Playoff Week In Review.

This Is Where I Would Put A Witty  Quib, A Histrionic  Metaphor, or an illusory Alteration If I Had One.

Writer Block Aside, Nba Playoffs Week In Review Ahead.

The Suns are Putting The Nuggets Away In Quick Succession.  The conference Finals Appeared On The Horizon. In My Previous Playoff Review, I pondered, Succinctly, whether  ThePhoenixx Suns Should  Be Considered ALegitimatee  Title Contenders. They were Out Classed  By a sparinglyHealthyy   Anthony Davis Lead  Lakers Team That Pushed Into The Playoffs Via the Play-In tournament. After 4 games The Suns’ Title Hopes, Scratch that, The Suns Second round HopesAppearedd all But Lost. That Is  Until  AD Went Down.  Chris Paullaboredd Through A Shoulder Injury Devin Bookers through his Effecincy woes, An The Conquered  Their Precipice Of Collapse. After Three Of Play completed In the Second Round f the western bracket, The Suns Are One Win One Away from Securing The Forst Seat in either Conference Final. A  Win  On Sunday Would Give the Suns Their First Appearance In the conference finals Since 2010. Making Them The  First Team Since The 2008s Big 3 Celtics To Turnaround from Missing The Playoffs to conference Finals, Which Was more than a decade ago. Suns Guard Devin Booker Would Not HJAve Been Eleven At That Time. Speaking Of, (Seamless Transition) Both He  And Chris Paul Have Yet To Cool Their Incenderary Shooting. Paul is Ochestrating as The Suns  Leading Scorer After Struggling near The tail end Of the Lakers Series,  averaging 26 and 11. Paul IS Using The Much Ddispage Mid-range shot to put the Nuggets in Crucible .  he An Book Score of 55 Points Combined in a game 3 win That gave The Phoenix Suns A 3-0 Series lead. So Far The Suns have Through Evaporated RThe Nuggets On The CourNoticeablybly None Of The Games have been Up for Contest. Winning by Anvaerag margin Of 19 points per game. Now In Decisive Command Of the Series, Chris Paul Is On The Verge of  Breaching The Final Western Wall  For The Frist time In His Career.

Still, there Are Some Problems BeSeting the Rising Suns. ASomberr Moment In Game 3 As NUGGets Center Nikola Jikc Received His League MVP Award Capping Off A Incredible Season That Appears To Be Verge Of Prematurely End. Jokic recorded An historic 30 point 20 rebs 10 assist triple-double in a Losing Efforttaht Serves As A Microcosm Of the Entire Series. With Jokic Playing Up To The Bar But His Teammates Fail To Give Him Offensive Support. The NNuggetswere Always. A Middle Of The Raod Defensive Team. Not To Be The Pessimist An Cast A Shadow On the Asun But At Some Point, I Expect Chris Paul To Break down. Whether through Injury as History Would Indicate Or Efficiency troubles As He Meets Greater GuardChallengerss at The Summit of TehWestern Conference Finals. Booker Could Face AConsiderablel Challenge Come The WCF, whether The Jazz And Donavan Mitchell Or The Clippers and Kahwi. The SunsHaves A Admirable Second Unit lead by energy guys like Torey Craig And Cameron Payne But The greatest demand For OFffensive Production falls on their Starting Back Court. The Play of Center Deandre A=yton is Alos Concerning. He Ahs Decent Numbers So far 14 and 10, virtually untenable near the rim on set-ups from CP. But The  Passivity That Plague Him Coming Out Of Arizona 2018 Is becoming more and more pronounced. If The Suns Are Forced To lean Pn Ayton For Greater Production, For the reason Mentioned Earlier, Come to The WCF It could Spell Doom For Their Final Hopes.

The Jazz Are Playing A Familiar Tune As They Chime The  Edge Of The Western Conference Finals. Donavan Mitchell on the Lead, Drumming opponents At the Basket Clarkson has Been Playing An Excellent rendition of His Six-Man Of the year Play Bogdan Is Filling For Mike Conley On the Base. After 3 Games, the West Conference Contenders tour ticketing markets are coming to a retailer near you. On the Other Hand, The Clippers Haven’t Caught A Rhythm. But After A Game Three Victory A Swan Song On Pause.

