The Rotation: Kyle Lowry has his moment and the Celtics are in deep trouble

Welcome to The Rotation, our daily playoff wrap-up of our favorite stories, large and small, from last night’s NBA action.

Kyle Lowry has his moment

By Chris Manning (@cwmwrites)

Kyle Lowry, along with the rest of the Toronto Raptors, needed a reboot after Game 1’s loss to the Bucks. As it turns out, Lowry and the Raptors just needed to be themselves.

After Game 1, Lowry talked about needing to force shots after scoring just four points on 2-11 shooting, including 0-6 on 3-pointers. He seemed frustrated, weighed down by yet another series opening loss. But in Game 2, Lowry did the opposite. It paid off.

In Toronto’s win, Lowry was his best self. In 39 minutes, he was everywhere. He created shots for others. He got to the line seven times, making every attempt. And he made a game-clinching shot with Bucks rookie Malcolm Brogdon draped all over him.

For Lowry, this is the type of performance that can change opinions. Because he doesn’t have the history of big shots like a Kyrie Irving, and maybe because the Raptors don’t have a history of playoff success, Lowry can be forgotten at this point in the year, or buried under the pressure of past failures after any game in which his shooting numbers trend down.

But he shouldn’t be. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, he’s bee the best point guard in the East, ahead of Irving, John Wall, Isaiah Thomas and seemingly countless others. When he picks his spots and is healthy, there is no point guard more well-rounded than Lowry. And when he’s on, he makes the Raptors a threat. When he’s on, Toronto isn’t out of any game.

His shot came at the perfect time too. For most of the second half, Lowry’s Raptors fended off a hard charge from Milwaukee. As he dribbled to the right, Lowry created just enough room to score over Brogdon.

“It was a broken play,” Lowry said during his post game interview on NBA TV. “DeMar [DeRozan] had two guys on him, kicked back to Serge [Ibaka]. Serge got me the ball, and I just wanted to get to my spot. I got to my spot, and shot the ball and made it.”

Made it he did. And now, the Raptors are back in it as the series shifts to Milwaukee.

Moose runs wild

By Matt Cianfrone (@Matt_Cianfrone)

Five hundred and thirty-eight games. Fifteen thousand, nine hundred and ninety-five minutes. That was how long it took for Greg Monroe to appear in his first playoff game. As someone who lives their life in short sections of time (the periods I currently teach are 45 minutes), that is just an unfathomable amount of time. So when Greg Monroe finally got onto the floor for the first time in Toronto during Saturday afternoon’s Game 1 against the Raptors, I was thrilled for him.

It helps that Monroe has been a revelation this season. After a failed debut in Milwaukee as a starter, Monroe reinvented himself into the key bench cog on an upstart Bucks team. Suddenly the Carlos Boozeresque “And-One” screams became loveable not annoying, and I found myself clamoring for Monroe more and more in games. It was why, when the Bucks finally, officially cling their playoff spot, one of my first thoughts was how cool this was for Moose. And how I hoped he could help the Bucks steal a game or two.

In the third quarter of Game 2, it looked like that could be the case for the second time in two games. Monroe entered in the midst of a Toronto run and didn’t exactly help things immediately. The Raptors went up 13 after a bucket from DeMarre Carroll (I think) and it looked like luck had finally run out on the Bucks. But then a funny thing happened and Milwaukee went on a run started fittingly by an AND-ONE from the Moose. A few more rebounds, jumpers and finishes inside later and the Bucks were down by just one after three quarters and felt like they had a real chance to win the game. In fact, I already had started to think about how I would write this section and Moose and redemption and everything being worth the wait.

And then a few late 3-pointers rimmed out, Jason Kidd made some poor decisions, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan made some tough shots and the Bucks came up short. But that doesn’t change Monroe’s impact. Through two games Greg Monroe has done all he can for an underdog who is putting up an incredible fight. Then again after fifteen thousand, nine hundred and ninety-five minutes we shouldn’t have expected anything else. Against all odds Greg Monroe is going to fight. And hopefully he continues to get rewarded for it.

Go-Go-Giannis Arms: More than a toy

By Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg)

Super stars are good at most things, but they usually have a specific skill or trait that sets them apart from everyone else. For LeBron James, it’s his court vision combined with his size. For Kevin Durant, it’s his silky shooting combined with his size. For Stephen Curry, it’s his quick release and 3-point accuracy.

For Giannis Antetokounmpo it’s those arms. Those long, Mr. Fantastic, Go Go Gadget, Stretch Armstrong, Slinky-like arms.

Giannis was the best player on the court in the Milwaukee Bucks’ Game 2 loss to the Toronto Raptors. Yes, they lost. Big deal. The Raptors are the better team, despite myriad matchup issues they face against Milwaukee. But Giannis is proving he’s the best player in the series, and he’s doing it with plays like this.

And by grabbing rebounds like this.

