Week-In Review: Forsaking Family and Friendship For Power and Position; Big Shot Episode 9

Week-In Review: Forsaking Family and Friendship For Power and Position; Big Shot Episode 9

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by | Jun 11, 2021 | Featured

UCSB Expresses Interest in Hiring Marvyn, While his Team grows suspicious. Beth Macbeth premiers.

After receiving the call from Randy Edmunds(Jeffrey D. Sams), the recruiter ( at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) about an available Head Coach opportunity for Marvyn Korn (John Stamos), it the offer he was waiting for this entire season to get back to Men’s College Basketball. Korn’s initial visit when the same as the recruitment of a high-profile player. Arielle (Andrea Anders), UCSB Athletic Director pulls out all the stops having designated parking spots, having Korn’s envisioning himself coaching on the men’s basketball court, and even having Marvyn rolls a nod to the Kalm Korn Instagram account that helped rebrand his image. A second meeting between Korn and some of the team’s key players was scheduled as a chemistry experiment to see how well Korn can gel with these college guys.

Upon returning to Westbrook we can see just how excited the girls are to face Carlsbad for a second time, but this time being the game that can get them to Divison Two (DII). Korn loves the enthusiasm of the team, Coach Holly (Jessalyn Gilsig) makes the girls run laps to hear about Korn’s big news he’d mentioned earlier. After having the conversation about him potentially leaving Korn ensures Holly that she should be the replacement head coach after his departure. After asking Holly to keep this secret between the two of them, the news of Korn possibly leaving Westbrook for UCSB becomes the worst kept secret. Principle Thomas (Yvette Nicole Brown) learns the news after Korn interrupts Margarita Monday, throwing her for a loop but she also reassures Holly that she would be the choice if Korn were to leave If left up to her but she has a board that gets the final say about the hire.

BIG SHOT - "Episode 109” (Disney+) YVETTE NICOLE BROWN

Principle Thomas and Coach Holly enjoying Margarita Monday.

The B-plot of this episode focus on the opening night of Miss Goodwin’s (Kathleen Rose Perkins) the Beth Macbeth (A reimaged gender-bent performance of William Shakespeare’s famous play Macbeth) Emma (Sophia Mitri Schloss) and Harper Schapira (Darcy Rose Byrnes) tension continues to rise as Harper continues to rub it in Emma face that she won the lead role, Emma questions the legitimacy of her winning the role and her talent as an actor being that she’s Miss Goodwin’s daughter. These intense jabs the girls are taken at one another don’t go unnoticed as Miss Goodwin catches their disputes numerous times and when she brought this to Korn’s attention he agrees with Emma that Harper got the role because of Miss Goodwin’s nepotism. This causes a fight between Westbrook’s favorite couple, but with the help of school counselor George Pappas (Richard Robichaux) we figure out that Harper being pushed by an overachieve mother to live up to her expectations is the reason for her stress, and Emma stress is coming from the fact that she could move back to Wisconsin next year after building friendships at Westbrook and having a father that isn’t giving her full support because he’s so focused on his career as a coach, on top of keeping secrets from her.

Korn’s Second meeting with UCSB or should I say doctors appointment had him miss practice, unfortunate for Korn on the way out the conversation between Coach Holly and he was recorded on Olive’s (Monique A. Green) phone as she was filming B-roll for her documentary on the Lady Sirens road to DII. That video would serve as the team’s and Emma’s way of finding out Korn is planning on leaving Westbrook. Korn meets Randy, Arielle, and the team’s top two players Jason Hughes and Travis Owens at the park (From the last episode Korn used to teach the girls a lesson in never underestimating your opponent.) following a quick coaching session Coach Korn is able to visualize himself back on the Men’s College Basketball stage, put Korn one foot out the door. However, Holly isn’t closer to getting the head coaching job at Westbrook. Principle Thomas called her into the office and offer her a seat at the bad news table where she informed Holly the board would want a more experienced coach if the team moved up to DII. Someone on Westbrook’s board is leaking information to Carlsbad’s Coach McCarthy (Camryn Manheim), who calls Coach Holly to offer her the position as the next Coach of Carlsbad after she retires at the end of the season because Coach McCarthy is in charge of naming her successor. 

