WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
Blazers' defense torched by Warriors' Curry, Thompson
Following Portland’s loss to Golden State, Blazers head coach Terry Stotts had this incredulous look when he was asked why his team didn’t double-team Steph Curry akin to what the Houston Rockets did in the previous series.
While I understand Stotts being hesitant to take any cues from Houston when it comes to defense, giving Curry and Klay Thompson a ridiculous amount of space beyond the 3-point line is basketball suicide.
Curry alone had nine of Golden State’s 17 made 3-pointers, the kind of long-range shooting that few teams can compete with, let alone beat the Warriors when they are making that many 3’s.
SO... THAT HAPPENED
NUMBER OF NOTE
9 — Steph Curry tied his postseason career high by hitting nine 3-pointers in Game 1 against the Blazers. He joins Klay Thompson and Ray Allen as the only players in playoff history with multiple games with at least nine 3's in a game.
Boston Celtics
THEY SAID IT
"They started calling out the numbers. We obviously got this seed sheet, and I am trying to look through it and find out our numbers. I find the first number, then the second number and then the third, and I'm like, 'Oh s---.' The fourth one comes up, I try to look at all our combinations and then they said, 'The winner is the New Orleans Pelicans.' And I said, 'F--- yeah!' And then I said, 'Excuse me, I'm sorry.'"
— Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry, after New Orleans won the NBA draft lottery (and the right to select Zion Williamson)
TUESDAY'S SCOREBOARD
- Warriors 116, Trail Blazers 94 (GS leads series 1-0)
WHAT WE'LL BE WATCHING
Kawhi vs. Giannis, Round 1
The two best teams record-wise this season, led by arguably the top two players in the postseason, this series is a matchup featuring two talented squads that took very different routes to get here.
Leonard has been an integral part of Toronto’s success all season, but he has taken upon himself even more of the scoring/rebounding/passing load as the Raptors got deeper into the postseason.
And the game-winner he hit in Game 7 against Philadelphia with no time left will go down as the greatest shot in Raptors history, and one of the most clutch shots anyone has ever made in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo has been the front-runner for the league’s MVP award in large part because of his ability to take over games.
But in both of Milwaukee’s playoff series thus far, the contributions of those around him has been an absolute must to their success.
Look no further than Game 4 against Boston, a game in which the Bucks trailed Boston by three when Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton went to the bench with more than six minutes to play in the third quarter because of foul trouble.
By the time they both came back to start the fourth quarter, the Bucks were sporting an eight-point lead.
That’s why the Bucks have to be considered the favorite in this series due to their depth as well as home-court advantage by way of having the best regular-season record in the NBA this season.
WEDNESDAY'S SCHEDULE
- Raptors at Bucks, Game 1 — 8:30pm, TNT
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