Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the NBA daily. Hey! We’re in the playoffs now!
The Wizards live to play for another day.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Nick Wass/AP.)
The Wizards will not be swept. And there is a glimmer of hope for these Wizards in an unfortunate situation for the Sixers.
Joel Embiid left the game in the first half after landing hard on his backside. And then it was mentioned that knee soreness was the reason he was kept out.
The Wiz were down by 10 in the first quarter but quickly came back after Embiid left. Then coming off halftime, the Wizards got out of the gate with a couple of threes. A 10-2 run to end the third left D.C. up by 12.
Still, the Sixers got some help from Tyrese Maxey (who scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth) and Furkan Korkmaz (scored all 7 in the fourth). The Sixers caught the Wizards and even took the lead after a Ben Simmons free throw. D.C. did continue to foul Simmons to get him to go to the line; coming into this game, Simmons had been 0 for 9 from the line for the series! The Wizards fouled Ben three times and Simmons split his 6 foul shots.
Washington went up by four after Sixers missed threes. Rui Hachimura was able to get a breakaway dunk. After Simmons split foul shots again (shooting foul this time), Hachimura made a three to put Washington up 6. That was pretty much the game.
The difference here is that D.C. got help from Hachimura (20 points and 13 boards), Robin Lopez (16 points), and Bertans (15 points before he left in the third). Russell Westbrook shot horribly (3 for 19) but had an unbelieveable triple-double (19-21-14).
Obviously, losing Embiid hurts. Simmons might have to shoot more (13 points and 12 boards) and Tobias Harris has to shoot better (21-13-5 but 8 for 24). What they got from Maxey was great; they’ll need more of that from him.
Embiid is rumored to be fine but we won’t know his official availability until then. But still, this win gives D.C. some confidence going into Game 5. And I don’t think Embiid will be 100 percent, per se, if he plays. Washington will, at least, extend their season for one more game.
Bullet Passes
The fans continue to be wild.
It’s worse than I thought.
Good gracious.— Robert Flores (@RoFlo) June 1, 2021
I think we’re finding out how stupid people can really be during this pandemic. My goodness. And I think it’s terrifying that we have been seeing this EVERY DAY in a different city. What the heck?
I love that the Grizzlies (specifically, Dillon Brooks) have irrational confidence. Even when after the Jazz went up by double digits in the fourth quarter, they just knew they were going to come back.
But they also can’t go through offensive droughts. The Jazz know what they have with their team. They had Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert carry them in the third. Then Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic made back-to-back threes to get them away from the Grizzlies. That is a veteran team that has been through some battles. Even though they haven’t made a deep playoff run yet, this is a team that has been together.
The Jazz should be able to put this away when they go back to Salt Lake City but it’s no gimme considering it is the pesky Grizzlies.
With the Wizards winning, we’re only going to have one sweep in the first round. Those poor Miami Heat.
We also have three series in the West that are going 6 games minimum. The Jazz/Grizzlies series could potentially end in 5.
NBA Playoff Scoreboard
May 31, 2021
NBA Playoff Series Count
EAST
#1 Sixers lead #8 Wizards, 3-1.
#5 Hawks lead #4 Knicks, 3-1.
#2 Nets lead #7 Celtics, 3-1.
#3 Bucks defeat #6 Heat, 4-0.
WEST
#1 Jazz lead #8 Grizzlies, 3-1.
#4 Clippers tied with #5 Mavericks, 2-2.
#2 Suns tied with #7 Lakers, 2-2.
#3 Nuggets tied with #6 Blazers, 2-2.
Watch This Play
Someone tell me how Westbrook can still do this.
The putback slam by Russ 💪 pic.twitter.com/e4XrSqVyQz
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 1, 2021
It’s like he’s aging in reverse.
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.