The Bounce Newsletter 
The NBA fined Anthony Edwards $50,000 for believing in himself and having confidence during Game 1 against the Lakers. However, since this is a family-friendly newsletter, we will not tell you what he’s bragging about, what he said or the gesture in which he bragged. Just don’t search for it on your work computer. Or around your kids.
Playoff Updates
Lakers even series with own defensive display
Game 1 of this series saw the Timberwolves shut the Lakers down completely (outside of Luka Dončić) after the first quarter. It was a big defensive statement to take Game 1. Last night, the Lakers came right back with their own defensive statement that started in the first quarter and lasted throughout the entire game. The Lakers had to have it because they couldn’t really afford to go down 0-2 heading back to Minneapolis.
They built a 22-point first half lead, just denying the Wolves as Minnesota couldn’t hit anything and couldn’t get any ball movement going. Once again, Dončić cooked Minnesota, picking on Rudy Gobert in a switch as often as he could, like a hungry cartoon turning the four-time Defensive Player of the Year into a giant cooked turkey in their eyes. He scored 22 of his 31 points in the first half. He’d finished with 12 rebounds and nine assists too.
And then, the Lakers started to get a little nervous in the fourth. Minnesota shut the water off by allowing just 13 points in the quarter while mounting a comeback. The Wolves had one more chance to really put pressure on the Lakers with just under three minutes left. They’d cut it to nine points and were bringing the ball up the floor.
Edwards tried to get fancy with the ball, but LeBron James was doing that thing where he was stalking an offensive player in transition. Instead of a chasedown block, he picked his pocket from behind and took it the other way to get the sealing score. The Lakers saved some semblance of this series and now can regain homecourt advantage with a win in Minnesota. LeBron finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Mostly, their defense was incredible and looked like the defense we saw in January and February. They allowed just 38 percent from the field and 20 percent from deep. They also outrebounded a much bigger Wolves squad. Nobody outside of Edwards and Julius Randle scored in double figures. Playoff Panic Meter: 🚨🚨 for the Lakers.
There was this awesome dunk by Edwards on Jaxson Hayes, but a loss is still a loss.
Dame returned to the Bucks, but Pacers go up 2-0
The good news for the Bucks was threefold. Giannis Antetokounmpo was awesome in Game 2. He had 34 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists after a great Game 1 performance too. And he wasn’t alone in his efforts this time. Bobby Portis had 28 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, including 11 points in the fourth quarter. And Damian Lillard returned after missing a month with a blood clot. He wasn’t the Lillard we remember, but pretty solid (14 points and seven assists) for missing a month.
It all culminated with the Bucks nearly erasing a 15-point deficit in the fourth by cutting it to 115-113 with 2:33 left on a Lillard three to cap a 13-0 run. Then, Pascal Siakam hit a 3, Andrew Nembhard hit a three, and the Indiana Pacers took Game 2 123-115. The Pacers have pretty much owned the Bucks for the past two seasons, which might be a reason this game was so chippy. Milwaukee wanted to win something here. Playoff Panic Meter: 🚨🚨🚨 for Milwaukee. Heading home at least.
Grizzlies play better in Game 2, still down 0-2
Jaren Jackson Jr. cut the deficit to eight points with about six minutes left in the third quarter. Not only were the Grizzlies not down by 50, but it looked like we might have a game. Three minutes into the fourth quarter, their deficit was back to 20, and the Thunder never looked back. The Thunder didn’t even shoot well in this game (43 percent from the field, 33 percent from deep). It didn’t matter; their defense reigned supreme. It felt like they forced 20 turnovers in the fourth. Allegedly, it was five. They won 118-99. Playoff Panic Meter: 🚨🚨 for Memphis. Probably two games left in the Grizzlies’ season.
What are we looking for tonight?
Magic at Celtics, 7 p.m. ET on TNT: Celtics lead 1-0
Jayson Tatum is doubtful for Game 2. Maybe this is Orlando’s chance to steal one in Boston.
Heat at Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV: Cavs lead 1-0
Miami can’t give up 85 points to Cleveland’s guards again and expect to be in this game.
Warriors at Rockets, 9:30 p.m. ET on TNT: Warriors lead 1-0
I’ve got an idea below on how to pump up the Houston offense, but the Warriors’ offense might be better too.
The Last 24
Are gambling partnerships bad for NBA?
🏀 Link it again: 46 percent of our anonymous player poll think gambling partnerships are bad. Is it hypocritical?
