered 56 career games scoring 30 or more his first seven seasons. He has totaled 65 such games the past two seasons (31 in 2019-20 and 34 in 2020-21).

“Resiliency,” Westbrook said postgame to the “Inside the NBA” on TNT crew of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal about how the Wizards made the playoffs after a rough start to the season.

“We’ve been through so much. COVID, injuries, but we stuck with it. We had a time in our season where we could’ve quit. But the guys in the locker room didn’t do it. Did an amazing job of sticking with each other. Sticking to do what we do and what we know, and we just put ourselves in position to be in the playoffs.”

After registering a subpar performance in the first game of the Play-In Tournament against the Wizards where Beal and Westbrook combined to go 16 for 43 from the field, including 1 for 10 from three-point range combined at the Celtics, with Beal scoring 22 points with nine rebounds and six assists and Westbrook producing 22 points and 14 boards, but just five assists both players bounced back in the win versus the Pacers as Beal had 25 points on 9 for 17 shooting, including 4 for 7 from three-point range and Westbrook had 18 points, 15 assists and five boards on 6 for 13 shooting.

Westbrook, who had 13 of his 14 rebounds in the first half at the Celtics admitted to the “Inside the NBA” crew that his play was “terrible” and that he wanted to versus the Pacers set the right tone from the opening-tip in all aspects of the game, which he did.

Beal and Westbrook, who Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard acquired this past offseason for fellow perennial All-Star John Wall are the reasons why the Wizards overcame the early season and midseason struggles of dealing with a COVID-10 outbreak that kept the Wizards from even being able to practice. Injuries throughout the season where they lost starting center Thomas Bryant (torn ACL left knee) and rookie Deni Avdija back in April (fractured right ankle), and the inability to consistently defend at a high-level night-in and night-out.

Along with the play of Westbrook and Beal, the Wizards got some high-quality play from the supporting cast of second year forward Rui Hachimura (13.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 47.8 FG%), center Robin Lopez (9.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 63.3 FG%), Davis Bertans (11.5 ppg, 39.5 3-Pt.%), Raul Neto (8.7 ppg, 46.8 FG%, 39.0 3-Pt.%), Ish Smith (6.7 ppg, 3.9 apg, 36.7 3-Pt.%), and Garrison Mathews.

GM Sheppard at the Mar. 25 trade deadline bolstered the Wizards front court in acquiring from the Chicago Bulls in big man Daniel Gafford (7.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg), who went from averaging 4.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 12.4 minutes with the boys from the “Windy City” in 31 games to averaging 10.1 points and 5.6 rebounds in 17.7 minutes.

In the win versus the Pacers that punched the Wizards postseason ticket, Gafford had the best game of his young career with 15 points, 13 rebounds and five block shots off the bench.

“We got some tough guys in this locker room that I believe in with everything that we have and hopefully we can shock the world,” Westbrook said about facing the No. 1 Seeded 76ers in the First-Round of the playoffs starting this weekend. “Take one game at a time, get ready for Philly and take care of business.”

In their three regular-season tilts, the 76ers won by an average of 12.3 points in the three meetings.

Against the Wizards, Embiid was magnificent averaging 30 points and 9.7 rebounds on 60 percent shooting from the floor.

“He’s one of the best bigs and one of the best bigs in a long time,” Coach Brooks said about Embiid. “Like I told our guys, there’s no reason to fear anybody you play against…They put there socks on one at a time like us, unless they do something different and put them on at the same time.”

Humor is always a good way to approach an impossible task. But it will take more than humor for Lopez and Gafford and the rest of the Wizards to handle a top candidate for league MVP in Embiid.

The Wizards will for sure send double and possibly triple teams at Embiid, which means there will be open shots for Harris, Curry, Green, and Korkmaz to take and if they can hit their shots, especially from three-point range like they did at 47 percent against the Wizards during the regular season, that give more room for Embiid to dominate.

If there is any 76ers player looking forward to this postseason is Harris, especially after connecting on just 38.1 percent of his shots, including 24.1 percent from three-point range (14-58) combined in the 2019 East Semifinals against the eventual NBA champion Toronto Raptors and in the 2020 First-Round against the Celtics.

The Wizards will for sure sag off Simmons and dare him to take jumpers, which he will probably take the opportunity to drive to the rim and create havoc that way. Though it might make things a lot easier if he keeps the defense honest and take a few shots from the perimeter to see how things go.

Beal averaged 36.7 points on 56 percent shooting against the Wizards, producing games of 29 points and 14 rebounds, 38 points, eight boards and five assists, and 23 points and six boards in the 127-101 victory in the Mar. 12 meeting in D.C., where he injured his knee in the third quarter and missed the next 10 games. The 76ers went 7-3 without Embiid for that stretch.

To put into context how dominant the 76ers were against the Wizards during the regular season, Beal scored a career-high of 60 points, with 57 of those points coming in the first three quarters, managing just three points in the fourth quarter missing his final five field goal attempts in the 141-136 loss at the 76ers on Jan. 6. Beal’s 60 points tied perennial All-Star guard of the Portland Trail Blazers Damian Lillard, the Celtics Kemba Walker, and Hall of Famer Bernard for the second most points in a loss since 1984.

In the three meetings, the Wizards defense showed little to no resistance giving up on averaged to the 76ers 127.0 points on 54 percent from the field and 47 percent from three-point range.

In the first two games that were in the clutch category (within five points the final five minutes), the 76ers were better scoring 31 points on 23 clutch possessions while the Wizards managed just 15 points on 20 clutch possessions.

If the Wizards have any plans of making this series competitive, they will need Beal and Westbrook to play beyond great if not exceptional.

That means Beal will have to score at a high clip, which will not be easy because Coach Rivers can through the likes of Simmons, Thybulle, and Green on him to slow him down and have to score on a high volume of shot attempts.

They will also for sure make Westbrook beat them from the perimeter and limit his and the Wizards opportunities in transition and in the paint.

In the four games (counting the Play-In contest), the Wizards outscored the Pacers 308-220 in the paint and 88-40 in fast break points.

What this means is that the likes of Bertans, Gafford, Neto, Lopez, and Mathews will have to rise to the moment and make the most of their offensive opportunities off the attention Beal and Westbrook will attract from the 76ers defense.

Bertans during the Play-In games managed to go just 2 for 13 from three-point range. They will need him to shoot at the level he did during the regular season where if he connected on four or more threes, the Wizards went 12-7.

The other key for the Wizards is to get off to a good start, which has not been the case during the regular season as they were outscored by 128 total points in the opening period of the teams that qualified for the playoffs or the Play-In Tournament and were outscored by four points in the following three quarters total.

While the Wizards boast the most explosive backcourt in “The Association” in Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook, the 76ers led by Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have the more complete team. They have the focus of wanting to reach The Finals and winning the 76ers first title in 38 years. The 76ers have more reliable scorers and better defensive scheme.

The Wizards will bring the fight for sure and the reality is this, making the playoffs is a feather in their cap considering where they started this season. Also, Coach Brooks and GM Sheppard as a result of Wizards making the postseason will for sure remain intact.

“I’m excited. I’m excited about this group,” Coach Brooks said postgame after the Wizards win versus the Pacers on Thursday.

“Anytime you can stick together through some tough times and keep fighting for one another, that’s what sports is all about, and that’s what teams are all about, and we got a good group of guys. That’s why I love coaching this team because they’re always challenging each other and pushing each other, and they deserve a lot of the credit if not all of the credit by doing that because it hasn’t been easy for a lot of reasons. But the easy part of it was coaching this group, and that’s what makes my job enjoyable.”

Prediction: 76ers in five games.

(5) Atlanta Hawks versus (4) New York Knicks

                   (41-31)                            (41-31)

NYK: Won the season-series 3-0

There will be playoff basketball in “The Big Apple” for the first time in eight seasons. There will be playoff basketball in the “ATL” for the first time in four years. While the playoff experience on both teams will be short in supply, there will be a plethora of action and contrasting of styles between two teams trying to make their first postseason appearance in over a handful of seasons count in the always intriguing No. 4 versus No. 5 Seed.

A lot has changed for the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks that got them back into the playoffs for the first time since 2013 and 2017 respectably.

For both teams, the biggest change took place at head coach to begin with. The Knicks brought in former Knicks assistant on now ESPN color analyst Jeff Van Gundy’s staff from the late 1990s to the early 2000s in head coach Tom Thibodeau and working largely with the exact same roster from the season before where they went 21-45 after replacing their six head coach, Thibs registered a 20-game improvement, which consisted of a 16-6 mark to close the season.

