This time of year, it is a little slow for sports, to be honest. We had the Preakness on Saturday – Justify won the 2nd leg, as expected (my bets didn’t pan out, also as expected). Baseball has passed the quarter pole. Football started OTAs. Yes, the NHL is about to go into the Stanley Cup Finals with the Las Vegas Golden Knights getting to the Finals in their 1st year. Definitely a story there, but I’ll preview the NHL Finals after Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. That leaves us with the NBA, which to me is the most interesting right now.
Eastern Conference
The Celtics roared out to a 2-0 lead in the series. The experts had ruled them out from the start with their 2 most talented players in street clothes at home games (Gordon Heyward and Kyrie Irving). Yet, Coach Brad Stevens’ bunch took it to the Cavs in Game 1 with a complete beatdown – 108-83 and then a solid win in Game 2 (107-94), despite Lebron James’ 42 points. Many people were burying the Cavs after that one. One thing you have to remember about the playoffs. The Home team is supposed to win their games. Boston hasn’t lost at home during the playoffs yet, so winning 2 at home was really “holding serve.” I still remember back in the Jordan era when the Knicks jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the Bulls looking very impressive doing it, too, at home. Then, MJ and Scottie busted them up in Games 3 & 4. Finally, in Game 5 in Madison Square Garden, the Knicks had the lead late until MJ, Scottie and Horace Grant collectively blocked Charles Smith 5 times under the basket and BJ Armstrong stuck a jumper from the corner to steal Game 5, and the Bulls would cruise to their 3rd straight NBA Finals winning at home in Game 6. So, is it a shock to you that the best player in the world, Lebron James, would lead his team to a crushing 30 point victory in Game 3 (116-86) at home? Then, last night, Lebron took over the game when it counted on both ends en route to a 44 point performance, his 6th 40+ point game of these playoffs, Cavs won 111-102.
Inside the Stats
- Cavs have shot better than the Celts in 3 of the 4 Games at 45.4% for the series vs. 43.8%
- Cavs have outrebounded the Celts in 3 of the 4 Games including a +15 in Game 4
- Celtics have been much better in Assist to Turnover Ratio – 2.10 vs. 1.25
- Lebron is shooting 54.1% from the field in the series, and that includes a terrible 31.3% performance in Game 1
- Celt’s Rookie Phenom, Jayson Tatum, has been held under 19 points in every game of the series
The Series is now tied 2-2 with the next game in Boston tomorrow (Wednesday, May 23rd at 7:30 PM Central). Look, I like Boston, and I want them to win over Lebron based on my love for MJ and those Bulls, but the Playoff Index I created can’t estimate the best player on the floor. Lebron is that player, and if Cleveland can get someone, and I mean anyone to step up in Game 5, then I see them winning in Boston and then eliminating the Celts on Friday in Cleveland leading Lebron back to the Finals for the, wait for it….8th straight year. It’s insane, and just like those 1993 Bulls, the team with the best player will win this series. Oh and Lebron just passed Karem Abdul-Jabar for most career points scored in the playoffs.
Games 5: Wednesday, May 23rd at 8:30 PM Eastern/7:30 PM Central
Game 6: Friday, May 24th at 8:30 PM Eastern/7:30 PM Central
Game 7: Sunday, May 26th at 8:30 PM Eastern/7:30 PM Central (if necessary)
Western Conference
The Warriors went into to Houston and pummeled the Rockets in Game 1. The Rockets made some adjustments and played a great game in Game 2 to take a game off the Warriors, only their 4th loss in the playoffs since acquiring Kevin Durant. Now, unlike the Cavs-Celts, the Rockets splitting at home has given Golden State home court advantage now in the series. What this means is that the Warriors only have to win their games at home to win the series. The Rockets will need to win in Oakland to win this series. So, in Game 3, Houston needed to bring it, but they did not. Golden State ran them out of the gym winning by 41 points. That is an insane margin for victory in a Conference Finals game, and the 4th largest of all time (incidentally the largest was also the Warriors getting beat by the 72-73 Lakers by 56, yikes!) I love the press. After Game 2, people were killing Steph Curry who is coming off an injury. “He isn’t healthy.” “He can’t defend.” Well, Steph played like a man possessed in Game 3 scoring a crazy 35 points, and from what I saw, he defended quite well.
Inside the Stats:
- Warriors are shooting a red hot 50.2% from the field compared to Rockets 45.5%
- Rockets do have big rebound advantage in the series – 151-131
- Warriors are crushing Assist to Turnover Ratio – 2.0 vs. 1.20 for the Rockets
- Durant and Curry have combined for 56.3 PPG
- Harden and Paul scored 64 combined in Game 1 and 76 in Games 2 & 3 combined (46.7 PPG)
The Series is 2-1 with Game 4 tonight. If Houston wants a shot at this, they have to take this game. Going back to Houston down 3-1, and having to win 3 straight does not seem possible with this Warriors team. The Warriors have what every other NBA Champion have – another level. Their game is already at a high level, but when Curry is playing his best along with Durant who offensively is really unstoppable, the Warriors look like the NBA Champ again. Still have to play the games, of course, but let’s face it, this Warriors team is the best assembly of talent in a long time. James Harden and Chris Paul will have to play big tonight or it will be time for more Banana Boat recruiting in the off season.
Game 4: Tuesday, May 22nd at 9:00 PM Eastern/8:00 PM Central (Tonight)
Game 5: Thursday, May 24th at 9:00 PM Eastern/8:00 PM Central
Game 6: Saturday, May 26th at 9:00 PM Eastern/8:00 PM Central (if necessary)
Game 7: Monday, May 28th at 9:00 PM Eastern/8:00 PM Central (not bloody likely)
Let’s see if Houston has something for the Warriors tonight, although the last time the Ws lost at home in the playoffs was in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals against the Cavs. Enjoy!
Wegs