Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. NBA Playoff Basketball is going on!
The Heat shockingly take a 3-0 lead against the Bucks.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Mark J. Terrill/AP.)
As the game was going on, I was telling people, “Man, (Bucks) are letting Miami hang around.”
About 15 minutes later, the Heat broke it open and we’re questioning everything about the Milwaukee Bucks. Miami just seems to have an answer about whatever the Bucks have and do.
Jimmy Butler continues to be that guy, scoring 17 of his 30 points in the 4th quarter. In fact, he outscored the Bucks by himself, 17-13. Milwaukee actually led by 12 going into the fourth but the Heat have had a knack of counterpunching back this entire series. When it became a four-point game minutes later, I just had a bad feeling for the deer.
Much of the questioning also came to Mike Budenholzer. He seems pretty stubborn about giving a minutes limit to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. In fact, Budenholzer said 35-36 minutes is pushing the ceiling.
I’m no NBA coach but if my team is about to be ELIMINATED from the postseason, I’d go all out with my best players. I thought the reason why you play your star players 30-32 minutes per game in the regular season is so you can save them for the postseason. But hey, I’m just one opinion.
But my opinion here is that Miami thoroughly has Milwaukee’s number. They sunk 18 threes and have gotten big shots from Goran Dragic, Tyler Herro, Derrick Jones Jr., and Jae Crowder. Crowder especially stepped up in Game 3, getting 17-4-5 and doing the dirty work defensively. Bam Adebayo was also getting it done, scoring 20 and grabbing 16 boards.
Of course, there was Butler. The Bucks couldn’t stop him from getting to the line. And Butler was such a disruptor defensively. Just making all the winning plays. All the winning plays that the Bulls, Wolves, and especially the Sixers miss right now.
No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit. Once again, Milwaukee has no home court to lean on. What they do have to hope for is that Budenholzer destroys the ceiling and plays Giannis and Middleton about 42 minutes or more. Give them a chance to get back into the series.
Or else it’s all night on the beach till the break of dawn. Actually, don’t do that. We’re still in a pandemic.
Bullet Passes
While Denver couldn’t get anything going against the Clippers, the Rockets looked tireless against the Lakers in Game 1 as they surprisingly blew out L.A.
One could say that the Lakers are trying to feel this out because the Rockets are unlike any other NBA team. They are such a nagging defensive team, especially when you consider that they play P.J. Tucker at center. P.J. is 6’5″.
The Lakers acted like it was a preseason game in September when they’re actually in a POSTSEASON game in September. They also inserted the returning Rajon Rondo back to his regular role and you know how the Laker fan base reacted to that.
Meanwhile, the Lakers couldn’t stop James Harden, who went for 36 points. A lot of people quipped (but not really) about this but Harden MUST be glad that Lu Dort is no longer guarding him.
The Lakers should outrebound these guys, considering the size difference. But they were actually even on the boards at 41.
In awards news, perennial Sixth Man Award winner Lou Williams presented his teammate with the trophy.
From one sixth man to another.@TeamLou23 surprises @MONSTATREZZ with the 2019-20 Sixth Man of the Year trophy. pic.twitter.com/waxEE0FtIe
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) September 4, 2020
Congrats to Montrezl Harrell. Harrell averaged 18.6 points and 7.1 boards off the bench. He was also a finalist for the award last season.
The Clippers have pretty much dominated this award. The winner came from that team 5 of the last 7 seasons. Jamal Crawford won it in 2014 and 2016. Lou Williams won it the last two seasons. Heck, Williams won it as a member of the Raptors in 2015. And another former Clipper, Eric Gordon, won it in 2017 as a member of the Rockets.
NBA Playoff Scoreboard
Game 3: #1 MIL 100 vs #5 MIA 115 (MIA leads series, 3-0)
Game 1: #1 LAL 97 vs #4 HOU 112 (HOU leads series, 1-0)
Watch This Play
The Lakers may have lost but Russell Westbrook got bullied all night by LeBron James. This was one of those times.
JESUS CHRIST, LEBRON JAMES ELEVATES AND DETONATES OVER WESTBROOK! #LakeShow x #OneMission#WholeNewGame #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/C1NVeag8oA
— Italo Santana (@BulletClubIta) September 5, 2020
LeBron is Russell’s daddy now.
Let’s see what the weekend holds for the playoffs. Stay safe in the bubble, everybody.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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