NBA Playoffs: Failing Stars from the First Round
Jeff Zilgit of USA TODAY Sports presents the most surprising stars of the NBA playoffs so far.
USA TODAY
The NBA Playoffs in 2022 offer another appetizing series of games on Saturday.
The big news was that Luka Doncic made his playoff debut in 2022 for the Dallas Mavericks, but the Utah Jazz won the match 100-99.
Rudy Gober had 17 points, 10 rebounds and scored the basket that won the match to help Jazz level the series 2-2.
In the other finished game, Pascal Siakam lowered his career-high 34 points, helping the Toronto Raptors win Game 4 110-102 over the Philadelphia 76ers to avoid a loss.
Philadelphia still leads the series 3-1. No team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a series of NBA playoffs.
The Nets are hosting the Celtics for Game 3 in Brooklyn and may soon have Ben Simmons in the squad. Boston leads the series 2-0. The Timberwolves are looking to return to Game 4 in Minnesota from a total collapse against the Grizzlies. Memphis leads 2-1.
EXPERT CHOICE: Phoenix Suns vs. Milwaukee Bucks in the final a safe bet?
ROPE NETS: Can Ben Simmons return for the Nets in Game 4?
See the analysis of USA TODAY Sports from all Saturday’s events:
Want to know how bad things are for the Nets? They put Blake Griffin in the lineup. Do you remember him? He received a standing ovation from the audience at the Barclay Center. Griffin hasn’t played a significant minute since before the All Star break.
The Nets closed the first half with a 7-2 run and reduced the Celtics’ lead to 53-50 at halftime. Bruce Brown kept Brooklyn in the game with 16 points from the first half, while Boston’s top-rated defense kept Kevin Durant with just five shots and seven points. Coach Steve Nash told Lisa Salters of ESPN that Durant should be more aggressive in the second half. Kyrie Irving won 13 points and three fouls in the first half.
Jason Tatum scored 12 points, Jaylan Brown had 8 points and Peyton Pritchard added 10 points from the bench. Robert Williams III made his debut after the 2022 season and played 7 minutes in the first half. He scored 2 points and blocked one shot in the return match.
The main storyline in the Brooklyn Nets-Boston Celtics series is the game of Nets stars Kevin Durant. He averaged 25 points in the first two games, but shot only 31.7% of the field (13 of 41).
Durant started another slow start in Game 3 and as a result the Nets may face an insurmountable hole. Durant scored just five points in the first quarter and made just two shots and the Nets lost 30-25.
Discussing the Celtics’ early defense against Durant and the Nets, Celtics coach Ime Udoka told ESPN in an interview for the first quarter: “We love our fitness; this is the case all year round. It’s just a matter of sticking to it. “
Dallas trailed by 16 and shot poorly in the first half. The Mavericks turned it around in the second half, leading only to Utah to get away with a 100-99 victory in Game 4. The series is tied at 2-2 and Game 5 is Monday (21:30 ET, TNT).
Utah’s Rudy Robert scored Donovan Mitchell’s winning goal (23 points) and Spencer Dinuidi missed a 3-pointer with a buzzer. Jazz does not want Dallas star Luka Doncic to win the match in the last possession, and Dallas striker Dwight Powell missed two free games with the Mavs ahead 99-98.
Doncic made his playoff debut in 2022 after suffering a left calf sprain in the season finale and had 30 points and 10 rebounds. It was a strong performance after two weeks missed and the Mavs needed every part of that performance to stay in the game.
It was not a game for offensive purists – Mitchell of Utah, Bojan Bogdanovic (12 points), Royce O’Neill and Mike Conley were combined 5-for-25 with 3-pointers – only 20%. It’s hard to win a playoff game when your top scorers fell, but Jazz did.
Former sixth man of the year Jordan Clarkson saved Utah from a 3-1 deficit with 25 points.
Clearly, this series is not a good match for Robert (Dallas doesn’t have a real center to play in a low position) and it’s not all his fault. Utah’s lack of perimeter defense did not help Gober be as effective as he could be. However, Gober had 17 points and 15 rebounds – and the basket to win.
The Celtics, who are already leading 2-0 in their series against the Brooklyn Nets, received another good news, announcing that Robert Williams III will play in Saturday’s game 3. The return of Williams will strengthen the already stellar defense of the Celtics. He is expected to play short periods, totaling 20-24 minutes.
