Top Stories

• Celtics go up 3-1 on Heat

• Thunder sweep Pelicans

• Nuggets eliminate Lakers

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Games of the day

Last Night’s Top Games! (link to the box scores of every game from yesterday)

Derrick White scored a career-high 38 points to lead the Celtics past the Heat 102-88 to take a 3-1 lead in their opening-round playoff series. It was a costly win, with Kristaps Porzingis going down in the first half with what the team said was a right calf injury. He left the arena in a walking boot, often used as a precaution. Jayson Tatum added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who got 17 points from Jaylen Brown and 11 from Jrue Holiday. Bam Adebayo finished with 25 points, 17 rebounds and five assists for Miami, who were again without Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier. Tyler Herro scored 19 points and Caleb Martin had 18 for the eighth-seeded Heat. Miami lost Jaime Jaquez Jr. in the second half with leg tightness, he will be evaluated today. The Celtics can advance to the second round on Wednesday when they host Game 5. The Boston-Miami winner will meet the Cleveland-Orlando winner in the East semifinals; that Cavaliers-Magic series won't end until at least Friday.

OKC has swept New Orleans out of the playoffs. CJ McCollum scored 20 for New Orleans, which continued to be plagued by poor 3-point shooting. The Pelicans hit just eight of 34 shots from deep. Jonas Valanciunas had 19 point and 13 rebounds but was limited by foul trouble to 26 minutes. Naji Marshall hit half of the Pelicans' 3s and finished with 16 points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 24 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City, and Jalen Williams had 24 as well. OKC will play the winner of Clippers/Mavericks.

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Around the League

• Jamal Murray sent the Lakers to Cancun with his second game winner of the series, as the Nuggets beat the Lakers in 5. Nikola Jokic, who committed an uncharacteristic seven turnovers, narrowly missed his 19th career playoff triple-double with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists and Michael Porter Jr. scored 26. The Nuggets advanced to face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round starting next weekend. The Nuggets, who swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals last summer on their way to winning the franchise's first NBA championship, beat the Lakers for the 12th time in their last 13 games. Jamal Murray was actually questionable to play with a strained calf, but ended up dropping 32 points anyhow. The Lakers now enter the offseason with quite a few problems to solve.

• Injury Updates: Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) could miss 2-4 weeks. Jimmy Butler (knee) will miss multiple weeks. Julius Randle (shoulder) is out for the season. Benedict Mathurin (shoulder) underwent surgery and is out for the season. Josh Richardson (shoulder) had surgery and will be out for the season. We wish all these guys speedy and successful recoveries.

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NBA Playoff Matchups

Eastern Conference

(1) Boston vs (8) Miami: Series is 3-1

Jimmy Butler will likely miss most, if not all of this series.

(Game 1) Boston punched Miami in the mouth in Game 1, winning by 20 points. without Butler, the Heat don’t have the #1 option needed to carry their offense. Tyler Herro is too inconsistent and Bam Adebayo isn’t aggressive enough. This series might end up a sweep.

(Game 2) Miami set a franchise record for 3’s made to beat Boston (in the Garden no less). This was an unexpected win for the Heat and loss for the Celtics, and the homecourt advantage that Boston would’ve had all the way through the NBA Finals is gone. If Miami takes at least one game in FL, this series could end bad for the Celtics.

(Game 3) Boston got back on track with a 20 point win over Miami. If the Celtics can keep this defensive intensity, they can close the rest of this series pretty easily. Tatum will have to continue to be as aggressive as he has been the last game.

(Game 4) Miami got clamped again en route to another double digit loss at home. Without a historic night from 3 point range, or someone like Butler to be the main scoring option, Boston will be looking to see who they’ll play next round.

Prediction: Boston in 5

(2) Knicks vs (7) 76ers: Series is 3-1

(Game 1) Joel Embiid’s knee is a concern, as are the non-Embiid minutes for Philly. If they don’t find a way to at least stay even with New York without Joel on the floor, they won’t last long.

(Game 2) Philly blew a 5 point lead with less than 30 seconds to go and gave that game to New York. Expect all the games to be close, and for the Sixers to take care of business at home.

