From Distance: A Week of Playoff Fun!

four point play….

The first week of playoff basketball has given us more than enough basketball to discuss without my usual connective social commentary. Pragmatism wins the day. To the prologue I say, The End.

Let’s start with what I have gotten right(ish) so far.

1. The New Orleans Pelicans have a better playoff backcourt than the Portland Trailblazers.

While I didn’t see the Pels winning the first two games of the series, I did use this space last week to warn all those worshiping at the alter of Dame to beware of Playoff Rondo and Jrue Holiday.

Anthony Davis is clearly the best player in the series and a top five guy in the league, but the Pels’ backcourt destruction of the Blazers’ backcourt has been the story.

The Blazers look tiny and slow playing against a locked in Rajon Rondo and a “way stronger than you realize” Holiday. The Pelican guards have bullied the Blazers with their strength on both ends of the floor. Holiday has been particularly Joe Johnson-esque in his ability to slow walk a guy down into the post with an array of hesitation moves before dropping in nasty floaters with either hand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y2BF18UPf8

Nikola Mirotic has certainly freed up the Anthony Davis and the Pelican guards with his deep shooting and surprisingly quick-footed defense. The Blazers tried to take away Holiday a bit in Game 3. Mirotic responded by pouring in 30 points on 15 shots.

The series is going to be over soon. The Blazers haven’t just missed some shots. They are getting nothing in the way of easy offense and have had little success in shutting down the Pels’ attack. Other than the perpetually disrespected Al-Farouq Aminu, the Blazers haven’t really shown up. I doubt C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard are still with the team this time next season.

2. The Sixers are really good. 

I hope you all got a chance to watch Game 3 of the Sixers/Heat series. That was one of the most entertaining basketball games I have seen. Ever.

The teams are both incredibly well-coached (we’ll get back to that). They have players who play with heart and poise, young players whose ceilings are still largely unknown, and some straight dawgs who aren’t afraid to back down.

The defensive talent in this series is obscene. There are certain lineup combinations that feature ten dudes who relentless attack the rim in transition. What a joy to watch.

Don’t let the final 20 point spread fool you. This game was in the balance until the Sixers, and specifically Joel Embiid, broke it open late in the fourth quarter. His late threes over solid defense had me chuckling in delight.

It was a game that featured high level defense by both teams. The Heat, believe it or not, played well on the defensive end on their way to allowing 128 points. The Sixers’ shot-making was just better.

The referees did a fantastic job of dusting off the ole’ double technical. The game was physical, fiery, full of trash talk and bravado, and the refs actually did exactly the right amount in order to keep the game under control. Seriously, shout out to that crew. We rightfully lament poor officiating all the time. Those guys deserve some praise.

Back to the coaching. I have been a big fan of Brett Brown over the years, but he was severely trying my patience by playing Markelle Fultz over T.J. McConnell. I understand that Fultz has the potential to be a big time player and needs the playoff reps, but Fultz has abjectly destroyed the Sixers’ team defense during his short minutes in the playoffs.

Individual plus-minus stats often don’t paint a complete picture of a guy’s play, but in Game 3, Fultz’s minus 9 in only four minutes played was totally indicative of his dumpster fire action.

He was utterly lost as an off-ball defender, and as a complete non-shooter, it allowed the Heat to pack the paint on the other end. In one moment, I applauded Brown for playing the hard-nosed Justin Anderson to combat the Heat’s style of play. In that same moment, I was flabbergasted by his decision to wreck precious playoff minutes by playing a rookie who has no idea what he is doing.

Fortunately, Brett Brown restored my faith by going to T.J. McConnell in the second half. The Sixers were plus seven in McConnell’s five minutes. Again, normally plus-minus isn’t particularly useful by game, but this one passed the eye test with flying colors. I’d be shocked if Brown goes back to Fultz in Game 4.

3. Jeff Green is a Cavalier killer. If Lue wants to hitch his wagon to Green, he’s toying with his job security. 

Unlike Brett Brown, Ty Lue isn’t playing an unknown rookie entity that may surprise us with effective play. Jeff Green is a longtime veteran who has consistently mangled defensive rotations, failed to rebound, and only occasionally made enough baskets to warrant playing time.

Look, I’m thrilled Lue got finally got the memo and sat Green on the bench in favor of Kyle Korver. By playing Korver, it allowed LeBron James to go one-on-one to start Game 2, thus providing a catalyst for The King’s scoring outburst.

Still, Green got 13 minutes of awful burn as a wing in Game 2. Coach Lue, you have Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic sitting over there. If you want a heady wing who will supply energy, defensive switch-ability and ball movement, give Cedi the nod. If you need a big to tussle with Myles Turner for a few minutes, let Zizic take a crack at it. Green is not giving you shooting, defense, or floor game. It’s just silly.

It’s on the coach to play the right guys every minute. A team can’t afford to waste minutes with terrible lineups this time of year. Enough. For every good move like trusting J.R. Smith to come alive or inserting Korver into the starting lineup, we have to suffer the slings and arrows of Jordan Clarkson and Jeff Green. They aren’t up to the task. Let’s see if Osman and Zizic are.

Coaching matters. In the playoffs, rotation decisions are what matters most. The Xs and Os are clear by the third or fourth half of the series. The player’s know the other teams’ plays by the Game 3 if not earlier.

Which is why I’m disappointed in myself for what I didn’t get right.

4. The Bucks would win in six against the Celtics!… Yeah, not looking good.

Perhaps I had too much faith in our old friend Joe Prunty. Maybe my love of Giannis Antetokounmpo got the better of me before remembering Eric Bledsoe can be maddeningly inconsistent. Whatever it is, the Celtics have been the far superior team.

Brad Stevens might not have a superstar playing for him in this series, but he has a roster of smart defenders to throw at a confused Bucks team. The Celtics starters have flat destroyed the Bucks starters.

In the first two games of the series, the contest felt over after the first quarter. With Baynes in the lineup and with Terry Rozier filling in for Kyrie Irving, the Celtics have plus to super plus defenders at all five positions.

For some reason, Prunty hasn’t tried to force Stevens’ hand with small ball lineups. If I’m Prunty, I start with a lineup of Giannis, Middleton, Snell, Brogdan, and Bledsoe and see whether Baynes can keep up. If Stevens turns to Marcus Morris, so be it. At least they might have chance of scoring. Playing Henson to start spots the Celtics 10 points at the door. The talent and defensive scheme are just too good in that Celtics starting group to let them be comfortable.

It might be a lost cause unless Mathew Dellavedova and Jason Terry can somehow provide solid guard minutes to allow Giannis to stay at center. Jabari Parker is certainly not the answer. I’d be surprised if the Bucks lose Game 3, but Prunty is going to need to get creative.

Quickies:

Going under screens with Darren Collison as the ball-handler actually doesn’t bother me too much. Yes, he led the league in three point shooting this year, but he wasn’t hoisting off the bounce like Curry. Still, allowing him weakside wing threes with nary a hand up is not the way to go.

Kevin Love has been manhandled on the block by the Pacers bigmen. The refs have generally allowed a lot of contact by both teams as guys look to establish post position. The Cavs need to be stronger with their baseline screens so Kev doesn’t have to battle from so far off his spot. I’m looking at you Rodney Hood.

I’m assuming Kevin will have a hard time gripping the ball with his injured thumb. It probably won’t affect his shooting much, but the rest of the team must help him out on the glass.

Will we finally see a Cavalier three point barrage in Game 3? The Cavs have yet to go completely YOLO el feugo. Here’s hoping they can get a contagious hot streak going.