The Grip - WED 4.18

2018, where Wade and Rondo win playoff games

April 18, 2018

4.18.18

J.S.: I’m f****** sick and tired of being babied.

S.E.: Then move out of your parents’ house and make your own lunch pack.

S.E.: Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Written while listening to Mos Def's Black on Both Sides [Spotify] [Apple Music] [YouTube]

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]

“Dwyane Wade definitely has a game-winner left in him.” -- The Grip, 4/13/18 (here is the link if you don’t believe us)

Where do we collect our prize? We’ll take financial compensation, and, yes, we accept Venmo.

Okay, he didn’t exactly hit a game-winner on Monday, BUT, he dropped 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting off the bench and hit a dagger, which prompted a “you a bad MFer” from courtside Allen Iverson, also a bad MFer.

It was fun, vintage, slashing, mid-range Wade, and it also prompted Joel Embiid to post this message on Instagram after the game.

Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise for Embiid; if they won on Monday and extended the win streak to 18, some pressure would have been on him whenever he does come back.

A low-hanging media story would be how the 76ers have led the league in pace since his injury (true), and how they’re actually better right now without him. (Not true.)

This is going to be a very good series, though. Also hell yes, Kelly Olynyk has been very good.

Eastern Conference

No. 4 Cleveland vs. No. 5 Indiana

Game 1: Pacers 98, Cavaliers 80 [Box Score] [Highlights]

We warned you about the crazy stuff that comes out the day after a LeBron James playoff loss, and here is our vindicator: "LeBron’s future is tied to Kawhi."

We’d love to categorize this with the rest of #overreactionMonday, but the juiciness comes from Brian Windhorst on Sportsnation, who is a great reporter. He made the point that the Lakers will offer a mega-trade for Kawhi Leonard under the presumption LeBron will sign there in free agency.

Anyways, watch the Cavs get back on track tonight at 7PM EST on TNT. 

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]

This may sound like hindsight bias, but shame on the people who chose Joe Prunty in a series over Brad Stevens.

*Ahem* Chuck. *Ahem* Tim Bontemps.

Prunty, who took over midway through the season, is lost because he isn’t really an NBA coach. There is zero creativity on offense, and the guard play, led by Eric Bledsoe, has been miserable. Plans A, B, C and whatever else haven’t worked. He’s running out of time to patch together a good gameplan.

Stevens can elevate a player (Joe Crowder, Evan Turner, Isaiah Thomas Jordan Crawford, Avery Bradley, Daniel Theis) in a way few other coach can. Terry Rozier, for example, has been fantastic, scoring 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting with eight assists. In two playoff games, he has zero turnovers. Zero.

Oh, and Jaylen Brown dropped 30 and put in a good bid to be Boston’s offensive catalyst this postseason.  

No. 1 Toronto vs. No. 8 Washington

Game 1: Raptors 114, Wizards 106 [Box Score] [Highlights]Game 2: Raptors 130, Washington 119 [Box Score] [Highlights]

Well, this is quickly turning into a classic one-vs.-eight seed beat down.

(It’s crazy, too, because Washington is actually the best team in the Eastern Conference. They even said it!)

Toronto scored 44 points in the first quarter and led by 18 at halftime. Washington showed somewhat of a pulse in the second half, cutting it to five, but DeRozan, who finished with 37, helped blow it back open minutes later.

Brace for history: This is the first time ever that the Raptors find themselves up 2-0 in a series. In hockey news, the Las Vegas Golden Knights recently went up 2-0 on the Los Angeles Kings in their first year of existence.

Maybe the highlight of this one was Drake Spike Lee’ing John Wall. He did it in garbage time, though, avoiding a true Spike Lee moment. Very wise.

Western Conference

No. 1 Houston vs. No. 8 Minnesota

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

From Tim MacMahon at ESPN:  "Minnesota Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau called for All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns to play with more energy after Towns was an offensive afterthought in his playoff debut.” Oh yeah?

Interesting stat from Zach Lowe: In game one, the Rockets had an average pace of 93 possessions per game in the 41 minutes James Harden played, and an average pace of 109 possessions per game in the seven minutes he was off the court. He just lullabies fools. 

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]

The Spurs led by six points at halftime, but were down by eight just six minutes of play later. Let’s just go to our newest segment.

Here’s day No. 2 of What’s Sadder?

  • The fact that 80 percent of newborn sea turtles walk towards street lights and not the ocean when they hatch on the beach, mistaking artificial light for the moon.

  • The fact that Gregg Popovich, prideful coach of the San Antonio Spurs, has resorted to throwing shade at Kawhi Leonard during his postgame press conference after another dud of a game.

There is such a thing as self-awareness that Leonard does not seem to possess. Either that, or he doesn’t care in the slightest about his public image. 

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]

After Portland came all the way back to take a two-point lead with three minutes left, Nikola Mirotic hit a beautiful rainbow three to go up two points.

Rookie Zach Collins missed a three he had no business taking on the other end, and the Pelicans came back the other way. They missed two shots, got two offensive rebounds, and, finally, Jrue Holiday, who finished with 33, nailed a three on the third shot attempt of the possession.

For good measure, #PlayoffRondo nailed a corner three to cap a 9-0 run and the game. To dip deep into the cliche bin, the Pelicans got every loose ball in the final three minutes. 

Now, the important question: Are the Blazers -- after separating themselves down the stretch of a cluttered playoff race, winning 13 straight games and spawning these types of think pieces from great basketball minds -- just an average team that overachieved?

Or, is Anthony Davis and this rag-tag crew just that good right now?   

No. 4 Oklahoma City vs. No. 5 Utah

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

Oklahoma City probably isn’t the coolest NBA city to live in, but the fans are complete maniacs. Someone put up a Playoff P billboard, which is what Paul George named himself after his great game one performance. (Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony were there to make fun of him.)

They’ll look to go up 2-0 tonight at 8 PM EST on NBATV. (Pst: Don’t forget our free League Pass hack.)

What else happened?

Courtesy of Sports Illustrated