As he did from 2010-15 with the Chicago Bulls and in his first year with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018-19, he put the focus on improving the Knicks at the defensive end, and they for sure did a complete 180 on that end of the court.

They went from being respectably from No. 18 in opponent’s points per contest at 112.3; tied for No. 17 in opponent’s field goal percentage at 46.3 percent; and No. 28 in opponent’s three-point percentage at 38.1 percent.

Under Coach Thibodeau, the Knicks vaulted to No. 1 all three categories allowing just 104.7 points, on 44.0 percent from the field, and 33.7 percent from three-point range.

The only other team to lead the NBA in all three of those categories for a season were the 1992-93 Knicks of Hall of Fame head coach Pat Riley, now running things in the Miami Heat front office, Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing, Knicks legend Charles Oakley, NBATV’s Greg Anthony, aforementioned 76ers head coach Doc Rivers, John Starks, and the late Anthony Mason.  

“The season continues on. So, it’s important to, you know, appreciate the effort and the work that has gone into it thus far,” Coach Thibodeau said in his postgame Zoom availability after the Knicks 96-92 win in their regular-season finale versus the Boston Celtics. “But to also understand that the challenge continues.”

The Hawks renovation came during this regular season when on Mar. 1 they fired head coach Lloyd Pierce, replacing him with assistant coach Nate McMillan.

The Hawks proceeded to register an eight-game winning streak and finished the season 27-11, going 29-12 overall under Coach McMillan, which included winning 11 straight home games and 19 of their last 21 at State Farm Arena.

Coach McMillan has already played the underdog card in the lead up to this series saying in the middle of the week in a Zoom conference with the press that everyone is picking the Knicks to win this series saying, “there’s going to be a lot of calls that probably won’t go our way.”

McMillan, who received a fine of $25,000 by the NBA added, “The league wants to see it, everybody wants to see this. Event to the fact that our [opening] game was moved to Sunday, they want to see this.”

“So, yes, we have talked about that, about the advantages of this situation and some things that we’re going to have to face, going into [Game 1], with everyone picking New York to win a lot of folks wanting to see New York in the playoffs. It’s a battle, it’s a challenge, just playing New York, all that comes with it. They’ve had a really good season, and I think the NBA is excited about having them back in the playoffs.”

In the spotlight in this tilt of playoff infants is first-time All-Star and Top candidate for Kia Most Improved Player in Julius Randle, who averaged career-highs of 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, and six assists on 45.6 percent from the field, and career-highs of 41.1 from three-point range and 81.1 percent from the foul line.

To put into context how great Randle has been this season, he is the first Knicks player ever to register 20/10/5 (points/rebounds/assists). He made a career-high 160 three-pointers, with 115 connections on 272 attempts from three-point range (42.3 3-Pt.%) in 38 out of the last 55 games.

For Randle now it is about being able to take care of business in the postseason, and he will be receiving a lot of attention from the Hawks front court in the form of John Collins, Clint Capela, and others.

During the regular season though, Randle has dominated the Hawks to the tune of 37.3 points, 12.3 boards, and 6.7 assists on 58.1 percent from the floor, 50 percent from three-point range and 81.8 percent from the charity stripe on 11 attempts. Of Randle's three 40-point games during the regular season, two of them came against the Hawks. 

For the Hawks, their engine of their offense is Trae Young (25.3 ppg, 9.4 apg-3^rd NBA, 43.8 FG%, 34.3 3-Pt.%), whose ability to make shots from seemingly the parking lot of the arena mixed in with his amazing court vision is how he is able to put the likes of Collins and Capela in position for rim-rattling dunks.

While Young has averaged 24.7 points and 12.0 assists in the three games against the Knicks during the regular season, he was only able to connect on 36.2 percent of his shots and just 21 percent of his three-point tries.

While Young might get his numbers in this series, he will for sure work for them with the likes of Derrick Rose, Alec Burks, rookie Immanuel Quickley and Frank Ntilikina checking him.

Along with the play of the marquee names in Randle for the Knicks and Young for the Hawks, this series will come down to the supporting cast and who can impose their tempo on the other.

While Randle has gotten most of the pub for their turnaround this season, and it is well deserved, the rise of second-year player RJ Barrett (17.6 points, 5.8 rpg, 44.1 FG% and 40.1 3-Pt.%) has played a seismic role in the Knicks turnaround.

One of his biggest weakness coming out of Duke University was his ability to make perimeter shots and free throws consistently. He made 63 for 135 (46.7%) from three-point range and 58 for 77 (75.4%) from the foul line the last 23 games of the regular season.

The Knicks have also gotten tremendous offensive output from the aforementioned rookie Quickley (11.4 ppg, 38.9 3-Pt.%) off the bench, along with Burks (12.7 ppg, 41.5 3-Pt.%), Reggie Bullock (10.9 ppg, 44.2 FG%, 41.2 3-Pt.%), and Elfrid Payton (10.1 ppg).

While it might not have been a big move in the eyes of the average fan or NBA viewer, the acquisition of Derrick Rose from the Detroit Pistons on Feb. 7 for Dennis Smith, Jr. and a draft pick made a real difference for the Knicks.

It added another guard who can score, who knows Coach Thibodeau’s system, and was not going to rock the boat in terms of minutes and shot attempts.

Rose, who won Kia MVP he and Coach Thibodeau’s first year together with the Bulls in 2010-11 fit in like a glove and been a major contributor off the bench with his scoring perimeter shooting and leadership with averages of 14.9 points on 48.7 percent from the field, and a career-high 41.1 percent from three-point range. The Knicks went 29-15 since Rose’s arrival.

“It feels good to actually be in the postseason with a group like this,” Rose said in a Zoom presser about being back in the playoffs. “Everybody’s locked in, and the [New York] city’s buzzing right now. So, it’s a great feeling.”

The Hawks also have a group of players who can bring it offense, and finally healthy for the most part entering the playoffs, they will need the likes of Bogdan Bogdanovic (16.4 ppg, 47.3 FG%, 43.8 3-Pt.%), Kevin Huerter (11.9 ppg, 3.5 apg, 36.3 3-Pt.%), Danilo Gallinari (13.3 ppg, 40.6 3-Pt.%), Lou Williams (11.3 ppg, 39.9 3-Pt.%), who was acquired at the Mar. 25 trade deadline from the Clippers for Rajon Rondo will have to make shots from the perimeter consistently a gritty Knicks defense.

That means Collins (17.6 ppg, 7.4 rebounds, 55.6 FG%, 39.9 3-Pt.%) and Capela (15.2 ppg, 14.3 rpg-Led NBA, 2.0 bpg-3^rd NBA, 59.4 FG%), will have to be solid on their screens to get their teammates open and when they will have to make their presence felt on the glass on both ends, which Capela did in the three meetings against the Knicks averaging 17.3 points and 17.3 rebounds in the three games.

That means for the Knicks, Nerlens Noel (5.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.2 bpg-2^nd NBA, 61.4 FG%) will have to really be on his game to keep Capela from dominating in the paint.

Both the Knicks and Hawks finished with identical 41-31 marks. Both had strong finishes down the stretch of this season with the Knicks finishing 16-4 their final 20 games and the Hawks going 7-1 their final eight games. Both teams have been watching the playoffs from their couch the past handful of seasons.

Most No. 4 versus No. 5 playoffs matchups typically go the distance because the teams are so evenly matched and this one should be no different.

The main difference though is the fact that the Knicks have home court advantage, and the Big Apple faithful 15,000 that will pack Madison Square Garden in Games 1 and 2 will should a spectacular site to behold. Also, the Knicks play the more consistent defense, and they have a player in Julius Randle who can score from the perimeter as well as inside.

“You don’t want to feel too good because you always want more. And it’s important for us to be hungry,” Coach Thibodeau said about just making the playoffs.  

Prediction: Knicks in seven games. 

           (7) Boston Celtics versus (2) Brooklyn Nets

                   (36-36)                                 (48-24)

BKN: Won the season-series 3-0.  

Back in the middle of January, the Brooklyn Nets made a blockbuster move in acquiring one of the league’s most prolific offensive players to join alongside one of the most gifted scorers in the game today and one of the best offensive guards on the planet. While this latest trio has played a little over a handful of games together over the course of the past few months, the dynamic ability that this trio will bring to the hardwood on offense of the 2021 playoffs they will be more than enough to take down any opponent, especially against the boys from Beantown that have been the true meaning of inconsistent all season long.

