Day 6 of the NBA Playoffs featured three series that were tied 1-1 coming in. And as usual, the unexpected resulted, although two teams did manage to hold serve on their home court.
First up, Indiana vs. Atlanta.
Uh oh. I guess Indiana is back to being fraudulent.
I was one of those people who thought that the Pacers might finally have ended the skid they've been in now for months when they erupted in the third quarter of Game 2. Yet, they went down to Atlanta and played poorly in the second half.
I'm sure people are going to talk about Frank Vogel and the job he's done (or not done). Personally, I don't buy the "he's gonna get fired" nonsense. Even if I were running the team, I couldn't do something that stupid and reactionary. Sure, they're supposed to be on their way up; winning the #1 seed in the East along with their previous trajectory indicates as much. But for them to stumble at this precise moment (or, rather, two months worth of moments) doesn't show me that Vogel is the problem.
In fact, it just might be the acquisitions of Andrew Bynum and Evan Turner.
Or it might be something else altogether. The point is, we on the outside (of the Pacers' locker room, I mean) have no clue.
Atlanta leads 2-1. Game 4 is Saturday.
Next, Oklahoma City vs. Memphis.
The Thunder were down big, went on a run to tie it up and send the game to OT, and then lost in OT because they look like they ran out of gas.
Sound familiar? It ought to, because that's pretty much how Game 2 ended.
Oh, except this time it was Westbrook hitting the tying three-pointer to end the run and getting a four-point play to send it to overtime.
And yet, neither he nor Durant could do much of anything in overtime which led to the Thunder losing.
Memphis is making the Thunder play an inefficient style of basketball. They're overly reliant on Durant and Westbrook to provide offense. While Durant tends to be more free-flowing, trying to get his teammates involved as much as establishing his own rhythm, Westbrook tends to hog the ball and only look for his own shot...this despite being the point guard.
Meanwhile, while Memphis does get bogged down and/or tentative on offense, when they're running it through Gasol and Randolph, they can be quite effective. Probably not the most efficient either, but still, they can generate half-court offense whereas the Thunder primarily run up and down in a full court style that is predicated on fast-paced play.
Memphis leads 2-1. Game 4 is Saturday.
Finally, Los Angeles vs. Golden State.
The Clippers follow up their big win with another on the road.
Golden State didn't play particularly well. They shot the ball inefficiently and had far too many turnovers for one game, let alone two or three.
And yet, they had a chance to win late in the game.
There were also questionable calls which marred my enjoyment. But I'm willing to let those slide when it comes down to looking at how the game was won/lost. Golden State wasn't quite good enough.
They've proven that they can win on the road. Now it's time for them to do it at Oracle.
Los Angeles leads 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday.
Later today, Game 3 in Brooklyn, Washington, and Portland.
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