Tag: 2024 nba playoffs

NBA fans made Ben Simmons jokes when Joel Embiid passed up a crucial wide-open jumper

Somewhere, Ben Simmons was probably laughing.

In a hard-fought series against the New York Knicks, it feels like every mistake has cost the Philadelphia 76ers dearly. What happened at the end of Philadelphia’s loss on Sunday to give the Knicks a 3-1 series lead looked especially brutal.

With the 76ers trying to mount a late comeback, Joel Embiid found himself wide-open for a short mid-range jumper that would’ve made it a one-score game. Instead, he pump-faked, drove into the teeth of the Knicks’ defense for the lay-up, and missed altogether. It seemed eerily reminiscent of ex-76er Ben Simmons passing up an easy dunk in a Game 7 loss against the Atlanta Hawks a few years ago.

Check it out via a video from a Twitter user below:

Oof. That’s gotta sting for the 76ers, particularly now that they face a 3-1 series deficit and have no margin for error.

To be fair to Embiid, he was probably the only reason this was even a close game in the fourth quarter. The superstar stuffed the stat sheet with 27 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three steals, and two blocks. This happened while All-Star Tyrese Maxey teammate shot just 8-of-21 from the field, and other key contributors like Tobias Harris scored only 10 points.

However, Embiid is the 76ers’ engine. He still scored a single point in the fourth quarter after playing the entire second half of a game for the first time in his career. (Never mind that the Knicks won the fourth-quarter rebounding battle far and away without a true center on the floor.) 76ers head coach Nick Nurse defended the decision because Philadelphia really needed this win, but it’s hard not to think that getting some rest would’ve helped Embiid, especially with his clutch time decision-making.

Embiid’s brutal decision at the very end probably didn’t lose the 76ers this game by itself, but the optics will be impossible to escape. It’s only natural it reminded NBA fans of Simmons’ infamous blunder.

The Boston Celtics dominate the Miami Heat 104-84 as defense suffocates

The Celtics got themselves back on track against the Heat this past Saturday.

The Boston Celtics got themselves back on track against the Miami Heat this past Saturday night (April 27), winning their Game 3 contest of the NBA’s 2024 Eastern Conference first round series 104-84.

“We put an emphasis on defense, trying to make them uncomfortable a little bit,” said Boston star forward Jaylen Brown postgame via CLNS Media. “I think that opened up the game.” The Celtics used that defensive attention to power their revenge win over the Heat after an embarrassing loss to Miami on their own home court of TD Garden this past Wednesday (April 24) night.

The hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Them Celtics!” podcast, Jack Simone and Sam LaFrance, took a closer look at the win and what it means for the series moving forward on their most recent episode. Check it out below!

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Boston dominated both ends in 104-84 Game 3 rout against Miami

Check out the best plays from a 104-84 Celtics victory over the Heat in Game 3.

The Boston Celtics took care of business over the weekend against the Miami Heat, grabbing a 104-84 victory in Game 3 of the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. The Celtics now own a 2-1 series lead against one of their chief rivals.

Boston laid in egg in Game 2, allowing Miami to get red-hot behind the arc with an uninspired defensive performance. In Game 3, however, the Celtics looked much more polished and focused. They put the clamps on the Heat, especially on the perimeter. This led to a number of turnovers, which Boston converted into easy offense. The Celtics broke the game open with a 42-point second quarter and never looked back, cruising to a commanding victory.

Check out all the highlights from Boston’s big win below, thanks to our friends over at NBC Sports Boston on YouTube.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Mark Daigneault explains Jonas Valanciunas’ declining playing time against Thunder

Mark Daigneault explains Jonas Valanciunas’ declining playing time against Thunder.

NEW ORLEANS — As the Oklahoma City Thunder’s first-round matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans has progressed, Jonas Valanciunas’ playing time has dwindled.

It was painfully obvious in the Thunder’s Game 3 blowout win over the Pelicans. The 31-year-old played a series-low 12 minutes and was benched in the second half in favor of Larry Nance Jr.

In his 64 total minutes on the court this series, the Pelicans have been outscored by 26 points. Valanciunas’ matchup against the small and fast Thunder was one of the swinging points heading into this series and it has predictably played in OKC’s favor.

Chet Holmgren nullifies Valanciunas’ paint presence by stretching out to the perimeter. Playing a fast-paced game also is a detriment to New Orleans as the 265-pound center can get tired out.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault talked about Valanciunas’ gradual decline in playing time, noting it’s part of the chess match between himself and Pelicans head coach Willie Green.

“It’s just a matter of forcing the opponent to pivot. They’ve forced us to pivot at different times this series,” Daigneault said. “There’s a push-pull with that… Whatever they choose to do, we gotta be able to attack it and adapt to it.”

It’ll be interesting to see if the Pelicans decide to stick with Valanciunas for Game 4. If they elect to go small to match OKC’s speed, the Thunder should outscore them enough to complete the sweep.

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An enraged LeBron James went ballistic on the Lakers bench for not challenging a questionable call

LeBron James was FURIOUS the Nuggets got away with this call.

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets (who had some weird pregame warmup slides issues) to avoid a first-round sweep on Saturday night, but it didn’t come without tension on the part of LeBron James.

Early in the fourth quarter, with the Lakers trying to hold off a Nuggets comeback, it sure seemed like Denver carelessly turned the ball over out of bounds. Except the officials initially ruled that James had grazed the ball, letting the Nuggets retain possession.