BIG SHOT - "Episode 109” (Disney+) JOHN STAMOS, JESSALYN GILSIG

It is finally showtime as the first night of Miss Goodwin’s play Beth Macbeth opens its doors, but the drama plays out way before the show begins. Olive, Destiny (Tiana Le), Louise (Nell Verlaque), Samantha (Cricket Wampler), and Mouse (Tisha Custodio) confront Korn about his decision to leave the team to go to UCSB. Even though Korn reassured them that he has no plans to leave them high and dry the trust build over the course of this season has been broken. Emma lets her dad know that she knows about his job offer with the speech giving by her character at the end of the play. 

Things that also happened in this episode were Destiny confronting her adoptive mother not telling her that her aunt Angel was her birth mother, Samantha being cyberbullied by students at Carlsbad so she played up a simple twisted ankle, and Olive dating Jake (Damian Alonso) from Carlsbad.

Next week will be the conclusion of this series and with this episode leaving us without some resolution to the problem it assumed that they will come to an end in the next episode “Marvyn’s Playbook,” on June 18, 2021.      

 

 

 

 

Jun 11, 2021 No Comments
SR – NBA Playoff Power Rankings: Week 3

SR – NBA Playoff Power Rankings: Week 3

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by | Jun 10, 2021 | Featured, NBA

With the first round of the playoffs in the books and the second round officially commencing a few nights ago, the powers that be in both the Eastern and Western conferences are both maintaining their pedigree as top seeds and not quite living up to expectations from the jump. For the Eastern Conference Semifinals, we’ve gotten a glimpse of who are the serious competitors in the two series of Brooklyn-Milwaukee and Philadelphia-Atlanta, and while one series ramps up in suspense as it was knotted last night, the other seems to be nearing its unexpected and shocking end already.

The Philadelphia 76ers handled business in a tightly-contested battle that was ultimately resolved by superstar big man Joel Embiid and bench scorer Shake Milton, who dropped 13 points in the fourth quarter and helped the Sixers storm ahead of the offensively-stacked Hawks and tie the series at one apiece. But for Milwaukee, skill deficiencies are only being accentuated as reigning MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Giannis Antetokounmpo struggles to find his footing against the most dangerous duo for the Brooklyn Nets that features Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, who have stampeded all over the Bucks for a commanding 2-0 series lead while James Harden continues to miss time due to a reaggravation of his right hamstring injury that kept him out for a large quarter of the season.

As for the rest? We will get to that in this week’s Power Rankings. And keep in mind: With every round, we showcase the winners and better teams in each series, so like how there were eight winners in the two weeks of the first round, there will be four teams that make the cut by being the more dominant side or having a rousing series lead.

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1. No. 2 Brooklyn Nets (48-24, Won 4-1 vs. No. 7 Boston Celtics in First Round, 2-0 vs. No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks in ECSF, Last Week’s Ranking: 2)

Two games into their series against the Milwaukee Bucks, and it’s rather more believable than not for onlookers to want to fast forward to the Nets advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. Milwaukee looks to be playing the role of the diminutive bug hitting the windshield that is the Nets’ multifaceted offensive attack, as both Kevin Durant (30.5 points per game off 57/46/90 shooting splits through two games vs. MIL) and Kyrie Irving (23.5 points off 47/38 shooting splits without a single free throw attempted through two games) aren’t making things easy for the Bucks to get at least a win in this series.

With James Harden re-aggravating a right hamstring injury that forced him to sit out for 21 games this season, they’ve shown that they aren’t missing his presence at all in this matchup. Whether it be hedging Antetokounmpo off the catch to stop him from getting downhill or setting up the wall when he’s the PnR ball-handler, they’ve not only severely neutralized his capabilities by slowing him down, but more so have sapped his confidence as a scorer in the halfcourt. And around him, the rest of the Bucks cannot follow suit, losing both games as a team by an average of 23.5 points.

Khris Middleton’s struggles to get going as the primary halfcourt creator aside, the duo of Kevin Durant and the energetic Blake Griffin have made easy work of the two-time and reigning MVP and DPOY Antetokounmpo on both ends of the court. And Irving has been just as efficient at attacking and taking out Jrue Holiday whenever the two opponents take the court.