👀 That’s not all. Our anonymous player poll has a separate article on the big story. How did they feel and react to the Dončić trade?
🙋 Quick question. What are the Hawks going to do now that they have a new general manager? Will they trade Trae Young?
🖐️ The Klaw. Kawhi Leonard really put on a masterclass in Game 2 against Denver. This breakdown is art.
🎧 Tuning in. Today’s NBA Daily debates whether Tyrese Haliburton is really the NBA’s most overrated player.
Sixth Man of the Year
Celtics’ Pritchard runs away with award
The NBA announced the first award given out last night, and the Sixth Man of the Year trophy went to Celtics backup point guard Payton Pritchard. Other candidates were Detroit’s Malik Beasley, both Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter for Cleveland and Naz Reid for Minnesota – last year’s winner.
Pritchard ran away with the award after his historic season off the bench. This was how the voting broke down for the top three:
- Pritchard: 82 first-place votes, 454 voting points
- Beasley: 13 first-place votes, 279 voting points
- Jerome: two first-place votes, 91 voting points
That’s how my official ballot was sorted, as well. Pritchard was exceptional, posting only two months in which he didn’t shoot over 40 percent from 3-point range. And one of those was April, in which there were only seven games. He also set the record for most 3-pointers by a player coming off the bench (246).
Prior to this season, Pritchard was more of a mascot off the bench (and granted, in the rotation) than pivotal player. This season, they really needed him. Jrue Holiday struggled, and Jaylen Brown hasn’t been up to his All-NBA standard. Pritchard’s improvement and production pretty much locked this award up sometime in January.
The NBA will announce Clutch Player of the Year tonight. The three finalists are Jalen Brunson, Nikola Jokić and Anthony Edwards.
The story of the greatest players in NBA history. In 100 riveting profiles, top basketball writers justify their selections and uncover the history of the NBA in the process.
The story of the greatest players in NBA history.
Blast Off(ense)?
What can Rockets do against Warriors?
For most of the season, the Rockets offense was actually pretty funny in how effective it was. No, I don’t mean funny like a clown. At times, it just felt like the plan was to get a shot up and expect one of their big or athletic guys will go get an offensive rebound. If you don’t let an offensive possession end, then you can’t have a bad offensive efficiency. The Rockets were a bottom-eight shooting team, middle-of-the-road free-throw rate team and the worst free-throw shooting squad in the league.
They ranked 13th in offensive rating because they were sixth in turnover rate and first in offensive rebounding rate. The Game 1 loss to Golden State showed they can still go get that thing off the rim when they miss, but they weren’t able to do anything with it. They scored 85 points in an 89-possession game. Yikes. The Warriors have a great defense, and the Rockets really struggled.
- Jalen Green: seven points on 3-of-15 shooting, 0-of-4 from three.
- Fred VanVleet: 10 points on 4-of-19 shooting, 2-of-13 from three.
- Dillon Brooks: 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting, 2-of-5 from three.
- Amen Thompson: eight points on 4-of-nine shooting, 0-of-4 from the FT line.
- Tari Eason: six points on 3-of-10 shooting, 0-of-4 from three.
The only ones immune to the poor scoring were Alperen Şengün and Jabari Smith Jr., but they also accounted for nine of the Rockets’ 16 turnovers. So, even their good, efficient scorers in the game had their issues on that end of the floor. There were a few moments early in the game that caught my attention. Let me show you one, as I think it’s a potential cure to their issues:
Scoring-wise, Şengün was a monster in this game. He finished with 26 points on 11-of-18 from the field. He only had two of their 22 offensive rebounds, but he was overpowering in most other situations. His five turnovers came from one charge, two strips and two bad passes. If the Rockets are going to figure out this Warriors defense, they have run even more through him.
We’ve seen the comparisons of mini-Jokić over the past two years. Şengün had only one assist in this game, but he had 11 potential assists, higher than his 9.1 average in the regular season. His teammates just didn’t make shots. Eason (three), Green (three) and VanVleet (five) missed the most shots off his passes. He usually created 12.6 points per game with his passing. He created two. They lost by 10.
If anything, the Rockets should feature more offense through Şengün in the rest of the series. He was able to bully Draymond Green physically a lot in this game. It can create an advantage. If he can keep the turnovers low, he can create opportunities for his teammates. I know the plan was to just get shots up and go get the ball, but eventually some of these shots have to fall, right?
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(Top photo: Kiyoshi Mior / USA Today Network via Imagn Images )
