With the weekend passed, we’ve now seen the opening salvo of all eight first-round matchups. Here are the takeaways from each contest.
Golden State Warriors (#2) vs. San Antonio Spurs (#7): Warriors win 113-92
Coming into the playoffs with questions after a late-season slide, the Warriors came out to assert themselves with a strong Game 1 performance. The Dubs reminded everyone that they are the defending champions and that even without Steph Curry have plenty of starpower to dominate. Kevin Durant had 24 points, Klay Thompson had 27, and Draymond Green chipped in 12 with 11 assists. Golden State also received excellent performances from role players JaVale McGee (15 points) and Shaun Livingston (11 points). For the Spurs, this game displayed their general lack of offense. Only one of their starters, LaMarcus Aldridge, had more than 8 points, and Rudy Gay had the team high with 15. Going into Monday night, the Spurs need to reinvigorate the offense to have any chance of stealing a game on the road.
Toronto Raptors (#1) vs. Washington Wizards (#8): Raptors win 114-106
The Raptors snapped their streak of game-one disappointments, a feat made more impressive by their scoring balance. The bench and rotation stepped up around DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, who had better nights than their point totals (17 and 11, respectively) indicate. Though the Raptors pulled away at the end, the game was close throughout, with 15 lead changes and the Wizards outpacing Toronto by as much as 5. For the Wizards, this game proved that they can run with the Raptors but will need better performances from beyond the arc (38.1% shooting from 3-point range) and from Otto Porter Jr., who only scored 9 points.
Philadelphia 76ers (#3) vs. Miami Heat (#6): 76ers win 130-103
For a team entering the playoffs lacking postseason experience, the 76ers came out blazing, and they pulled away in the fourth quarter to take a 27-point blowout win. This performance should be scary to Philly’s potential competition, as the 76ers dominated without star Joel Embiid and were instead lifted by lights-out shooting from J.J. Redick (28 points), Marco Belinelli (25 points), and Ersan Ilyasova (17 points). Though the 76ers are unlikely to continue shooting 64% from 3-point range, the Heat had no real solutions to Ben Simmons or the 76ers’ scoring. Meanwhile, Miami had severe trouble putting the ball in the basket and couldn’t respond when the 76ers went on several runs. Kelly Olynyk had 26 points off the bench, but beyond him, it was a pedestrian night, with only two starters reaching double-digit points and star Hassan Whiteside playing only 12 minutes with 2 points. Without improvement, it’s going to be a long series for the Heat.
Portland Trail Blazers (#3) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (#6): Pelicans win 97-95
Pulling the first upset of the first round, the Pelicans pulled away after a close first half, only to barely stave off a late Blazer run. As has been true all season, there existed no answer for Anthony Davis, who went off for 35 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 2 steals. Jrue Holiday was also extremely impressive, showing both his prowess as one of the league’s top defensive guards as well as an offensive force (21 points). Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers showed an inability to stop or even slow down Davis, which proved fatal on a night when their star backcourt duo of CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard were good but not great (a combined 37 points). Going forward, the Blazers need to tighten up on Davis in the paint, figure out how to contain Holiday and Rajon Rondo (17 assists), and break through the Pelicans’ strong defensive pressure on McCollum and Lillard.
Boston Celtics (#2) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (#7): Celtics win in overtime, 113-107
In an extremely exciting game, the Celtics pulled out an overtime victory against the Milwaukee Bucks. The key for the Celtics is getting production from their young players, especially Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, to supplement the reliable contributions of Al Horford. In Game 1, the formula worked, as Horford sparkled with 24 points and 12 rebounds and the dynamic young trio of Brown, Tatum, and Terry Rozier combined for 62 points. The Celtics struggled to score at times, but overall put together an impressive performance. The Bucks received very strong showings from Giannis Antetokounmpo (35 points) and Khris Middleton (31 points), but Eric Bledsoe was missing in action with a mere 9 points, and important role players like Jabari Parker and Tony Snell were liabilities. The Bucks will need to make adjustments on both ends of the court to contain the Celtics, who started the series strong.
Cleveland Cavaliers (#4) vs. Indiana Pacers (#5): Pacers win 98-80
The Pacers came to Cleveland and won a statement victory, blowing out the Cavs by 18 points. Indiana came out strong early and was able to hold off several Cleveland runs, but Victor Oladipo has already taken the Pacers further than Paul George did against the Cavaliers, scoring 32 points in the Game 1 road victory. The Pacers were impressive all around, but especially on defense where they held a top-notch Cavaliers offense to a mere 80 points, one of their worst performances all year. For the Cavs, the defense was uncharacteristically decent, giving up a respectable 98 points. However, the offense was truly woeful, shooting 38% from the field and 23% from beyond the arc. Theoretically, those numbers should improve, but there were more systematic problems: Jeff Green didn’t score, Kevin Love only had 8 shots, and LeBron James didn’t shoot until there were under 2 minutes left in the 1st quarter. Betting against LeBron James tends to be a bad investment, but without adjustments, LeBron’s early exit will turn into more than just a Scott Crosby fantasy.
Oklahoma City Thunder (#4) vs. Utah Jazz (#5): Thunder win 116-108
The NBA Playoffs are often dominated by stars catching fire, and luckily for the Thunder, they have three. Paul George was transcendent with 36 points, enough to obscure Russell Westbrook’s similarly impressive 29 points. The Jazz are a good defensive team, but they couldn’t contain the Thunder’s stars, and Utah simply can’t outgun Oklahoma City on offense. Donovan Mitchell was full of poise in his first playoff appearance, scoring 27 points and recording 10 rebounds. The rest of the Jazz lineup was solid, with six other players scoring at least 10 points, but no one stepped up to the level of Mitchell, George, or Westbrook, ultimately dooming Utah in Game 1. In even worse news for the Jazz, Mitchell suffered a toe injury which may keep him out of Game 2; if so, then the Jazz will have even more difficulty filling their offensive void.
Houston Rockets (#1) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (#8): Rockets win 104-101
For a number one seed, the Rockets were unlucky drawing Minnesota, which finally broke its 13-season playoff drought this year. The Timberwolves really have the talent of a 3-5 seed, but they fell to 8 in an ultra-competitive Western Conference after losing Jimmy Butler to injury. This was a close game despite good (but not great) performances from the Timberwolves’ big three of Butler, Andrew Wiggins, and Karl-Anthony Towns, who combined for 39 points. Towns’ performance was especially inexplicable, with only 8 points on 9 shots and a usage rate of only about 12%, a full ten points lower than his season average of 22.9%. The good news was that Minnesota got strong performances from its bench, with 16 points from Derrick Rose and 15 from Jamal Crawford. The close final score of this game may overstate the competitiveness of the series, as Houston shot an abysmal and atypical 27% from 3-point range. If the Rockets start shooting like themselves and Chris Paul rebounds from a relatively quiet night (14 points), the Timberwolves may be toast. Meanwhile, James Harden had an MVP-caliber performance, with 44 points to open his playoff run.
(Scoring and statistics via NBA.com and Basketball Reference)
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