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Let’s all hope none of us have to do the same run to the bathroom that Shaq had to do last night. Big fella can still move!
Not Quite Deja Vu
Pistons even up series, won’t let it happen again
Detroit was up 13 points in the fourth quarter at one point, looking like it’d end its 6,174-day streak of not winning a playoff game. Then, in the middle of the fourth quarter, it started happening again. The Pistons went five straight minutes without making a single shot. They did get a couple of free throws during this stretch, but the well had gone dry for buckets. Then, they grew up a little in a raucous Madison Square Garden with the lead down to two with just over two minutes left.
Cade Cunningham ran a pick-and-roll with Jalen Duren and got him an easy dunk on an alley-oop. No 21-0 run by the Knicks. No epic collapse. No extended all-time playoff losing streak. It didn’t completely solve their issues. The Knicks would tie it up, only to have Dennis Schröder take the lead with a big 3-pointer, but the Detroit eventually took the 100-94 victory.
Cunningham had 33 points, 12 rebounds and a bunch of buckets and free throws. That’s the game he needed to have. The Pistons were too physical for the Knicks, and head back to Detroit with an even playoff series. Playoff Panic Meter: 🚨🚨🚨 for the Knicks.
Kawhi goes Terminator to take Game 2 in Denver
We said after Game 1 that Kawhi Leonard had to take better care of the ball, following a seven-turnover performance in their two-point, overtime Game 1 loss. Well, I mean, everybody said that because that’s too many. Looks like we had a “Freaky Friday” swap situation happen because Nikola Jokić was unseasonably sloppy with the ball, as Leonard became destructive to everything in his path last night.
Leonard had 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting from the field to overcome a 26-12-10 performance from Big Honey, despite his turnover issues, in the 105-102 Clippers win in Denver. So many things late in the game hurt Denver when it would normally thrive. Weird turnovers in the backcourt that led to easy scores. Missed free throws by good free-throw shooters. Aaron Gordon missed a wide-open dunk. A big Jokić turnover on the second-to-last possession. And I’m not sure Christian Braun and Jokić hit the rim on tying 3-point attempts on the last possession. Playoff Panic Meter: 🚨🚨 for the Nuggets.
What are we looking for tonight?
Bucks at Pacers, 4 p.m. on NBA TV: Pacers lead 1-0
Whether or not Damian Lillard plays, the Bucks have to figure out how to help Giannis Antetokounmpo, rather than just watch him do cool stuff.
Grizzlies at Thunder, 4:30 p.m. on TNT: Thunder lead 1-0
What’s the game plan look like when you lose the first game by 51 points?
Timberwolves at Lakers, 7 p.m. on TNT: Wolves lead 1-0
Can the Wolves be physical and bully the Lakers into another poor offensive performance?
The Last 24
By now, Bucks star playing seems inevitable
🏀 Upgraded! Damian Lillard’s status for Game 2 has been upgraded to “questionable.” I bet he plays.
🏀 Underestimated. Yesterday, Nico Harrison said, “I did know that Luka was important to the fanbase. I didn’t quite know to what level.” Yeah, no s—, Nico.
🏀 Problem solved? The Warriors think they’ve solved the Rockets already. Golden State just can’t mess up.
🚫 Another firing. The Hawks fired GM Landry Fields and promoted Onsi Saleh to the position. Now, how do they become good?
🎧 Tuning in. Today’s NBA Daily discusses Leonard’s big Game 2 and whether the Clippers are the perfect foe for the Nuggets.
Anonymous Player Poll
Most overrated, underrated players and more
The Athletic put out our latest anonymous player poll today, and a grand total of 158 players participated in this endeavor. That’s over one-third of the league! That’s tremendous work by Sam Amick, Josh Robbins and our NBA staff. There’s some really good stuff in here too. From players picking their MVP to their best and worst coaches to what they think of shortening seasons, shortening quarters and who could be the face of the league in five years. Also, what players think of the league partnering with gambling sites.
I wanted to focus on two categories. First, let’s take a look at most underrated because we’re not going to be dramatic and messy right off the rip. Even though we want to be.
The players picked 75 different players as the most underrated in the league! Seventy-five! But let’s keep it to the top four vote-getters.
- Austin Reaves, 3.7 percent: I’m curious if opinions have continued to get updated on Reaves, as he’s shined next to Luka Dončić and LeBron James recently.
- Norm Powell, 4.4 percent: I still think he should have been the Clippers’ All-Star.
- Derrick White, 7.4 percent: I feel like everybody has said he’s underrated for two years, so he can’t be anymore.
- Cade Cunningham, 8.8 percent: His ascension this season has been night and day, compared to the bad season he endured with Detroit last year.