The series that prognosticators fathomed to be a barnburner that would go the distance is beginning to look like a steamrolling, but the Bucks head back home and haven’t lost inside the Fiserv Forum all postseason, so it’ll be interesting to see how/if they storm out of the gates and set the tone in front of their home fans.

Because their season could be as good as over tomorrow night if they don’t.

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2. No. 2 Phoenix Suns (51-21, Won 4-2 vs. No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers in First Round, 1-0 vs. No. 3 Denver Nuggets in WCSF, Last Week’s Ranking: 5)

Well, they did it. They knocked off the seventh-seeded defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in six games to the surprise of almost everyone and kept up the momentum by dominating the Denver Nuggets in Game one of the Western Conference Semi-Finals by a score of 122-105. And while we’re getting to witness Devin Booker take yet another step towards superstardom, it was all on Chris Paul’s accord to take the Suns home and take over in the fourth quarter, scoring or assisting on 20 of the team’s 34 points to finish off the game.

Monday night’s rousing win over third-seeded Denver added yet another page to the lengthy legacy book for Paul, as Game One’s win was the ninth time that the unanimously-dubbed “Point Gawd” racked up at least 20 points, 10 assists, and one or fewer turnovers, passing his friend LeBron James for the most in the league with that line. And also, he became the oldest player in league postseason history to compile 20 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds at age 36.

It’s not honest to say that Paul is simply turning back the clock by controlling the pace and tempo of the floor in such a cerebral manner; it’s rather commonplace to see him doing it, considering that it’s been the tale of his entire career to be the NBA’s trusted and premier Quarterback for the guys on the floor with him.

And for Denver, that’s obviously not a good thing. While league MVP Nikola Jokic was, and will still be, the best player on the floor, they will have their work cut out for them in trying to manufacture additional offense if Jokic is the only one able to generate a consistent rhythm when the guards on the floor cannot do much to impact the game. Phoenix was also extremely balanced on the floor from their backcourt and frontcourt producing equally, as four of their starters scored 20+ points, so it’s up to Denver to match that with either Michael Porter Jr. or Monte Morris stepping up as artillery.

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3. No. 1 Philadelphia 76ers (49-23, Won 4-1 vs. No. 8 Washington Wizards in First Round, 1-1 vs. No. 5 Atlanta Hawks in ECSF, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)

While it felt like their game one loss to Atlanta was more of a statement win and the official arrival of Trae Young as a superstar, it was merely anything but, considering the Hawks’ 24-point lead created in the second half was decimated as the Hawks only won by four points. Philly’s combo of Danny Green and Seth Curry had their worst shooting performances of the playoffs, Joel Embiid still dropped 30 but on a partially torn Meniscus, and Ben Simmons was as ineffective as he could possibly be on both ends by shrinking the floor and getting into early foul trouble.

And in Game 4, all of Philly’s game one positives were multiplied one game later as they were the ones to get off to a fiery start in the first quarter while keeping Trae Young shooting under 25 percent from deep for a full 48 minutes. Joel Embiid ended up putting on a regulatory masterclass of an offensive performance while Clint Capela couldn’t do a thing against him, and Shake Milton, well, shook back with a career-best postseason performance of a late third-quarter nod from Coach Doc Rivers and finished game 2 with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 90 percent shooting from downtown.

While the Hawks did the work to diminish a double-digit lead to a four-point deficit, Shake Milton and Embiid went on a tear along with Tobias Harris and Seth Curry both combining for 43 points as the Sixers prevented themselves from falling into a 2-0 hole. This series will go to Atlanta for what could be a decisive game 3, and as the Hawks announced Wednesday afternoon that star defender and 2-way threat DeAndre Hunter will miss the rest of the season with a torn meniscus, the difficulty in picking up a timely home win just increased.

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4. No. 1 Utah Jazz (52-20, Won 4-1 vs. No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies in First Round, 1-0 vs. No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers in WCSF, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)

Though they earned a slim game one victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, who were fresh off of a season-saving Game 7 victory over the Dallas Mavericks this past Sunday, these Utah Jazz present a different challenge to the Clippers, even if they held the lead in the season series 2-1. Mike Conley Jr. was out in Game one of the series Tuesday night but that didn’t hinder Donovan Mitchell, who also is growing into the shoes of a superstar rapidly in his fourth-ever postseason appearance.