 Decried During The Regular Season, Donovan Mitchell Has Transcended Any critical cord in His game Overcoming The Inefficiency Issues That Have Lead To Some critic Placing him A teir Below Other Premiere Guards In the League. Mitchell Now Has The Jazz in Position To Crack The Western Conference Finals Game Since 2007. Through Three Game the Jazz Star Guard Is Averaging 37 Points and 4 Assist on Nearly 50 % Shooting. Te Star question About Efficiency this Sresi Paul George,   On The Other hand, Hasn’t. The Clippers Had the Most Assisted Made field Goals in the regular season So far The Support cast Surrounding Kawhi Has Yet to Show Consistent Support for The efforts Of Their Starters.  Game 1 On Tuesday Mitchell scored 45 Points On 53% shooting. The Jazz Guard Cap off His night with 32 points in the 2nd half Leading the Jazz 12-109 Game 1 Victory Over The Clippers. This Despite 23 Points From Kahwi inane a losing effort. The Clippers Held 14 point lead late in the game but lost it to the tune of 21-9 Runs in the 4th quarter. Paul George Had 20 points on 23.5 %. A Block By Jazz Center Rudy Gobert on a potential game-tying three Sealed The Win. The Jazz Defense Showed up In the third quarter Holding The Clippers To Just 19 Points. Game 2 On Thursday night Was Better Showing For George And the Support Cast. Lead By Guard Reggie Jackson Who Had 29 The Clippers Lead The late In the Fourth Enabled By A Second Half Surge That Saw them Out Score the Jazz In The Second Half BY 7 points. Paul George Had 10 Of his Of his 27 Points In The 4th. The Clippers Held A Marghional Lead. Unfortunately, Kawhi was Held To Just 2 Points. Utah’s Defense Forced 14 Consecutive Misses and End The Game On 14-2 Run. The Clippers Appear Defeated. Then Game 3 in LA Arrive The Clippers Found Considerable Success inside. Attacking And Finishing At the Rim Ignore The Colossal Presence Of Rudy Gobert. Where Games 1 And 2 Were Decide Between Marginal Marks Game 3s 16 Point victory By Clippers Serves As the Only Lopsided affair So far This Series. The Clipper’s Reserves Scored 42 in gAME One. after which Neither Team Has Yield Considerable Support For Their Second Unit. New ly Minted Three Time Defensive Player of the year rudy Gobert hasn’t Been The Detering Force Of Many expected. Clippers Are Averaging 40 Plus Points in the Paint Over The Pass Two Games. The Jazz Supporting Duo Of Jordan Clarkson And Bogdan Bogdanovic had Been Revelations Game 1, Clarkson Scored 18 and 24 in games 1 and 2 respectively. In Game 2, A Bogdan 3, on a 16 point night,  capped The 21-9 run, And His Defense On Kawhi in the 4th, holding to 2 points Made The Difference. In-Game 3 the duo shared  23 points between them on 7 of 26 shooting, 13 of 37 When We Tally Joe Ingles 6-11 Contribution.

So far the point Shoot has made The differences. In-game 1 Both Team Struggled From the line; Jazz, 17/50 the Clippers 16/42. The result was a three-point difference on the Game Board. In-Game Two The Jazz Flashed A considerable Improvement Sparked By Jordan Clarkson 6 of 9 From the great Beyond; The Jazz went 20/39 versus the Clippers 11/30 For A Six Point difference. In-Game The 3 ball percentage Favored LA. Both teams Made 19 Three Balls. It Took The Clippers Far Less Attempts To arrive At That Figure. The Jazz Will Have The opportunity to bounce back Monday night, the Clippers Can Even The Series And Seize The Momentum.

Eastern Conference

NETS V. BUCKS

SEREIES 2-2- BUCKS CHARGING(GETIT)

