Co-Written By: Grayson Obey and Spencer Wood

Playoff Jimmy Prevails to the ECF

The Heat will become just the second 8 seed ever to make the conference finals, joining the 98-99 Knicks, after defeating New York in 6 games. They are now headed to their second straight Eastern Conference Finals with the hopes of a different outcome this year after last year’s battle with the Celtics. Miami continued their underdog run led by do-it-all superstar Jimmy Butler. “Playoff Jimmy” outworked and outhustled everyone on the court once again. Bam Adebayo dominated the paint against a New York team that propelled itself to the second round through their dominance on the glass. With Julius Randle and RJ Barrett failing to consistently make shots, this series was too much for the Jalen Brunson led Knicks.

Miami Heat Stars of the Game

Jimmy Butler (24 PTS, 8 REB, 4 AST)

Bam Adebayo (23 PTS, 9 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 1 BLK)

Kyle Lowry (11 PTS, 4 REB, 9 AST, 3 STL, 1 BLK)

“Just got to give them a lot of credit. They didn’t play like an 8 seed — at all… They were unbelievable. The utmost respect for them and that organization. I liked the way we fought.”

Jalen Brunson on Miami

After an impressive series against the Cavs, Brunson turned it up another level in the second round, putting up 31 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists in the series. His production through his first playoff run with the Knicks gives New York optimism come playoff time moving forward. However, Brunson needs help from his teammates, and the lack of production from Julius Randle was dearly missed. Randle’s 25.1 regular season ppg dropped to just 16.6 over the playoffs, with his rebounding and assists numbers decreasing (by 1.5 and 0.5, respectively) and with an increase in turnovers (+0.7). It should be noted that Randle missed the start of the playoffs with an ankle injury that seemed to affect his game throughout. The Knicks have largely the same roster under contract next season, and will have team option decisions on guards Derrick Rose and Miles McBride, who saw very limited playoff minutes, as well as an option on recently acquired Josh Hart, who provided valuable minutes off the bench. – GO

New York Knicks Star of the Game

Jalen Brunson (41 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST)

Photo from Syracuse.com

Boston Trusts The Process, Takes Down Philly

The Boston Celtics rallied the series against the Philadelphia 76ers deadly duo of MVP Joel Embiid and James Harden, and are now headed to another Eastern Conference Finals. The 76ers proved to be a formidable foe, and backed by vintage James Harden performances in Games 1 (45 points, 6 assists) and Game 4 (42 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists), the 76ers took control of the series in game 5 thanks to the scoring punch of Embiid and Tyrese Maxey to go up 3-2. But from there, the shooting fell apart in the final games of the series, and Boston sealed it with a 112-88 annihilation in Game 7, backed by a historic Jayson Tatum performance. Tatum surpassed Steph Curry’s recent record-breaking game 7 performance last round by setting the new NBA record for points in a game 7, with 51. He did it with 6 threes, while collecting 13 boards, and finishing with 5 assists and no turnovers in what was one of his greatest playoff performances of his career.

“JT just got it going and get out of that man’s way… He got it rolling, and there’s nothing they could do to stop him.”

Jaylen Brown on Tatum’s Historic Game 7

Philadelphia enters the offseason with questions about their core moving forward, particularly in James Harden, who has a player option, and could be slated for free agency this summer. Despite his game winning play in Games 1 and 4, his struggles shooting throughout the rest of the series were evident. In all other games, Harden shot 16 for 63 (25.4%) from the field and just 4 for 26 (15.4%) from 3. The majority of the 76ers core is under contract next year, but will soon have to make decisions regarding Tobias Harris’ contract and will also have to pay Tyrese Maxey in the near future. How the 76ers will retool around MVP Embiid next season will add to what will surely be a drama filled NBA offseason. – GO

Boston Celtics Stars of the Game

Jayson Tatum (51 PTS, 13 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL)

Jaylen Brown (25 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 2 BLK)

Photo from CelticsBlog

Denver Role-Players Critical In Series Win

What if we told you we had correctly picked the Denver Nuggets to win in 6? That would be exactly what happened in this back-and-forth series between two of the Western Conference’s best teams.

Depth once again played into Denver’s recipe for postseason success as they managed to take down the All-Star firepower of Devin Booker and newly-acquired Kevin Durant, who had evened the series at 2-2 after starting down 0-2 in the series. However, Phoenix’s lack of bench production had eventually given way to the efficient machine of Denver’s roster construction as they series had ended just two games later with the Nuggets securing a 4-2 series win.

Phoenix had seen good games from Kevin Durant (23 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST) and Cameron Payne (31 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST), but with the absence of Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul as well as a shaky night from Devin Booker (12 PTS, 1 REB, 8 AST), Phoenix was not healthy enough to withstand Denver. Shortly after the series concluded, the Suns announced that they had dismissed head coach Monty Williams. With Monty out and the team having traded a load of assets in their win-now Kevin Durant trade, as well as the uncertainty of the futures of both Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton, Phoenix is in a tough position in to begin their offseason.