Mitchell finished Game one with 45 points, matching his number of course, and as a team, Utah found a way to play team defense to severely limit Paul George and Kawhi Leonard through all four quarters. Of the duo, Leonard led in scoring, but the significant key of remembrance would be to recognize the defensive efforts of Royce O’Neale, who guarded Kawhi for a majority of his minutes and found a way to keep him from shooting over 30 percent the entire night.

And more importantly, the team defense the Jazz played in game one against the Clippers resulted in a variety of transition threes in the second half after what was an abysmal first half of shooting. The Jazz have to take their game one win with a grain of salt, for they opened the second round contest missing 20 straight shots but ended up shooting 40 percent as a team and a little under 35 percent from deep. With home-court advantage on their side for game two and a defensive gameplan they can feel comfortable running against the struggling duo of Leonard and George, Utah has to start feeling good about where they are at in this series so far.

Jun 10, 2021 No Comments
First True Glimpse of the Nike LeBron 19

First True Glimpse of the Nike LeBron 19

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by | Jun 8, 2021 | Featured, NBA, Sneakers

Although not “officially” unveiled by the brand yet, the Nike LeBron 19 has now been seen by the public eye. LBJ’s soon-to-be 19th signature model has been causing quite the stir on social media over the past 48 hours. Today, we got to see clear pictures in two colorways of what we can expect the LeBron 19’s to look like. We usually would not see early pictures of James’ newest signature shoe until the late summer or early fall, but due to Space Jam 2 releasing soon it was only a matter of time these would be leaked.

 

                 

 

 

The first colorway we see coincides with the Tune Squad’s bright orange/purple/teal uniforms. This will most likely be dubbed the “Space Jam” colorway and will be in high demand for LeBron and Nike basketball collectors. The second colorway is a more subtle white/silver/blue. Sneaker enthusiasts have claimed the 19’s have numerous callbacks to previous LeBron models including the 8’s, 9’s, 12’s, and 13’s. It appears LBJ’s newest signature will also feature another zoom air/max air cushion setup. Look for LeBron James to rock these in the new Space Jam 2 movie which releases July 16th and stick with Sneaker Reporter for any more colorways that may pop up.

 

                 

 

Jun 8, 2021 No Comments
Kicks Through the Lens (Week 3 of Playoffs)

Kicks Through the Lens (Week 3 of Playoffs)

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by | Jun 7, 2021 | Featured, NBA, Sneakers

The first round of the playoffs is over. The defending champions have been dethroned and the Miami Heat weren’t even a factor. The L.A. Clippers capped off a great series comeback and sent the Mavs home for the summer in game 7. This past week’s Kicks Through the Lens saw action from four brands – much more than usual. With LeBron and A.D. out of the playoffs that leaves two sneaker giants out of our countdown for the remaining weeks. Kyrie Irving is coming strong with new colorways of his Kyrie 7’s, Paul Millsap, Khris Middleton, and P.J. Tucker will look to carry on the Kobe 6 Protro void that will be left by Anthony Davis, and Devin Booker will continue channeling his inner Kobe while wearing his older models. Scroll below to see which stars made up our list for the third week of the 2021 NBA Playoffs.

 

 

10. NERF x Reebok Kamikaze II Low – Rajon Rondo

 

     

 

 

9. New Balance THE KAWHI P.E. – Kawhi Leonard

 

     

 

 

8. Rugrats X PUMA Court Rider – Deandre Ayton

 

           

 

 

7. Nike Kyrie 7 “The Eye of Horus” – Kyrie Irving

 

       

 

 

6. 2008 Nike Zoom MVP (Steve Nash P.E.) – Langston Galloway

 

                 

 

 

5. Nike Kobe 6 Protro P.E. – Paul Millsap

 

     

 

 

4. Nike Kobe 6 Protro P.E. – P.J. Tucker

 

           

 

 

3. Nike Kyrie 7 P.E. – Kyrie Irving

 