James proceeded to plead with Lakers head coach Darvin Ham and the rest of the Los Angeles coaches to challenge the call quickly. They didn’t, which enraged James, and Denver took advantage by laying the ball up right behind him. Oof:

This isn’t the first time Lakers players have seemingly had major issues with their coaches during this series. For example, Point guard D’Angelo Russell didn’t join the team huddle during a brutal Game 3 defeat. Whatever’s happening in Laker Land, it seems apparent there might be a significant disconnect between the players and coaches.

The Nuggets warmed up in slides against the Lakers because their bus carrying their shoes was late

Los Angeles traffic hit the Nuggets at the worst possible time.

Entering Saturday night, the Denver Nuggets were looking to sweep their first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers. But after shooting just 44.8 percent from the field in a 119-108 loss, it seems even their pregame routine was thrown out of rhythm.

You see, Nuggets players were forced to weirdly use their slides during their pregame warmups. No, this wasn’t some deal about saving their legs or any kind of change in strategy. What happened was that Denver’s team bus carrying the players’ shoes was actually delayed getting to the arena, forcing the Nuggets to adapt on the fly and work with what they had, per DNVR’s Harrison Wind.

In this case, all they had there was their slides, leading to what looked like an incredibly awkward pregame warmup:

The Nuggets’ team bus did eventually arrive, but by then, there was minimal time left for a full warmup in the players’ regular game shoes:

After the game, while he didn’t use the warmup in slides as an excuse for his team’s overall performance, Nuggets sharpshooter Michael Porter Jr. (who still dropped 27 points and 10 rebounds in the loss) admitted that not having his shoes for his usual routine did frustrate him a little because of how important that pregame process can be.

Nonetheless, he and the rest of the Nuggets are already moving forward:

Full injury report for Saturday’s Thunder vs. Pelicans Game 3 matchup

Full injury report for Saturday’s Thunder vs. Pelicans Game 3 matchup.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will try to deliver a knockout punch by going up 3-0 against the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs on Saturday.

The Thunder have a clean bill of health for Game 3. Nobody was on their injury report.

Meanwhile, the Pelicans will be without Zion Williamson (hamstring strain), who will miss most — if not all — of the first-round series.

The Thunder blew out the Pelicans in Game 2 on Wednesday. All five Thunder starters scored double-digit points as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander headlined the outing with 33 points.

Meanwhile, the Pelicans have struggled to score without Zion Williamson. They’ve scored 92 points in each of the first two contests. Brandon Ingram has been limited to 15 points on 37% shooting through two games this series.

Tip off from New Orleans is set for 2:30 p.m. CT.

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Who is going to win each of the other 2024 NBA Playoffs series?

At least some of those ball clubs are likely to end up facing the Celtics in a future round.

Who is going to win each of the other 2024 NBA Playoffs series being played around the league right now? The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat are going at it in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. But there are seven other series being played at the moment, and at least some of those ball clubs are likely to end up facing the Celtics in a future round of the 2024 postseason ahead.

The host of the CLNS Media “Dome Theory” podcast, Bobby Manning, sat down with guests Nate Spurlin and Dan Scott check in on each NBA Playoffs series in progress after 1 or 2 games and discussed who they think will win. 

Check it out in the clip embedded below.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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OKC Thunder: Mark Daigneault discusses time off between playoff games

Mark Daigneault discusses time off between playoff games.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have had ample off-time recently. Since the end of the regular season, they’ve played two playoff games in nearly two weeks.

Being the first seed granted the Thunder additional rest and it has paid dividends in their two playoff wins over the New Orleans Pelicans. But as the series switches over to Louisana, the downtime between games is shortened.

From Game 3 until the end of the series, the Thunder and Pelicans will play on an every-other-day basis — very similar to the standard regular-season structure.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault talked about the sudden switch in rest as OKC tries to win its first playoff series since 2016.

“We’re not used to playing this few games in this amount of time. The every other day gets us back to a regular season rhythm,” Daigneault said. “Any advantage or disadvantage exists for both teams.”

If the Thunder show out as the top seed and sweep the Pelicans, they’ll have an extra cushion of rest as the Dallas Mavericks and LA Clippers battle it out to advance to the second round.

This could be advantageous for the Thunder as they’ll enter the start of that series with presumed fresher legs against whoever moves on. This should boost their odds in the series and hopes of a Western Conference Finals trip.

These are the benefits the Thunder earned during the grueling 82-game season as they landed the first seed on the last day of the campaign.

Deep playoff runs usually require a bit of luck and that’s been the case thus far for OKC with its schedule.

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Lu Dort reveals details of defensive-themed Thunder group chat

Lu Dort reveals details of defensive-themed Thunder group chat.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a tight-knit group. The young roster has allowed several players to relate to each other as they all have similar experiences in the league.

That bond doesn’t just stop beyond the court. It also translates digitally. As the Thunder prepare for Game 3 with a chance to go up 3-0 over the New Orleans Pelicans, Lu Dort revealed several of his teammates share a defensive-themed group chat.

Dort said the group chat’s purpose is to send footage of defensive plays to help improve each other on that end of the floor. It’s helped as the Thunder finished with the fourth-best defensive rating in the league this season.

“It’s kinda some new stuff every day. We watch a lot of clips,” Dort said. “Whenever we got something new to talk about, we’ll be there talking about it.”

He also listed the members of the five-person chat: himself, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins, Keyontae Johnson and assistant coach David Akinyooye.

This is an interesting peek behind the curtains of the Thunder’s relationship dynamics. Dort is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league and has done a wonderful job of limiting Brandon Ingram through two games of the first-round series.

The fact they share a group chat shows this group’s togetherness. Sharing information and being a knowledge sponge can only result in positives in both an individual and group level.

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