Statistics through Basketball-Reference.
Follow Maurice Bobb on Twitter, @ReeseReport
The Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat qualified Monday for the 2020 NBA playoffs.
Milwaukee won its series over the Orlando Magic in five games, while Miami swept the Indiana Pacers in four.
Chris Paul had his Oklahoma City Thunder tie the series (2-2) with the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers taking a 3-1 lead in his clash with the Portland Trail Blazers.
There are two games on Tuesday night, but both games have serious implications.
For the Denver Nuggets, who are down (1-3) versus the Utah Jazz, it’s winning or going home.
The Dallas Mavericks outperformed a 21-point deficit on Sunday to turn it into a series (2-2) with the Los Angeles Clippers, so whoever wins will gain momentum by Thursday night.
Here’s a review of the calendar and how to act.
Tuesday hours
Game 1: Utah to Denver, 6:30 p.m. ET, TNT or Watch TNT
Game 2: Dallas to L.A. Clippers, nine p.m. ET, TNT or Watch TNT
Tuesday’s summary
The resumption of this year’s normal season and the playoffs in the bubble proved one thing through an overwhelming majority: the Mavs are real.
Led by Luka Doncic, Dallas has the Clippers who appear to be the second Western Conference seed.
The former rookie of the year exploded with 43 points, 17 rebounds and thirteen assists in the Mavs’ thirteen-thirteen3 win over L.A. and are now officially in the midst of adversity.
Of course, the Clippers still don’t have Patrick Beverley, one of their defenders on the perimeter, however, their unrest comes from Paul George’s uninspired game.
George has one of his worst film appearances.
According to ESPN Stats – Info, in all 3 games, the six-time All Star fires less than 25%, making him the first player to do so since Bob Cousy in 1960.
“It’s hard for me right now,” George told OHm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “It’s hard to say, because I have looks, shots, the court is open, the defenders are great, but I’m having a hard time locating the ball right now.”
If George can’t get out of his shooting crisis, L.A. will be coming home early, which is a long way from the expectations they and almost everyone in the league has had to compete for a championship.
The head coach, Doc Rivers, is more than anyone, so he hasn’t given up his star yet.
“Keep firing, ” told Youngmisuk, Rivers. “Obviously we want to give him more shots. And it’s about us, all of us. [It has] a wonderful look and I just wish it would take more and more.
“He wants to shoot more than 20 times, he wants to throw the ball into the air. And he will. I feel very confident about PG because I have.”
As for the third seeded Nuggets, their season could end if they don’t find a way to prevent Donovan Mitchell.
For the series, the All Star for the first time fills out the stat sheet, averaging 39.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists consistent with the game.
The numbers are impressive, but it’s the way he does what makes the difference for Utah.
Fires 56.3 from the ground, 51.4% in 3 and 95.5 from the loose-range.
And for Stat Muse, he is the fourth player in NBA history to have more than a 50-point game in an unmarried playoff series, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Allen Iverson and Michael Jordan.
Mitchell scored 57 problems in a 135-125 loss in the first game and 51 problems in a 129-127 win in the fourth game.
“Moments like that are coming and I have to be ready,” Mitchell told Ryan Miller of KSL.com. “There’s no secret, last year’s playoffs weren’t the most productive and I took it personally and, at the end of the day, I’ll take my task as a certain thing and move on.”
Jamal Murray played for Denver, scoring 50 issues on Sunday, but his team is still on the brink of elimination.
To make a difference, the Nuggets adapt more physically and protect the pick-and-roll in Game 5.
“The physicality of the game wants to intensify,” Paul Millsap told Sarah Todd of Deseret News.
“They have a very clever risk of rolling for Gobert and ball managers and very smart game makers coming off screens. They’re expressive about it. They have very smart veteran players looking to make the right game every time. When you’re disciplined like that, it’s going to cause you trouble. We have to do something different.”
To that end, Denver spent an hour practicing only physics training, hoping that this will translate into Thursday’s game.
“When I think about physicality, I think about the point on the screen, I think about when the shot goes up, I think of having your position offensively, being catching the ball where you need to be taken to the perimeter,” head coach Mike Malone told Todd.
It’s winning or going home for the Nuggets. If they can prevent Mitchell and players like Jordan Clarkson, who came from the bench for 24 problems in Game 4, they could keep their postseason alive.
Statistics through Basketball-Reference.
Follow Maurice Bobb on Twitter, @ReeseReport