Kicks Through the Lens (Week 4 of Playoffs)

Kicks Through the Lens (Week 4 of Playoffs)

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by | Jun 14, 2021 | Featured, NBA, Sneakers

The Phoenix Suns have swept the Denver Nuggets to move onto the Western Conference Finals. Devin Booker seems to be sticking to his purple P.E. pair of Nike Kobe 4 Protros. Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? P.J. Tucker came with the heat this past week. It’s always nice to have the sneaker king himself make a deep run in the postseason so we can continue to see the heat he rocks on the hardwood. The Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks series just got a lot more interesting than people anticipated after the Bucks tied things up at 2-2 over the weekend. Langston Galloway of the Phoenix Suns is steadily proving to sneaker fans why he deserves to be up in the conversations with who wears the most heat in the league. Between decade-old signature sneakers, obscure player exclusives from the mid-2000’s, and rarely seen Nike basketball gems – Galloway brings it all. Getting your spot in our Kicks Through the Lens countdown will only become harder the rest of the season as the remaining weeks will only feature five spots instead of ten. There’s just not enough teams left to warrant a list of 10 sneakers from the week. Scroll below to check out this week’s list.

 

 

10. Adidas D.O.N. Issue #3 – Donovan Mitchell

 

           

 

 

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

 

           

 

 

8. Nike Kyrie 1 iD – Bruce Brown

 

     

 

 

7. Nike Kobe 4 Protro P.E. – Devin Booker

 

     

 

 

6. 2016 Nike Kobe 3 “Fade to Black” – P.J. Tucker

 

           

 

 

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

 

           

 

 

4. Nike Kyrie 7 P.E. – Kyrie Irving

 

     

 

 

3. Nike LeBron 15 “SVSM” P.E. – P.J. Tucker

 

           

 

 

2. 2013 Nike KD 5 “What The” – P.J. Tucker

 

     

 

 

1. 2005 Team Dime x Jordan XX 3/4 (Mike Bibby P.E.) – Langston Galloway

 

           

Jun 14, 2021 No Comments
SR – NBA Playoff Power Rankings: Week 4

SR – NBA Playoff Power Rankings: Week 4

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by | Jun 14, 2021 | Featured, NBA

As we head into the fourth week of these postseason Power Rankings, we’ve got some shocking revelations about some championship contenders, and with the conclusion of one of the Western Conference series on Sunday night, we learned a few things about some of the teams that were on the bubble of contention as well.

While the Philadelphia 76ers, who struggled mightily dealing with Trae Young’s Atlanta Hawks in Game one but began to realize they were the superior side by splitting the first two home games of the series and then going on to keep the beat rolling on the road, look like they’re finally getting hot at the right time with health on their side, the same – ever so suddenly – cannot be said for the Brooklyn Nets. Kyrie Irving suffered what looked to be a gruesome ankle injury from landing on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s ankle following a layup attempt in Game 4’s second quarter Sunday afternoon, and it is unclear when or *if* the star Nets guard returns for this series.

And with the news of James Harden’s reaggravation of his right hamstring, the Nets’ injury woes have uncontrollably snowballed at the most inconvenient time. A banged-up top-heavy championship favorite with somewhat suboptimal role pieces never quite offer the offensive punch necessary to win, and without two of the greatest mismatches in NBA history on the floor for the Nets for an undisclosed duration of time, it could be the Nets’ downfall for this series with Milwaukee tying the series up 2 apiece after their 107-96 victory.

And on the Western hemisphere of the NBA universe, the Phoenix Suns successfully completed the sweep of the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night as a balanced, healthy team relayed the same adage of every postseason throughout history: the best availability is indeed availability. Phoenix never let the Nuggets get into arms reach of a win at any point in the series, and Chris Paul, at 36 years old, is headed back to the Western Conference Finals after averaging 25.5 points, 10.3 assists and 5 rebounds against the Denver Nuggets in four games. Coincidentally, in his first-ever trip to the NBA Playoffs, Devin Booker stayed hot in continuation from the Lakers series, in which the Kentucky product put up 25.3 points per game in the four-straight wins over 2021 MVP Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets.

The Jazz and Clippers series looked to be nearing its conclusion with Utah holding serve at home and going up 2-0, but Los Angeles won their first game of the series at home in rousing fashion, as Paul George quieted the doubters and kept his foot on the gas pedal for all four quarters.

