Things move fast in the NBA Playoffs, so to keep you on top of things, we'll be bringing you takeaways from postseason games every night from now through at least the end of the second round.
Can No. 8 Miami beat No. 1 Boston again?
Last season, Miami was forced into the play-ins, defeated the Bulls to advance as the No. 8 seed, and ultimately defeated the Boston Celtics to advance to the NBA Finals.
This season, Miami was forced into the play-in and defeated the Bulls to advance as the 8th seed, with the Boston Celtics awaiting them. In the first game on Sunday.
Will history repeat itself?
no. There are two main reasons.
First and most important is Jimmy Butler's knee. Last season in the playoffs, Jimmy averaged 24.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 6.1 assists in the playoffs against Boston, and was the Most Valuable Player in that series. Butler won't be on the court this season. Injured knee against 76ers when kelly oubre fell on himAnd Butler didn't play against the Bulls (they didn't need him to beat Chicago). Miami announced Butler was out due to a sprained left myocardial tendon. As Jeff Stotts pointed out in In Street ClothesEven mild MCL sprains have an average recovery period of about 3 weeks, and this series will take longer than that.
The second reason? These Celtics are better. Center Kristaps Prozingis opens up a variety of options, point Jrue Holiday brings championship experience and elite defense to the position, and Joe Mazzula has found his footing as a head coach and is pushing the right buttons right now. Masu.
Miami is Miami. It won't be an easy series for Boston, but this season won't be a repeat of a year ago.
Will this embarrassment be enough to force Chicago to change?
For the second consecutive season, a sub-.500 Bulls team failed to advance beyond the play-ins. After 15 months of ownership, team president Arturas Karnisovas has opted to join this roster. On Friday night, the Bulls shot 38% against an undermanned Miami team and tied for the lowest point of the season with 91 points. It was an ugly performance.
Chicago has been on the NBA treadmill of mediocrity, stuck in the middle with a “so-so” roster that finishes between the 6th and 11th seeds each season. The Bulls are 5th in the NBA in attendance (down from 1st the past two seasons, but the building is still packed), and that means they're making a lot of money, so this could mean ownership It may not be a problem for you.
Now you can hear the excuse: This team has lost more than $60 million of its payroll to injuries. It was a bad match. This team resembles the team that went 9-5 in December, or the team that crushed Atlanta. There are good players on this roster and they have great chemistry.
no. This defeat should serve as a wake-up call that being stuck in the middle is not enough. It's time for a change.
Those moves will likely start with trading Zach LaVine — which won't be easy, there's not much of a market for him — and whether DeMar DeRozan is part of the long-term future. It's about having tough conversations. Is Nikola Vucevic one of them? I'm not saying to tear down to the studs and rebuild, but rebuilding on the fly will put this team younger, more athletic, and on a path forward. Even if Lonzo Ball returns, the Bulls roster won't suddenly start winning at a top-four pace (and let's hope he does, too). Bulls fans deserve better and should give little hope.
Can the Pelicans pull off an upset and defeat the top-seeded Thunder?
The headline might be more accurate: “Will Zion Williamson play against the Thunder?”
Oklahoma City is the top seed for good reason — this is a top-10 team in Oklahoma City, with legitimate MVP candidate Gilgeous-Alexander, breakout No. 2 player Jaylen Williams, and Chet Holmgren at the rim. They are a top 10 team that changed their defense around them. Additionally, they can space the floor and have solid role players like Josh Guidy and Lou Dort around them. However, the Thunder's knock could be pushed by a physical team, and as a group they have little experience in the playoffs.
When Zion takes the court, the dynamics of this series change. His physical, downhill play will be difficult for the Thunder to deal with and will open things up for Brandon Ingram and other players. The Pelicans have players like Herb Jones on defense to slow OKC down. With Zion, there's a path for New Orleans to win the series.
However, it all started with Zion being sidelined with a left hamstring strain. Usually that means a few weeks of rest, but you can't rush it because you risk re-exacerbation. ESPN reports that Zion will be re-evaluated within two weeks, suggesting he could be out for an extended period of time. Either way, it seems unlikely he will play against the Thunder at any point.
If Ingram does as well as he did Friday night against the Kings, and C.J. McCollum does, the Pelicans could give the Thunder a little boost — the Thunder are still a 49-win New Orleans team. But it could also be a short series if Zion doesn't return.
