Well where were we? – Canis Hoopus

After a three-day hiatus, the NBA Playoffs are back today. In case you live under a rock, let’s quickly catch up on what happened in the last few days before we hit real basketball.

In response to police shooting Jacob Blake seven times in the back, the Milwaukee Bucks opted to boycott Game 5 of their series against the Orlando Magic, leading to the rest of the games being boycotted / canceled on Wednesday. , Thursday and Friday. . There are various stories and rumors coming out of the “bubble”, but I will let you find and interpret them on your own.

In the end, the players were able, among other things, to ensure that each NBA stadium was opened and used as a polling place for the 2020 presidential election. That is the most important thing in the present / immediate future, but I guess they will be on the sidelines of other actions in the future.

I don’t feel qualified to talk much, but I figured Zach Lowe’s most recent episode of The Lowe Post With ESPN’s Malika Andrews and The Undefeated’s William Rhoden they did a good job of breaking down what’s going on and what the players want, as you might as well ask. I encourage each of you to listen if you can spare an hour of your time.

Regardless, the playoffs are back in action today, so let’s catch up on the current status of each series.

Los Angeles is up 3-1 in this one, and with Damian Lillard injured they should close this one in five long games. It took a few games, but the Lakers have come back to looking like the championship contenders they are, in large part because of how good LeBron James and Anthony Davis have been, but it has helped tremendously to get other guys started shooting. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in particular has started to hit a few shots. The Lakers role players will be vital in the future.

After taking the first two games, Houston has allowed Oklahoma City to return to the series, which is now tied at two games apiece. Russell Westbrook is set to make his postseason debut, which should give Houston a big boost. James Harden’s raw stats are good / good, but he’s been wearing down and struggling in the fourth quarterfinals, which is to be expected when you’re carrying as big a load as he has against Lugentz Dort for 40 minutes per night. This is anyone’s ball game, but if Westbrook can catch up fast enough, he should push Houston to the top, setting up a must-see showdown with the Lakers.

In some ways, this has become one of the two most entertaining series of the entire first round, mainly due to the fact that Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray are establishing themselves as stars in the league. They were both promising young players who weren’t super consistent, but they’ve been absolutely incredible in this series. If you want to talk about guys who are more valuable in a playoff setting than in an 82-game regular season, these are your guys. They have been creating at a high level all the series and have only been able to take their teams with ridiculous shots. The series sits at 3-2 in Utah’s favor, but this would have ended a while ago if it weren’t for Murray.

This has been the best series of the first round so far, mainly due to the power of the stars. Luka Doncic had his most memorable moment as an NBA player when he made a throwback of three in game four to tie the series at two games apiece, but Paul George finally woke up and played like, well, Paul George in game five. . . With the series at 3-2, and Kawhi Leonard again looking like a different animal in the playoffs, Los Angeles will likely emerge victorious, especially since Kristap Porzingis’ injury sidelined him for the rest of the series. However, we will not soon forget Luka’s debut in the playoffs. That boy is special.

This is the only first round series left and it should conclude shortly. Milwaukee is up 3-1 and has dominated the series since losing the first game. They just need to take care of business to set up a big showdown with Miami in the second round.

The NBA is on full blast with the second round here, and man, I couldn’t be more excited for this series. Assuming everyone plays, we will be very lucky to see these two teams play against each other. I guess it is a series of 7 games. The talent and length at guard / wing positions is tempting for both teams. The Celtics may have a slight talent advantage with Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown, but Toronto is not short on talent and Nick Nurse was the Coach of the Year for a reason. This will be an amazing chess game. If you were to make me pick one, I’d pick Toronto, just because I think as a team they can do enough to upset Tatum and make him less efficient than Boston would like. However, this really is a coin toss.