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Nuotr .: AFP, USA Today Sports-Scanpix
Nuotr. AFP, USA Today Sports-Scanpix
The National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs are gaining momentum and the semifinal stage of the Eastern Conference will begin tonight.
There was virtually no intrigue in the first round: The Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics and Miami Heat crushed the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers, respectively, 4-0, and the Milwaukee Bucks last night. 4-1 closed the series with the Orlando Magic. It can be said that the real repercussions of the Eastern Conference begin now.
The website “BasketNews.lt” provides an overview of the two pairs from the semi-final stage and an assessment of which teams have the best chances to enter the final of the conference.
Toronto “Raptors” – Bostono “Celtics”
The Boston team’s scorecards were cut short by Gordon Hayward’s injury, which further undermined the Celtics’ already low turnover. Brad Stevens was forced to pitch Marcus Smart to all five starters, leaving basketball players like Brad Wanamaker and Enessa Kanter on the bench.
Semi Ojeleye, Grant Williams and Romeo Langford also received a token amount of minutes, but these basketball players are unlikely to become X-factors in the semi-final series.
Looking at the Raptors, Nick Nurse has a five-player reserve who wouldn’t embarrass him in the Eastern Conference, even if he were the strategist’s main choice.
Norman Powell and Serge Ibaka are key Raptors players rising from the bench, but Terence Davis, Matt Thomas, and Chris Boucher often make a significant contribution to wins when at least one of them suddenly shoots and puts on a 15-minute show. points. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Stanley Johnson are also in the nurse rotation, so the Canadian team has a lot more guns than the Celtics.
Nuotr. USA Today Sports-Scanpix
The strength of the Raptors’ reserve players could be seen in Game 4 of the series with the Nets, when the five non-starting basketball players scored 100 of 150 points for the entire team. This is the best result of 1970-1971. the season in which the statistics of the five starters and substitutes began to be counted. The regular season record was 94 points and the playoffs 86 points.
The brief layoff caused by the boycott of NBA players is likely to benefit the Raptors the most, as the team’s main player, Kyle Lowry, should return to the lineup. The defender will not only be a key player for the Raptors in organizing the team’s attack, but he will also be a key figure in Cambo Walker’s hiatus.
The Boston team was rushed by a duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in the 76ers series. Tatumas is averaging 27 points (45 percent off) and 9.8 rebounds in this year’s playoffs, while Brown has 21.5 points and 5.8 rebounds.
Still, the Raptors have their weapons in defense of the duo, and the only question is what Nurse will choose. According to the positions, Fred VanVleet should take over from Brown and OG Anunoby – Tatuma.
Still, Pascal Siakam would have a significantly lower Smart, so it cannot be ruled out that Cameroon’s mobile would cover the transfer of Tatuma and Anunoby to Brown. However, Anunoby is probably the best defense specialist for the Raptors, so it is realistic that it is the British who constantly apply personal defense to Tatum, and the remaining Canadian basketball players will not have specific opponents and will simply swap their defenders.
Nuotr. AFP-Scanpix
In the first round, VanVleet shone for the Raptors, averaging 21.3 points (48 percent double, 56 percent trit), 7.8 assists and 4 assists. Still, Smart is also a great defender, so the Celtics also have something to answer for in this microduel.
The starting five for both teams is fairly even, and both Stevens and Nurse are some of the best and most innovative coaches in the entire NBA. The only difference is that the Raptors have a much deeper and smoother composition. It is the reserve basketball players of the Toronto team who can become a key factor in this series.
Milwaukee Bucks – Miami Heat
This is a series where one can expect surprises from Miami basketball players. Although the Bucks won their series 4-1, the Milwaukee team’s game did not look as convincing as the result showed.
Already in the first game of the series, which the Magic won, the Orlando team applied tactics against Giannis Antetokounmpo, which unleashed the Raptors team in the Eastern Conference finals last year.
James Ennis was the main player covering Antetocounmpo, but the Greek action was constantly watched by two more Magic basketball players, who were always ready to rush to the rescue and plug the penalty area, thus preventing the Greek from rushing to the basket. easily.
Photo AP-Scanpix
In Game 4 of the series, Magic managed to pull off three halves, during which the Bucks failed to gain a convincing lead. Ultimately, Khris Middleton, who fired in the fourth quarter, ignited an 18: 3 streak, allowing the Bucks to score a third win.
Middleton was the most disappointing Bucks player in the first round of the series. One of the leaders of the Milwaukee team scored an average of 15 points in five games, attacking 35 percent from the colon. 38% three-point precision and accuracy. accuracy.
It is also possible to highlight the second game of the series, which Magic started with only 3 shots of 33 attempts (9%), which definitely made the Bucks’ job easier. At the time, yesterday, the Bucks held a fragile 4-point lead in the middle of the fourth quarter.
Still, the Heat have a lot more to offer than Team Magic, which has been running the entire series without Aaron Gordon, Johnathan Isaac and Michael Carter-Williams.
At the time, he was trying to play a three-point game in the Pacers series with the Heat and burned badly without getting a single win. The Indiana team threw 128 long shots throughout the series, while the Miami team made 133. The difference is that the Heat scored 52 3-pointers (39%), while the Pacers scored 42 (33%).
Although the Milwaukee team has more reliable snipers than the Pacers, the Bucks excelled with somewhat unusual defense all season, allowing opponents to attack from a distance and targeting Antetocounmp and Brook Lopez in the penalty area. Rival triples were usually followed by Eric Bledsoe, Wesley Matthews and Pat Connaughton and George Hill getting off the bench.
Knowing that the Heat have snipers like Duncan Robinson or Tyler Herr and Goran Dragic, Jae Crowder, Kendrick Nunn and Kelly Olynyk who can hit from afar, it’s clear that Mike Budenholzer will probably have to change his defense system.
At least a slightly open penalty area would be very good news for Jimmy Butler, who accumulates most of his points through forays to the basket or shooting from medium distance.
The Heat also have players who can cover Antetokounmpo. The most realistic contender is Crowder, but there is no doubt that Butler and Bam Adebayo will come to his aid if necessary.
Following the boycott initiated by the Bucks, which halted the playoffs for three days, there are also questions about the concentration of Milwaukee basketball players and their focus on basketball. Hill had already resigned after the fourth meeting with Magic.
“It just came to our notice then.” We didn’t have to come to this damn place, “Bucks defender said of Walt Disney theme park.” – Our presence here distracts all attention, but we are here. It is as it is, but because there is nothing we can do. “
The impressions of the first round of playoffs give a real opportunity to the basketball players of the Heat, but we must not forget that Antetokounmpo’s company, which will defend the MVP title, awaits on the other side of the barricades.
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