     

 

 

2. Nike LeBron 15 “SVSM Air Zoom Generation” P.E. – LeBron James

 

           

 

 

1. Nike Kobe 6 Protro P.E. – Khris Middleton

 

     

 

 

Jun 7, 2021 No Comments
2020-21 NBA Postseason Prediction For The Western Conference Semi-Finals

2020-21 NBA Postseason Prediction For The Western Conference Semi-Finals

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by | Jun 7, 2021 | Featured, NBA

And just like that, the First Round of the Western Conference Playoffs are over. We’re on to the second round and as the true playoff atmosphere returns with vaccinated fans re-entering stadiums to fill the capacity limit, business is picking up. Though the semifinals in the East started up on Saturday evening with the Bucks being manhandled by the Brooklyn Nets to fall behind 0-1 to the gargantuan Nets offense, we will officially be in the second level of the postseason as soon as the Nuggets and Suns tip-off on Monday evening. The Jazz and Clippers, who respectively handled their business in their first-round series, will clash in a high-stakes, stacked matchup to determine who gets the second berth in this year’s Western Conference Finals.

Source: CBS Sports

Both series feature the final four best teams left in the warzone that is the Western Conference, and result-wise and statistically, these teams have earned the right to continue their seasons and improve their odds of hoisting up the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of the year.

And so, we’ll delve into these two matchups, who has the advantage, statistical accolades earned over the course of the season, and reveal the two likeliest favorites to play in this year’s conference finals with yet another postseason predictions and matchup breakdown.

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No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers vs. No. 1 Utah Jazz

Dec 17, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) passes off between Utah Jazz forward Royce O’Neale (23) and center Rudy Gobert (27) during the first quarter at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

While the Utah Jazz won’t have the goal of reaching a perfect postseason record, they handled business by winning four straight games by an average of 11.3 points after losing Game 1 to the Memphis Grizzlies by three in shocking fashion. They found a way to score consistently and keep Dillon Brooks largely out of every other game in the series after he dropped a game-high 31 points.

What was that “adjustment”, you ask? Oh, just getting Donovan Mitchell back in the building and on the floor, which did enough to get Mike Conley Jr. enough space to create and attack bigs in the Pick and Roll and provide Rudy Gobert a litany of touches and a good ball handler to make screen assists for and mismatches for easy looks at the rim.

The Jazz portrayed themselves as the league’s third-most efficient offense that they’ve been all year, posting an otherworldly 124.6 offensive rating in the first round of the Western Playoffs, good for the second-best offensive rating (per 100 possessions) in this year’s playoffs.

And while it was Mitchell that looked every part of an MVP candidate averaging 26.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.2 assists off 47/40/94 splits through four games, Mike Conley Jr. winded back the hands of time with some scintillating road performances against the Grizzlies, his old franchise that he became their all-time scorer at. Conley averaged 17.4 points off 47/55/100 splits all series and in game three, the first of the series inside Conley’s old stomping grounds of the FedEx Forum, edged his Jazz over the top with a signature 27 points off 8-for-16 shooting for a 10-point win.

Grizzlies budding star Ja Morant did all he could, becoming the second-highest scorer in the history of the league in their playoff debut, but the Jazz’s team-wide ability to stretch the floor with nearly four to five perimeter scorers on the floor in nearly every Quin Snyder rotation, the team fixed their mishaps from Game one and didn’t look back, shooting a team-wide 35.7 percent from downtown as the NBA’s third-best three-point shooting team in the league during the regular season.

Which makes this matchup between the resilient and synergetic Jazz all the more exciting. Star power may be anemic, but the sense of all-around team ability is pungent between these two high-octane offenses. The Clippers finished the regular season as the best three-point shooting team in the NBA, percentage-wise, and while the Jazz hold a 2-1 season lead over the Clippers, two of the three games were decided by single digits, with the largest win against the Clippers being by 18 points back on February 17th in the Staples Center.

The playoffs are a different story, and these Clippers are grizzled, battle-tested, and hungrily on a mission to redeem their Conference semifinals woes that have hung over their heads like black clouds since their inception. Since 2015, the Clippers have appeared in two conference semifinals but still haven’t advanced to the Conference Finals in franchise history.

