Mitchell powers Jazz over Mavs
25.5 points while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from three-point range, 2.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists.
The Heat will throw various coverages and defenders at Young in an effort to make him uncomfortable and disrupt his rhythm. That was the case in the regular season, when Miami trapped, switched and played Young straight up at different points.
The NBA’s matchup data shows that Caleb Martin, Butler, Lowry and Gabe Vincent spent extended stretches as Young’s primary defender during the regular season. The threat of Adebayo switching on to Young will also affect the Hawks’ game plan.
But Martin spent the most time guarding Young among Heat players, holding him to 17 points on 4-of-9 shooting in 74 possessions as his defender this season. Expect Martin to be an important character in this first-round series because he’ll likely again get the chance to defend Young in important moments.
What’s the Heat’s biggest advantage in this series?
The fact that the Heat is the more balanced team, as it closed the regular season with the NBA’s 12th-best offensive rating and fourth-best defensive rating. The Hawks featured the league’s second-best offense, but finished with the league’s fifth-worst defense (worst among
NBA playoff teams).
The Heat took advantage of the Hawks’ defensive issues in their four matchups this season, shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 39.7 percent on threes in those games. Miami scored at a rate of 119.5 points per 100 possessions against Atlanta, which would have been the NBA’s best offensive rating among teams this season.
How can the Hawks make this a long series and possibly upset the Heat?
Young would need to have a huge series and solve the Heat’s defense with both his scoring and playmaking ability. The Hawks posted an 18-8 record when Young shot 50 percent or better from the field in the regular season, and he’ll need a few of those kind of performances for the Hawks to make the Heat sweat.
The Hawks did have the NBA’s second-best halfcourt offense in the regular season, according to Cleaning The Glass, which usually translates to playoff success. Atlanta’s offense, led by Young and made complete by scorers like De’Andre Hunter, Kevin Huerter, Bogdanovic and Gallinari, needs to have that kind of success to have a chance against Miami.
What’s an under-theradar advantage the
Heat has entering the series?
The Heat will begin the playoffs after six full days off between last Sunday’s regular-season finale and this upcoming Sunday’s Game 1. The Hawks played two games this week as part of the play-in tournament in order to earn the East’s No. 8 seed, and only have about 40 hours to rest and recover between Friday’s win in Cleveland and Sunday’s 1 p.m. tipoff in Miami.
Prediction:
Heat in five.
Anthony Chiang: 305-376-4991, @Anthony_Chiang
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 of his 32 points after halftime, Bojan Bogdanovic finished with 26 and the Utah Jazz opened the playoffs with a 99-93 victory Saturday over the Dallas Mavericks, who were without injured All-Star guard Luka Doncic.
Bogdanovic had Utah’s only two 3-pointers before halftime, in a 13-2 run over the final 3 1⁄2 minutes that put the Jazz ahead to stay. Mitchell, who always seems to step up in the postseason, came alive after the break.
The fourth-seeded Mavericks, starting the playoffs at home for the first time since their NBA title season 11 years ago, sorely missed their 23-year-old superstar. Doncic strained his left calf six days earlier in the regular-season finale. Coach Jason Kidd has said only that he is dayto-day.
Game 2 in the best-ofseven series is Monday night in Dallas.
Jalen Brunson, the starting point guard with Doncic out, had 24 points on 9-of-24 shooting with seven rebounds. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 22 points, Reggie Bullock added 15 and Dorian Finney-Smith 14.
Timberwolves 130, Grizzlies 117: Anthony Edwards scored 36 points in his postseason debut, and seventh-seeded Minnesota stunned No. 2 seed Memphis on Saturday to grab home-court advantage in the opener of their first-round Western Conference series.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 29 and 13 rebounds. Malik Beasley had 23 points, and Jaden McDaniels 15. Patrick Beverley and D'Angelo Russell had 10 apiece.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Memphis.
Ja Morant led Memphis with 32 points and eight assists, and Dillon Brooks added 24 points.
A