(Game 3) Embiid dropped 50 to keep this series competitive, but even with that boost Philly only won by 9. Every game is going to be a gritty down to the wire contest unless one team just gets hot. Philly will need Maxey and Embiid to step up again to tie this series.

(Game 4) Jalen Brunson set the Knicks franchise high for points in a playoff game with 47, while Joel Embiid played all 24 mins in the 2nd half and didn’t score in the 4th quarter. If the Sixers don’t figure something out quick, their season ends after the next game.

Prediction: Knicks in 6

(3) Milwaukee vs (6) Indiana: Series is 1-3

Giannis will miss at least Game 1, Dame can keep that team afloat in his absence.

(Game 1) Milwaukee showed the importance of experience when it comes to the playoffs. For Indiana, Pascal Siakam (the only one with playoff experience) had 36 and 13. Dame scored 35 in the first half and didn’t have to play much in the 2nd half.

(Game 2) Pacers steal one on the road, making games 3 and 4 the most important games of the series. Giannis needs to return soon to turn the tide in Milwaukee’s favor.

(Game 3) Khris Middleton pulled off 2 miracle shots and it still wasn’t enough to beat Indiana. And with Dame having a hurt knee AND achilles, the Bucks need some serious help. Tyrese Haliburton, although not shooting well, had 16 assists, carving up the Milwaukee defense.

(Game 4) In a similar situation to Philly with their MVP not being at 100%, Milwaukee is in danger of completely flopping in the 1st round after having championship aspirations when they acquired Damian Lillard.

Prediction: Bucks in 7

(4) Cleveland vs (5) Orlando: Series is 2-2

(Game 1) Orlando has the defense to keep the Cavs in check, but their lack of playoff experience in Game 1 was obvious. They will need to improve their 3 point shooting while cutting down the turnovers drastically. Cleveland has expectations Orlando doesn’t, so the 2 teams are playing for completely different reasons. (Cavs want Donovan Mitchell to stay)

(Game 2) Orlando’s inexperience continues to show in this slow paced slugfest. Even with their elite defense, the size of Cleveland inside is overwhelming.

(Game 3) Paolo finally broke through the playoff wall, dropping 31 and 14, setting new playoff career highs for both. Jalen Suggs had 24 points on 9-11 shooting, and the Cavs had a stinker of a game. Garland and Mitchell combined for 18 points on 8-26 shooting.

(Game 4) This series might end up going the full 7, as both teams have won both of their home games. Orlando, while havong offensive struggles, are playing great perimeter defense in bothering Mitchell and Garland. If Orlando can get consistent offense, they might be able to shock Cleveland.

Prediction: Cavs in 6

Western Conference

(1) OKC vs (8) New Orleans: OKC wins 4-0

Zion Williamson will miss at least some of this series, which changes things dramatically.

(Game 1) Game 1 came down to the final buzzer. The size and versatility of the Pels made things tough for OKC all game. Count on every game this series to be close.

(Game 2) OKC made adjustments to their offense, and ran the Pelicans off the floor in Game 2. They also were more aggressive on defense, shutting down a dangerous New Orleans team and beating them by nearly 30.

(Game 3) OKC dismantled New Orleans again, going up 3-0, which all but guarantees them a series victory. This seems like it’ll be my only incorrect series prediction when it comes to the winner. CJ McCollum keeps stinking it up, shooting 7-22 in Game 3, while Brandon Ingram only shot 14 shots. New Orleans might get swept at this rate.

(Game 4) New Orleans did indeed get swept, no thanks to Brandon Ingram. The most important game of the year and he goes 2/14 with 8 points for the Pels. The Thunder haven’t even played super well, the Pelicans were just really bad without Zion. OKC plays the winner of Clippers/Mavericks in the next round.

Prediction : New Orleans in 6

(2) Denver vs (7) Lakers: Nuggets win 4-1

(Game 1) Denver beat LA for the 9th straight game, continuing to be a problem the Lakers can’t solve. No matter who LA throws at Joker he continues to dominate, so LA’s strategy should be to make him a scorer and shut everyone else down. Denver needs to push the pace in transition and keep LA in rotation in the halfcourt.

