LOS ANGELES – Things happen fast in the NBA playoffs, so to help you stay on top of everything from now until at least the end of the second round, we’ll have nightly results from the postseason action.
Kawhi Leonard returns, that might not be enough
Luka Doncic vs. Kawhi Leonard.
The 4/5 matchup between the Clippers and Mavericks is more than a head-to-head matchup, but part of the attraction was two top-10 players in the league when they faced each other healthy. But the healthy part got in the way, with Leonard missing Game 1 due to inflammation in his right knee. The Clippers won comfortably without him.
Leonard was back for Game 2 – and so was Doncic. Luka put in a vintage performance with 32 points and nine assists, taking control of the game in the fourth quarter and leading Dallas to a 96-93 victory in a game that Jason Kidd called 90s basketball. 1 and return to Dallas.
Doncic playing like this tipped the balance in Game 2 and Dallas could easily win three more games that look almost exactly like this one. The Clippers played the better game – they had more offensive rebounds and fewer turnovers, they had more quick break points and more points in the paint, and they shot better at the rim – and none of that mattered because of Doncic and the Mavericks’ defense. . Led by Luka, Dallas shot 42.4% from 3 to the Clippers’ 26.7% – those six more 3-pointers Dallas made were the difference.
Dallas can play defense like this every game, as they did throughout March and April. Doncic can play like this every game, he’s in the top three in MVP voting for good reason.
The Clippers need Leonard to match that. James Harden can be hot for a night, as can Paul George, but Leonard is the offensive force of nature who steps up to the plate and knocks down contested shots no matter what the defense does. Leonard is also an elite, physical defender.
Well, Leonard can do all of that when healthy. Leonard was understandably rusty upon his return, having not played a game in April and missing more than three weeks of action. He made some plays defensively, but looked rusty on offense, including going 0 of 5 from 3, and finished with 13 points.
If the Clippers want to win this series, they’re going to need a lot more from Leonard and a lot more shooting.
“We got pretty stagnant tonight in that fourth quarter,” Leonard said of his team’s late offensive struggles (and he’s right, it was a lot of ‘your turn, then my turn’ isolation). “Now I just want to get a rhythm with the team and then get a win.”
“So offensively, just being better, playing with more rhythm, getting into the paint a little more,” Lue said of what he wants to see from the offense Friday night in Game 3. “We missed a lot of shots, but even now just like what we did defensively, I take advantage of that every day of the week… To keep this team to 96 points, it was a great defensive night. We just need to do a better job of scoring the basketball.
The Clippers need to score more – and they need Leonard’s help to do so. Because Luka Doncic can keep playing like this all series long.
Phoenix is in trouble. Need a point guard.
The playoffs can identify a team’s biggest weakness and highlight it.
Two things were clear from seeing Phoenix lose the first two games of their series against Minnesota: They are in serious trouble in this series and they need a traditional, all-around point guard.
Let’s not take anything away from Minnesota, which lives up to the “best defense in the NBA” rankings this season. The Timberwolves’ athleticism and length are a problem for the Suns’ top scorers, and the Phoenix look sluggish — there’s always a Timberwolves defender in front of them.
Still, considering their star power and massive payroll, one would think the Suns should be better than that. Except this is all about owner Mat Ishbia’s search for a third star without focusing on roster construction or depth — they have three elite isolation scorers, but Devin Booker and Bradley Beal aren’t traditional point guards and aren’t dealing well with the pressure from Minnesota.
Phoenix needs someone like the Timberwolves’ Mike Conley – a point guard who calms his team down, organizes the offense, gets the ball to guys where they want to attack mismatches and can score a little when needed. The Suns don’t have that depth and now could be without sharpshooter Grayson Allen for a while as he sprained his ankle in Game 2.
Landing this point guard isn’t so easy because Phoenix is a second-string team – they have a reported payroll for next season of $205.9 million for just 11 players, which is $34 million in taxes. Being on the second apron means the Suns don’t have a mid-level exception to use, they can’t take more money in a trade, and they can’t aggregate salaries, all they can do is trade 1 for 1. And before you ask, Bradley Beal has a no-trade clause (no way they trade Devin Booker or Kevin Durant). If they trade Jusuf Nurkic or Grayson Allen or whoever for a point guard, are they really improving or just creating a hole elsewhere? There is no easy answer here.
The vibes around the Suns have been wrong all season – the Suns are great trailblazers, but in the face of adversity they fight. And they are facing a lot of adversity right now.
It’s only two games, but Pascal Siakam leads all scorers in the playoffs with an average of 36.5 points per game – with Giannis Antetokounmpo out, the Bucks have no one close to being able to match him athletically. They tried Brook Lopez, but Siakam is too fast.
Siakam led the Bucks to a 125-108 victory on Tuesday to even the series and — as long as Antetokounmpo remains out — there’s no reason he can’t keep doing that and the Pacers can’t keep winning. Indiana is off and running against the Bucks and the only guy who can turn the tide of this series is out with a calf strain (and Milwaukee can’t rush him back, he can not only re-aggravate the calf but weak calf muscles calf problems can lead to Achilles problems that would be much, much more serious).
Tyrese Haliburton still isn’t his pre-injury self, but he has moments averaging 10.5 points and 10 assists per game, but Myles Turner has stepped up with 19.5 points per game. Damian Lillard is going crazy in the first half of games, but Indiana and his pace were a terrible matchup between the Bucks and the Greek Freak, and without him things could get ugly.
This series is tied 1-1 and if Indiana can hold serve at home and take a 3-1 lead, the Bucks will be facing some very tough offseason questions (they could be no matter what happens in this series).
