Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the NBA daily. Hey! We’re in the playoffs now!
The Bucks advance to the Eastern semis after sweeping the Miami Heat.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Sam Navarro/USA Today.)
Well then.
The Milwaukee Bucks avenged last season’s humiliating loss to the Miami Heat by sweeping them in this first round series. After Game 1, it just seemed like the Heat turned into pumpkins.
In the first half, the Heat looked like a desperate team. They even went up by double digits on the Bucks. But that was quickly erased by a 19-2 run by Milwaukee. What was even more discouraging for the Heat? Giannis Antetokounmpo only did his damage at the start of the run with two free throws. The Heat were done in by Brook Lopez, Khris Middleton, and Bryn Forbes.
Bryn Forbes. He really gave the Heat fits. He scored 13 points in the second to keep Milwaukee afloat and made 7 threes overall on the way to 22 points. Despite Donte DiVincenzo being out for the postseason, Forbes has been huge for the Bucks in this series. Even though Jimmy Butler did get a triple-double (12-10-10), what they needed more from Butler was scoring. If Bryn Forbes is outscoring your star (60-58 in this series), you’re probably not going to win the series.
Giannis eventually got going and he got himself a triple-double, too (20-12-15). But after Game 1, the Bucks just throttled the Heat; they won the last three games by an average of 26.7 points per game. Like I said before, the Bucks seem to be on a mission. They have an upgraded core and the attention is a bit away from them, which I feel seems to help Milwaukee.
On the other side, an inconsistent roster, which would make for inconsistent play, really did Miami in. They got healthy in time but the Bucks were probably chomping on the bit to get revenge on the Heat. Maybe the isolation really helped Miami. I don’t think it’s a “fraudulent” run by any means; the Heat are a well-coached, disciplined, and talented bunch. I would like to see this Miami team in a more “normal” environment. No pandemic so there would be no health scares. The fans would be back so they could get more support. The normal grind of the season. Basically, no weird distractions and the roster would be more readily available. But them’s the breaks and Miami is the first team to be eliminated from the playoffs.
The Bucks now await the winner between Brooklyn and Boston.
Bullet Passes
It was not a great day of playoff basketball. In Portland, the Blazers tied the series against the Nuggets. Neither of the stars (Nikola Jokic and Damian Lillard) exactly played well but Portland got more help from the supporting cast.
NBA champion Norman Powell scored 29 points to lead Portland. Lillard only made one field goal but he was close to a triple-double with 10-8-10 (two rebounds shy). Jokic scored 16 points in the loss.
This has now become a best-of-three.
The Sixers were just overwhelming against the Wizards. Yes, Russell Westbrook got his triple-double (26-12-10) and Bradley Beal scored 25 but the entire Sixers starting line-up all scored in double digits. Plus Joel Embiid could not be stopped; he scored 36 points.
Philly shot .586 while the Wiz couldn’t hit 40 percent of their field goals. It’s just a matter of days now for the Wizards to stay in the playoffs…
Utah against Memphis was decidedly the most exciting of the games. Again, I love that Memphis doesn’t care that they’re the 8th seed (or is it 9th seed; they’re technically the 9th seed). But Utah is kind of #1 for a reason. And we found out once again why Donovan Mitchell is their #1 option. Mitchell scored 10 points in a late 12-0 run that put away the Grizzlies. Memphis couldn’t make threes when they needed them.
Still, it’s “just” a 2-1 series lead by the Jazz. If Memphis ties the series, this gets dangerous for Utah yet again.
NBA Playoff Scoreboard
May 29, 2021
NBA Playoff Series Count
EAST
#1 Sixers lead #8 Wizards, 3-0.
#5 Hawks lead #4 Knicks, 2-1.
#2 Nets lead #7 Celtics, 2-1.
#3 Bucks defeat #6 Heat, 4-0.
WEST
#1 Jazz lead #8 Grizzlies, 2-1.
#5 Mavericks lead #4 Clippers, 2-1.
#7 Lakers lead #2 Suns, 2-1.
#3 Nuggets tied with #6 Blazers, 2-2.
Watch This Play
Let Ja Morant take you for a spin.
Ja Morant went 360 on this SLAM 😤 pic.twitter.com/k0cl7546CN
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 30, 2021
I love the brashness by Morant. He doesn’t care if it’s a playoff game. PUT ON A SHOW.
Rest in peace to Utah Jazz great Mark Eaton. Eaton is 4th in most blocks in NBA history. The 7’4″ center also owns the record for most blocks in a single season (both average at 5.6 and total at 456). Eaton played 11 years, all with the Jazz. He made the all-star team in 1989, was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner, and was a staple with the John Stockton/Karl Malone Jazz teams.
Eaton was 64.
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.
R.I.P. Nala.