(Game 2) LA was up 20+ points in the second half, and ended up losing on a Jamal Murray buzzer beater. They can make this a series with a pair of wins at home.

(Game 3) Not much to say here, Joker is unguardable and the Lakers are bad. Lakers might not even take a game for the 2nd year in a row. But at least Dinwiddie and Vincent finally scored in this series, right?

(Game 4) LA lives to play another game behind good games from Lebron, AD, and D’Lo. No team has ever come back from beong down 0-3, but LeBron has done the impossible before. (They stand no chance)

(Game 5) Jamal Murray and Jokic are the Lakers absolute kryptonite, as Murray hit his 2nd game winner of the series to send LA packing. Denver plays Minnesota now.

Prediction: Nuggets in 5

(3) Timberwolves vs (6) Suns: Wolves win 4-0

(Game 1) Minnesota had the #1 ranked defense all year long for a reason. They shut every Sun but KD down completely, with Beal and Booker COMBINING for 32 points. A shutdown like that is unlikely to happen again to that extent, but with Anthony Edwards elevating like he always does in the Playoffs, and KAT playing as a legit second option, this series could be quick. Phoenix needs to get Booker and Beal going, as well as use Nurkic as a post playmaker. Both teams lost key pieces, as Kyle Anderson and Grayson Allen both sustained injuries that kept them from returning.

(Game 2) The Wolves defense clamp Phoenix again, and instead of one player beating the Suns, it was a complete team effort led by Jaden McDaniels 25 points. The Suns need to figure out a way to get open shots against the #1 ranked defense in the league, and they also need to crash the glass more.

(Game 3) Minnesota locked up and outshot Phoenix once again, going up 3-0 on the Suns, who were favored to win this series going into it. No Sun had more than 7 rebounds, while Gobert and KAT had 14 and 13 respectively. The Wolves will now look forward to Denver in the next round.

(Game 4) Phoenix kept this one close all game, but the Wolves overcame Devin Booker’s 49 points to send the Suns to Cancun early. Anthony Edwards scored 40, and now the Wolves defense will meet Denver’s offense will face off for the right to play in the WCF.

Prediction: Wolves in 4

(4) Clippers vs (5) Mavericks: Series is 2-2

No matter what the Clippers have thrown at Luka, he’s always cooked them worse than most teams. This year, LA added Harden and brought Westbrook back, and while they won’t really help guard Doncic, Dallas can’t stop all the weapons LA has now. In the end, it will all come down to Luka and Kyrie vs Kawhi and PG. Whichever duo elevates their team more will win their team the series. With Kawhi likely missing Game 1, Dallas might get a headstart.

(Game 1) LA came out hot, Russ and Harden having the same amount of points as the entire Maverick squad in the 1st half. Luka and Kyrie struggled, and Dallas was not good on either end of the floor. Don’t count on Luka continuing to struggle though.

(Game 2) Dallas overcame Kawhi’s return to even out the series. Luka bounced back, as expected, despite the looks LA threw at him. Game 3 in Dallas will be pivotal to gain control in this series.

(Game 3) PG and Kawhi combined for 16 total points, their lowest ever in a playoff game together. That was mostly thanks to Derrick Jones Jr and PJ Washington. Luka shot 7-25 but it didn’t even matter as Dallas cruised to an easy victory. Russ also shot 0-7 from the field, which is unnacceptable. PG and Kawhi will have to be aggressive and efficient in game 4 to avoid a 3-1 deficit.

(Game 4) Without Kawhi in Game 4, LA fought like they were cornered. They came out and punched Dallas in the mouth in the 1st quarter, with PG scoring more than the entirety of Dallas’ team. The Clips were up 20+ after 12 minutes, and although the Mavs fought back, LA won a nailbiter.

Prediction: Clippers in 7

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Overtime Thoughts

Hoopgrids

Hoopgrids is a daily basketball trivia game. You cross match each category to find a player that fits both. The rarer the player, the lower the score. The goal is to get the lowest rarity score possible.