Back on January 14, the Nets pulled the trigger on a trade with the Houston Rockets to acquire perennial All-Star and 2018 Kia MVP James Harden to join alongside fellow perennial All-Stars and former NBA champions in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in hopes of bringing the franchise their first title in franchise history.

From an individual standpoint, Durant (26.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 5.6 apg, 53.7 FG%, 45.0 3-Pt.%-7^th NBA), Irving (26.9 ppg, 6.0 apg, 4.8 rpg, 50.6 FG%, 40.2 3-Pt.%), and Harden (24.6 ppg, 10.8 apg, 7.9 rpg, 46.6 FG%, 36.2 3-Pt.%) had great seasons as usual.

That said, Durant, Irving, and Harden played just eight total games together during the regular season, registering a total of 2020 minutes on the court did the trio, with the Nets going 6-2.

Because of injury and COVID-19 protocols, Durant missed a total of 37 games, Nets went 25-12 without him in the lineup. Nets went 12-6 in the games Irving was out and went 19-17 without Harden.

Even with that, Durant and Harden believe if the Nets, who have not gotten pasted the First-Round since 2014 bring their best to the floor, they have as good a chance of any of the 16 teams in the 2021 Playoff field that can win it all.

“1,000 percent,” Harden said of Nets chances of winning it all to NBATV’s Jared Greenberg via Zoom. “Some teams say, ‘We just do what we do best,’ and that’s just not good enough sometimes. But for us, that’s a great quote and if we do that, then we definitely have a chance.”

Despite the absence of the “Big Three” for periods of this season, the Nets still finished No. 2 in the league in scoring at 118.6 points; led the NBA in field goal percentage at 49.4 percent; were No. 2 in three-point percentage at 39.2 percent; and were No. 7 in assists per game at 26.8.

It also helps that the likes of sharp-shooter Joe Harris (14.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 50.5 FG%, 47.5 3-Pt.%-Led NBA), Jeff Green (11.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 49.2 FG%, 41.2 3-Pt.%), Landry Shamet (9.3 ppg, 38.7 3-Pt.%), Tyler Johnson, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot out there to be lock and loaded to make shots, especially from the perimeter.

Harris’ 47.5 percent from three-point range during the regular season was the second-best mark in NBA history for a player with at least 400 attempts from three-point range, only trailing Kyle Korver, who shot 49.2 percent from three-point range in 2014-15 season.  

While the Nets should have no problems at the offensive end to start these playoffs, as they expectedly progress through the postseason, their defensive connectivity will be at the fore front of how they will do in the playoffs, especially when the competition picks up each round.

During the season, the Nets ranked 21^st in points allowed; No. 27 in steals per game at 6.7, and 29^th in opponent’s second chance points.

The Nets did finish No. 7 in opponent’s field goal percentage at 45.9 percent and No. 7 in block shots per game at 5.3 but were No. 14 in opponent’s three-point percentage at 36.5 percent. 

To put into context how important defense is in winning a championship, only the 2000-01 Lakers (22^nd on defense) and the 2003-04 Detroit Pistons are the only two teams in the 24 years previous to the Nets where play-by-play data existed to be ranked lower than 11^th to win the Larry O’Brien trophy.

A major part of how the Nets will take care of business at the defensive end will be predicated on the activity on that end of the floor from their front court of DeAndre Jordan (7.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 76.3 FG%), Nicolas Claxton (6.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 62.1 FG%), and Blake Griffin (11.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 34.1 3-Pt.%), Green, and Bruce Brown (8.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 55.6 FG%).

For much of this season, the Nets have played center by committee with Jordan to start but has been the odd man out in the lead up to the postseason, with Claxton, Griffin, and Green getting more time as the Nets have gone with more of a small lineup, with Griffin starting the final six contests of the regular season and Claxton registering over 20 minutes the last four games.

“We’ve got a good opportunity with a lot of great players on this team that mix well with each other. But we still got to go out there and do the work,” Durant said of what it will take for the Nets to succeed in the playoffs.

Then there the Steve Nash factor. The Hall of Famer will be coaching in his first postseason in his first year as a head coach with no playoff experience. That said he has plenty of playoff experience as a player with the Dallas Mavericks first and then with the Phoenix Suns in the middle of the 2000s. If there is anything that he can deliver to his team is the importance of taking each playoff moment as serious as possible and always being on your game.

The one thing that Nash has in his hip pocket is a very experienced coaching staff with Mike D’Antoni, Jacque Vaughn, and Ime Udoka on the sideline with him.  

“I don’t think like today we’re necessarily a championship team,” Nash said to Greenberg on where the Nets are entering the 2021 Playoffs. “We’re on a journey to get there, and this team’s so new that I think we need to be ready once we earn the right play for it, and hopefully in a few months we’ll be there.”

What is also in the Nets favor despite the plethora of combinations they have had to use during the regular season is their ability to win games in the clutch, producing the most wins (27) and the third best mark (27-13) in games that were within five points in the last five minutes.

The Nets also had the NBA’s No. 2 record of 41-4 when leading by double-digits and registered a league-best 14 wins, going 14-21 in games they trailed by 10 points or more.

Their first opponent in their drive towards the Larry O’Brien trophy will be the Boston Celtics, who in three of the past four seasons have reached the Eastern Conference Finals, only to be taken down in five and seven games by the LeBron James led Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017 and 2019 respectably, and then by the eventual runners-up in the last year’s NBA Finals the Heat in six games.

The Celtics this year have been the definition of inconsistent, having registered a .500 record for only the second time in their glorious history (1954-55, going 36-36 also), that has 17 NBA titles to their credit.

They played a league-high 43 games in clutch time but compiled a record of 17-26 in those games and were just 19-10 otherwise.

They were particular inept at the defensive end, ranking 22^nd in opponent’s three-point percentage at 37.4 percent, concluding a streak of 13 consecutive seasons ranking in the top six in that category.

They will enter the 2021 playoffs without All-Star Jaylen Brown and his career-high of 24.7 points and six boards on 48.4 percent from the field and 39.7 percent from three-point range because of surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist.

The Celtics on the season went 30-28 with Brown in the lineup, but just 6-8 without him.

The good news if anything is that fellow All-Star Jayson Tatum, who averaged career-highs of 26.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.3 assists on 45.9 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from three-point range.

Tatum has especially been good in the absence of Brown on the season averaging 28.6 points and eight boards in the aforementioned 14 games without Brown in the regular season.

Tatum rose to the moment on Tuesday night scoring 32 of his 50 points in the second half in leading the Celtics to a 118-100 win versus the No. 8 Seeded Wizards in the East Play-In Tournament and helped the Celtics make the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.

Their reward is playing a team who their head coach Brad Stevens called “the most talented team that’s been assembled” since he entered the NBA. 

On top of that, no team in NBA history has won the Larry O’Brien trophy as a No. 7 Seed.

“It’s really hard to make the NBA Playoffs, and I just told our guys in there everybody’s path is different and every year presents unique challenges. Sometimes more than others, and we’ve been through a lot,” Coach Stevens, who saw Tatum go 14 for 32 shooting, including 5 for 11 from three-point range and 17 for 17 from the charity stripe versus the Wizards said in his postgame presser following the victory. “And so, we’re hardened in a lot of ways, right.”

“Those guys are the best-of-the-best, you know. Going into that if I’m a fan, you know, and just a general fan of the NBA, I have a hard time seeing them lose. So, we’re going to have to play great. We’re going to have to play great together, and we’re going to have to be really sound on both ends of the floor.”

Along with Tatum playing well, the Celtics will need a big series from Kemba Waler (19.3 ppg, 4.9 apg, 36.0 3-Pt.%) who has had his ups and downs this season with his play.

The Celtics hoped that Evan Fournier (17.1 ppg, 45.7 FG%, 41.7 3-Pt.%), who was acquired at the Mar. 25 trade deadline from the Orlando Magic would provide some offensive punch, but that did not happen. While the Frenchman shot a respectable 44.8 percent from the field and 46.3 from three-point range, Fournier averaged just 13.0 point in 16 games played with the Celtics as COVID-19 protocols put him on the shelf for a few games.

On top of that, the Celtics supporting cast of Marcus Smart (13.1 ppg, 5.7 apg, 1.5 spg), rookie Payton Pritchard (7.7 ppg, 41.1 3-Pt.%), Robert Williams III(8.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.8 bpg, 72.1 FG%-career-high), Tristan Thompson (7.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg-Led team, 51.8 FG%), Grant Williams, Jeff Teague, rookie Aaron Nesmith, and Semi Ojeleye is not in the class of the Nets supporting cast.