Williams did not play after a torn meniscus in his left knee on March 27. Before being injured, Williams set career records in points (10), rebounds (9.6) and blocks (2.2).
Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons went through full training on Saturday, said Nets coach Steve Nash. Nash said Simmons had not failed. Simmons is expected to play in Game 4 on Monday. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has announced that Simmons will play regardless of whether the Nets win Game 3 on Saturday, which will put them in a 0-3 hole.
Luka Doncic made his Dallas playoff playoff debut in 2022 after suffering a left calf sprain in the season finale and had 12 points and four rebounds in the first half – although the Mavs were 54-42 behind Utah in the half. 4. Dallas fights off the field, shooting 31.7%, including 20.8% at 3-pointers. Donovan Mitchell (17 points), Jordan Clarkson (12 points) and Bojan Bogdanovic (10 points) led Jazz. So far, it has been a much more inspired effort than Utah, losing 2-1 in the series.
Toronto is still in the series, but has not come out. The Raptors avoided elimination with a 110-102 victory in Game 4. Isost 3-1, Game 5 is Monday (20:00 ET, NBA TV).
Raptors striker Pascal Siakam has reappeared as a star – and he has scored a career-high 34 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks and steals. Toronto does not win without this performance.
This game was not beautiful at all, but in the playoffs beauty points are not always necessary. The Raptors used 13 points for a second chance and 22 points to drop out to overcome 23.5% shooting with 3 points.
The center of the Sixers Joel Embiid was obviously not himself with that injured right (shooting) thumb. He was 7-for-16 off the field with 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Philadelphia goalkeeper James Harden had 22 points, nine assists, five rebounds, three blocks and a stolen shot, but was only five against 17 when shooting from the field.
The beaten Raptors suffered another injury: guard Fred VanWleet left the game in the second quarter with a stretched left thigh and did not return.
Danny Green (2-for-10) and Tyris Maxi (5-for-16) combined 27% of the field, offsetting 15 points from Tobias Harris (7-for-12 shooting) and 11 rebounds.
LeBron James is watching the playoffs at home for only the fourth time in his 19-year career, after the Los Angeles Lakers failed to even reach the playoffs. James took to Twitter, saying that watching from the side hurts.
“I can / will not miss my career again after the season! This (curse) HURTS”, he tweeted on Friday, between his playoffs. “Good back to watching these games.”
James missed the playoffs in the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, in addition to the 2018-19 and 2021-22 seasons with the Lakers.
Injuries and illness injured the Raptors in this series, and guard Fred VanVleit went to the locker room with 4:57 left in the second quarter with a sprained left thigh. He tore his shirt as he left the court. The Raptors said he would not return.
Fred VanVleit tore his shirt in disappointment. He seems to have gone straight to the locker room after committing a foul to stop the game. pic.twitter.com/zrCC2VCvTE
– Faizal Khamisa (@SNFaizalKhamisa) April 23, 2022
After missing all five attempts in the first quarter, Joel Embiid of the Sixers, who has a right (shooting) thumb injury, made three of his five attempts in the second quarter. He has eight points and three rebounds. James Harden leads all Sixers in points (12) and assists (5). Tobias Harris scored nine points.
Dallas Mavericks goalkeeper Luka Doncic is back for the decisive game 4 against Utah Jazz after missing the last three games with a stretch of the left calf
Asked if Doncic has a minute limit, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said: “Well, he won’t play the whole game. Less than 48 minutes. ”
Embid missed all five attempts to strike in the first quarter and had just one point, two rebounds and one assist in 11 minutes, 42 seconds of action in the opening quarter against Toronto in Game 4 of their first round of the Eastern Conference.
It was 24-24 after a quarter.
“I think it’s good,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers told TNT between the quarters. “Obviously, he’s going to struggle with that a little bit. And he has to get used to it. He never played with him. I think we will both learn a lot – what he can do and what he can’t do. “
This is an interesting development that is worth seeing not only in this match, but also in the rest of the playoffs.
Toronto Raptors striker Scotty Barnes has been named NBA Rookie of the Year, defeating Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley and Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham. Barnes won the award with a total of 15 points over Mobley, the smallest difference in victory in the current voting format.
Barnes averaged 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 74 games this season and shot 49% of the field. The 20-year-old Barnes was Toronto’s fourth pick in the 2021 NBA Draft outside of Florida.
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