This is it... after today we will have our NBA Playoffs set
- PC
- Apr 14, 2023
- 4 min read
Dude…
The final spot in the playoffs is up for grabs tonight. In the East, the original 7-seed Miami Heat take on the original 10-seed Oklahoma City Thunder. The final game of the Play-in tournament game will take place in the Twin Cities in Minnesota where the original 8-seed Minnesota Timberwolves will take on the original 10-seed Chicago Bulls for the final spot in the West. The Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans to win the opportunity to go to Minnesota. The Thunder beat the Pels 123-118 in a phenomenal shooting game with both teams above 45% from the floor. The Thunder had a surprise star lead the way as Josh Giddy went off for 31 points, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists just shy of the triple-double. The all-star snub Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 32 points and didn’t miss from the foul line going 8-8. The Thunder also got a massive scoring output from their veteran (who’s really only 23) scored 27 and the twins, who are not really twins, Jalen and Jaylin Williams had great numbers. The Pelicans did get a great scoring performance from Brandon Ingram who had 30. Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones both went off for over 20 points. The real disappointment for Mardi Gras fans is CJ McCollum who scored a measly 14 points on a 6-16 shooting. I made him my cover image and he put up a performance like that?! That’s pretty bad.
In the second game, the Chicago Bulls beat the Toronto Raptors 109-105. The Chicago Bulls had a phenomenal performance from Zach Lavine who continued to show his dominance by scoring 39 points. Demar Derozan also had a great performance with 23 points on 10-19 shooting. The true MVP for the Bulls was Demar’s daughter Diar. She should be the Defensive Player of the Game for her performance in the stands. Every time a Raptor’s player would step to the free-throw line, as soon as the player was about to shoot, a screech came out from the crowd. This screech sounded like someone getting murdered. That was Diar. Diar had an effect on the Raptor's shooting free throws. The Raptors missed 18 FREE THROWS!!! Including one by Pascal Siakam in the closing seconds for the Raptors to not have the opportunity to tie. Pascal Siakam had 32 points and Fred VanVleet had 26, but the Bulls pulled out the upset in the Country where maple syrup was founded. So, the stage is set. Will Chicago beat the T-Wolves? Will Thunder clap twice in Miami? Here is what we think.
The first matchup takes place in the mountains of Minnesota. This matchup is intriguing. After losing to the Lakers in a game that they should have won, the T-Wolves will take on the young bucks in the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder as I said above shot the ball very well and had contributors from all positions on the floor. The biggest question mark for this game is if the Twin Cities will live up to their name. With Rudy Gobert back in the starting lineup, will the T-Wolves thrive or fall? Rudy got into an altercation with Kyle Anderson that caused him to get a suspension in the first place. Will the two be ok with each other tonight? Or is there still bad blood between the two teammates? Another big question mark is Anthony Edwards. Is he going to step it up this game, or will he wither like he did last game? Finally, will Karl Anthony-Towns keep out of foul trouble? All of these question marks with the T-Wolves. The Thunder come in hot and I believe they will stay hot. The T-Wolves have been a meltdown of a team and I believe they will fold under the pressure, and let Thunder clap twice to go play Denver.
We have another clash in South Beach except the Heat have different opponents, and they bring the Defensive Fan of the Game too. The Heat had a disastrous breakdown where Jimmy Buckets was on his own out there playing against the Hawks. The big man Bam Adebayo needs to step it up this game. He played like trash and the Heat needs him to play like himself. Kyle Lowery went off for 33 points but I have my doubts he can repeat such a stunning performance. I also would like to see Tyler Herro do better than he did against the Hawks. He’s such an incredible shooter but he does hesitate and doesn’t get his shot up in time before the defender can recover. He’s such an amazing talent, but he lacks confidence so he needs to step up in a big way. The Bulls became the first 10-seeded to ever win a play-in game. The Bulls have Zach Lavine who will be handling most of the scoring duties. Demar Derozan will also be a factor in the shooting category, but he will have his hands full with drawing Jimmy Buckets on the defensive side. Patrick Beverly is a play in god and is looking to stop Kyle Lowery from having another dominant performance. Nikola Vucevic will try to keep Bam in a rut down low. I think Miami will find its rhythm and will send the Bulls home.
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