That showed in the three meetings, where in the first two victories, a 123-95 win on Dec. 25, 2020, and on Jan. 4 121-109, the Nets had control and never took their foot off the gas. They took care of business in the clutch of third tilt winning 109-104 in Brooklyn.

The three areas where the Nets dominated the Celtics are from three-point range, outscoring the C’s 135-114; in made free throws at 68-38 and in fast break points 61-25.

The Nets, seeking their first league title since winning the 1976 ABA title flat out have the better team. They have the three best players in this series with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving having won titles with the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers respectably. They also know that any extra time in a series gives the other two squads in the 76ers and Bucks that much more of an advantage. This series has sweep written all over it, and its up to the Nets to make that a reality.

“I understand with the stuff on paper and how teams look and how accomplished the players on this team are. But for us, we respect the game and our opponents too much to come out and say, ‘Look we’re expected to win this,’” Durant said to Greenberg. ‘Nah, we’re coming out there and understand we can be beat if we don’t lock in.”

Prediction: Nets in four games.

          (6) Miami Heat versus (3) Milwaukee Bucks

                  (40-32)                                   (46-26)

All season, the Milwaukee Bucks have gotten “wait and see” treatment after having the league’s best record the last two seasons and falling to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. They made a key move in the offseason bringing in a new floor general and added some sharp-shooting and defensive toughness at the Mar. 25 trade deadline. They tweaked their offense where they space the floor differently and are a more aggressive rebounding team on both ends as well as adopting a defensive philosophy of switching on ball screens and playing more zone in the half court. Now will find out against the opponent that sent them packing out of Orlando a season is ready to march forward into The Finals.

For much of this season, the Bucks, 76ers and Nets have been the cream of the crop in the Eastern Conference. But the reigning Eastern Conference champions after a slow start to this season have risen at the right time.

So now the Bucks right out of the playoff gates get a shot to take down the team that really exposed them in the East Semifinals a season ago taking them out in five games.

Jimmy Butler did not play in any of the three meetings against the Bucks in the regular season where the Bucks took two of the three meetings against the Heat.

Heat with Butler (21.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg-career-high, 7.1 apg-career-high, 2.1 spg-Led NBA, 49.7 FG%-career-high) in the lineup went 33-19, and just 7-13 when he was sidelined by either injury or COVID-19 protocols.

Along with his ability to guard multiple position and the relentless energy and focus he brings to the Heat, he and Bam Adebayo, who averaged career-highs of 18.7 points, nine rebounds, and 5.4 assists on 57.0 percent shooting essentially are their point guards as they possess the ability to create offense for other and are very disruptive at the defensive end for Heat head coach Erick Spoelstra.

The Heat when they played the Bucks a season ago in the Semifinals in the restart in Orlando, they made it a priority to not switch very often because that would put one of their guards on reigning league two-time Kia MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, which is a highlight dunk waiting to happen.

For much of this season the Heat played catchup as they had to overcome injuries and COVID-19 protocols, but after starting the season 7-14, the Heat finished the season 33-18, including registering five wins in their last six games, and 12 wins their last 16 games.

A big reason for their strong finish is that the supporting cast in Tyler Herro (15.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 36.0 3-Pt.%), Kendrick Nunn (14.6 ppg, 48.5 FG%, 38.1 3-Pt.%), Goran Dragic (13.4 ppg, 4.4 apg, 37.3 3-Pt.%), and Duncan Robinson (13.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 40.8 3-Pt.%) got healthy and began to knock down shots at a consistent rate, especially from three-point range.

While they averaged 108.1 points per game on the season, the Heat averaged 124.7 points against the Bucks during their three-game season series.

The problem for the Heat is this season is their inability to beat the better teams in the league. Last season, the Heat compiled a 17-14 record against teams .500 or better. This past regular season, the Heat went just 12-21 overall (6-9 post All-Star break) against the other 14 teams that compiled a better than .500 record.

“I like our chances against anybody honestly,” Butler said to the NBA on TNT studio crew of Johnson, Smith, Barkley, and O’Neal after the Heat’s 106-94 win versus 76ers on May 13. “Nobody intimidates us. We take who we got. I think it’s going to be difficult to beat us four times.”

After falling in five games to the Heat, the Bucks in the offseason went out and acquired Jrue Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans (17.7 ppg, 6.1 apg-Led team, 4.5 rpg, 1.6 spg, 50.3 FG%, 39.2 3-Pt.%) and he has been everything and them some for the Bucks on both ends of the floor.

He has been a solid compliment to the aforementioned reigning back-to-back MVP in Antetokounmpo, who once again had a great season with averages of 28.1 points (5^th NBA), 11.0 rebounds (8^th NBA) and 5.9 assists on 56.9 percent shooting. Khris Middleton also had a solid season with averages of 20.4 points, six boards, and 5.4 assists (career-high) on 47.6 percent from the floor and 41.4 percent from three-point range.

Unlike the past two seasons where the Bucks put their focus on having the best record in the NBA, they used this regular season to experiment on both ends of the floor. At the offensive end, they put an emphasis on more ball movement and man movement, particularly when it comes to how they position Antetokounmpo offensively.

Before, they would have Antetokounmpo work from the top of the circle, and that plan did not work at all against the Heat last season. They took away his straight-line drives to the hoop and turned him into a jump shooter.

In recent weeks, head coach Mike Budenholzer and his staff have worked on getting Antetokounmpo, who averaged 16.7 point, 9.3 rebounds, and 6.7 assists on  48.7 percent from the floor against the Heat, open off of screens and utilizing him more in the post and they have seen positive results from that. They also have let Holiday be more of a facilitator in the half court, which has allowed for them to shoot more threes off of better ball movement.

That was really on display in the first matchup against the Heat where the Bucks set an NBA record making a single-game NBA record 29 three-pointers, going 29 for 51 in their 144-97 win at the Heat.

As important as it will be for Antetokounmpo, Middleton, and Holiday to be productive offensively, especially to start the playoffs against the Heat, the supporting cast of Brook Lopez (12.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.5 bpg, 50.3 FG%), Bobby Portis (11.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 52.3 FG%, 47.1 3-Pt.%), Donte DiVincenzo (10.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 37.9 3-Pt.%), Bryn Forbes (10.0 ppg, 47.3 FG%, 45.2 3-Pt.%), Pat Connaughton (6.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 37.1 3-Pt.%), Jeff Teague (6.7 ppg, 43.9 3-Pt.%) and P.J. Tucker need to make shots at a high level off the attention the Bucks three starts will attract.

The biggest question for the Bucks is how effective can Tucker, who the Bucks acquired at the Mar. 25 trade deadline be for the Bucks on both ends? 

In the 20 games he played during the regular season when he was traded to the Bucks, he only played 56 total minutes alongside Antetokounmpo that did not include another big man. There is good chance that Tucker does see plenty of time on the floor at center.

As important as Tucker’s impact will be defensively, it would help the Bucks a great deal if at the offensive end, he shoots the ball when given the chance like he did for the Rockets these past few seasons where he was one of the best in “The Association” at knocking down three-pointers from the from the corners of the floor.

During the regular season, the Bucks had one of the best offensives in NBA history as their 120.1 scoring average made them the first team since the 1984-85 Denver Nuggets to average at least 120.1 points per game in a season.

Of the 22 teams that averaged 120 points per game in a single-season, only four of them went on to win a title (1972 Lakers, 1967 76ers and the 1960 and 1962 Celtics).

It is hard to fathom the Bucks averaging 120 points in a series against the Heat, especially with their attention to detail defensively.

There is no better time to show the Bucks are better than the last two postseasons than taking on the opponent who ended their season a year ago.

Prediction: Bucks in seven.

Western Conference

(8) Memphis Grizzlies versus (1) Utah Jazz

                (38-34)                              (52-20)

UTA: Won the season series 3-0.

There is a new resident in the penthouse of the Western Conference. For the first time since 1997-98 season the boys from Salt Lake City, UT earned not just the best record in the stacked Western Conference but the entire National Basketball Association for the 2020-21 regular season. Even with that, they do not entire this postseason as the favorites to win it all. They trek to prove to those outside the state of Utah begins with squad from where barbeque and blues music reigns and are in the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.

The Utah Jazz achieved the best record in the NBA for the first time in 23 years because of solid coaching by lead man on the sidelines in Quin Snyder. They shot the lights out from three-point range, where they ranked No. 4 in three-point percentage at 38.9 percent; led the NBA in percentage of shots taken from three-point range at 48.8 percent; three-pointers made per game at 16.7 and attempted at 43.0.

