Boston literally steals a game away from the Pacers
By Ryne Prinz (@ryneprinz)
The Boston Celtics were in control for much of Wednesday night’s game until the Indiana Pacers gained the lead halfway through the fourth quarter. The teams exchanged buckets until about two and a half minutes were left and that is when everything happened.
It started with a Jae Crowder steal that led to a wide-open dunk. A couple of possessions and less than a minute later, Amir Johnson stole a pass for an easy basket on the other end. On the next possession, Marcus Smart stole the ball again and finished with a layup. At this point, Boston had taken a one point lead, and the Pacers called a timeout.
About 30 seconds after Indiana had talked things over on the sidelines, Jae Crowder double-teamed Paul George, took the ball from the Pacers star and laid it in at the other to take the 97-94 lead, which eventually turned into a Celtics win.
It should surprise no one that this series of events occurred. Boston is a top-three team in steals and league-leaders in turnovers forced. When Crowder, Smart and Avery Bradley are on the floor together, they are like a flock of vultures who swarm to lazy passes and oblivious ballhanders.
At the same time, Indiana’s execution down the stretch was lackadaisical to say the least. They made several lofty passes, which Boston converted to buckets and a big win.
The Bucks are learning fit is important
By Matt Cianfrone (@Matt_Cianfrone)
The Milwaukee Bucks have a problem. While the team is flush with potential in the form of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker and others, Milwaukee is starting to learn about how important fit is in roster construction and success.
That lesson again came up on Wednesday when Milwaukee played a few minutes in the fourth quarter with a lineup of Khris Middleton, Antetokounmpo, Parker, Johnny O’Bryant and Greg Monroe (or John Henson I don’t remember exactly which). It was a lineup without anything close to a real point guard, only one person to threaten a defense with the idea of a three-pointer and no one who could consistently create shots for others. Predictably it failed.
The problem for the Bucks is that strange lineups that don’t really have a point guard are one of the few ways Milwaukee can get their best players on the floor. Middleton, Antetokounmpo and Monroe are the team’s three best players. Parker should be one of the two best going forward. Playing all four together leaves room for just one more guy and when Michael Carter-Williams or Jarryd Bayless or OJ Mayo are hurt or not playing well Milwaukee has no real answer.
Talent accumulation matters and the Bucks have done a decent job at that in rebuilding. As they are learning now though, so does roster balance and they don’t have that. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the long run but for those fourth quarter minutes on Wednesday doubt started to creep into my mind.
Luckily Giannis stat line made it go away fairly quickly.
That can’t feel good.
Earlier this week LeBron James caught a pass with his face in warmups. On Wednesday night Nikola Jokic did it in a game.
https://vine.co/v/iMEI9tYlvHi
(Vine via LoveShaq)
It is hard to believe that Jokic’s face or pride will ever be the same after that.
Draymond is the MVP
By Zach Oliver (@ZachOliverNBA)
Now, I know that the MVP award usually goes to the guy who scores the most points on the best team. I get that. But, I’m going to make the case for Draymond Green as we near the midway point.
Wednesday night showed how important the fourth-year man is to the Warriors, who needed a 20-point nova fourth quarter from Stephen Curry to even have a shot at beating the Denver Nuggets. Sure, it was the first game Green has missed this season, but losing that first one still means something.
Moreover, Green is doing something that’s only been done by four other players ever. Across 38 contests, the versatile forward is averaging 15.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game… Numbers like that are so unheard of, only Oscar Robertson (four times) Wilt Chamberlain (twice) and Magic Johnson have posted them for a season. Oh, and in three of those seven seasons, the player who did that won the MVP.
When Green is on the floor, the Warriors are so much more dangerous, and have just another depth that no team can match up with. Draymond brings so much on both ends of the floor. Sure, he might not be the biggest name on the team, or even the best player, but he’s deserving of MVP talk no matter how you look at it.