The Best NBA Teams in the Playoffs Right Now, Vol. 6

Image via Getty/Robert Gauthier

Man, this has escalated quickly, hasn’t it? There was no time for the defending Eastern Conference Champs to be unserious this close to the NBA Finals, but here we are. Especially when Boston, over the past two playoff runs—seven series during that span—are 10-11 in home games. So much for protecting home court because now the C’s are in a 3-0 hole after getting absolutely smoked by the Miami Heat by 26 points in Game 3. Where were “The Jays?” Building housing projects from Beantown all the way to South Beach with the bricks they were laying. Last night, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 12-35 from the floor and 1-14 from beyond the arc. Brown is averaging 16.7 points on 37.7 percent shooting and a horrific 10 percent three-point shooting for the series. This is a massive drop-off from the previous series when he scored 22.9 points on 54 percent from the field and 43 percent from three. As for Tatum, that 51-point performance he displayed in a Game 7 win against the Philadelphia 76ers seems like ages ago, considering the lack of offensive punch he’s produced in the Eastern Conference Finals. He’s averaging 26 points per game, but the three-ball has been allergic to the net to the tune of 25 percent from deep. 

Remember when all the pundits gushed over the Los Angeles Lakers’ adjustment in Game 1 when head coach Darvin Ham had Rui Hachimura guard Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic? Even though the Lakers lost, it was raved about that Los Angeles figured out how to slow the Nuggets down and will be able to win this series. Remember that? Ah, good times. Any way the Lake Show is down bad, and for the ninth time in their storied history, they are facing a 0-3 hole in the postseason. They also didn’t foresee or adjust to Jamal Murray dropping 23 fourth-quarter points on their heads in a Game 3 loss that put them there. While Anthony Davis is the Purple and Gold’s leading scorer and rebounder with 28.7 points and 14 boards, he’s a minus-ten in the plus-minus department. And LeBron James has been showing his age during the Western Conference Finals and is close to being swept for the third time in his career. Although James is putting up 23.7 points during this series, he’s shooting an embarrassing 15.8 percent from deep. Even more embarrassing is we must agree with Stephen A. Smith’s message to The King.

Last night, Jimmy Butler had his worst outing against the Boston Celtics. After putting up 35 and 27 points in Games 1 and 2 respectively, the Miami Heat star scored a paltry 16 points on 5 of 13 shooting. And he was still a plus-24 on the court, and his team smoked on that Boston pack, crushing the C’s 128-102 and taking a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. Overall, Butler is averaging 26 points on 46 percent shooting in this series, while his running mate, Bam Adebayo, is dominating with 18 points and nine boards. But it’s been the role players stepping up that have made a difference in this Conference Final. Caleb Martin, Gabe Vincent and Duncan Robinson have been lights out. Robinson has been a three-point machine off the bench, nailing 53.3 percent of his shots from deep. Martin is the team’s second-best scorer in the series, with 19.3 points on 63.2 percent shooting. And Vincent leads the team in three-point percentage with 55.6 to add to the 17.7 points he’s contributed in the ECF. Even though the Celtics outrebounded the Heat, Miami made it up with Hustle Points. In the entire postseason, Miami is number one in deflections, loose balls, charges, screen assists, and steals. Amidst all this, you also have to marvel at the fact that this team has yet to trail in a series this postseason. The Heat are writing their own history and, barring some massive collapse, will be the first eighth seed to reach the NBA Finals since 1999.

Before the start of the Western Conference Finals, Jamal Murray barely averaged 25 points on 45 percent shooting and 35 percent from three in the Conference Semifinals. Hell, we even mentioned that those numbers had to bump up if he or the Denver Nuggets had a chance at beating the Los Angeles Lakers. Well, shit, Murray has answered in this series averaging 35 points (which leads the team), 52 percent from the field and 45 percent from beyond the arc. The fourth-quarter eruption Murray displayed in Game 3, dropping 23 points (on 6-7 shooting, 4-5 from deep), is the stuff of legend. It was also his fourth career 20-plus playoff fourth quarter, and he became the second player with such postseason production since Allen Iverson. Oh yeah, and there’s Nikola Jokic, who is doing what (almost) MVPs do, averaging a triple-double in the WCF with 27 points, 14 boards and 11 dimes. In fact, The Joker is the first player to put up the most points in a playoff game at the center position and the most postseason triple-doubles since Wilt Chamberlain. As far as winning streaks go, Denver has won five in a row and sits atop the league (with the Miami Heat) with the best record in the playoffs at 11-3. The team from Mile High is one win away from reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in their 47 years of existence. They’re also one win away from sweeping an opponent for the first time.