Good morning. Kevin Love is hurt because life isn’t fair
The Cavs and Wizards advance to round two, the Mavericks and Clippers bounce back and everything else you need to know from a busy Sunday in the playoffs. Ziller will be back soon.
Cleveland wins the battle, but what about the war?: What a physical, brutal game. Cleveland completed the sweep, but not without paying a price. Kevin Love dislocated his left shoulder, and he thinks Kelly Olynynk did it intentionally. J.R. Smith could get suspended a game for whacking Jae Crowder in the head. A potential series with Chicago looks a little more interesting, and that’s a bummer. Love played great in the first round.
Expect Love to be out at least two weeks: We couldn’t get through one round of the playoffs without a devastating injury, could we?
Paul Pierce is the self-proclaimed King of the North: What can you say about Paul Pierce vs. the great city of Toronto that Pierce hasn’t already said himself? After helping the Wizards to a sweep-clinching 31-point victory in Game 4, the 37-year-old forward took to every available social media network to rub it in. Aren’t Canadians far too kind and pleasant to deserve this?
More importantly, the Wizards are rolling: Remember when Washington was free-falling after the NBA All-Star Game? Maybe Randy Wittman was slow playing us all along. The Wizards’ offense looked as good as it has all season on Sunday, as seven players reached double-figures and the team shot over 55 percent from the field. Washington is picking a good time to play its best ball of the season, and no one is going to count them out in a hypothetical series against Atlanta (or Brooklyn!).
The Clippers strike back: The Spurs' Game 3 victory was visceral and decisive enough to seem like a knockout punch at the time. So much for that. The Clippers roared back in Game 4 behind a masterful performance from Chris Paul. CP3 scored 34 and dished out seven assists, and Los Angeles knotted the series up at two games apiece. Even Austin Rivers was balling!
But for real, Chris Paul is sinister: We still can’t stop watching this shot.
The Mavericks confiscated Houston’s brooms. Literally and figuratively. This looked like the pre-Rondo version of Dallas that was putting up record-setting offensive efficiency numbers. Monta Ellis went off, Al-Farouq Aminu provided a very real spark and Dirk was Dirk. Pour one out for Rondo.
At least Dwight Howard looks to be rounding back into form again: Now if only he could make a free throw.
Raymond Felton, out with the year’s meanest injury: A Trail Blazers fan must be running TNT’s graphics department.
Whose full court shot was better: LeBron’s and Dwight’s?
Finally: Even Wale is talking trash to Drake about the Raptors’ loss. Alternate headline: Bad Rapper Mocks A Better Rapper.
