NBA 2016 Playoff Chronicles: MVP DOWN!
NBA Playoff Chronicles is an irregular celebration of all things National Basketball Association during the 2016 Postseason, courtesy of the wit and whim of the Wildcard. So… expect more Dirk Nowitzki poems and Steven Adams Moustache highlights than you can handle.
This Changes Everything!
Or does it? Steph Curry returned from a couple games off with a sore ankle in game four of the GSW-HOU series only to then injure his knee. He played just 19 minutes, shooting 1 of 7, and left the game not to return.
As it happens, he had a grade one knee sprain and will not play again in this series, possibly not even in the next round. The MVP is down. Repeat: The MVP is down.
Take note of that wording too. It doesn’t say that he’ll be back in two weeks, it says he will be “re-evaluated” in two weeks. He may not return at all this season. And if he does then keep in mind that he just shot 1/7 with a bad ankle after sitting out a couple games. There’s no telling how long it’ll take him to get his rhythm back. Remember last season when people complained that the Warriors’ path to the title was in part down to luck as Cleveland saw two of their big three injured? Yeah, they won’t be saying that if they win it this season.
Right, so how do the Warriors win without Curry? Well, losing the MVP and NBA’s scoring champ is clearly a massive loss but there is a stat floating around about Klay Thompson’s numbers with and without Curry. The cliché is that everyone else needs to step up to fill that 30 point void but in reality it’s Klay. He’s the one who will need to take 10-15 of Steph’s extra shots each game now, he needs to be scoring 25+ for them. You can also expect a lot more Shaun Livingston too, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Dude is one savvy baller. But Livs won’t cover the points they need, which I guess is where that +10.8 average points difference over the regular season comes in handy. They’re already 3-1 up this series and heading back home. Steph will most likely be back if they can stay in contention. This can be done.
But don’t save your thoughts only for the Warriors, the LA Clippers went and lost game four to the Portland Trail Blazers to tie that series up at 2-2 (having led 2-0), however the repercussions are way greater than simply keeping things at a home court advantage. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul both left that game early and each has heard some very bad news since. Paul has already undergone surgery on the hand that he hurt in the third quarter of that game. He’s out indefinitely with an expected recovery time of four to six weeks – which means that if the Clips don’t get past the Blazers and Warriors without him and to an unprecedented franchise appearance in the Conference Finals then you’ve probably seen the last of the All Star point guard this season. As for Blake Griffin… the news is even worse. He won’t play again this season with a torn quad muscle. Shocking luck, the kind that can swing a season and it came just a day after people started talking up their chances against the Warriors sans Curry. The Spurs and the Thunder seem to be the big winners here, not in the least because they’re each already through to the second round and resting up.
Austin Rivers and Jeff Green are expected to start in game five. Hey, DeAndre Jordan wanted a bigger role in the offence, he’s about to get it. Either that or J.J. Reddick starts dropping fifties.
Woah Drake!
What’s got this Canadian star all fired up and sort of jerkish? Only arguably the best game of the NBA Playoffs so far, definitely the best fourth quarter we’ve seen.
After Paul George had gotten the Pacers off to a hot start against the Raptors, shooting them out to a 35-20 lead after one quarter, it seemed that he was leading his team to a 3-2 lead in the series, with game six coming up in Indiana. George scored 39 points with 8 boards and 8 assists in a magnificent 41 minute performance in which the Pacers outscored the Drakes by +15 with PG on the court. But there were seven minutes for which he was not.
Start of the fourth quarter and the Raptors trailed 90-77. Suddenly they roared out of the gates, getting started with George on the bench and then keeping it up even after he returned. A 15-2 run tied the game up and then Norman Powell stepped up in defence, plucking a steal and absolutely crushing that sucker down through the hoop for the dunk. Crushed it. The entire crowd, the entire city went wild.
The scoring slowed down after that until DeMar DeRozan popped a three. Coming into this game he had shot 21 for 71 at under 30%. Here he scored 34 points shooting 10 of 22. Much, much better from that bloke. The Pacers weren’t quite done though. Solomon Hill made a three to bring it within one. DeRozan hit a couple free throws. Last possession, Raptors lead 102-99…
Too late. Raptors win. Drake took it a little too well, as this now-deleted Instagram post suggests.
It was the biggest playoffs comeback in franchise history – they trailed by as many as 17 points. There was a 23-2 run in there in the fourth - a quarter in which they kept the Pacers to a total of 9 points.
But Draymond… The Floods…
One of the more surreal things to happen in an NBA presser for a while. Draymond Green quizzed about the link between Warriors wins and floods in Houston. Apparently not for the first time either.
Strange. Very strange. To be fair, the bloke was not a native English speaker so maybe there was something misinterpreted. His name wasn’t released which is also fair, can’t be loosing the internet trolls on him now. Either way, this calls for some SRV:
A Prayer for the New York Knicks
Even in the playoffs, the NY Knicks fans still want the spotlight. Here’s a pretty cool short film, written and directed by Conor Byrne and starring John Leguizamo (!), that featured as an official selection at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival.
I quite like the nickname ‘Zingis Khan, by the way.
Look What Dirk Did
Requiem for the Fallen
Here’s to the Grizzlies who made it this far
Despite all the injuries, the battlers they are
And to the Pistons ‘neath Stan Van the man
They’ll go further next time if free throws go to plan
The Mavs limped here too thru the mud and the murk
And thanks to the genius of Carlisle and Dirk
All three are gone now, sent home to reflect
On a season well played and the next crucial steps
The Reel:
Quotables:
Mark Cuban: “Typically, you're going to find one guy that you want the ball in the hands of at the end of the game. That truly is the definition of who you want. On the other side of the bar here [Oklahoma City], there's only one guy that you'd want the ball in the hands of."
(Presumably he’s meaning Dion Waiters)
Commentator on Steven Adams: “If that man told you that he was doing pyrotechnics at the next Def Leppard concert, would you believe him?”
Damian Lillard: "It changes a lot. Their best player goes down. The guy who makes their offense go. It's unfortunate. You don't wish that on anybody, but they still have a really good team."
Jason Terry: “I guarantee victory -- that’s what it’s going to take. I believe in my group.”
DeMar DeRozan: "It's all about patience. You can't get flustered, you can't get frustrated. You've got to stay the course. That's what we're going to continue to do."
Dwane Casey: “His shoes went out and he stepped out of bounds and ran over Drake. I was more worried about Drake than I was Stuckey."
Hero Ballers:
Kyrie Irving (CLE):
31 PTS (12/25 FG, 4/11 3PT, 3/4 FG), 3 REB, 5 AST – G4 vs DET
Paul Millsap (ATL):
45 PTS (19/31 FG, 3/6 3PT, 4/6 FT), 13 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 4 BLK – G4 vs BOS
Russell Westbrook (OKC):
36 PTS (13/23 FG, 3/8 3PT, 7/8 FT), 12 REB, 9 AST, 1 STL – G5 vs DAL
Al-Farouq Aminu (POR):
30 PTS (11/20 FG, 6/10 3PT, 2/2 FT), 10 REB, 3 AST, 3 BLK – G4 vs LAC
Kemba Walker (CHA):
34 PTS, (13/28 FG, 2/8 3PT, 6/7 FT), 4 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 2 BLK – G4 vs MI