Goeiedag, enchantée and welcome to this week's episode of Eight 2 Four presents: All-NBA Team of the Week. We have entered the final stages of the postseason. The final four, the four best teams in the NBA this year. Miami dealt with Philly, Boston managed to handle Giannis and his Bucks, the Warriors overpowered the Grizzlies and Dallas surprised the Suns. Round 2 was a doozy, all around and I can’t wait what the Conference Finals have in store for us! We’ve already seen 2 games in each Conference and in today’s show we are going through each game through the eyes of the player of the game. Oh yeah, AND we touch on the NBA Lottery as well. Get ready for your All-NBA Team of the Week!
PICK #1
Our first pick of the week is Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat. I picked the Heat to win Game 1 against the Celtics, and they did, convincingly. At least, convincingly in the third quarter after being down 8 after the first 2 quarters. What we saw next was magnificent. The Heat outscored the Celtics by 25 points in the third quarter, 39 to 14. One of the worst quarters in Celtics history, one incredible quarter by Jimmy Butler. In 12 minutes he made 17 points, grabbed 2 rebounds and added 3 steals. He made 4 out of 5 field goal attempts and added 9 out of 10 free throws. And he was a whopping +25 in the box score. Absolutely incredible.
Miami dominated this quarter not only offensively, they did the job defensively as well. They managed to keep the Celtics to 14 points, but what’s more incredible is that they only allowed 2 field goals. The Celtics shot 2 for 15 for the quarter. It is exactly what we needed to see from Miami, who were able to shut down the Celtics and have some other guys alongside Butler going as well. Tyler Herro finished with 18 points and 8 rebounds off the bench, and Gabe Vincent played the perfect Lowry replacement and managed to add 17 points. But it wasn’t all positive for Miami.
The Celtics did win 3 out of 4 quarters AND they had to play without Marcus Smart and Al Horford. Of course, missing Tatum or Brown would have been worse but both Smart and Horford have proven their worth in these Playoffs and play a big part in the Celtics’ success. The result in Game 2 will largely depend on whether or not these players will be available, because if they are, I would like to see how Miami handles that match-up. Bam Adebayo, largely invisible in this game, will need to step it up a notch. And Herro and Vincent will need to play the same way every night. Can Miami take the heat? We’ll find out!
PICK #2
Our second pick of the week is Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics. He couldn’t play in Game 1 due to a foot injury but he returned in Game 2. And what a return it was. He finished with 24 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds, just shy of a triple double. And he added 3 steals and a block. He was a menace for the Heat, who simply did not have an answer for Smart. Jayson Tatum, with 27 points and Jaylen Brown with 24, both proved to be very important for the Celtics too, who have now stolen home court from the Miami Heat.
And yet, it could have been different. The Heat were up by 10 points very early in this game and looked like they were able to put the bean boys on notice. But a 17 - nothing run by the Celtics turned it around completely, still in the opening quarter. The Celtics like to shoot 3’s and they did that in this game, making 20 shots on 40 attempts, 50% from deep, as a team. In comparison, Miami attempted 34 3’s and only managed to make 10 of those. Less than 30%. When so-called specialists like Max Strus, 2 from 7, and Duncan Robinson, 0 for 4, don’t make their shots, the game gets hard for Miami.
The series now moves to Boston for the next 2 games, and if the Celtics can win Game 3 and take a 2 to 1 lead, it could get very difficult for the Heat. Then again, if Miami can steal back home court straight away, we’re back to square one and it’s anyone’s series. But it’ll be tough for the Heat to steal one in Boston. They will need to be almost perfect to take out a game. But the Heat love playing under pressure, and I’m sure they’re ready for the contest. This is proving to be a more exciting series than I expected, and to keep it going for as long as possible, I’m rooting for a Heat win in Game 3.
PICK #3
Our third pick of the week is Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors. I can’t say I was surprised that the Warriors took out Game 1 against the Mavericks. The Warriors had 2 extra rest days and they didn’t have to play in a game 7. Now, Dallas won that Game 7 comfortably, but don’t underestimate the mental anguish a Game 7 brings along. I’m not saying that Dallas wasn’t ready to start this series, but let’s just say that Luka Doncic and his buddies don’t mind losing an early game. That’s what happened against Utah and Phoenix, and it happened again against Golden State.
Now, the game. Dallas really didn’t have a chance, mainly because Andrew Wiggins, the All-Star starter, turned into the Defensive Player of the Year. He kept Luka down to 20 points, shooting only 3 out of 10 from deep and 6 from 18 from the field. Even his free throws were disappointing, only making 5 out of 8, less than 70%. Now, as much as Dallas is a one man show, Luka can’t do it on his own, and the rest of the team didn’t really show up either. As a team, Dallas took nearly double the amount of 3’s than Golden State, but they only managed to make about the same number as the Warriors. Considering the Warriors had 7 players in double figures, they didn’t even need Steph or Klay to go off in this game.