As good as they were at shooting threes, they were just as exceptional at defending the three-point line, allowing the lowest percent of their opponent’s shots from the three-point line at 34.8 percent. Outscoring their opponents from three-point range at 17.6 points, the second biggest differential in the 43 seasons the three-point line has been in existence.

Leading the three-point brigade for the Jazz is Sixth Man of the Year candidates Jordan Clarkson (18.4 ppg, 34.7 3-Pt.%) and Joe Ingles (12.1 ppg, 4.7 apg, 3.6 rpg, 48.9 FG%, 45.1 3-Pt.%).

They Jazz high marksmanship from three-point is also because of the exceptional bounce year by first-time All-Star selection Mike Conley (16.2 ppg, 6.0 apg, 3.5 rpg, 44.4 FG%, 41.2 3-Pt.%); and a healthy Bojan Bogdanovic (17.0 ppg, 43.9 FG%, 39.0 3-Pt.%).

The main cogs of what the Jazz do on both ends of the floor are All-Stars Donovan Mitchell (26.4 ppg, 5.2 apg-career-high, 4. 4rpg, 38.6 43.8 FG%, 38.6 3-Pt.%) and Rudy Gobert (14.3 ppg, 13.5 rpg-2^nd NBA, 1.7 bpg, 66.7 FG%).

The Jazz despite having the best record enter the 2021 Playoffs with a lot to prove, especially with how their season ended in the restart as they fell one shot short of advancing past the Nuggets in the opening-round of the 2020 playoffs falling seven games after leading 3-1.

Will their three-pointers fall as consistently as they did in the regular season? Can Mitchell, who will be playing his first game since Apr. 16 due to a right ankle sprain can put on the same scoring display as he showed in First-Round against the Nuggets a season ago where he matched score-for-score and shot-for-shot with the Nuggets Jamal Murray?

The Jazz will be able to answer their championship fitness right away against their First-Round opponent in the Memphis Grizzlies, who the Jazz are overwhelming favorites to defeat due their opponent’s lack of playoff experience.

As for the Grizzlies, they are back in the playoff for the first time since 2017, and they got there by going 2-0 in the NBA’s inaugural Play-In Tournament where they took down the San Antonio Spurs 100-96 at home on Wednesday. Then in a winner take all for the No. 8 and final playoff spot defeated won at the Golden State Warriors 117-112 in overtime.

They are led by Ja Morant (19.1 ppg, 7.4 apg, 44.9 FG%), who the Grizzlies drafted No. 2 overall two years ago to replace Conley, who the Grizzlies traded to the Jazz two years ago.

Conley had string of great years for the Grizzlies and is regarded as the best point guard in franchise history as the leader of the “Grit-N-Grind” era where they made the playoffs seven consecutive seasons in the 2010s.

When the Grizzlies chose to shake up that “Grit-N-Grind” squad led by Conley, Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, and Tony Allen, Conley as mentioned was dealt to the Jazz and Morant was discovered and the Grizzlies selected him in the 2019 draft out of Murray State University. The now 21-year-old would go on to win 2020 Rookie of the Year and got the Grizzlies within one game of the playoffs last season as they fell in the Play-In round versus the Portland Trail Blazers.

Against the Warriors, Morant scored 35 points with six assists and six rebounds on 14 for 29 from the field, including 5 for 10 from three-point range at the Warriors.

To put into context how big of a performance that was from Morant, he had just 16 points on 7 for 21 shooting in the 113-101 setback at the Warriors on May 16 in the regular-season finale.

“It feels good,” Morant said to ESPN’s Rachel Nichols after win about earning his first playoff appearance. “We battled all season. Had a chance to go my rookie season. Just feel short a couple of games. Learned from it. Knew what we had to do, and now we’re here.”

The Grizzlies will enter the 2021 NBA Playoffs as the youngest team in the 16-team field with an average 24.8 years of age.

The Grizzlies in total have 112 games of playoff experience on their roster, only the Phoenix Suns have fewer. They will be the youngest team to make the playoffs since the 2010-11 Oklahoma City Thunder led by Kevin Durant and James Harden, now with the Nets and Russell Westbrook, now with the Wizards.

If the Grizzlies have any chance making this tilt with the Jazz competitive, they will need Morant to play at the level he did during the Play-In games against the Spurs and Grizzlies, particularly when it comes to shooting the ball with confidence his he is sagged off of by any Jazz defender.

They will need Jaren Jackson, Jr. (14.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg), who has only played in the final 11 games during the regular season recovering from off-season knee surgery to give them everything he can in the minutes he is on the floor. He only played 15 minutes in the win at the Warriors, mainly battling four trouble.

They will need Jonas Valanciunas (17.1 ppg, 12.5 rpg-3^rd NBA, 59.2 FG%) to make Gobert work on both ends.

It will also be important for fellow starters Kyle Anderson (12.4 ppg-career-high, 5.7 rpg, 3.6 apg, 46.8 FG%, 36.0 3-Pt.%) and Dillon Brooks (17.2 ppg, 34.4 3-Pt.%).

“We know we’re a young team,” Morant said. “We have some vets that coach us up and lead us, man. And then me being a point guard, I have to be a leader.”

“Obviously, it’s my first time making the playoffs. But we have some player who’ve been in the playoffs before. So, they’re going to help us out. Let us know what to expect, and then we’re just going to go out and play our basketball and battle for 48 minutes.”

The three stats that will let you know if the Grizzlies are playing their brand of basketball points in the paint, which they led the league in with a 55.8 scoring average. Fast break points, which they also led the NBA in at 17.7 per game; and bench points per game at 39.1, which was No. 6 in the NBA during the regular season. That means the likes of Grayson Allen (10.6 ppg, 39.1 3-Pt.), Brandon Clarke (10.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 51.7 FG%), rookies Desmond Bane (9.2 ppg, 46.9 FG%, 43.2 3-Pt.%), De’Anthony Melton (9.1 ppg, 43.88 FG%, 41.2 3-Pt.%), Xavier Tillman (6.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 55.9 FG%), and Tyus Jones (6.3 ppg, 3.7 apg) are in the game and being productive.

While the Grizzlies lost all three meetings with the Jazz, two of the games were decided in clutch time-meaning the game was within five points in the last five minutes. That was in part because the Grizzlies in those contests outscored the Jazz by 10 points in the paint and six points from the charity stripe, where their 71 total free throw attempts in the season series were the most for a Jazz opponent during the regular season.

The Jazz simply put have been the best team all season long regardless of what anyone outside their locker room thinks. They believe that they have the team to go the distance this postseason and are primed and ready to show that starting against the Grizzlies who took a major step in their maturation of becoming a playoff perennial and hopefully a championship team in the future.

Predication: Jazz in four games.

(5) Dallas Mavericks versus (4) Los Angeles Clippers   

              (42-30)                                      (47-25)

In the 2019-20 Opening-Round tilt between the Boys from the “City of Angels” against the boys from “Big D” in the restart in Orlando, there was a signature moment when the NBA’s newest sensation knocked down a game-winning triple that shook that part of Orlando. Then on Dec. 27, 2020, the league’s new young gun and his team blew the Clippers out of their own gym by 51 points (124-73). Now the two teams meet again in the playoffs as it is likely going to add another chapter of offensive fireworks and will answer the question of the Clippers are true title contenders.

Just like last season, the Los Angeles Clippers enter their bout with the Dallas Mavericks with the advantage in star power with the All-Star duo in two-time NBA champion Kawhi Leonard (24.8 ppg-Led team, 6.5 rpg, 5.2 apg, 1.6 spg, 51.2 FG%, 39.8 3-Pt%), who averaged 21.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and seven assists in two games against the Mavericks in the regular season (Clippers went 1-1) and fellow perennial All-Star and perimeter defensive ace Paul George (23.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 5.2 apg, 46.7 FG%, 41.1 3-Pt.%).

The Mavericks bring though reigning Kia Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic (27.7 ppg-8^th NBA, 8.6 apg-5^th NBA, 8.0 rpg, 47.9 FG%, 35.0 3-Pt.%), who averaged 30.3 points against the Clippers in the regular season became a real thorn in the Clippers side as he demonstrated by his game-winning triple in Game 4 of the First-Round of last years playoffs that catapulted him to NBA stardom and tied the series at 2-2.  

The Clippers though pulled themselves of the floor and took down the Mavericks in Games 5 and 6 to win the opening-round series 4-2. They split the final two games of their season series in Dallas with the Clippers posting a 109-99 win on Mar. 15 and the Mavericks bounced back with a 105-89 win two nights later.

