It’s the middle of April, which marks greatest gift to NBA
fans: the start of the playoffs. The best part about the beginning of the first
round is that there are four games played in succession, giving fans a full day
and night of contests to watch. Starting with Game 1 of the Brooklyn Nets-Philadelphia
76ers series, there were a couple of surprises, and plenty more
to watch.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways from the first day of
the 2019 NBA postseason.
(1) 76ERS DIAL UP
A STINKER
The Philadelphia 76ers kicked off the day with the worst
performance of any team, which was capped with an embarrassing moment. Philly
fell behind late in the first quarter and continued to trail early in the
second when they subbed out Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris, allowing Brooklyn
to take advantage. Joel Embiid,
who was playing his first game in a week because of a knee injury, seemed off
and could not find his stroke. He went 5/15 from the field and missed all five
three-point shots he attempted. Compounding matters was his involvement in a
publicized incident; TV cameras caught him looking at teammate Amir Johnson’s cellphone while on the
bench. The incident led to plenty of questions about his and the team’s focus
considering they lost by nine points and trailed the entire fourth quarter.
They won’t be going very far if Embiid isn’t at full
strength, which he doesn’t appear to be.
(2) KYLE LOWRY’S
PLAYOFF WOES CONTINUE TO HAUNT HIM
Lowry is a career 42.4 percent shooter in the regular
season. Up until two years ago, the postseason had been a different story for
him. In his first four postseasons (one with Houston and three with Toronto),
Lowry had never shot better than 40.4 percent from the field in a single
postseason. His struggles became a major talking point three years ago. Lowry finally
turned things around the last two years prior to being swept by LeBron’s
Cavaliers, but on Saturday, his issues returned. Lowry went 0-7 from the field,
which included six missed threes. He had 7 rebounds and 8 assists but failed to
score a point as Orlando won in Toronto 104-101.
We don’t expect Lowry to be this bad the rest of the series,
nor do we expect the Magic to keep making 48 percent of their threes. But
Lowry’s status is something to watch; the Raptors don’t want to see him
struggle again and potentially spiral.
(3) CLIPPERS AND
WARRIORS REMAIN AS CHIPPY AS EVER
The Clippers and Warriors proved that things remain as
chippy as ever in their mostly one-sided rivalry. Patrick
Beverley and Kevin Durant were ejected in the fourth quarter after being hit with their
second double-technical fouls of the quarter. They had been jawing at each
other much of the night as the thorny Beverley tried to guard the much taller
former MVP. And right after the first half ended, Doc Rivers got a tech for complaining about the
officiating, which included a technical call on Danilo Gallinari that he didn’t
like.
The 8th-seeded Clippers are unlikely to give the favored
Warriors a true test, so expect them to continue to do what they can to try and
take Golden State out of their game. It didn’t work in Game 1.
(4) STEPH CURRY WAS
UNSTOPPABLE
If you’re wondering why the Clippers had no shot of winning
Game 1, look no further than Curry. Chef Curry was hot from the field, going
11/16, including 8/12 on threes. He racked up 38 points, 7 assists, and an
unlikely 15 rebounds in the game. He also passed Ray Allen for most career
postseason 3-pointers with 386, and that number is only growing. He was a
plus-27 in the game and keyed the win. When he’s shooting as hot as he did,
there isn’t much of a chance for opponents. One thing to watch with him is his
ankle, as a late-game shoe switch sparked questions.
(5) NUGGETS GO
COLD IN PLAYOFF RETURN
The Nuggets returned to the postseason for the first time
since 2013, though their first game did not go the way they would have liked.
They shot poorly all game and really couldn’t make a shot from beyond the arc.
They were 6/28 on threes (21.4 percent), with only three of those shots being
made by their starters. Jamal Murray couldn’t
buy a bucket and went 8/24, missing all six of his threes. He missed an open
jumper that could have given Denver the lead in the final minute and then
turned the ball over on their final possession. It was a very forgettable game
for him and the Nuggets overall. The good news is they have at least three more
games to get their shooting fixed.
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