“Game 4 Should Be Special,” said Kyrie Irving. If the Bucks have Hit their stride After a Game 3 Victory,  My Prediction of a Milwaukee series recovery, Pans Out, Then the Game Should Be SPecial Indeed. Game $It Could Serve as The Turning Point That Nets Big Bank. The Shot Bemoaned Around The World. Few, if any, Basketball Player Are  Amdeired to the esteem standards as Giannis Antetokounmpo. The two-time MVP Has to Lead The Bucks To The Playoffs six Consecutive Years and one Of the best offenses in The Association this season. Despite All Of This He Is Still Sdelvoping His Game, Which Is a Daunting And Perplexing Fact. After 8 Years In The League, His Body And raw Talent Have developed Tremendously. He Handles Finishes At the Rim With Swiftest grace Capable Of a 6’11 242 Lbs Human Being But His Much mired Shot Has Been had Some calling For The Bucks To Outlaw Giannis  Three-point attempts. His Tall frame Also Hinders Giannis From Getting Low and Beating defenders off Of The Dribble Which Has Been Consequential In The Second round series against the Nets. Anttnetokumpo Went 1-8 from Three In the Bucks Game 3 Victory. Yes, The Bucks Won Game Three And Stave Off The Pre-extensive 0-3 Defeicte Despite An Ineffective Giannis. This Consequentially Because Game 3 was A Mess All Around. The Techinianallly Efficient Nets Offense Narrowly Managed Double Figure In The First Quarter An dell Behind By 19 Early. The Bucks. Not wanting To be Outdone Muster 15 in The Second leading up Ti The Climatic 18 and 19 points $th Queaterers Rspctively and an 83-86 Bucks Victory. The Lowest Scoring Affair Of These playoffs Os Far. Milwaukee As A team =Has struggled D=from The Three-Point Line In The Entire, The Bucks went 8 of 27 from beyond the arc Thursday and are 20 of 88 on 3-point attempts in this series. As Nited By NBA.com. The Difference In Game Three Came By way of The Suddenly re-emerging KRus Middleton. Who had 35 Points After Struggling Mightily In Games 1 and 2? Giannis Finish The Night With 30 points and The Potential Game saving Rebound Late in the Fourth. Kevin Durant Scored 30 And Kyrie Irving Chip In 22 in a Losing Effort. Brooklyn Got Marginal Gains Form The Bench that Gave Them 38 in Game Two But Only Mustered & In Game 3. The Buck Were Once Again with Nine Time alAllstarames Ahrden Who ahs Yet toM Return To the tehSereis after a Leaving One Minute Into Game 1 and Won’t BE Available For Brooklyn in Game 4 Sunday. If The Nets Hope To recover The Command of The Series They Will Need to enlist the Support Of Shooters Like Joe Harris Who Struggled To The Tune Of 1-9 In-Game 3. If The Bucks defense Can Continue To Priducde Murky scoreboards The Nets Offense Will be Muddied In Misfires.

HAWKS V SIXERS

SIXERS LEAD THE SERIES 2-1- BIRDS( THE BIRDS FLY YOUNGER)

The Winds Of Favor Have now Shifted Towards Philly. The Series Venue Has Shifted South Into Atlanta. After The Sixers Dro Game One In Stunning fashion. The Villainous Mantra Of Hawks Guard Trey Yung Grew Greater In Lore And Exploits. IIn-Game2 Joel Embiid And Co. Decide It was Tie To re Establish Law and order Infreedomm Town. The Sixers Responded swiftly Jumping Out to A 13 Point first quarter Lead Intending To Cage The Hawks Early. Lead By Tobia  Harris Who 16 point sIn the Quarter, It Seemed That the Sixers had taken Back Charge Of the Series in One Quarter. The Hawks responded Outscoiing The Sixers By 11 In The @nd and entered the half Down 2. In the Second Half MVP, Runner Up Sixers Center Joel Embiid Took Over. Scoring 24 Of His $0 Points In The Final Two Quarters, Including 17 In 3rd as the Sixers Pulled Away With 118-102 Victory. The Hawks had The Edge From The Out Side in The First Two Meeting With A Sum Of 32 Made Bwtweeen Games 1 &2 Compare to Just 22 By Philly. But The Hawks are also being Outscored in the paint 110-88 in favor of Philly. Atlanta Bigs Have Aso struggled To Conatim Joel  Embiid Anywhere Near The restricted Area where he has been punishing Clint, Collins, And Co. Having Only Attempted 8 of his 46 shots from beyond midrange in the first two contests.

Hawks Guard Trae young, Forward Danilo Gallinari, And Guard Kevin Heuter Had 21, 20, and 21 respectively In A Losing effort. Points In The Paint And Three Point Spring Would Prove Crucial Come Come Game 3. Speaking Which. Back In Atlanta, Where The Hawks Were Gliding On 12 Winning entered The Sixers To Put An End To It. The Sixers Once Again Got Out to An Early Lead 28-20. Staved Off The Hawks2nd Quarter 36 point Surge And Cap Off The game 3 blowout Victory 127-111. The Sixers Once Again Oen the Paint. To The Tune Of 66 Point unfortunately for Te Hawks, The Three Ball Did Not Make A Featured Appearance In The A. Ater Falling in Game 1 The Sixers Now Have A Commanding 2-1 series Lead. Speaking of Falling, Joel Embiid Roled His Ankle And Was Noticeably hobbled Throughput The Game. This Injury Comes On the Onset of an. Meniscus Injury From the Series prior Versus The Wizards That Has The Oft-injured Sixers star Belalbored Already. Embiid stated that He Was Ok But it is Just A Point Top monitor. The Other Star Of Series Trae Young Had 28 Points 9-17 from The field 3-6 from Three. 'All the individual stuff is for the birds,'' Young said after game2. ''All we care about is wins.'' Hawks Are Bords And They Ultimately Will Rise As Far As He Can Lead Them.

Update: Bucks won Game 4 107-96: Series 2-2. Giannis Had 35 points. Kyrie Left early with an Ankle Injury. Game 5 Tuesday in Brooklyn.