It’s interesting we don’t have an overwhelming pick, but this has been a big year for Cunningham, and he feels like the right selection amongst his peers. I think my three favorite votes were Nikola Jokić, Steph Curry and “Thompson Twins.”
Let’s move on to the most overrated and get dramatic. These results were fascinating to me with 33 different players grabbing at least one vote. And my how the turn tables have turned on someone who had kind of a breakout season and run in the playoffs in 2024. Here are the top four vote-getters for most overrated:
- Jimmy Butler, 5.5 percent: This must have been Heat players.
- Trae Young, 8.9 percent: He was a popular pick for this with players last season.
- Rudy Gobert, 10.0 percent: A lot of players just don’t seem to like him.
- Tyrese Haliburton, 14.4 percent: A massive jump from 3.7 percent of the vote last year! They really don’t like him trolling on the court.
Worst pick for overrated? The people saying you can’t be overrated if you made the NBA. That’s not how this works. The craziest pick? Jock Landale catching a stray with a pick.
(There is a ton of great stuff in the Player Poll. I’m dropping the link again, so you have no excuse. You don’t even have to scroll back up!) And while you’re here, check out what players had to say about gambling and its impact.
The story of the greatest players in NBA history. In 100 riveting profiles, top basketball writers justify their selections and uncover the history of the NBA in the process.
The story of the greatest players in NBA history.
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Flagg Day
It’s official: Cooper Flagg declared for NBA Draft
We all knew this day was coming, even if Duke fans were hoping it would be delayed a year. Cooper Flagg, the projected and expected number one pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, declared for that very draft. He announced the decision in a video on Instagram. He had previously expressed a possibility of wanting to stay at Duke for his sophomore year.
I wouldn’t say we go through this every year, but we do go through this often enough. There’s a highly touted and projected number one draft pick. His blue blood college is a powerhouse with him, and life is probably pretty good on campus. The wins are rolling in. And maybe sometime around January or February, the draft prospect says he might come back for a second season, despite the one-and-done rule thrusting them toward dozens of millions of guaranteed dollars.
And then, it’s time to make a decision, and they declare for the draft. Flagg was no different. He will be the top pick in the draft. Here’s a quick rundown:
Cooper Flagg | Freshman | Duke
- Height: 6-8 | Position: Forward | Vecenie Big Board: 1
- Stats: 19.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 4.2 apg, 48.1/38.5/84.0 shooting splits
- What to like: Super athletic, super competitive, great defender, underrated passer, solid catch-and-shoot guy and great on the move.
- What to question: Not a great handle, and it complicates creating a jump shot against good defenders. (Everybody pushes back at me on this, and then he struggles to do it in a big spot and they say, “maybe.”)
- Cool GIF: Coming to a TikTok compilation soon:
I Looked It Up
Does Thunder’s 51-point win tell us anything?
The Thunder became the sixth team in NBA history to win a playoff game by 50 or more points. Their 51-point detonation of the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 was the fifth-biggest playoff victory in NBA history. That got me using the old noggin and wondering if these teams with the blowout victories have gone on to compete for or win NBA titles. All season long, we’ve wondered if the Thunder’s historic dominance would outweigh their relative youth and playoff inexperience in their quest for a title.
Here are the five other 50-plus-point wins:
- Lakers 58-point win, 1956: Lost the semifinals series to the Hawks 2-1. This game was sandwiched by 116-115 losses. Nobody beats Bob Pettit by 58 points and wins the series!
- Nuggets 58-point win, 2009: Won the first-round series over the Hornets 4-1, lost in the conference finals. The Hornets made 17 shots and committed 27 turnovers.
- Lakers 56-point win, 1973: Won the conference finals series over the Warriors 4-1, lost the NBA Finals.
- Bulls 54-point win, 2015: Won the first-round series over the Bucks 4-2, lost in the second round. There was not a single double-digit scorer for Milwaukee.
- Bucks 50-point win, 1971: Won the first-round series over the Warriors 4-1, won the championship.
What I’m seeing here is it’s bad to win a playoff game by 50 points! Or maybe that’s nonsense. Maybe we should expand our search since we’re using Basketball-Reference’s Stathead tool this morning. Counting the 50-point victories (including OKC’s this weekend), there have been 28 wins in playoff history by 40 or more points. Seven of the victors ended up winning the NBA Finals.
The most recent were the 2018 Warriors, who beat the Rockets by 41 points in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, and the 2009 Lakers, who beat the Rockets by 40 in Game 5 of the second round. Does any of this actually mean anything for the Thunder moving forward? Is it bad to win by so many points in the playoffs? Probably not! But I looked it up, so there you go.
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(Top photo: Brad Penner / USA Today Network via Imagn Images )