Phoenix Suns’ Stars of the Game:

Kevin Durant (23 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST)

Cameron Payne (31 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST)

Denver had stellar performances in their Game 6 blowout of Phoenix on the road, and had seen big games from the usual Jokic-Murray duo. However, it was the Denver role-players that had created such a sizable lead over the Suns, and the group of Christian Braun, Bruce Brown, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Michael Porter Junior had posted a combined +/- of +73 (+101 if Jokic is included). This level of production from key members of the team will be something Denver can use to their full advantage as they move on to face the Los Angeles Lakers and their versatile roster in the Western Conference Finals. -SW

Denver Nuggets’ Stars of the Game

Nikola Jokic (32 PTS, 10 REB, 12 AST, 3 STL, 1 BLK)

Jamal Murray (26 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST, 4 STL)

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (21 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL)

“When we defend, when we rebound, when we run, when we share the ball, we believe we’re the best team in the NBA… And tonight, we showed it.”

Denver HC Michael Malone after Game 6

Photo from The Denver Gazette

Lakers Shock World (Except Us)

…and if we also told you we correctly predicted the Lakers in 6? After great nights from their entire squad (and some off nights for Golden State), the Los Angeles Lakers brought in a convincing 6-game series win.

Defensive versatility and presence in the paint had been the major factors that swung this series in the Lakers’ favor. Key matchups had generated many opportunities for L.A. on the break and had slowed the Golden State offense as they had ended their season on another road collapse.

“It was great to be able to play one of our most efficient games, one of our best games of the series, and it started because of the defensive matchup we had… We defended at a high level, and when we do that, we can be extremely good. I thought we were locked in for as close to 48 minutes as possible tonight.”

LeBron James on the Game 6 victory

In Game 6, the Warriors started the game off with a small ball lineup that took Looney out of the game and had inserted guard Gary Payton II in his place, which led to many easy post-up opportunities and defensive stops for the Lakers early in the contest. The Lakers decided to use size to their advantage as they had played all starters except Schroder for 40+ minutes, and rotated between Rui Hachimura and Lonnie Walker to help keep a variety of fresh defenders on Steph Curry. This hounding defense and mismatch exploitation had held the Splash Bros to 14-47 shooting from the field, and 6-26 from beyond the arc in Game 6. Klay Thompson was particularly thrown out of rhythm, and was held to 8 points on 4-19 shooting and 2-12 from three and finished with a game low +/- of -33. This, combined with the Lakers’ physical play that led to 30 fouls on Golden State (and even a double-tech and Schroder ejection) and had created an unsustainable level of play for the Warriors.

“We didn’t have a changeup pitch to throw, which led to the result”

Steph Curry on Game 6’s Result

The Golden State Warriors will head into the offseason with plenty of questions, mainly for the future of veteran and 4x NBA Champion Draymond Green. After a long season that began with a video surfacing of him striking teammate Jordan Poole, to concerns about contract details, his media involvement with his Podcast (a pod we would recommend!), and the team’s struggles throughout the regular season, Draymond Green’s polarizing behavior has raised questions about his future with the franchise he co-captained a dynasty for. Jordan Poole himself will be under some scrutiny from the front office after his performance in this season’s playoff run. After averaging only 8.3 points against Los Angeles after signing a 4 year / $128,000,000 contract after his impressive run to their latest championship, the Warriors may need to move on from his contract (or someone else’s) in order to keep their core team together. Time will tell what moves this Golden State team will make and where the future leads them, but we have a feeling they might not be going so soon.

Golden State Warriors Star of the Game

Stephen Curry (32 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK)

The Los Angeles Lakers hand The Golden State Warriors their only postseason series loss to a Western Conference team under Steve Kerr, and did so despite the predictions of many. They move on to take on the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals in what will be a rematch from the 2020 bubble. This will be a true test for both teams as they both have tremendous depth and versatility to their rosters. What will be key to watch is how Los Angeles approaches Jokic’s defensive assignment and the plan to either neutralize his passing or scoring ability, the tandem which had brought Denver this far into the postseason. The Lakers and Miami Heat have the potential to meet in a Finals rematch after both escaping the NBA Play-In, or we could see a Lakers/Celtics matchup for the league’s greatest rivalry on the biggest stage for the highest stakes: exclusive rights to the most titles by a franchise in NBA History. We’ll see how L.A. begins their campaign in Denver on Tuesday night. -SW

Los Angeles Lakers Stars of the Game

LeBron James (30 PTS, 9 REB, 9 AST, 2 STL, 1 BLK)

Anthony Davis (17 PTS, 20 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 2 BLK)

Austin Reaves (23 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST)

Photo From SBNation.com