10 takeaways from today in the NBA:
1) Winners of the NBA Draft Lottery:
Atlanta Hawks - Landed the #1 pick despite having just a 3% chance. Went from the play-in game to the top overall pick. Might be easier to sell fans on a rebuild now.
San Antonio Spurs - Now have two lottery picks (4, 8) with Toronto’s pick conveying. Instant ammo to accelerate the rebuild around Wemby.
Houston Rockets - Jumped up to #3 via the Nets’ pick. The James Harden trade is the gift that keeps on giving. This is their fourth year in a row with a top-five pick.
2) Losers of the NBA Draft Lottery:
Detroit Pistons - They’ve had the NBA’s worst record in back-to-back years. Landed the fifth pick both times. Brutal.
Toronto Raptors - As mentioned above, their pick now conveys to San Antonio because it was top-6 protected. A tanking masterclass only to still lose the pick.
Portland Trail Blazers - Had two chances to get in the top four, but ended up with 7 and 14 instead. Scoot Henderson looked miserable as their representative.
Sixth straight year the team with the worst record doesn’t get the top pick. The lottery is working. Tank at your own risk.
3) Well that was ugly. Pacers just kicked the living sh*t outta the Knicks. This one was over early. Indy led 34-14 after one, lead got up to 43 and Thibs started pulling starters in the third. I know, I couldn’t believe it either. I don’t know what else to say. Indiana outplayed them in every facet of the game. The energy, physicality, the hustling, the shooting, the rebounding, the passing... am I forgetting anything?
"We can’t have a hangover, we gotta fix it and we have to come with a will and determination to respond to what happened." - Thibs
4) Maybe the craziest part of this beatdown is that Indy dominated without any help from the free-throw line. No, I mean it... without ANY help from the free throw line. NO PACERS STARTER ATTEMPTED A FREE THROW. Those 121 points came on straight efficiency.
Third time in NBA history that an entire starting five attempted zero free throws in a playoff game.
"This is the third quarter, and we’re talking about Kiner’s Korner. Not a good sign." - Mike Breen
5) The Nova Boys might wanna burn the tape. High likelihood this goes down as the worst game all three play together.
Jalen Brunson - 18 PTS, 42.9 TS%, -27
Donte DiVincenzo - 7 PTS, 26.9 TS%, -40 (!!!)
Josh Hart - 2 PTS, 16.7 TS%, -29
Combined - 27 PTS, 27.8 FG%
By the way, almost every Brunson shot was short. You gotta wonder if it’s the foot...
"I’m fine. I’m fine..." - Jalen Brunson
And keep an eye on Isaiah Hartenstein’s shoulder. Had a hard fall on it in the first half. Started the second but was clearly bothered by it until sitting.
"X-rays came back fine, so it’s probably just like a pinched nerve, kinda just fell asleep sometimes." - Hartenstein on his shoulder
6) The Pacers bench scored 57 points. They had 14 in Game 3. Calling it a bounce back would be an understatement. TJ McConnell (15 points, 10 assists, 21 minutes) continues to be one of the most valuable players in this series. His second dub-dub in 3 games.
While we’re on the bench, Deuce McBride (16 points) started over Precious Achiuwa (8 points) to begin the second half. Had a feeling this was a possibility entering today after Precious didn't play any fourth quarter minutes in Game 3. My current lean is McBride starts Game 5.
"Enjoy it now. But as soon as we leave this building we’ve gotta flush it… What we’re walking into at MSG is gonna be a hellacious crowd… We have to really be ready and locked in." - TJ McConnell
Pacers crush the Knicks 121-89. It’s their third-largest margin of victory (32) in franchise playoff history. They haven’t lost a home game in nearly two months.
7) Aaron Gordon has a game every now and then that reminds you how much he means to this Denver team. We just had one of those games. Maybe a top-five AG performance. Wolves still haven’t found an answer for when he initiates. They pressured him, he cooked. Gobert guarded him on the perimeter, still cooked. His defense? You already know. Well, KAT certainly knows. Just stop going at him in the post already. Gordon scored 27 points on 101.4 TS% (11-12 FG).
"We gotta go back to guarding him a little more honestly." - Chris Finch on Aaron Gordon
"He was incredible." - Michael Malone on Aaron Gordon
8) Michael Malone said pregame they would monitor how Jamal Murray’s left calf responds to the tight turnaround between Games 3 and 4. There wasn’t much to monitor. Looked totally fine (19 points, 8 assists). Still can’t get over his half-court buzzer-beater to close the half. The stare at Harlan was picture-perfect. I beg you to hit up our timeline if you haven’t seen it yet.
"Never underestimate the heart of a champion." - Michael Malone
"I’m asking for the same defense with Team Canada." - Jamal Murray on Nickeil Alexander-Walker
9) Anthony Edwards came out firing. He went straight for the throat. Got a little too aggressive at times getting caught in the air but eventually settled down. Probably knows how Donovan Mitchell feels now, cause he had the entire team on his shoulders. No help whatsoever. Finishes with a game-high 44 points. His third 40-point game of the playoffs.
Ant: 16-25 FG (64.0%)
Everyone else: 23-57 FG (40.4%)
Wolves were -13 in 2:40 without Anthony Edwards. Just insane.
10) One of the guys who could give Ant some help is Jaden McDaniels. Denver’s doing to him what Minnesota wishes they could do to Aaron Gordon. Barely paying any attention to him in the corner. Problem is that AG’s making them pay and Jaden’s shooting struggles justify it. Jaden is 1-for-8 from 3 in this series (21.1% in the postseason). Did hit a huge one with 2:21 left in the fourth but too little too late.
"I mean, they’re frustrated, but they’re fine. We never thought this would be a quick series. Thought it would be a long one." - Chris Finch on the team’s emotional state
Nuggets beat the Wolves 115-107. Prayed for seven games. We’re at least getting six!