“The level of challenge is huge,” Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said about facing the Clippers to start the playoffs on the road. “You start out on the road against a team like the Clippers, the challenge is great.”

Carlisle did add about the postseason, “This is the best time of the year, and this is the most competitive time of the year. That’s what this thing’s all about.”

The Clippers enter these playoffs though a completely different basketball team compared to a season ago.

For starters, they are under new leadership on the sidelines in head coach Tyronn Lue. They added veteran championship floor general in Rajon Rondo, who was acquired at the Mar. 25 trade deadline from the Hawks to provide stability and leadership from the point guard spot, which they lacked in the 2020 postseason. They claimed off waivers former All-Star DeMarcus Cousins (7.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 53.7 FG%, 42.7 3-Pt.%).

Both Rondo and Cousins, along with the additions of Nicolas Batum (8.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 46.4 FG%, 40.4 3-Pt.%), Serge Ibaka (11.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 51.0 FG%), and Luke Kennard (8.3 ppg, 47.6 FG%, 44.6 3-Pt.%) back in the offseason were brought in to provide depth on both ends which should reduce the heavy workload on Leonard and George that definitely showed in the Semifinals last season where they blew a 3-1 series lead in losing to the Denver Nuggets in seven games.

Those additions alongside Patrick Beverly (7.5 ppg, 39.7 3-Pt.%), Ivica Zubac (9.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg 65.2 FG%), Reggie Jackson (10.7 ppg, 45.0 FG%, 43.3 3-Pt.%), Marcus Morris, Sr. (13.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 47.3 FG%, 47.3 3-Pt.%), and Terrance Mann (7.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 50.9 FG%, 41.8 3-Pt.%) gives Coach Lue options that will be nice to have in his hip pocket, especially in this series.

He will have a plethora of bodies to throw at Doncic in Rondo, Beverly, Jackson, and Mann, which will allow for Leonard and George to be used in reserve for the fourth quarter on Doncic.

The Clippers, counting last year’s opening-round series are 8-4 the last 12 meetings against the Mavericks have no problem getting physical with them on both ends of the court, especially Morris.

“That’s a part of my game,” Morris, Sr. said. “I mean personally, that’s where I’m at. Starting games off very physical. Intimidation is something that I don’t really need to work on.”

The addition of Ibaka gives the Clippers a better option to slow down Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis, who before he was lost the final two games of last season’s First-Round series was having a dominant performance.

One big difference between the Clippers this season from last is their embracement of taking three-point shots, which they have made at a consistent level all season.

Their 41.1 percent marksmanship from three-point range not only led the NBA, but it was the fourth highest three-point percentage for a single-season in NBA history. The Clippers had a league-high seven players (Jackson, Leonard, George, Morris, Sr., Kennard, and Batum) shoot 38 percent or better from three-point range. However, two of their off nights from three-point range came against the Mavericks, going 4 for 33 (12.1%) from deep in the aforementioned 51-point loss in late Dec. 2020 and 9 for 32 (28.1%) from three-point range at Mavericks on Mar. 17. 

Speaking of the Latvia center, when healthy Porzingis (20.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 47.6 FG%, 37.6 3-Pt.%) has shown he can be exceptional on both ends with his ability to space the floor with his perimeter shooting, especially from three-point range while also scoring in the post, while being a solid rim protector. Unfortunately, injuries have always gotten in the way of Porzingis being of him establishing himself as the so-called “Unicorn” that he was dubbed a few years ago by the Nets Kevin Durant.

After battling knee, ankle and back issues throughout this season, Porzingis enters this playoff tilt against the Clippers, and how he performance will dictate if the Mavericks can make this a long series.

“We already know who they are,” Porzingis said in a Zoom presser about the Clippers and how they play on both ends. “We don’t want to play into their games. They’re going to do that. So just, tunnel vision. Focus on what we need to do. Always have your teammates back. Don’t back down. But don’t do anything that gives them any advantage.”

The Mavericks showed during the regular season they did not back down against the Clippers winning two of the three meetings as mentioned by 51 and 16 points. The Clippers won the middle game between the two teams by 10 points.

As important it will be for Doncic and Porzingis to perform at a high level on both ends, the play of the supporting cast of Tim Hardaway, Jr. (16.6 ppg, 44.7 FG%, 39.1 3-Pt.%), Jalen Brunson (12.6 ppg, 52.3 FG%, 40.5 3-Pt.%), Josh Richardson (12.1 ppg), Dorian Finney-Smith (9.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 47.2 FG%, 39.4 3-Pt.%), Maxi Kleber (7.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 41.0 3-Pt.%), Trey Burke (6.6 ppg, 35.4 3-Pt.%), Dwight Powell, and J.J. Redick will also be important.

“We are a dangerous team,” Porzingis said. “We have the tools. We just don’t have the experience yet, and it’s good that we have that first taste of defeat last season. And we’re looking to take a step forward in this series against the Clippers and see how we can matchup against them and compete with them.”

For the Clippers, the play of Paul George will play a major role if they can finally reach the Western Conference Finals at least for the first time in franchise history.

His meltdown in the Semis against the Nuggets, especially in the fourth quarter of Game 7 has been well documented in how being isolated in the restart in Orlando, FL led to him having bouts of depression.

George has been on his game for a majority if not all of the past regular season. But great players make their mark in the playoffs, and a thunderous beginning against the Mavericks is the best way to not only get the internet trolls off his back but raise his own confidence. The redemption tour for George begins now, and how it goes will dictate the Clippers fortunes in the 2021 Playoffs.

While the Mavericks boast one of the rising stars in the NBA and one of the best modern big men in the NBA respectably in Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, the Clippers have a deep team full of perimeter shooters, versatile players and two of the best two-way players in the game that are playoff tested in two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

More than anything the Clippers enters these playoffs with something to prove. They are built to win now and bring a focus to put last season’s collapse behind them. They will bring a focus that if they should see more “Luka Magic” they will be ready to match it just like last season and keep it moving.

The Mavericks, who have lost in the opening-round their last five playoff appearances are confident they can win this series. Their owner Mark Cuban feels confident the Mavericks can advance past the Clippers.

“When you come and work for this organization and you work for Marc Cuban, you got to be somebody that loves pressure,” Coach Carlisle said. “And I keep getting questions about, you know, is there pressure to advance? Hell, yeah there’s pressure to advance, and that’s what this is all about.”

“But you’ve got to love pressure and you’ve got to find ways to make pressure your friend.”

Prediction: Clippers in six games.

(7) Los Angeles Lakers versus (2) Phoenix Suns

                     (42-30)                             (51-21)

PHX: Won season-series 2-1

In the history of the NBA, only the No. 6 Seeded Houston Rockets entered the playoffs without the precious homecourt advantage and won the title in 1995. The reigning NBA champions from L.A. will be looking to do the same thing as the No. 7 Seed as they begin defense of their title against the team from “The Valley of the Sun,” who will be making their first postseason appearance in a decade.

On Mar. 20, the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers were sitting pretty at 28-14 and it seemed inevitable that they would be a top Seed in the rugged Western Conference, making their path to reaching The Finals again a real possibility.

It was in their tilt that March afternoon against the Hawks that their season turned where four-time Kia MVP and four-time Finals MVP LeBron James (25.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 7.8 apg, 51.3 FG%, 36.5 3-Pt.%) suffered a high right ankle sprain and was on the mend for six weeks, missing a career-high 20 games and 26 of the last 30 games (27 total missed games-tied a career-high for a single season) of the regular season. The Lakers were 30-15 with James in the lineup, and just 12-15 without James in the lineup.

Before that, the Lakers lost fellow perennial All-Star big man Anthony Davis on Feb. 14 versus the Nuggets with a left calf strain/left Achilles tendinosis, which shelved him for 30 of 36 total games during the season in that stretch, going 14-16. Overall, the Lakers were 19-17 with Davis out of the lineup during the regular season.

The Lakers without both James and Davis in the lineup went 7-9 from Mar. 21-Apr. 21 and were 7-13 overall without their all-world stars in the regular season. With both James and Davis in the lineup, the Lakers went 19-8.

They were as mentioned 28-14 on Mar. 20, but they finished the regular season 14-16 their final 30 games, which dropped them from having homecourt advantage to having to earn their way into the playoff through the inaugural Play-In Tournament.

The Lakers overcame a slow start in the Play-In contest versus the Warriors to earn a 103-100 win on Wednesday night to claim the No. 7 spot in the West.

