Hoops Breakdown

With the second round of the playoffs starting tonight teams are just a few wins away from going to the conference finals. Here are a few key matchups and takeaways to look for throughout the round. 

Monday Night:

On Monday night there are two games, including the Knicks vs 76ers and the Timberwolves vs Spurs.

 For the Knicks vs 76ers matchup both teams will be using the pick and roll heavily on their offense to get their stars with favorable 1 on 1 matchups to attack. The Knicks showed that with their stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. The Knicks also will be looking to keep OG Anunoby in the scoring game because against the Hawks he averaged 21.5 ppg on 61% from the field and 57% from the three point line. The 76ers also will be looking to get their two main stars, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, mismatches like they showed against Boston. The 76ers will also hope to have VJ Edgecombe continue his contributions as he had a really strong performance in game 7, with 23 points and 5 threes. One thing to look for on Monday is Joel Embiid as he injured his hip in game 7. He is probable but he might not be able to contribute as much through the injury. All in all, if the Knicks play like they did in the last couple games against the Hawks they could get out of this series in 5 or 6 games.

The matchup between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the San Antonio Spurs will probably depend on each team’s defense. Both teams got out of the first round through their defensive performance. The Timberwolves got out of the first round against the Nuggets despite their injuries to Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo because they were able to slow down the scoring from Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. The Spurs however, being a 2-seed didn’t have to play as tough an opponent. They were able to win the series in 5 games also battling with an injury to their star Victor Wembenyama. Both teams’ young guys stepped up big in the first round. The Timberwolves had Ayo Dosunmu who averaged 21.8 ppg against the Nuggets including a 43 point performance in game 4, unfortunately he is out for game 1 of this series due to a calf injury. In games 5 and 6, another young star, Terrence Shannon Jr. stepped up big averaging 19.5 over the course of those games. On the San Antonio side their young shooters, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper stepped up big in late game situations giving them wins. This series could honestly go either way and may take 7 games to get there.

Tuesday Night:

On Tuesday night the matchups will be the Detroit Pistons vs Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers vs the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In the first round, the Pistons started off very slow, even going down 3-1 in the series. But they clawed their way back and won the series in 7. Their star player Cade Cunningham led the charge in the last 3 games as he averaged 36 ppg, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds. In all games as well he shot above 43% from the field. The only problem he has is he turns the ball over a lot. Over the course of the series especially at the beginning he was turning the ball over around 6 times a game. If the Pistons hope to keep relying on him to lead them to victory he might need to control the ball better against this Cavs defense. The Cavaliers have the 5th best point per game and field goal percentage in the playoffs. So if they win this series it will definitely be won on the offensive side of the ball. Cleveland likes to play through their two main guards, Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, both shooting 14+ shots per game and averaging 20+ppg. The Pistons on the other hand in the playoffs so far have the lowest points allowed per game so if they are able to slow down the Cleveland Cavaliers on offense they could get out of this series in 5 games. 

The matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers will all be determined by each team’s star player. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the Thunder will definitely be the one to watch because against the Suns he averaged over 33ppg as well as 8 assists per game. Leading to the sweep over Phoenix. On the Lakers, they will need LeBron James to step up big time in this series because the Thunder have so many offensive weapons and are the best offensive team in the playoffs right now. The Lakers were able to get out of the first round against the Rockets because of their good shooting and LeBron scoring and creating often. Overall, due to the Lakers losing both Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic before the playoffs began and neither look like they will be returning any time soon, the Thunder could win this if they keep their momentum in 4 or 5 games.

This second round will definitely be fun to watch as there are a lot of stars on these teams. The matchups to look most forward to will be the Timberwolves vs the Spurs and the Knicks vs the 76ers.