Welcome to Layup Lines, our daily NBA newsletter where we’ll prep you for a tip-off of tonight’s action, from what to watch to bets to make. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every afternoon.
What’s good, family. It’s Sykes, back again, to usher you into tonight’s playoff action. But first, a word on the Atlanta Hawks.
The Hawks’ final game this season was a perfect microcosm of their entire 2021-22 campaign.
It featured a promising start after taking a quick lead against Miami, a swift 20-2 Heat run to follow bolstered by some lackadaisical defense with a swift death finally coming in the coffin corner with nowhere to go with the ball.
The Hawks were humbled. And they needed to be — badly.
They spent most of their season playing below .500 after last year’s Eastern Conference Finals run. All the while, they were talking as if they were a team that had earned something.
Early in the year, Trae Young said the regular season was “a lot more boring” than the playoffs. Before the year even started John Collins told people he felt like the Hawks could make the Finals.
It’s one thing to say those things as a team that made multiple playoff trips and has maybe made a few Conference Finals appearances or maybe even a Finals appearance.
But to get there just once? Nah. You can’t talk this way. Sure, you may have caught big bro slipping one time. But can you do it again? Do you even know what you did to do it the first time? Clearly, the answer was no.
This was the experience they probably should’ve had last year. Hopefully, the lessons learned are the ones that will help them move forward. Learn how to play defense. Learn how to lean on other players outside of Young. Learn how to run a timely offense.
Once they do all those things? Maybe they can come back and talk a little. Until then, it’s time to pick up your ball and go home.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
Speaking of the Hawks, it wasn’t Jimmy Butler who put them away. It wasn’t Bam Adebayo or Tyler Herro, either. None of the usual suspects.
Instead, it was Victor Oladipo, whose comeback still feels incredibly improbable yet even more impressive. This dude completely blew out his knee, y’all. Our Cole Huff has more.
Here’s the backstory for those unfamiliar: that aforementioned, late 2010s version of Oladipo was stopped in his tracks right smack in the middle of his basketball peak — a ruptured quadriceps tendon in his right knee back in 2019, being the reason. And the road to redemption has perhaps been more excruciating than the initial injury itself.
Oladipo returned to the court as a Pacer during the 2019-20 season but was shipped to Houston the following year after playing the first nine games with Indiana. After just 20 games with the Rockets, he was traded to Miami, where he played four games during the 2020-21 season before re-injuring that same knee.
So he starts his first playoff game since 2020 against the Hawks and puts up 23 points and snatches 3 steals. Not bad. Not bad at all, man.
Great story for us. Scary one for the rest of the NBA. Oladipo might be back.
One to Watch
(All odds via Tipico.)
Bucks (-12.5, -1000) vs. Bulls (+600), O/U 217.5, 7:30 PM ET
I’m mostly interested in this game because I’d like to see the Bucks vs. Celtics series coming up. I won’t lie to y’all — once a series gets to 3-1 it’s remarkably less interesting to me, personally.
No Zach LaVine tonight for Chicago but that spread is a bit too wide for me for a playoff game. I’m taking the Bulls +12.5 but I think the Bucks win the game outright.
Who’s in and out?
—Zach LaVine (COVID protocols) is out for Game 5 against the Bucks
—Alex Caruso (Concussion) is also out for Game 5 against the Bucks
—Andre Iguodala (Neck) is out for Game 5 against the Nuggets with neck stiffness
Shootaround
—Doc Rivers is so tired of everyone talking about his blown 3-1 leads, but we’re absolutely right to do so.
—Our Bryan Kalbrosky has the 30 most interesting prospects not declaring for the NBA draft.
—A Celtics-Bucks preview for Justin Quinn of Celtics Wire.
—Draymond Green will not tolerate Bill Simmons’ disrespect of Jalen Green, Ben DuBose of Rockets Wire writes.
That’s all, folks! Catch you later.
Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).