The Lakers had to overcome a 13-point halftime deficit (55-42) as they outscored the Warriors 61-45 in the second half, including 35-24 in the third quarter where they forced eight of the Warriors 20 turnovers and scoring 12 of the 29 points off Warriors miscues in the quarter.

Davis led the way scoring 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter to go along with 12 rebounds on 10 for 24 from the field. James had a triple-double of 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and hit the eventual game-winning three-pointer with under a minute left, playing the game with blurred vision as at the 2:07 mark of the fourth quarter took a hit to his left eye from the Warriors Draymond Green on a drive to the hoop.

To put into context the hill head coach Frank Vogel’s squad had to climb against the Warriors, James and Davis combined to go 3 for 19 from the field in the opening half for a total of 11 points but scored a combined 36 points on 14 for 22 shooting in the second 24 minutes.

“It was good to get that first playoff punch out of the way,” James said after the victory versus the Warriors on Wednesday night. “It wasn’t comfortable, but it settled us.”

That victory earned the defending champs a date with the No. 2 Seeded Phoenix Suns who earned their first playoff appearance since 2010 by winning 50 games also for the first time in 11 seasons and capturing their first Pacific Division title since 2007.

The groundwork for the Suns success this season came in the restart in Orlando last season where under first-year head coach Monty Williams went a perfect 8-0 to fall one game short of making the playoffs, as the Suns finished 2019-20 34-39.

The addition of 11-time All-Star Chris Paul (16.4 ppg, 8.9 apg-3^rd NBA, 4.5 rpg, 49.9 FG%, 39.5 3-Pt.%, 93.4 FT%), to alongside the rising dynamic duo of fellow All-Star Devin Booker (25.6 ppg-Led team, 48.4 FG%, 34.0 3-Pt.%) and Deandre Ayton (14.4 ppg, 10.5 rpg-Led team, 62.6 FG%) is how the Suns went from just missing the playoffs barely to earning the No. 2 Seed in the stacked Western Conference.

“Just to see how [Williams] instilled his culture and teaching us young guys [how] to approach the game before the bubble even, but it really started in the bubble; approaching the game the right way, having gratitude, sharing the ball, being on time, just playing defense,” Ayton said earlier in the week. “He instilled that in the bubble, and to see how it progressed in a full season is actually amazing. It’s just a great feeling on this team to have a coach like that who really cares about us.”

The supporting cast of the Suns in youngsters Mikal Bridges (13.5 ppg, 54.3 FG%, 42.5 3-Pt.%), and Cameron Johnson (9.6 ppg, 34.9 3-Pt.%), veteran Jae Crowder (10.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 38.9 3-Pt.%), Cameron Payne (8.4 ppg, 3.6 apg, 48.4 FG%, 44.0 3-Pt.%), Dario Saric (8.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 44.7 FG%, 34.7 3-Pt.%), Frank Kaminsky III (6.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 47.1 FG%, 36.5 3-Pt.%), and Torrey Craig (5.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 48.0 FG%, 36.8 3-Pt.%), who the Suns acquired from the Bucks at the Mar. 25 trade deadline have also played consistently in the regular season.

This matchup between the Suns and Lakers will not be your typical No. 2 versus No. 7 playoff series.

The experience is on the Lakers side, while three of the five regular starters for the Suns in Booker, Ayton, and Bridges will be making their playoff debuts.

This is where the experience of Paul and Crowder, who was with the Heat during their run to The Finals in the Orlando restart will be of tremendous help.

The Suns began their preparation for possibly meeting up with the Lakers by watching their Play-In game against the Warriors according to Crowder.

Even with that lack of experience, the Suns are excited to be in the postseason and are looking forward to the matchup with the defending champion Lakers.

“I’m excited to be in the playoffs and to continue to play, but I don’t know what to expect, man,” Ayton said earlier in the week. “I just know it’s gonna be super-intense, it’s going to be serious, it’s going to be really [more] of a mental focus, not only physical. I’m ready to take that next step. That’s what I’ve been waiting for, working for.”

That positive attitude by Ayton is good for Suns fans to hear because he will have his hands full in dealing with not just Davis in the interior on both ends but also Andre Drummond (14.9 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 49.3 FG%), Montrezl Harrell (13.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 62.2 FG%), and Marc Gasol.

How Ayton, Kaminsky III, Saric, and Crowder play on both ends against the Lakers frontcourt will go a long way in deciding this series.

In the Lakers lone victory during the regular season against the Suns (123-110) on May 9, Davis had his way with 42 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three block shots on 13 for 27 from the field and 15 for 17 from the foul line.

In the case of Craig, Bridges, Johnson as well as Crowder, they will take turns in trying to somehow slow down James, who only played in one of the three games against the Suns during the regular season.

If nothing else that will get fans excited for this series is seeing two of the league’s faces for the past decade plus in James and Paul matchup for the first time in the NBA’s second season. 

On top of that, the Suns will have the luxury of having a floor general that in his Hall of Fame to be career has a career assist/turnover ratio of 3.92, which trails only Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues and former Chicago Bulls of their first championship three-peat (1991-93) John Paxson.

“I get jitters before every game,” Paul, who was second in the NBA in assists/turnover ratio at 3.99 behind only the Grizzlies Tyus Jones at 5.40 said. “I always say the day that I stop getting them, I need to retire. I’m excited and nervous at the same time going into every game. It’s exciting more than anything. For the playoffs, there’s nothing like it. The intensity of it, you’re not coming off a back-to-back, you’ve got time to prepare.

The Suns got that necessary time to prepare compared to the Lakers, and that time was for sure used wisely considering they are going up against the top defense in the NBA, that dipped no lower than No. 4 in the league without James and Davis in the lineup for the aforementioned stretches of the regular season.

The Lakers only allowed opponents to connect on 35.2 percent of their three-point attempts, while the Suns gave up just 35.4 percent from distance to their opponents during the season.

In their season series, the made managed to make 29 total three-pointers in the three games against the Suns, while allowing 36 made threes, getting outscored 108-87 from three-point range.

Along with continuing their high level of play at the defensive end, the Lakers also need consistent offensive punch from the inside by the previously mentioned Drummond, Harrell, and Davis as well as solid marksmanship from the perimeter from Kyle Kuzma (12.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 44.3 FG%, 36.1 3-Pt.%) Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (9.7 ppg, 41.0 3-Pt.%), Talen Horton-Tucker (9.0 ppg, 45.8 FG%), Ben McLemore (7.7ppg, 34.6 3-Pt.%), Markieff Morris (6.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg), Alex Caruso (6.4 ppg, 40.1 3-Pt.%), and Wesley Matthews.  

The other key of who takes this series is who wins the first quarter as the team that led after the opening period ended up winning the game. In the previously mentioned lone loss by the Suns at the Lakers on May 9, the Lakers led wire-to-wire. Neither of the three meeting between the Suns and Lakers was decided in clutch time, meaning the game was within five points the final five minutes of regulation or overtime.

That 1995 Houston Rockets title team has a couple thing the defending has entering these playoffs. They had two Hall of Fame pillars in Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler and a plethora of role players like Kenny Smith, Robert Horry, and Mario Elie that rose to the moment when called upon. And championship level head coach in recently named Hall of Famer Rudy Tomjanovich.

The Lakers have their own great duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis and championship level role players in Kyle Kuzma, Alex Caruso, Markieff Morris, Alex Caruso, Marc Gasol, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, to go along with Dennis Schroder and Andre Drummond.

Not having home court advantage and no room for error is not how you want to start your quest to repeat as champions. But this is where the Lakers stand and they are primed to take on this challenge that begins with a series against the Phoenix Suns.

The Lakers also know if they play anything like they did against the Warriors in the first half on Wednesday night, they could see their reign as NBA champs end in the opening-round of this postseason. 

“Knowing that we’re the defending champs, nothing’s going to be easy for us because we do have a target on our back, and every team wants to beat us,” Davis said after the win versus the Warriors on Wednesday. “We’ve got to come out a lot better than we did [tonight] against Phoenix in that playoff series.”

Prediction: Lakers in seven games.

(6) Portland Trail Blazers versus (3) Denver Nuggets

                   (42-30)                                      (47-25)

Two years ago, the boys from “Rip City” and the boys from the Colorado played an epic seven-game series in the 2019 West Semifinals, that include a legendary quadruple overtime thriller in Game 3 that made believers in a lot of people that these two teams had the stuff be a force in an ever-improving Western Conference. We saw the emergence of star center, who helped led them to their first Western Conference Finals appearance since 2009. On the opposing side is a lead guard continuing to etch his name as one of the best floor generals and leaders in “The Association,” especially when it comes to scoring in the clutch. The two teams meet again, this time to start their playoff journeys and if this series is anything close to the epic like they had two years ago, we are in for some serious fireworks.