Kawhi Leonard reverted back to his 2019 ways and was a man amongst boys this series when it seemed like the deck was stacked against them, averaging around 32 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists off 61 percent shooting and put the team on his back in what would have been a consequential Game 6 loss had they folded in the fourth quarter.

Leonard assumed the position of the take-us-home Alpha Male, both scoring 45 points on 18-for-25 shooting and finally taking heed of the responsibility of shutting down Luka Doncic on the other end in crunch time. Better yet, he continued displaying the two-way dominance that fans were waiting on him to show with his new team by dropping 28 points off 10-for-15 shooting and doing the same to a fatigued Doncic in the fourth quarter of Game 7, manually completing the Clipper comeback when folks wrote off their season as soon as they fell behind 2-0 to the Mavericks and couldn’t win a home game in the series until Game 7.

So looking at the tale of the tape, there are a bunch of factors that will likely determine who wins, but none more important than these four: 1.) Kawhi Leonard and Paul George’s creation of mismatches in the halfcourt, 2.) Three-point shooting for both teams, 3.) The productivity of Utah’s backcourt against the Clippers’ combination of physical, lengthy wings, and 4.) Rudy Gobert/Derrick Favors’ gravity and presence both rolling to the rim and on the interior against the Clippers’ frontcourt.

Utah’s second-most-efficient offense in the playoffs will have their hands full in trying to get to their spots against a Clippers team that loves to switch (maybe a little too much, after watching the first few games of the Clippers – Mavs series) and is intent on taking away driving angles as a Top-8 defense this season. But, as mentioned in our prior Western Conference playoff predictions, Utah could be licking at their chops in their intent on attacking the second-worst Pick and Roll-defending team in the NBA with two guards – not just Luka Doncic in a starting lineup – that run the halfcourt set ad nauseam.

Conversely, with the star power of both Leonard and George (who averaged 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists off 48 percent this series) as well as the balance of this roster, it won’t be easy for Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley to jumpstart the offense if space is air-tight for 48 minutes all series.

Prediction: Clippers beat Jazz 4-2.

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No. 3 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 2 Phoenix Suns

DeAndre Ayton #22 of the Phoenix Suns looks to pass around Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets during the NBA game at Phoenix Suns Arena on January 23, 2021, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Tipping off at 10 p.m. ET on TNT tonight will be a much-anticipated duel between the third-seeded Denver Nuggets and the Chris Paul-led Phoenix Suns, who shocked the world by defeating LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers in six games during the Western Conference First Round. The Nuggets are also a team that defied expectations (certainly ours) by beating Damian Lillard’s Portland Trail Blazers by outlasting the scoring onslaught from the superstar backcourt of Lillard and CJ McCollum while Denver’s offense was largely carried by MVP favorite Nikola Jokic (33 points off 53/43/92 splits) and budding star Michael Porter Jr., who averaged 13.2 points off 49/39/78 splits in his second-ever postseason.

Denver has dominated the season series 2-1, with all three games being decided by an average of five points. Their biggest win was a four-point win on January 22 by a score of 130-126 as Nikola Jokic gave DeAndre Ayton the work, scoring a game-high 31 points with 10 rebounds and 8 assists. But, these teams played each other tightly, with two of the three games going into overtime this season.

We have yet to see a hiccup from these Nuggets with Jokic being the caboose of the Nuggets’ train that hasn’t really stopped since the early-April season-ending injury suffered by superstar guard Jamal Murray. They are playing a confident brand of ball, operating in a Michael Malone motion offense that’s diverse in touches and opportunities for players like third-year standout Monte Morris and longtime veteran Austin Rivers to step up in Murray’s absence.

As a team, the Nuggets were the sixth-best offense in basketball this season, posting a 116.3 offensive rating per 100 possessions while simultaneously being a respectable top-15 defensive team, only allowing 111.5 opponent points in the same metric. Now granted, that lacks some context with a group of players currently inactive impacting those statistical marks. But in the scale of the playoffs, the Nuggets are averaging a 122.9 offensive rating, which makes them the third-most efficient offense among the teams still left in the pool.