Those long arms that turn a 6-foot-11 frame into a 7-foot-3 fly trap helped him finish with 24 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists. They’re more than a novelty, they’re a bona fide advantage.

However, those 24 points came on 9-of-24 shooting – a far cry from his efficient Game 1 performance in which he scored 28 points on 13-of-18 shooting.

His arms were featured in the highlights, but overall the Raptors limited him. The difference between Games 1 and 2 was how they defended Giannis, who for all his unique strengths and potential, still has a fatal flaw: He can’t really shoot, and Toronto dared him to try.

P.J. Tucker allowed Giannis plenty of room on the perimeter, daring him to pull up rather than put the ball on the floor. He went under screens and kept Giannis’ gangly body in front of him best he could, save for a few instances.

Tucker’s defense is strong here, but Giannis’ rubbery length here is the difference between scoring and getting caught underneath the rim.

Despite his inefficient shooting, Giannis was a team-best plus-6 in the game. He put his imprint on Game 2 despite the loss, and was overall more effective than both Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry. This series is far from over, and Giannis’ arms will continue to play a starring role. Just as they will in his bright and hopefully long career.

Play of the Day: Rajon Rondo operates out of the high post

By Jeff Siegel (@jgsiegel)

In the third quarter, the Chicago Bulls executed an unorthodox idea — they put point guard Rajon Rondo in the high post and ran the offense through him. In a matchup with Isaiah Thomas, Rondo doesn’t have a quickness advantage, but he is able to exploit the Boston Celtics’ diminutive point guard in other ways. Rondo was on the floor with Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade, Nikola Mirotic, and Robin Lopez, all capable mid-range shooters at the very least. The Bulls have struggled with spacing all year, partially due to Rondo’s inability to shoot outside of about fifteen feet, but putting the ball in his hands at the elbow like he’s Nikola Jokic was an innovative way to mitigate his poor shooting and make the most of his vision and passing.

With Rondo holding off Thomas in the high post, the other Bulls can set screens for one another and make cuts to the rim and for handoffs. Multiple times in the third quarter, Wade would cut from the strong-side corner to take the handoff from Rondo, which opened up Wade to drive to his right or run a quick pick-and-roll with Lopez or Mirotic. In the below clip, Jae Crowder takes away the handoff to Wade and forces Rondo to go to his second option: Butler in the post.

To take away Wade, the Celtics switched the down screen set by Butler in the corner, but that left Avery Bradley to contend with Butler after Wade cleared out. Bradley is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, but is at a significant disadvantage when dealing with a bigger player in the post. Butler takes a step up toward Rondo for a normal post-up and Bradley fronts him, so Butler cuts to the rim and finishes the lob with a foul. Rondo’s size mismatch with Thomas allowed him to make the pass, and Butler’s mismatch with Bradley gave him the opportunity for the lob.

Playoff series can be won and lost on these little adjustments and moments of creative genius from coaches and while we only saw Rondo in the high post on a few possessions in the third quarter, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more of that in what remains of this series.

Fourth quarter Blake Griffin shows up

By Brendon Kleen (@brendonkleen14)

I don’t know what’s going on with this new version of Blake Griffin. The ESPN broadcast of Saturday’s Game 1 between the Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz displayed a graphic showing Griffin’s scoring by quarter this season, and it was a scary thing. Griffin averaged less than four points per fourth quarter during the regular season, and that only begins to explain the strangeness of watching him this year.

He has basically abandoned the pick-and-pop game that became so integral to his success in 2015 and 2016; his defense comes and goes. If Blake Griffin is not scoring and rebounding — especially with the game on the line — his value is low. With Rudy Gobert out for Game 2 last night, Griffin remembered the strength and footwork advantage he has over all of Utah’s bigs.

After less than 50 percent shooting and six turnovers (plus zero fourth quarter points) in Game 1, Griffin went to work last night. While his game is still clunkier than it was at its efficient best in past seasons, he can put guys in the spin cycle and shoulder a few dudes in the spleen when the time is right.

When the Jazz started to impose their style on the game a bit more in the fourth quarter– slow, mechanical, frustrating — Griffin responded. Maybe he knew, as we all do, that Chris Paul can’t do it alone. Maybe he simply found a second gear, healthier now and playoff focused. In last night’s fourth, Griffin rumbled his way in for a bucket down low that brought on the Blake Stone Eyes as he ran back down the court. Then he was quiet for a while.

Next: The Indiana Pacers have no answer for LeBron James as the roll man

Finally, he banged home a 3-pointer from the corner that symbolically sealed this game, even though the Jazz made a little noise afterward. We’ve long understood that Griffin is the Clippers’ secret key to playoff dominance. It will take a great two-way performance on his part for Los Angeles to beat the best teams in the league — a group of which Utah is clearly a part. Baby steps, I guess, but getting those Stone Eyes and sinking a weakened Jazz team was a sweet and symbolic way to send the series back to Salt Lake City, and the Clippers’ hopes one game further along.