Good morning. Playoffs! Let’s basketball.
Blake Griffin treated Mason Plumlee like a coworker
Good morning. We have that and more in Monday’s NBA newsletter.
HOME SWEET HOME: All four home teams won their Game 1s on Sunday, with only Cleveland facing a fight of any sort. The Pistons shot real hot for a half, and the Cavaliers had to come back from a deficit in the fourth. But the defending East champs got the job done on the backs of ... Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving? At times, the Cavaliers looked magical. Here’s an example. Stan Van Gundy naturally feels that the refs were giving LeBron a bit too much leeway.
NO MAS: The Hornets never really competed with the Heat, who smoked Charlotte in Miami. Hassan Whiteside, eh?
AS EXPECTED: The Grizzlies offense can’t do anything against the Spurs. Vince Carter shot 6-7 for the game; the other four Memphis starts combined to go 7-29 from the field. Watch Lance Stephenson get furious that he can’t shake Kawhi Leonard off of him. But hey, if Boris Diaw is hitting these shots you might as well just give up.
LOB CITY: The Clippers were in rare form carving up Portland. The Blazers hung for the better part of a half, but LA had too much firepower for a weak Portland defense. Blake Griffin dunk city has returned! Don’t believe me? Ask Mason Plumlee!
BOX SCORES ...
ON THE AIR TONIGHT: Three Game 2s for you. Apologies for goofing up the times on Sunday.
Pacers at Raptors, 7 p.m. ET, NBA TV, Pacers lead 1-0
Mavericks at Thunder, 8 p.m., TNT, Thunder lead 1-0
Rockets at Warriors, 10:30 p.m., TNT, Warriors lead 1-0
IT’S A POINT GUARD GAME: Really phenomenal Jerry Brewer piece on the evolution of the point guard position as a function of the hand check rule changes.
RECORD SCRATCH: The Nets made the first big move of the coaching carousel by hiring Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson. Atkinson played in Europe and in minor leagues for 14 years through the 90s and early Aughts, and previously was an assistant in New York. We are now 0-1 on our predictions, and to be honest I was most confident about that Brooklyn pick. Yikes.
WELPVILLE: Avery Bradley is very unlikely to play against in the first round after a hamstring strain.
Happy Monday. See you next time.
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