On the other end of the spectrum, however, the Nuggets are in the bottom quadrant of defensive teams as the 13th-ranked playoff team in points allowed – which doesn’t tell the full story considering their efforts in Game 5 of the series in which they allowed a ghastly 147 points in four quarters and two overtimes, and just couldn’t stop the heroics of Damian Lillard that day, who ended scoring a playoff career-high 55 points – as the Nuggets handled business in the second half of game 6 and kept Lillard virtually scoreless in the fourth quarter for a 1-11 shooting effort, which ended his season.

Additionally, the constant ball pressure from their backcourt combinations gave CJ McCollum troubles in alleviating some of the load from Lillard late down the stretch, and the cold streak became contagious for the entire team during their 126-115 loss, which could immediately start the rebuild of the Trail Blazers with Lillard possibly seeking playing time elsewhere in a winning market.

And as is the case for Denver, Phoenix was not highly touted as a 2 seed, ironically, against a banged-up Lakers team even with the implication of Playoff LeBron showing up at some point and wreaking havoc on the inexperienced Suns (who are the youngest team in the playoffs) who hadn’t seen a playoff series win, or playoff appearance, in eleven years.

But fate would have different plans for Devin Booker and Chris Paul’s Suns, who stormed out of the gates and won Game one convincingly. Here’s how it went, explained as briefly as possible:

Booker scored the most points in a playoff debut in NBA history and continued to further reveal his superstardom to the basketball universe, the second unit – most noticeably Cameron Payne, who averaged 12.5 points off of 42/42/100 splits in his third-ever playoff appearance – stepped up mightily when Chris Paul experienced sudden shoulder and nerve pains in the middle of Game 1, Monty Williams’ defensive schemes restricted a hampered and aging LeBron James to jumpers when the Suns went on runs, DeAndre Ayton kept Anthony Davis quiet for a majority of the series, and the Phoenix Suns did what hadn’t been done since the Steve Nash/Amare Stoudamire days: win a playoff series.

And because of that masterclass of a defensive effort against the NBA’s most efficient offense (per offensive rating), the Suns are the best defensive team in the Western playoffs so far with an insanely impressive 102.6 defensive rating. Offensively, they could be better as the 12th ranked offense left in the playoffs, but they certainly will embrace the challenge with quite arguably the most dangerous two-guard combination left in the Western playoff picture.

If the three regular-season duels told us anything about this series, it’s that it will be balanced, tightly contested, technical, and orchestrated by two exceptional on-ball operators and passers in Paul and Jokic.

Unfortunately, NBA fans will not have the luxury to enjoy two masterful isolation bucket getters in Booker and Murray face off against each other in a crucial playoff series as Denver will surely miss the special dynamic of having their three-level scorer bend defenses to his whim, but in his place will be the emerging Michael Porter Jr., who is growing in total skill set but will have to meet a now experienced Mikal Bridges that just got done matching up with LeBron James for six games. Ultimately, it’s going to be up to Jokic in creating offense for himself and others while surveying defenses from the low post and wing. Also, expect the Joker to be a constant pick and pop threat who can literally shoot over anyone if need be.

This series will come down to its stars performing when the lights are the brightest, but bench points and role players will always play the biggest part in determining who advances to the Western Conference Finals. Denver’s rotation of guards is also getting healthier and as players like Will Barton and PJ Dozier expect to re-join the team at some point this series, pieces like rookie Facundo Campazzo as well as veterans like Aaron Gordon and Paul Millsap are there to assist Jokic and these Nuggets on getting back to the Conference Finals, the place they finished their season off by losing in six to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers.

And even if Phoenix is having one of those “destiny” seasons with health on their side as well as Devin Booker playing the best ball of his career, it’s hard to deny Malone’s Nuggets, since Jokic has averaged 25.7 points against them in the three times he’s played Phoenix this year. The Nuggets have already been through the wringer of stopping an elite backcourt with a frontcourt compilation of Aaron Gordon and JaMychal Green off of switches, but have enough talent and experience to neutralize both Chris Paul and Devin Booker when the moment calls for it.

Prediction: Nuggets beat Suns 4-3.  

Jun 7, 2021 No Comments