NBA 2016 Playoff Chronicles: Three Pointers Dropping Like Rain
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.
Kyle Lowry Finds His Range
As time expired in game one of the Toronto-Miami series, Kyle Lowry threw up one last-ditch attempt, launching from half court, hurling that ball towards the basket as his team stared down the barrel of a playoff defeat. It went in.
Problem was, that was about the only shot that the Raptors guard could hit and Toronto went on to lose rather comfortably in overtime. They did manage to even the ledger in the second game with an overtime win of their own, however it mostly came despite Lowry’s efforts. Coming into this postseason on the back of another season as a borderline MVP candidate and All-Star, Kyle Lowry has been pretty awful. Through the Indiana series and the first two games of the Miami one, he was shooting a disastrous 41 of 133 from the field at 30.8% - even worse was his 9 of 57 from 30pt, a miniscule 15.8%.
Following that game two Lowry was seen out on the court, dressed in shorts and a hoodie with his headphones on, practicing shots a full 90 minutes after the game had ended. Pressure was on and he was not living up to it.
Kyle Lowry: “It sucks that I'm playing this bad when all eyes are on me because I know I'm way better than this,” Lowry had said after the game. So I've got to pick this shit up.”
It worked. After a four point first half in game three, Lowry absolutely took over. He scored 33 all up as he led the Raptors to a 2-1 series advantage, hitting shot after shot to hold a 38 points Dwyane Wad at bay – including a sweet step-back with DW guarding him and a little over 30 seconds remaining. Lowry was 11/19 all up, making 5/8 3pt and all six of his free throws. Might even be enough to make the Cavaliers look over their shoulder…
Triple Barrage
Or not, because the Cavs look something close to untouchable in the Eastern Conference. Another big effort from the big three – including a clutch late hoop for LeBron James – saw the Cavs cruise on into the Conference Finals with a 4-0 sweep of the Atlanta Hawks. The ‘Lantans put up a decent showing in the last game but couldn’t get over the line and Cleveland, mate, they haven’t lost yet this postseason.
The play of LeBron as he’s really turned it up for the playoffs has been immense, as has the suddenly flowing link between he and Kyrie Irving. Now, Kevin Love is still being left open in the corner pretty often but he’s finding ways to get things done and this team is looking ominous. But maybe the best performances they got were from two of their lesser names. J.R. Smith is a known quantity who can drain threes with the best of them, that he had a huge night for game two isn’t shocking. That Channing Frye had one in the third game was slightly more so.
Smithy first, he was the focal point as the Cavs just straight blitzed the Hawks from deep in the second game. In a 25 point win, the Cavs got out to a 35-20 lead after the first on the back of the three-ball and they kept on plugging from there. Smith made seven all on his own, seven three pointers in one playoff game, as he finished with 23 points. It was a barrage, a clinic. 18 three pointers in the first half and 25 (from 45 attempts) all up which is a new NBA playoff record. Ten different player made at least one triple. The Hawks were a little dirty about the Cavs supposedly running up the score as they went for the record but that’s about what you have to expect from Richard Jefferson late in a game. That dude’s a little too long in the tooth to be driving to the hoop in a blowout, mate.
The Hawks’ twitter account, on the other hand, took a more self-deprecating approach to the whole thing.
And it didn’t stop there. The Cavs made at least 15 threes in each of the four games, 77 of them in total across the series. That’s tied second most for a playoff series and every other occasion with that many threes came in a seven game series. Next best in a four gamer… 57.
Hey and shout out to Channing Frye, I ain’t forgot about you, son. After sitting out game one entirely, the mid-season acquisition went on a rampage in the third. 7 of 9 from three for 27 points all up, taking control after Kevin Love went out with foul trouble. Frye was a risky move, coming in as a player that the Cavs have long admired but he was expensive with $32m still on his contract and this after they’d just flipped Anderson Varejao to cut their luxury tax bill. He definitely looked a solid enough fit off the bench but after averaging only 5.2 ppg in Orlando there were definitely some concerns too. Well Channing just came up big when it counts.
And that wasn’t the only three-point narrative we saw these last few days. Game three of the Golden State vs Portland series and Klay Thompson reminded everybody that No Steph doesn’t mean No Hope. He was crazy good in that first quarter as he dropped 18 points to lead all scorers. However the Blazers came back hard with a 36 point second quarter and this one descended into a duel. Only one man was keeping the Warriors in it and it wasn’t Thompson. Nope, it was Draymond Green who fair exploded for 37 points – taking Damian Lillard head on. Three pointers falling like rain. Green made 8 of 12 and Lillard 8 of 13… though it was Dame that got the final laugh as he ended with 40 points and 10 assists to get the Blazers on the board in that series. Hard to see them getting over the Dubs but at least here they got back to the fast-paced, deep-shooting approach that earned them a rare win over the Warriors in the regular season.
