The eight remaining teams in the second round of the playoffs had been showing what post season battles should be – tight, intense and mostly unpredictable. Sure, I have my usual forecast but I’m bound to make more misses this time.
From where I’m currently based now, an epic 3 and a-half hour battle started on a Friday evening and ended in the early hours of Saturday morning. That was the 4-overtime game thriller between Portland and Denver which was won by the Blazers, 140-137. The first quadruple overtime game was March 21, 1953, 66 years ago between the Boston Celtics and the Syracuse Nationals, who would later become the Philadelphia 76ers.
The league that time only had 10 teams and Celtics still have to win a title. Celtics legend Red Auerbach still has to win a title and it was not until four years later that he would start to win nine NBA titles as a coach. The Minneapolis Lakers, starring George Mikan, won the 1953 championships over the New York Knicks. Only Boston and New York have remained in their places of origin.
Going back to the top performers, let’s start with the 4-OT teams.
NIKOLA JOKIC (DEN) – in that 4-OT game, Jokic played a total of 65 minutes, yup, the second player to do so after Bob Cousy (66 mins) 66 years ago. Completely spent in that game, he had a triple-double with 38pts, 18rebs and 14asts. In 11 playoff games, he has upped his regular season averages of 20.1 points, 10.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists to 24.5ppg, 12.5rpg and 9.3apg including four triple-double performances.
DAMIAN LILLARD (POR) – with his ability to go around screens and hit the threes, the Nuggets are having a problem with number 0. Playing all his7 seasons with the Blazers, Lillard with 12,909 career points is running second to Clyde Drexler’s 18,040 points in the franchise’s all-time scoring leaders. Although he relinquished the scoring load to CJ McCollum in that 3 and a-half hour game, Dame’s crucial four points brought them back from a four-point margin with less than 30 seconds left in the game. He’s averaging a modest 21.3ppg in this series but his points come where it matters most.
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO (MIL) – there may have been some kind of control but there will never be an effective containment of the Greek Freak. His agility, length, ball handling and inside presence is just what the Bucks needed to barge into the Finals the franchise last experienced in 1971 when another young seven-footer led the team. He has a slight dip in his stats because he is having good support from his team mates but Giannis is still Milwaukee’s go-to guy. Erupting for 39 points in Game 4, Giannis and the Bucks need one more win to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
KAWHI LEONARD (TOR) – in their playoff series versus the Sixers, The Klaw is averaging almost 30 points in this series. The Raptors are a game away from the conference finals with a 36-point demolition job of a somewhat disoriented Philly. Leonard’s not flashy like James Harden nor springy like Kevin Durant but his machine-like effectiveness is what made Toronto take the risk. If the rest of the Toronto crew play like they did the last time, Joel Embiid and company will be needing more processing.
On full playoff throttle, Harden and Durant need no further elaboration. These two superstars had upped their game every playing night and are in a tight, in my own opinion, three-way league MVP race with the Greek Freak. The Rockets and the Warriors are tied with two games each and I think whoever gets a Game 5 win will move on to the Western Conference Finals./PN
