GO BIG OR GO HOME... #9 and #10 seed Matchups!!!
- PC
- Apr 12, 2023
- 5 min read
Dude…
It’s go big or go home. These four teams have barely scrapped their way into the playoffs and a gauntlet awaits. However, you have to win tonight to move on. Last night we saw two teams punch their ticket into the bracket. On the East side, in a surprising victory, the Atlanta Hawks beat the Miami Heat 116-105. Trae Young leads the way for the Hawks with 25 points. I apologize to Dejonte Murray for calling him irrelevant as he had 18 points. The biggest support came off the bench as Saddiq Bey with 17 points, Bogdan Bogdanovic had 14 points, and Onyeka Okongwu had 10. Miami had a good game from Jimmy Buckets who had 21 and they had someone step up off the bench in Kyle Lowery who had a game-high 33 points. The biggest reason why the Heat lost was due the real Mr. Irrelevant in Bam Adebayo. I mean come on, 12 points on 5-12 shooting and 9 rebounds?! This is a guy who was supposed to dominate and I swore he got dunked on about 3 times and gave up so many offensive rebounds. A truly terrible performance by Bam Bam and that led to the Heat falling to the Hawks. The Hawks will now travel north and play in The Garden against the Celtics.
In the second game, The LA Lakers battled the Minnesota T-Wolves. Through three quarters, Karl-Anthony Towns dominated the Lakers and help the T-Wolves take a commanding lead. However, early in the fourth quarter, KAT got his 5th foul and had to sit on the bench. Anthony Davis who had been locked down by KAT started to find his rhythm and helped the Lakers cut the lead. Mike Conley and company were Dynomite from long range as Conley went 6-8 from three and had 23 points. At about the 6-minute mark left in the game, the T-Wolves fell apart. They didn’t score a single field goal for the rest of the game. The Lakers looked just as sloppy but managed to tie the game with 15 seconds left. At this point, Lebron drove into the paint and passed to a wide-open Dennis Schroder three to pull the Lakers up three with two seconds left. The T-Wolves got the ball into Mike Conley’s hands as he chucked up a three to try and send the game into OT. It clanked off the side of the backboard. However, this moran Anthony Davis decides to foul Conley on the three-point line to send him to the line. Conley calmly sank all three free throws to send the game into overtime. I get it. You’re trying to contest the shot, but don’t foul a guy on the three point line!! If he makes it, who cares. You go to Overtime. Just a stupid foul. The teams faced off in a disastrous overtime which you could’ve skipped for how bad it was. The Lakers end up pulling out the win beating the Timberwolves 108-102. The Lakers will face the Grizzles in Memphis, as the T-Wolves will wait for the winner of the 9-10 matchup in the West. Speaking of 9-10 matchups, here is my predictions for those matchups right now!
The Toronto Raptors take on the Chicago Bulls in the Northern country of Canada. The Raptors are 2-1 against the Bulls. They played the Bulls back-to-back early in the year splitting the games. Then in late February the Raptors pulled out a 104-98 victory at home thanks to Siakam putting up 20 points and 8 rebounds. Both these teams barely scrapped into the playoffs and the Bulls weren’t even above .500. This matchup is pretty intriguing as both these teams match up nicely against each other. The Raptors have Pascal Siakam, a deadly forward who can really stretch the floor. Fred VanVleet controls the ball and sniper OG Annunoby lighting it up from the perimeter. However, the Bulls come back with a trio of their own. Their guard Zach Lavine is trying to lead this legendary franchise to a playoff birth. He needs veteran forward Demar DeRozan and defensive dynamo Patrick Beverley to step up in a big way to slow down VanVleet and OG. I think this game is going to come down to who can shoot the three better. No offense, I’m taking Fred, OG, and Siakiam over the Bulls. I think it’ll be a massive showdown between Miami and Toronto for the final seed in the East.
In the heart of Mardi Gras town comes our final battle. The New Orleans Pelicans face off against the young and talented Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pelicans are 3-1 against the Thunder this year and look to make it 4. The Thunder won the last matchup 110-96 where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went off for 35 points at the New Orleans arena. The Thunder are a very young team with a lot of promise. Their star, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is trying to lead this young team to their first playoff birth in a long time. He needs the likes of Luguentez Dort who has been money in the past month and the Auzzie Josh Giddey to play out of their minds to help the Thunder. The twin name Jalen Williams should also be a factor as they have been getting progressively better. However, the Pelicans have their own superstars and they are much more playoff experience than the Thunder. Leading the Pelicans squad is no other than the dynamic duo of CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram who has been in a ton of playoff games and has come out on top. They have their own duo of newcomers who are lighting it up in Trey Murphy and Herbert Jones to combat the new faces of OKC. Valanciunas holds down the paint. The biggest story isn’t who is on the floor, but who isn’t on it. The Pelicans superstar Zion Williamson is hurt (go figure), and the Thunder’s 2nd overall draft pick with a high ceiling, Chet Holgram, has yet to step on an NBA court. So it comes down to either youthful talent or veteran experience. The Pelicans are just too good to lose this one to the Thunder, as thunder doesn’t usually strike twice. However, look for the Thunder to be a household name for the next few years in the playoffs as they have a ton of young talent. It looks like the matchup in the mountains of Minnesota will take place between KAT and the T-Wolves and the duo of CJ and Ingram to bring out all the stops in an all-time classic game.
Who will advance? Who will be notorious and find themselves one step closer to the convenient last 8 seed spots? Find out tonight on ESPN!!!!
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