KD, MVP
As good as Kevin Durant is, as mind-blowingly, drastically good as he is, the last few years have seen him fall back in the elite rankings a little. Remember when he was MVP and LeBron James was the only dude realistically better than him? Now there’s Kawhi Leonard and Steph Curry and Anthony Davis and James Harden and even Russell Westbrook and these fellas out there challenging and one year of injuries and people seem to have forgotten. But then it’s also safe to say that Durant was down slightly on his intergalactic greatness this season, that happens. The numbers are amazing but you need the moments to keep the people talking. Moments like Steph’s buzzer beaters and heat checks. Kawhi Leonard and Draymond Green’s suffocating defensive stands. Durant hasn’t quite been that guy.
However he’s still a man for the occasion and against the Spurs we’re seeing the best of KD again. His mother (aka The Real MVP) was courtside for game four and she witnessed Durant tie his playoff high with 41 points – and he missed a couple free throws on the way there too, uncharacteristically. This is the guy who won the MVP. He was drilling from range, he was using that size to flip in those mid-rangers and his speed was there in getting to the rim when needed too. Such a magnificent performance. Keep that up and this 2-2 series could yet go all the way.
Meanwhile: Tim Duncan just got kept to zero points for the first time in his playoff career.
Post-Game Plans on Lock
A Dwyane Wade Appreciation
People, let us spare a moment of our time to consider how well Wade is playing. Sometimes it is easy to forget that he’s only 34 years old what with those knees but he damn sure saved a little extra for these playoffs. After averaging a healthy 19.0 points per game shooting 45.6% in the regular season and doing what needed to be done against Charlotte, this second round series has seen the best of D. Wade. Against the Raptors he has scored 24, 17 and 38 points, shooting at 47.6% and demanding the ball in the clutch. All this after he discovered that Prince had called him his favourite player a couple years ago. It’s been a joy.
Haaaaving said that, he probably shouldn’t be taking shots during the Canadian national anthem.
The Reel:
Quotables:
LeBron James: "We're a team that's destined for greatness. I really believe that. We have a mission."
Richard Jefferson: "You can always try and find a silver lining, but I'd rather be Negative Nancy. Whenever you get a team to 15 points, they are almost dead. When you get it to 18, all you've got to do is lift the shovel up and pour dirt on 'em, especially if you want to be a high-level team. We didn't do that tonight and it almost cost us."
Paul Millsap (on losing to the Cavs again): "It left a bad taste in our mouth last year. This year we thought we had them figured out and they do something completely different than they did last year. That is the frustrating thing about it. I think they shot more 3's this year and it killed us.”
LeBron James: "Throughout my whole career, I've always wanted to go against Wade in a playoff series. We've always talked about it even before we became teammates in '10. It's not been heavy on my mind, but it's crossed my mind throughout my whole career."
Dwane Casey: "I'm encouraged. We've got to take it. We can harp on all the negatives and beat that drum, beat it to death, but we're finding ways to win and that's very encouraging."
Draymond Green: “If we make them work on the defensive end, Dame ain’t hitting those shots in the fourth quarter. You saw that in Game 2. But he had to work. Tonight was kind of easy on him. We’ve got to make him work on the defensive end so all those shots he’s hitting aren’t going.”
Jeff Teague: "A lot of great players play with the ball and have iso situations and things like that, and that is just not how (or) the way we play basketball."
Paul Millsap (on a goaltending call against him): "I thought it was a clean block, I still think it was a clean block. I'll think it was all summer."
Steve Kerr (on Steph Curry): "I would just say he's doubtful for tomorrow but slowly and surely making progress."
Eric Spoelstra (on Hassan Whiteside’s injury): "He had an MRI today that went about as well as could be expected. Where my mind was, where Hassan's mind was leaving this building, that's about the best news that we can have. He's just going to be doing treatment and a lot of rest."
NBA Spokesperson: "We spoke to the team, and the Heat will work with its players to make sure no pregame routines interfere with either anthem going forward."
Damian Lillard: "You don't want to be down 0-3. Period."
Kevin Durant: “For me, when I’m talking to women, I’m 7 feet. In basketball circles, I’m 6-9.”
Hero Ballers:
Kawhi Leonard (SAS):
31 PTS (9/17 FG, 3/4 3PT, 10/14 FT), 11 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK – G3 v OKC
Channing Frye (CLE):
27 PTS (10/13 FG, 7/9 3PT), 7 REB – G3 v ATL
Kyle Lowry (TOR):
33 PTS (11/19 FG, 5/8 3PT, 6/6 FT), 2 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL – G3 v MIA
Damian Lillard (POR):
40 PTS (14/27 FG, 8/13 3PT, 4/4 FT), 5 REB, 10 AST – G3 vs GSW
Kevin Durant (OKC):
41 PTS (14/25 FG, 3/9 3PT, 10/13 FT), 5 REB, 4 AST – G4 vs SA