The Portland Trail Blazers the No. 6 Seed will once again lock horns with the No. 3 Seeded Denver Nuggets in a tilt where the headliners are the leading candidate for Kia MVP in Nikola Jokic (26.4 ppg-Led team, 10.8 rpg-9^th NBA, 8.3 apg-6^th NBA, 56.6 FG%, 38.8 3-Pt.%-career-high) and perennial All-Star Damian Lillard (28.8 ppg-3^rd NBA, 7.5 apg-8^th NBA, 45.1 FG%, 39.1 3-Pt.%) of the Trail Blazers.

Lillard closed the regular season strong averaging 31.8 points, 8.1 assists, and 4.5 rebounds on 56.2 percent from the field, 50 three-point percent and 93.8 at the foul line.

Jokic to close this season averaged 26.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 6.2 assists the last 10 games of the regular season on 55.6 FG%.

The play of Lillard, who averaged 23.0 points and 9.3 assists on 36.7 percent from three-point range against the Nuggets and Jokic has been electric and necessary for their respective squads as both teams have had to deal with injuries to key personnel, which has not only tested their physical attrition but their mental attrition.

During the season, Lillard’s backcourt mate in CJ McCollum (23.1 ppg, 4.7 apg, 45.8 FG%, 40.2 3-Pt.%) and starting center Jusuf Nurkic (11.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 51.4 FG%) missed significant team because of respectably a foot and wrist injuries. That put the offensive weight once again on the shoulder of the player referred to as “The Letter O,” and Lillard responded once again.

“We’re not coming into this series looking at it like, ‘Well, we did it two years ago. So, it can be done now,” Lillard said on his team’s mindset against the Nuggets.

He added about Jokic and the Nuggets now, “They’re different. Jokic is an even better player now. He was great then, but he’s a better player now. I feel like they’re a deeper team now. So, we’ve got our hands full. But it’s a good matchup for us and one that we feel like we’re more than capable of winning.”

The Nuggets have been dealing with injuries for much of the season and too have managed but on Apr. 12 in a loss at the Warriors, starting lead guard Jamal Murray, who scored 50 twice in the opening-round and averaged 31.6 points in the seven games series against the Utah Jazz suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee, ending his season in the 116-107 loss Apr. 12 at Warriors. The Nuggets though continued to take care of business to close the season going 16-8 without Murray.

Without Murray, head coach Michael Malone’s squad not only leaned heavily on Jokic, but also on rising young star Michael Porter, Jr. (19.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg), who shot a remarkable 54.2 percent from the field and 44.5 percent from three-point range.

If the Nuggets hope to advance past the Trail Blazers, Jokic cannot average just 5.7 rebounds and four assists like he did during the regular season against them, though he did average 29 points in the three-game season series.

The three factors that will decide this chapter of Nuggets versus Trail Blazers will be which team’s supporting cast will play consistently on both ends. Which team can consistently make three-point shots and who has the gumption to make this series the start of a serious postseason run?

Along with not having Murray, the Nuggets have been without Monte Morris (10.2 ppg, 48.1 FG%, 38.1 3-Pt.%) and Will Barton III (12.7 ppg, 38.1 3-Pt.%) for a combined 21 games down the stretch of the regular season because of respective hamstring injuries. Barton III who missed the regular season finale at the Trail Blazers on May 16 (127-112 loss) and Morris just returned recently from a 12-game absence. The return to health for Barton III and Morris will play a major part in Nuggets advancing in this series.

If they are hampered in any way or out, Porter, Jr., and Aaron Gordon (12.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 46.3 FG%), who the Nuggets acquired at the trade deadline from the Orlando Magic are more than capable of making up the offensive production of Murray, Morris, and Barton III. The Nuggets also have veteran Paul Millsap (9.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 47.6 FG%), Austin Rivers (8.7 ppg, 37.5 3-Pt.%), JaMychal Green (8.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 46.3 FG%, 39.9 3-Pt.%), P.J. Dozier (7.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg), rookie Facundo Campazzo (6.1 ppg, 3.6 apg, 35.2 3-Pt.%), and JaVale McGee to provide scoring and athleticism on the defensive end, particularly on the defensive and offensive glass.

For head coach Terry Stotts’ team, his supporting cast has had its ups and downs during this season, the group of Carmelo Anthony (13.4 ppg, 40.9 3-Pt.%), Enes Kanter (11.2 ppg, 11.0 rpg-7^th NBA, 60.4 FG%), Robert Covington (8.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 37.9 3-Pt.%), Anfernee Simons (7.8 ppg, 42.6 3-Pt.%), and Derrick Jones, Jr. (6.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 48.4 FG%) have shown they can be dynamic on both ends of the court, when they have been focused on doing so for an entire game, which has not always been the case during the regular season.

They hoped the addition of Covington and Jones, Jr. during the offseason would improve them defensively on the perimeter, particularly when the acquired Norman Powell (18.6 ppg, 47.7 FG%, 41.1 3-Pt.%) at the Mar. 25 trade deadline from the Raptors for Gary Trent, Jr., and Rodney Hood. While Powell has scored and shot the ball well offensively, he Covington, and Jones, Jr. have underachieved at the defensive end.

One area the Trail Blazers have been prolific is from three-point range, where they had the No. 2 rank in the league in three-point attempts at 40.8 and connected on the No. 6 best percentage from three-point range at 38.5 percent.

That only can spell problems for a Nuggets team that was No. 22 opponent’s three-point percentage allowing 36.3 percent from distance.

One of the reasons that the Nuggets acquired Gordon was his ability to guard some of the best perimeter players in the league, even prolific guards like Lillard and McCollum.

Gordon and the Nuggets will need to be locked on when guarding the Trail Blazers sharp shooters, especially Lillard, who connected on better than 44 percent from three-point range in three of the past five tilts against the Nuggets and made 54 percent of his triple tries in two of the three regular season meetings.  

Along with Gordon, Jokic’s defense on the perimeter will be under the spotlight this series, especially when he is switched onto Lillard or McCollum on ball screens set by Nurkic.

Two years ago, the Nuggets and Trail Blazers played a competitive, hard fought, high scoring, except for Game 7 series that vaulted their profiles as teams that could make some noise in the West. The headliners in Nikola Jokic for the Nuggets and Damian Lillard for the Trail Blazers have gotten even better since. Which of the two Kia MVP candidates can bring it, get some help from their teammates and who can slow the other team down defensively will be the one to advance?

“What we do is give ourselves a chance every postseason, and we go into it believing we could be a team that can make a run,” Lillard said. “If we don’t believe that, then we don’t have a chance. We’re coming into this postseason not saying, ‘it’s our eighth straight.’ We’re coming in trying to make something happen.

The Nuggets, who share the same feeling might have a slight edge in depth, but they do not have Jamal Murray, and the Trail Blazers have the lead clutch player in Damian Lillard who when given a chance to pull a game out of the fire will do so at a moment’s notice.

Prediction: Trail Blazers in seven games.  

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 5/13/2021 7:30 p.m. “Philadelphia 76ers versus Miami Heat,” on TNT, presented by State Farm with Marv Albert and Grant Hill; 5/16/2021 11 p.m. WPIX 11’s “Sports Nation” with Andy Adler, Joe Mauceri, Marysol Castro, and Justin Walters; 5/17/2021 6 p.m. WBCS 2 News at 6 with Dana Tyler, Lonnie Quinn with Weather and Otis Livingston with Sports; 5/17/2021 and 5/22/2021 www.nba.com’s series previews of all First-Round series by Steve Aschburner, John Schuhmann, Shaun Powell, and Michael C. Wright; 5/20/2021 10:30 p.m. “Inside the NBA,” presented by Kia on TNT with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal; 5/21/2021 9 p.m. “Memphis Grizzlies versus Golden State Warriors,” West Play-In Tournament, presented by State Farm and “NBA Courtside,” presented by Ally with Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and Rachel Nichols; 5/21/2021 11:30 p.m. ESPN’s “Sportscenter” from Los Angeles, CA with Neil Everett and Linda Cohn; 5/22/2021 2:30 a.m. NBATV’s “Gametime” with Matt Winer, Isiah Thomas, and Earl Watson; 5/22/2021 www.espn.com story, “NBA Playoffs 2021:Everything You Need To Know About The 16 Teams In The Mix; www.espn.com/nba/standings; and www.espn.com/nba/team/stats/schedule/_/name.