NBA play-offs underway with predictable results
The 2021/22 National Basketball Association (NBA) play-offs are well underway and the path to 16-wins got past the first round with no upsets and no losing team winning more than two games. All six series, other than the Milwaukee Bucks vs the Chicago Bulls and the Miami heat vs the Atlanta hawks, provided multiple entertaining games, but none more compelling than the Memphis Grizzlies vs the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The anticipated ding-dong battle between Memphis and Minnesota did not disappoint. The teams split the victories when they faced each other four times in the regular season and, in the process, developed a heated rivalry where players trash talked, poked statements at each other in post-game press conferences, exchanged a few comments on social media and the Grizzlies brought the ire of Minnesota by dancing on their logo after a victory.
The Grizzlies had the second-best record (56-26) in the NBA this regular season, second only to the number one seed in the Western Conference, the Phoenix Suns, while the Timberwolves took a longer path to the postseason via the Play-in Tournament. Memphis eventually won the series 4-2 last week Friday (April 29) after setting an NFL play-off record for the most fourth quarter, double-digit comeback victories in a play-off series (3) – outscoring Minnesota by a combined 62 points in the fourth quarter in the series (the best fourth-quarter differential in any series in NBA history).
The Grizzlies have now advanced to the Western Conference semi-finals for the first time since 2015 and their reward is a matchup with Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. The teams split the first two games in Memphis with Golden State sweating for a one-point victory in Game 1 last Sunday (May 1) and the Grizzlies rebounding on Tuesday (May 3) for a five-point victory, riding on an impressive 47-point
Team odds
Phoenix Suns 3.40 Golden State Warriors 4.00 Miami Heat 5.75 Boston Celtics 5.75 Milwaukee Bucks 7.00 Memphis Grizzlies 18.00 Dallas Mavericks 36.00 Philadelphia 76ers 36.00 *Odds are subject to change
outing for Ja Morant.
Memphis nudged Golden State out for the number two seed in the Western Conference by tying their franchise record with 56 wins, and the Grizzlies also won three of the four encounters in the regular season. Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr have their hands full against Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole, but the Grizzlies appear to be up to the task. Memphis scored only five more points than their opponents in the fourth quarter of Game 2 but, as it turned out, it was more than enough. Golden States’ Draymond Green was ejected from Game 1 and was bloodied in Game 2 (requiring stitches), Poole scored a career-high 31 points in Games 1 while Morant scored 34 in Game 1 plus Jackson had 33 and Memphis’ forward Dillon Brooks was ejected less than three minutes into Game 2 – this is shaping up to be a physical, testy and epic series and not a moment should be missed (could be the first seven-game series of these play-offs).
The only team to sweep in the first round of the playoffs, the Boston Celtics (who brushed past the Brooklyn Nets) got their Eastern Conference semi-final series off to a poor start last Sunday (May 1) against the defending champions Milwaukee Bucks, losing 101-89. Their star forward, Jayson Tatum had an average outing, and the team lacked the defensive intensity that sparked their first-round sweep. However, for Game 2, when it was required, Tatum (along with Jaylen Brown) stepped up when it was truly needed.
In Game 1, the Celtics made only 10 two-point field goals, a franchise low for a play-off or a regular-season game, but after failing to match the physicality of the Bucks in the opener, they came out with a completely different attitude on Tuesday (May 3) for Game 2, dominating from the opening whistle, leading wire-to-wire for a 109-86 victory.
Brown finished with a game-high 30 points and knocked down a play-off-career-high six three-pointers, while Tatum contributed 29 points. He set the tone for the team early with a play-off career-high 25 points in the first half, the key to Boston’s early 18-3 lead and they never looked back. And while Brown led the charge early, Tatum took care of things late, scoring 19 of his 29 points in the second half. This series seems also set for the long haul and every minute could be a cliffhanger.
The Miami Heat topped the Eastern Conference in the regular season and are locked in a semi-final play-off series against an undermanned Philadelphia 76ers team, following their five-game dismissal of the Hawks in the first round. The Joel Embiidless 76ers are not impressive, to say the least, and James Harden appears far removed from his 2018 Most Valuable Player (MVP) form, so unless Embiid returns in very short order, this may be a very short series.
Miami guard, Tyler Herro was announced on Tuesday (May 3) as the Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year after receiving 96 out of a possible 100 first-place votes from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. He is the first Heat player to win the award and just the fifth player to average at least 20 points off the bench. Herro helped Miami to a 53-29 record and the No 1 seed in the East by scoring 30 or more points eight times this season, tied for third most in a season by a reserve since 1970-71.
The other conference semi-finals in the west have the Phoenix Suns paired with the Dallas Mavericks and this promises its own twists and turns. There was no game-seven in the first round but, with the top four teams from each conference advancing, its hard not see at least one in these conference semifinals.
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