OK, so I've been traveling, which is why this update is delayed. The First Round of the playoffs was relatively predictable -- except for Golden State's win on the road in Game Seven. Here are the results from the first round:
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
(1) Cleveland 4 - 0 (8) Miami
(4) Indiana 4 - 1 (5) Milwaukee
(3) New York 4 - 2 (6) Detroit
(2) Boston 4 - 1 (7) Orlando
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
(1) Oklahoma City 4 - 0 (8) Memphis
(4) Denver 4 - 3 (5) L.A. Clippers
(3) L.A. Lakers 1 - 4 (6) Minnesota
(2) Houston 3 - 4 (7) Golden St.
And that set up the following quarter-finals:
(1) Cleveland v. (4) Indiana
(2) Boston v. (3) New York
(1) Oklahoma City v. (4) Denver
(6) Minnesota v. (7) Golden St.
Now on paper, this looked to be pretty straightforward. Cleveland and Boston would advance. Denver is probably the only team in the West that could challenge OKC. And it would be fun to watch the aged Warriors take on Minnesota, even if it was only for a few games.
But then the games started, and things got nuts (home teams listed first):
05/04: Cleveland 112 - 121 Indiana
05/05: Boston 105 - 108 New York (OT)
05/05: Oklahoma City 119 - 121 Denver
05/06: Cleveland 119 - 120 Indiana
05/06: Minnesota 88 - 99 Golden St.
05/07: Boston 90 - 91 New York
05/07: Oklahoma City 149 - 106 Denver
The first six quarterfinal games were all won by the road team. Four of those games were decided by three points are less, and they all went to the road team. One game went to overtime, and it was won by the road team. I would be willing to bet that in the entire history of the NBA, there has never been a season where road teams won six games in a row in the quarterfinals. And it's even wilder than it looks on paper -- the Knicks, for example, won back-to-back games in the Boston Garden where they trailed by 20 points. For second time in these playoffs, Indiana won a game where they trailed by seven points with less than 50 seconds left. Crazy, wonderful stuff.
So now the quarterfinals look like this:
(1) Cleveland 0 - 2 (4) Indiana
(2) Boston 0 - 2 (3) New York
(1) Oklahoma City 1 - 1 (4) Denver
(6) Minnesota 0 - 1 (7) Golden St.
But the gamblers haven't completely abandoned the top seeds. Here are the current odds to win the Eastern Conference:
Boston: +155
New York: +300
Indiana: +350
Cleveland: +350
And here are the odds to win the West:
Oklahoma City: -195
Minnesota: +390
Denver: +700
Golden St: +1100
The next two weeks probably can't compare with this week, but they should be very entertaining.
Last night the T-Wolves crushed the Warriors in Minnesota, 117 to 93. So after two games each, the quarter-finals look like this:
ReplyDeleteCLE 0 - 2 IND
BOS 0 - 2 NYK
OKC 1 - 1 DEN
MIN 1 - 1 GSW
Now everyone travels, and the lower-seeded teams get the next two games at home.
MLB Update: The Athletics beat the Yankees, 11-7. They were up, 4-0; they were down, 6-4--at which point, I had typed a comment here to read: "Argh." But then I decided to not be a drama queen, and they scored three in the seventh and fourth in the eighth and finished off a solid win in West Sacramento.
ReplyDeleteThe Athletics are now 21-19. That's above .500 nearly a quarter of the season through. They are second place in the American League West, and they have several very young stars. It's fun to be rooting for a contending baseball team again.
The Nats have lost five in a row, and are 17-24.
DeleteI love Julius Randle.
ReplyDeleteScores from Friday:
ReplyDeleteIndiana 104 - 126 Cleveland
Denver 113 - 104 Oklahoma City (OT)
Scores from Saturday:
New York 93 - 115 Boston
Golden St. 97 - 102 Minnesota
Status after three games:
ReplyDeleteCLE 1 - 2 IND
BOS 1 - 2 NYK
OKC 1 - 2 DEN
MIN 2 -1 GSW
On Sunday afternoon, the Thunder picked up a huge win in Denver, beating the Nuggets 92 to 87 behind 25 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. So that series is now tied at two games apiece.
ReplyDeleteTonight, Cleveland and Indiana will play Game Four in Indianapolis.
ReplyDeleteNo other sport has had the style decline that the NBA has suffered. In the 1980's and 1990's, the NBA featured great uniforms and logos, iconic court designs, and coaches in very well-made suits. Now each team wears multiple uniforms, all of which are bad (unless they are a throwback of some kind). The court designs are cartoonish, and the coaches are all dressed like the CFO at a tech company. It's really not the same.
ReplyDeletePlus, most games are decided by whichever team is making three's that night.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I've got a collection of NBA pennants from the 1990's (it includes the Bullets and SuperSonics), and I'm using each team's colors from the 1990's on my scoreboard (except for OKC, who didn't exist back then). These decisions have significantly improved my NBA experience.
ReplyDeleteCleveland has evidently decided to concede Game Four and take their chances on Game Five in Cleveland. With 4:53 left in the 2d quarter, the Pacers lead 60 to 32. So they will take a 3-1 lead in the series.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the Vandy Boys go to Knoxville and take a baseball series from the Defending Champs. On Friday night, UT beat Vandy 3-2. But on Saturday, Vandy won 10-6. And today, in a game that was delayed by lightning, Vandy hung on for a 7-5 win. It's the first time Vandy has won the series against UT in several years, and puts the Boys in a strong position going into the last week of the Regular Season. Vandy is now 16-11 in the SEC, and 36-16 overall.
ReplyDeleteNow there's footage of the UT players and the Vandy players yelling at each other after the game, because of course there is. Tennessee's baseball team is the most unpleasant team I've ever seen in any college sport, and I used to watch Dale Brown's teams at L.S.U.
ReplyDeleteThe Pacers roll 129-109, and take a 3-1 lead in the series. "YES, 'CER!"
ReplyDeleteCLE 1 - 3 IND
ReplyDeleteBOS 1 - 2 NYK
OKC 2 - 2 DEN
MIN 2 - 1 GSW
In the 21st century, only three Wizards draft choices have played in the NBA All-Star Game. In 2004, the Wizards drafted Devin Harris -- but he never played for Washington, as he was immediately traded to Dallas. So only two Wizards' draft picks have both made the All-Star Game and played for the Wizards: John Wall (2010) and Bradley Beal (2012). Since drafting Bradley Beal in 2012, the Wiz have drafted eleven players in the first round. None of them has played in the All-Star Game.
ReplyDeleteSo far tonight, the Celtics have made 10-16 three-pointers. They lead the Knicks 48-35 with seven minutes left in the second quarter.
ReplyDeleteCeltics lead 62-51 at the half.
ReplyDeleteWith 2:34 left in the 3d, the Celtics' lead is only 83-81. They are going crazy at MSG.
ReplyDeleteThe Knicks outscore Boston 37-23 in the Third Quarter. The Knicks now lead 88 to 85 with one quarter left, and Boston -- already trailing two games to one -- is suddenly in big trouble.
ReplyDeleteAfter 40 minutes, the Knicks lead 98 to 96. What a game!
ReplyDeleteWith 6:32 left, New York leads 102 to 99. Jayson Tatum has 39 points, but he's not getting much help.
ReplyDeleteBehind 35 points from Jalen Brunson, the Knicks have carved out a 111-104 lead with 3:21 left. Tatum now has 42 points, but he's not getting much help.
ReplyDeleteBrunson is actually playing the game that John Starks always wanted to play.
ReplyDeleteAnd now Tatum has to leave the game with an ankle injury.
ReplyDelete