Dallas will need to be able to make their shots moving forward, because if they can’t, this series will be over before it really starts. Luka will find a way to get to his points, I don’t doubt it, but if Brunson or Dinwiddie can’t add at least 20 themselves, it’s game over for the Mavericks. The Warriors are looking more and more like title contenders, and the fact that they have Wiggins playing like this, tells us a lot about the mentality in this group. Wiggins was a number 1 pick that buckled under the pressure of being a number 1 pick. Being able to run around as the fourth fiddle, has unleashed something inside him we haven’t seen since his college days. It’s a joy to watch.
PICK #4
Our fourth pick of the week is Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks had something to prove in Game 2, and they did. After an incredible first half, they were up by 14 points. Luka made 24 points, had 6 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals in 18 minutes of play. Already a much better stat line than his Game 1 performance. And it wasn’t just Luka, the whole team was rocking, shooting over 50% from the floor and from behind the arc. It looked like they had this game in the bag and were going to steal home court. But Dallas found out real quick that you’re never finished with the Golden State Warriors.
A huge third quarter brought the Warriors back in the game, and they had no trouble finishing it off in the fourth. Curry was on fire, shooting 6 out of 10 from deep, putting the Mavericks to bed with his signature “night night” late in the game. He finished with 32 points, but it was Kevon Looney who was really the star for the Warriors in this Game 2. With 21 points and 12 rebounds he was the spark the Warriors needed to get back into this game. For someone who seemed like he was going to fall out of the rotation in the previous series against the Grizzlies, he has stepped up and claimed his rightful place in the line-up.
This will be one of those games the Mavericks will regret losing, with Luka making 42 points on the night. When your superstar goes off like that, you really want to be able to win the game. But credit to the Warriors to close this one out. They’re now up 2 - 0 and heading to Dallas, and the pressure is on the Mavericks to win twice at home. Before we close the book on this game, I just wanted to give my 2 cents on the incident between Damion Lee and Davis Bertans. Bertans took a 3, which he made, and was bowled over by Lee. As Lee tries to walk away, he steps over Bertans, who is getting up at that point and trips Lee. I’m not sure if he tripped Lee intentionally but the refs’ decision to give both players a technical was stupid. Lee made the foul, instigated the incident by trying to step over Bertans, something you just don’t do, AND he was the one overreacting. Obviously, we’re talking about two 5 minute role players, so no harm no foul, but the refs should have had Bertans’ back there in Chase Stadium, especially after reviewing it for as long as they did.
PICK #5
Our fifth pick of the week is the NBA Lottery. The Orlando Magic have won the lottery. They came out as the first pick, for the first time since 2004, when they picked Dwight Howard. Before that, the Magic won the lottery back to back in 1992 and 1993, which gave them Shaq and Penny Hardaway. Both those times it led to an NBA Finals appearance within 5 years, so the future looks bright for the Magic. The big question now is who they’ll pick. There are 3 massive talents at the top of this draft: Paolo Banchero, Jabari Smith and Chet Holmgren. Of those 3 Holmgren is possibly the biggest talent but also the biggest risk because of his build. Either way, the Magic can’t go wrong because all 3 would fit within their current roster.
The other 2 teams in the top 3 are OKC, with the second pick, and the Houston Rockets, who are picking at third. It’s a similar story for them, it doesn’t really matter who they pick, all 3 players at the top of the board could turn into sensational talents. But something tells me that OKC GM, Sam Presti, has something in store for us. Something no-one is expecting. OKC has 2 picks in the top 15, with pick 12 next to pick 2. I mean, who knows what Presti has in store for us but one thing is for sure, he never disappoints when it comes to draft night, that is his time to shine.
Another winner of the lottery were the Sacramento Kings, who jumped from 7th to 4th and now have the chance to add another talented roleplayer to their roster. Hopefully it will help them break their record-breaking streak of playoffless seasons. And we saw a lot of disappointed faces as well. Mainly the Pistons, who didn’t get what they wanted after a season of tanking, and the Blazers, who were hoping for a massive talent to put next to Damian Lillard. The order has been set and we’re about a month away from the draft taking place. Always one of my favourite moments of the NBA season.
This is our All-NBA team of the Week. Please share our podcast and give us 5 stars. If you have any questions, you can contact the show on eight2fouroffice@gmail.com. Thank you for listening, ballers out!