Let’s get into the details of all the series and the top four teams with the fourth edition of these postseason power rankings.

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

Be real with yourself – even you didn’t quite see the Suns advancing past the first round of the playoffs when Suns GM James Jones pulled the trigger and sent Kelly Oubre Jr. to the Oklahoma City Thunder (who then sent him to the Warriors for two draft picks) and got 36-year-old Chris Paul in return. And you anticipated that Paul was going to take a leadership position to help out younger players like Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton maximize their potential.

Trust me, we all couldn’t see this magical carpet ride of a 2020-21 campaign happening with a team that missed out on the eighth seed before last year’s playoffs.

But reality often is misleading. While Devin Booker’s rise to superstardom has been in fact expected and equally meteoric, what Paul has done for this franchise in a matter of seven months should be talked over in lore. And in not just helping these Suns who were coming on at year’s end following their 8-0 record inside the NBA Bubble at Disney Springs in Orlando last summer, Paul has helped in instilling hope into a franchise that hadn’t gotten a sniff of a playoff visit in more than eleven years. For the first time since the 2010 season, the Rally for the Valley will extend to the Western Conference Finals, for the Suns are but a mere four wins away from advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time in 28 years.

As a team, the Suns look to be the most evenly-poised and steady team in these playoffs, and with a system put in place by Head Coach Monty Williams that optimizes for his two MVP-caliber guards in Booker and Paul to utilize all three levels of the floor in their scoring efforts, Suns fans have them to thank for the run they’ve been on.

And additionally, though they possess the sixth-best offensive rating (114.2 points per 100 possessions), they have the best defensive rating of all Western teams left in the playoffs (104.1 points per 100 possessions allowed). After beating an undermanned Nuggets team who were sorely missing playmaking and shot creation off the bounce with Jamal Murray out for the season, the Suns beat them when they targeted Jokic as a drop defender in the PnR with both Paul and Booker, as well in transition when the Nuggets struggled to run sets in the halfcourt.

And now, the Suns wait for their next opponent, in either the Utah Jazz or Los Angeles Clippers.

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2. No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks (46-26, Won 4-0 vs. No. 6 Miami Heat in First Round, 2-2 vs. No. 2 Brooklyn Nets in ECSF, Last Week’s Ranking: N/A)

  

Well, that escalated quickly.

After grinding out a three-point win to gain some traction on the offensive three-headed dragon of the Brooklyn Nets, there was very little optimism on the Bucks extending this series due to the lack of a defensive gameplan in stopping both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant for the duration of another 48 minutes in Game 4. But with six minutes and six seconds remaining in the first half of Sunday’s Game 4, Irving came down with a hard thud on the floor of the Fiserv Forum where it looked like he inadvertently landed on the foot of Giannis Antetokounmpo, twisting his ankle in the process and laying on the hardwood for a few minutes before being escorted off of the floor.

What started out as a 17-point swing in the first-half in the Nets’ favor quickly transitioned into a 44-40 lead and a gargantuan 30-point second quarter for the Bucks, who seemed to turn it on when they realized running Antetokounmpo at the 4 and 5 as a screener and off-ball cutter made the most space for outside scorers like Brook Lopez and Pat Connaughton through the litany of Mike Budenholzer’s rotations.

Moreover, when Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton assumed the responsibilities of being the marauders with the rock in their hands, the offense couldn’t be stopped the rest of the way through, as both Middleton and Holiday finished Game 4 with a combined and supplementary 33 points to go along with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo’s efficient 34 points, as the 6’11 mismatch of a downhill scorer made his mark in the open court and as a roll man who used his gravity to full sufficiency, often finishing with fervent like how we know him to do so when defenses were collapsed off the dribble drive or were slowly getting back in transition.

Milwaukee went up by as much as 23 points, and as the floor was shrunken with no other on-ball threat to create in the halfcourt other than Durant, PJ Tucker was a thorn in his side, keeping Durant from scoring more than 9 points off 3-for-12 shooting whenever matched up against him, especially when the Bucks poured it on and stuck to their gameplan in the third and fourth quarters.

Now, Brooklyn’s collective playoff hopes fringe on an all-world Kevin Durant performance in Game 5 in Brooklyn Tuesday night. Because if not, the Bucks could be heading back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in three years.

