2020-21 NBA Semifinals

Game Six: Sixers 104-99 Hawks

Game Seven: Hawks 103-96 Sixers

After the Hawks came roaring back from monster deficits in the previous two games, they were pretty lowkey in Game Six and the Sixers kinda cruised to a series-evening W. And even though Trae Young was not exactly at his best, Kevin Huerter shined out in a big way to move the Hawks to the Conference Finals (and send the Sixers to a hellish off-season of bickering). I love underdogs and I have a brand new respect for Trae Young, but let's be honest: the Sixers should've won this series in five games without really breaking a sweat. The defense is there but, man, the fact that the ball dominant Ben Simmons absolutely refuses to score points is a killer in playoffs. Embiid battled his ass off, Seth Curry provided way more offense than should've been needed and even the much maligned Tobias Harris averaged 19ppg on just under 50% from the floor. Felt like Coach Rivers had this team right where he wanted them but Simmons' godawful FT% (15-45--yeech!) basically sank them in every game. The talk of trading Simmons began immediately (when we could just as easily be heralding his first final four appearance) and you just know that talk is gonna linger all summer long. Great effort from the Hawks, the mosquito took down the elephant. 

Game Six: Jazz 119-131 Clippers

Wow, what a lame ending for the Jazz. To blow a 25 point lead in a must-win game after letting Game Four slip away is...well, precisely what I thought wouldn't happen to the Jazz. I pegged the Jazz as the best team for their balanced and deep roster and their coaching, which has been superb the last few years. But watching Rudy Gobert (DPOY) get torched in the 4th quarter was entirely the coach's fault (not Rudy's, he was busting his ass but the way the Clips were raining 3's had nothing to do with his skills). They couldn't counter the small lineup and even though the coach wanted to stick with what has worked all year, it wasn't working that night and Coach Snyder fiddled rather than getting to work. A disappointing conclusion to what was a really great season for the Jazz. The Clippers overcame Kawhi's absence behind the resurgence of Paul George, an all-time great bench effort and Coach Lue's confident handling. 

Game Seven: Bucks 115-111 (OT) Nets

I never thought the Nets were gonna lose. Down for most of the 4th quarter, it just felt to me like they would find a way, they had too many playmakers, too many big timers to let this funky-ass Bucks team steal the W. But, uh, nope....didn't happen. Durant hit the big shot at the buzzer but his foot was on the line, so it merely prolonged the contest that everyone was too beat to play (6-2 in OT). Harden was negligible, Kyrie didn't play at all, Joe Harris still didn't shine out, Blake Griffin played hard but mostly on defense, Bruce Brown was nice but not enough, so Kevin Durant had to do it all and his 48 points just couldn't finish the job. Well, I did pick the Bucks over the Nets and, well, I thought it would be because the Nets would flame out, but somehow I still didn't actually believe it until I watched it happen. Great W for the Bucks, wonder what happens to the Nets now (how much self-pity can a collection of hall of famers exude?). 

Game One: Clippers 114-120 Suns

No Kawhi, no Chris Paul, but still an entertaining opening match. Devin Booker is--and I say this with respect and admiration--the stupidest motherfucker in the NBA right now (though Trae Young is a pretty close 2nd) by which I mean he thinks about nothing but scoring, he is an unconscious, unthinking, unfeeling scoring machine and his 40 points (and 1st career triple double) is the proof. 

Pairing Booker with CP, the smartest motherfucker to ever play the game, feels like a deadly combo. So unless Kawhi comes back at maximum power, I gotta take the Suns duo over the Clipper duo. And considering the best part of the Clippers so far was the unbelievable bench effort in the last coupla games against the Jazz, suggests that max power Kawhi may be incompatible with the best part of the Clippers. So...uh....how do they win games? Paul George will getting a face full of Jae Crowder and Dario Saric and as good as Reggie Jax and Terence Mann have been, I don't see how they outscore Booker. And the Clippers don't have anyone down low to counter Deandre Ayton. I think the Clippers will win enough to keep the series interesting, but I'll take the Suns in 7.

Hawks - Bucks

I kinda love this Hawks team. Even without Deandre Hunter (is Cam Reddish gonna play?), they move the ball so well, play good team defense and everyone knows their role. When its time for Huerter to bail them out, it happens. But until then it's Trae's team and everybody knows it. I love the attack but I'm still skeptical of their defense. Embiid bogs down on his own and Simmons hates to score, so I think the Sixers played into the Hawks' shortcomings where I don't think the Bucks will. Also, (weird way of sayin' it but) I don't think the Bucks are smart enough to outsmart themselves the way the Sixers did. While I think the Sixers are potentially a more dynamic team, I think the Bucks are more reliable at being themselves. I think Middleton, Holiday and Lopez will get their shots (and I feel like they'll finish better than they did against the Nets), I think Giannis attacks the lane and gets fouls and I think we could see a lot more of the Hawks bench then we did in the last series. On the other hand, an insanely hot night from Trae (always a possibility!) is really the only thing that the Bucks can't handle. I thought the Sixer D was enough to handle the Hawks--and perhaps it was considering that it was the Sixer offense that couldn't keep pace--and I think the Bucks D will be, too. I like the Bucks in 6.