The Best NBA Teams in the Playoffs Right Now, Vol. 4

Image via Getty/Sam Forencich

Boy, that escalated quickly. By trouncing the Golden State Warriors in a Game 3 blowout, 127-97, the Lakers have the defending NBA Champions on the ropes, up 2-1 and a critical Game 4 tonight. Anthony Davis bounced back from a miserable 11-point outing in Game 2 with a 25-point, 13-rebound, four-block performance in Game 3. Lebron James didn’t disappoint—even though he didn’t take a shot until the second quarter—with a stat line of 21 points, eight boards and eight assists, while D’Angelo Russell got busy with 21 points on 61 percent shooting from the field and 62 percent from three. The last two games in this series have been blowouts, so it’ll be interesting to see what’s in store for Game 4, and it’s highly doubtful Steph Curry and Klay Thompson will shoot 42 and 35 percent from the field respectively like they did on Saturday. Another interesting and unexpected thing is how the Lakers are capitalizing on their free throw opportunities in this series. So far, Los Angeles is dominating the Dubs in attempts from the charity stripe 83-39.

“Hustled more. Battled more. Wanted more.”

Those were the words the Miami Heat’s Twitter account sent out after the team’s Game 3 105-86 win against the New York Knicks. Who’s going to argue with that? Jimmy Butler returned from his sprained ankle with a 28-point performance, albeit on a cringey 42 percent shooting, to lead the team in the blowout victory. What was also cringe-worthy was the Heat’s 38.9 percent from the field and 21.9 percent from deep as a team. But a win is a win, right? Bam Adebayo came through with a double-double (17 points, 12 rebounds), Max Strus contributed with 19 points and Kyle Lowry dropped 14 points off the bench. Now up 2-1, the Heat have a chance to put a chokehold on the series with an important Game 4 tonight in South Beach. As expected, this renewed rivalry has been all defense, barely any offense, physical and chippy, with near scuffles on the court. Ah, smells like the 90s in here.

The rumors of the Phoenix Suns’ demise have been greatly exaggerated. With no Chris Paul and a thin bench, the Suns managed to even the series with the Denver Nuggets to make this series a best two out of three. Devin Booker and Kevin Durant have been doing the heavy lifting as expected for this team, with both scoring 36 points in a Game 4 victory that will be slightly looked over because of the flopping antics of Suns owner Mat Ishbia. The Valley’s star duo racked up a combined 158 points over the last two games. In fact, Phoenix is 6-1 in the postseason when D-Book, who was 77 percent from the field and shot 75 percent from beyond the arc in Game 4, drops 30 or more points in a game. And speaking of that “thin bench” mentioned earlier, they’ve been the key to the Suns’ success in the last two games. In Game 3, the Suns’ bench outscored the Nuggets’ bench 22-20, and in Game 4, behind Landry Shamet’s 19 points (shooting six of nine from the field and five of eight from deep), Phoenix’s Bench Mob hit Denver for 40 points to their 29. As Shaq said in the TNT postgame, “Now we have a series.”

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what went wrong for Denver in the last two games, but when your star player scores over 50 points in a loss, you must scratch your head and wonder why. Nikola Jokic put up MVP numbers in Game 4, dropping 53 points on 66 percent shooting and 11 assists, becoming the fifth player to put up a 50-point, 10-assist game. So far in this series, The Joker is averaging 36.5 points, 14 boards and nine dimes. For all the talk about the Nuggets bench being thoroughly outscored the last two games, starters like Michael Porter Jr. have been more of an albatross on this Nuggets team. MPJ shot a horrible 30 percent in Game 4, leading to a measly 11 points; in Game 2, he scored 5 points on 28 percent shooting. Overall he’s averaging 12 points in this series and hasn’t contributed much. As they say, the series isn’t a series until the home team loses, and Denver has done their part in taking care of business in Mile High. With the series shifting to Denver for a pivotal Game 5, the Nuggets look to continue their home cooking vibes, being undefeated in Ball Arena during the playoffs.

The C’s were this close to taking a commanding 3-1 lead over the Philadelphia 76ers, but leprechaun luck wasn’t on Boston’s side, and now the series is tied up. Boston dominated most of the game, but they allowed the Sixers to come back to tie it up in regulation off a James Harden floater and force overtime. In the extra period, after going back and forth, the Sixers ultimately won it off a Harden open three that happened when Joel Embiid was doubled-teamed by Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum (who came back from a dismal first half to lead the team with 24 points and a blatant no call push-off in crunchtime). As Brown put it, “a gamble at the wrong time.” It was also the wrong time for Brown, who dropped 23 points on an efficient 62 percent from the field, to have only three shots in the fourth and none in overtime. Boston was careless with the rock, allowing Philly to yell “cookies” nine times, contributing to their ten turnovers. Still, the friendly confines of TD Garden await them for a pivotal Game 5, where Boston is tied for first with the best home record in the Eastern Conference.