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3. No. 1 Philadelphia 76ers (49-23, Won 4-1 vs. No. 8 Washington Wizards in First Round, 2-1 vs. No. 5 Atlanta Hawks in ECSF, Last Week’s Ranking: 3)

With the other MVP big man now out of the postseason picture, it’s Joel Embiid’s chance to prove the voters of the award wrong again after his Philadelphia 76ers took a commanding 127-111 Game 3 win last Friday night. Embiid looked locked in and indomitable as usual, posting 27 points off a 7-for-14 shooting night with a lone three-ball falling through four quarters. As Atlanta’s Clint Capela got in foul trouble, the game plan formulated itself due to the ebb and flow of Friday’s decisive win, and a flurry of weakside isolation looks that made themselves in the mid-post created a variety of chances and looks for Tobias Harris, Furkan Korkmaz, Matisse Thybulle, Seth Curry and the rest of Philly’s perimeter scorers.

Philadelphia’s bench outscored Atlanta’s 48-32, and Atlanta was outmatched in the halfcourt when Trae Young was singled out and blitzed/trapped on every high PnR look. That’s expected when there is a plan established in shutting down a speedy ballhandler who can create for himself and others should he see an angle of space worth using.

And of course, he’d get his (28 points off 9-for-17 shooting and 50 percent shooting from downtown) but following Philadelphia’s adjustment from games 1 and 2, they ended up looking like the more aggressive team on both ends, imposing their will offensively by getting Ben Simmons downhill as their 6’10 freight train of a mismatch going downhill, showing muscle when driving baseline and establishing middle with the ball in his hands, but defensively is where the Sixers shone through in the second and third games of this series, actively switching off of Atlanta’s double drags and stagger looks at the top of the key with a variety of long bodies to employ.

Doc Rivers made sure to emphasize making Young uncomfortable by putting Thybulle onto him when they were in man during the bench’s minutes when Simmons was off the floor, often limiting his and others’ open attempts from three-land as much as possible. However, not all that was sweet could avoid becoming sour, as veteran 3-and-D piece Danny Green may miss the rest of this series due to a strained right calf. Though they’ve shown they can handle their business without Green on the floor for this series, even showing a slight anemia in the wing department hurts your ability to adjust on the fly against future offenses, and shrinks the floor that much now down an additional shooter.

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4. No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers (47-25, Won 4-3 vs. No. 5 Dallas Mavericks in First Round, 1-2 vs. No. 1 Utah Jazz in WCSF, Last Week’s Ranking: N/A)

After falling behind 2-0 to the top-seeded Utah Jazz, many sportswriters, experts, and fans alike all wrote off the Clips following their second-straight playoff series that started with a 2-0 deficit this year. But in preparation for what could be a season-altering Game 4, the Clippers got themselves into a promising position to compete for a Conference title and gain even more ground on the injured Jazz with a signature Paul George Game 3 performance at home and a 132-106 win with their backs against the wall this past Saturday night.

And while Kawhi Leonard struggled, the playoffs are usually the time for unsung heroes in the rotation to step up and assume some larger responsibilities. Reggie Jackson has been that guy for the Clippers in the three games they’ve played this series by scoring 17 points off of 6-for-8 shooting in a must-win game 3, knocking down five threes in six attempts in the process. Adjustments and gameplan tweaks aplenty have emanated from Head Coach Tyronn Lue, who seem to have the Utah Jazz on the ropes all of a sudden when it looked as if the Jazz were going to steamroll them for four straight contests.

As a team, they struggled to neutralize and constrict Donovan Mitchell from bludgeoning their defensive coverages, as the ever-elusive Louisville product has been a nightmare to defend in the three games they’ve played, but the Clippers sent two, at times three, defenders to hedge or trap Mitchell whenever he got a sliver of space with a dribble handoff or with the ball in his hands as the team’s initiator when Quin Snyder calls for him to get the offense moving in the halfcourt.

In the playoffs, to the most physical go the spoils, and that age-old truth spoke volumes against Utah for the Clippers. They made sure to rough up Mitchell’s Jazz, who, albeit, were doing the roughing up when they held serve during their two-straight home wins against L.A., and as they finally saw some pushback and productivity from George and Leonard (who combined for 65 points off 26-for-48 shooting) the optimism is back in the Staples Center that these Clippers can earn yet another hard-fought victory against Utah and extend this series to, ultimately, get to their first Conference Finals in franchise history, who will make sure to not have a repeat performance of their last outing that saw them shoot under 43 percent for the third time this postseason.

Photo Source: pngkey.com

Jun 14, 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