The Grip - FRI 4.20

It is no longer Dame time

April 20, 2018

4.20.18

S.E.: Let’s take a moment to acknowledge the passing of Erin Popovich, wife of Gregg, who was 67 and apparently sick for a while. The two were together for 40 years. Very sad.J.S.: Agreed. He took the night off last night. Ettore Messina was head coach.

Written while listening to Anderson .Paak's Malibu [Spotify] [Apple Music] [YouTube]

It is no longer Dame time

No. 3 Portland vs. No. 6 New Orleans

Game 1: Pelicans 97, Trail Blazers 95 [Box Score] [Highlights]Game 2: Pelicans 111, Trail Blazers 102 [Box Score] [Highlights]Game 3: Pelicans 119, Trail Blazers 102 [Box Score] [Highlights]

How the world reacted to game three, an unadulterated beatdown of the suddenly lifeless Trail Blazers:

There is no one in the world who saw this coming. A Pelicans series victory wouldn’t have exactly counted as an upset, but Portland entered the playoffs as a sneaky pick to give Golden State trouble.

They entered last night’s game in New Orleans with obvious pressure after dropping the first two at home, and, in a must-win, didn’t play well.  

Universally-respected Damian Lillard shot just 5-of-13 and is now 18-of-64 in the playoffs. Anthony Davis, meanwhile, dropped 28 on 11-of-18, and Nikola Mirotic led the team with 30 points on a blazing 12-of-15. #PlayoffRondo added a nice 16 points with 11 assists and five rebounds, and the Pelicans as a whole shot 52.9 percent from the floor and 40 percent from three.

For Portland, this isn’t just a disaster. This is a core-shuddering loss. How can general manager Neil Olshey bring this group back?

For New Orleans, it’s starting to feel like Mardi Gras, and this thing is just beginning.

Western Conference

No. 1 Houston vs. No. 8 Minnesota

Game 1: Rockets 104, Timberwolves 101 [Box Score] [Highlights]Game 2:  Rockets 102, Timberwolves 82 [Box Score] [Highlights]

Well, this is quickly turning into a classic one-vs.-eight seed beat down. Wait a minute -- we said this last edition.

Yeah, this ain’t the year for a Baron Davis-esque upset.

Karl-Anthony Towns continued to disappoint, putting up five points in 24 minutes of play. Jeff Teague had one assist. Butler took six shots. Their top scorer was freakin’ Nemanja Bjelica (try and say that outloud), who scored 16. 16!

Harden was awful, shooting 2-of-18 from the floor, but it didn’t matter. Chris Paul handled the offense (in style), and the Rockets blew out the Timberwolves after a surprisingly close game one.

To put it plain and simple: Get ya brooms out.

Was it worth clawing your way past the Nuggets to get embarrassingly swept by the Rockets?

Hard to say. Probably.

No. 2 Golden State vs. No. 7 San Antonio

Game 1: Warriors 113, Spurs 92 [Box Score] [Highlights]Game 2: Warriors 116, Spurs 101 [Box Score] [Highlights]Game 3: Warriors 110, Spurs 97 [Box Score] [Highlights]

Right when we got into the groove of What’s Sadder, something to do with the Spurs happened that was actually sad, and it made all of us wondering where Kawhi Leonard is look like losers who think someone not playing a game is actually sad.

Anyways, as washed as they are, and as over as this series is, it’s a true spectacle to see three future Hall of Famers (Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker) coming off the bench.

Also, it’s time to start taking the Rudy Gay curse seriously. The one time he was on an NBA roster for a playoff series win (2011, when Memphis upset San Antonio in a No. 1 vs. No. 8 matchup), Gay was hurt. He came back the next round and they lost to the Thunder.

Then he took the postseason off for six years, went to the Spurs (probably thought now's my time), gets a first round matchup with the Warriors, and is about to get swept.

He’s like the opposite of #PlayoffRondo. He’s #RegularRudy.

No. 4 Oklahoma City vs. No. 5 Utah

Game 1: Thunder 116, Jazz 108 [Box Score] [Highlights]Game 2: Jazz 102, Thunder 96 [Box Score] [Highlights]

These two games were the Thunder in a nutshell. In one game, Russell Westbrook was prime and Paul George was dropping 36. In the next, Carmelo Anthony was bricking two late threes.

The members of the Big 3 (an invalid nickname, we know) missed every shot they took in the fourth quarter. At home. In a tight game. In the playoffs. All 14 of them.

But kudos to the Jazz for not crumbling after falling down by 10 in the fourth. Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert did the dirty work down low (a combined 31 rebounds) while Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell provided the offense (50 points between the two). In the fourth, Mitchell, who was questionable at game time, scored 13 points and sealed the game with this filthy shot:

This series could go to seven.

Eastern Conference

No. 4 Cleveland vs. No. 5 Indiana

Game 1:

Pacers 98

, Cavaliers 80 [

] [

]

Game 2:

Cavaliers 100

, Pacers 97 [

] [

]

Have you ever wondered what greatness actually looks like? Just watch the first five minutes of Wednesday night’s Pacers-Cavaliers matchup.

LeBron scored all of the Cavaliers first 16 points and ended the half with an absurd stat line: 29 points, eight rebounds, four assists. But if you’re a Cavs fan (or on the wagon this year), here’s the worrisome part: The Pacers came back. They chipped away in the third and Oladipo got an open look at a three to tie the game in the last 30 seconds of the fourth quarter. That’s right, the Pacers nearly survived a 46-point performance by LeBron James. And they still head home with a road win.

No. 3 Philadelphia vs. No. 6 Miami

Game 1: 76ers 130, Heat 103 [Box Score] [Highlights]Game 2: Heat 113, 76ers 103 [Box Score] [Highlights]Game 3: 76ers 128, Heat 108 [Box Score] [Highlights]

Joel Embiid, who got his way after acting like a baby while simultaneously being asked not to be babied, returned and was his usual self, putting up 23 points in 30 minutes.But this was a Ben Simmons night above all else. He finished a plus-24 with a line of 19 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

No. 2 Boston vs. No. 7 Milwaukee

Game 1: Celtics 113, Buck 107 [OT] [Box Score] [Highlights]Game 2: Celtics 120, Bucks 106 [Box Score] [Highlights]

Thank you, Jabari Parker, for making sure the biggest story of this series wasn’t a beef between Terry Rozier and Eric Bledsoe.

On Thursday, Parker, the former No. 2 overall pick who has scored two points in this entire series, voiced his overt frustration.

The good news for Bucks fans: The Joe Prunty era could be over in as short as two games.

For Parker: A fresh start is on the horizon. He’s a free agent this summer.

What else happened?