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Bobby Motus
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Thursday, April 27, 2017
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MY two previous materials on the playoffs had my personal results predictions which were based on team’s head-to-head matchups. The post season increases the game intensity as only 16 of the 30 franchises move up for the chance to win the league trophy and have heavy diamond-studded rings on their fingers. As you have noticed, I was off target but also had near hits.
The Rockets had lift off towards the second round when they sent OKC home with a 4-1 series record. Playing at the Toyota Center is a plus for Houston as they had won 30 out of 41 regular season home games. In their playoff series, they won their first two games at home, won one at Oklahoma and removed the thunder out of OKC. James Harden and company closed out MVP rival Russell Westbrook with a Game 5 victory.
San Antonio took a 3-2 series lead over Memphis, this time starring Patty Mills. Kawhi Leonard was being Kawhi, coming up with a 5-game average of 32.5 points in 36 minutes. Ball movement was so Spurs-like that open shots were given to guys who were supposed to take them. This is a repeat of both team’s 2016 first round series where the Spurs swept the Grizzlies to advance to the semis. There’s no more Tim Duncan so Pau Gasol must come out of a mini slump and summon his energy from seven years ago.
Utah and the LA Clippers, as of this writing, are on a tight game and will try to move one up from each other for a 3-2 series lead. In their last game and with several years removed from his glory years, Jazz transferee and 7-time All Star Joe Johnson had a big second half explosion and finished with 28 points. The French Rejection, Rudy Gobert returned from injury and pulled down 13 rebounds with 2 blocks. The Clips will miss Blake Griffin for the rest of the playoffs with a big toe injury and the timing is bad for LA. Better tunes are coming to the Jazz.
Boston and Chicago as well as Washington and Atlanta also are tied with 2-2 records. These teams are playing above expectations that I won’t be doing anymore predictions. Isaiah Thomas is still emotional with the loss of his younger sister but his game doesn’t show otherwise. The Bulls need Rajon Rondo who’s still iffy today because of a fractured thumb. He efficiently directed the flow of the game in their first two victories. Chicago badly needs a point man as Dwayne Wade is a scoring guard and Jerian Grant, Michael Carter-Williams and Isaiah Canaan is no match to Thomas.
I was generous to Indiana and Portland as I gave them a win but Cleveland and Golden State had other things in mind. They did a nice clean-up job and moved on to the next round with a 4-0 slate. The Warriors now wait for the winner of the Jazz-Clippers series while the rested Cavs wait on who advances between Toronto and Milwaukee.
PLAYOFF TRIVIA – San Antonio currently holds the longest consecutive playoff appearance streak at 20 which began during the 1997-1998 NBA season. They also hold the longest playoff win streak for a single season with 12 en route to their first NBA title in 1999./PN
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