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NBA Playoffs: One question for each first-round series

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NBA Playoffs: One question for each first-round series

Yaron Weitzman

FOX Sports NBA Writer

Say goodbye to your family because NBA The playoffs are here – finally! – arrive.

We have a big favorite in every conference, but behind that are a lot of unknowns. Below is a breakdown of each series in the first round including a diagram question that will likely influence the result:

How to Kristaps Porzingis‘ Consequences for changing Boston’s playoff offense?

The real question here is whether Heat can win a single game? But words Celtics‘ Additionally, it would be interesting to see the answer to the question posed above.

During last year’s playoffs, the Celtics averaged just three possessions per game (meaning possessions that ended in a shot, assist or turnover), a very small number. That is also the mark that Porzingis overshadowed himself this season. And the 1.30 points he produces per possession are among the league’s highest.

The Celtics have talked all season about how Porzingis’ presence will make them more dangerous come playoff time. Now we can see it.

Maybe Sixers hunt successfully Jalen Brunson about defense?

OK, the obvious one is Embiid’s health. The past few games he’s looked like he’s playing on one foot. But then how will the Sixers attack Brunson.

By now everyone knows how good Brunson is. He deserves all his flowers and being on the MVP ballots. And what we’ve learned, especially since Julius Randle went down, there was no stopping him. He’s too good to defend one-on-one, and he and Knicks broke up into teams trying to throw high traps and double teams at him.

One thing you can do, however, is try to take him down – precisely because of how dependent the Knicks are on him. When he plays, their offense scores in the top three; when he sat down, that score dropped to what could be its last in the league this season. Tom Thibodeau knows this and will likely play Brunson about 40 minutes per game.

One way for the Sixers to combat this is to force Brunson to work hard on defense, since he is the team’s weakest defender – not because of his effort but because of his size – and because That could make him depressed. Brunson will not be selected Tyrese Maxey, but the Sixers should throw him into as much action as possible involving their All-Star point guard. How successful they are in doing so could very well determine the series.

Maybe Shove contain shadow?

This is another series where the most important thing is a star’s health. If Giannis Antetokounmpo can’t go, the Bucks are already ripe.

However, before that they have no answer for Tyrese Haliburton and Pacer‘ high-octane attack? Because Milwaukee’s defense has been terrible all season, especially on the perimeter, and especially against the Pacers, who won the season series 4-1 with Haliburton on the court inside all five games (27 points and 11 assists per game while shooting 53.2% from the field). The Bucks have one of the worst defensive fronts in the league (and no, Patrick Beverley is not the answer). Haliburton has not been the same since suffering a hamstring injury earlier in the season. But now he’s had a few days off and you can be sure he’ll be ready to attack.

The Cavs will have an answer Jonathan Isaac?

If you haven’t seen it yet Magic game this season, then you’re missing out on your chance to see some of the most incredible defensive basketball in recent history. Because this season Isaac has played extremely well. He only averaged 15.8 minutes per game, but in those minutes he was insanely dominant. He’s 6-foot-10, athletic, moves like a guard, has a wingspan that seems to cover half the field, and above all, he possesses incredible instincts.

Want to see a wild indicator? The Magic finished the season with the second-best defensive rating in the league (when you don’t account for garbage time), at 111.5 points allowed per 100 possessions. Again, that’s an incredible number – however when Isaac plays, it plummets to 105.6. He’s so good that he makes an already great defensive unit take leaps for the better. Oh, and he played 26 minutes in each of the Magic’s final two regular-season games, which we can assume is a preview of their plans for the playoffs. The fact that the Cavs have really struggled offensively since the All-Star break (20th in points per possession) only makes this more intriguing.

Giddey is a great passer and strong driver. However, he is not a good shooter. During his career, he has hit 31% of his deep looks – and most of them have been on wide-open defensive plays that he has dared to make.

This season, with the appearance of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams And Chet Holmgren, we saw opponents defend the Thunder by leaving Giddey open from the perimeter. And at times, this tactic has been successful in stopping OKC’s offense — and in the playoffs, you can expect opponents to be even more aggressive with this approach.

The Thunder spent the entire season preparing for this. Sometimes that means Giddey has to pick up and go. Sometimes it means turning him into a screener:

Sometimes that means taking him out of the game. And Giddey had an impressive end to the season (14 points, 7 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game after the All-Star break, while shooting 36% from the field) as the Thunder surged to the postseason. top seed of the conference. But he is about to be tested like never before. How he reacts will not only impact this series, but could also determine whether he remains a part of OKC’s long-term plans.

Last time Lakers defeat miner is December 16, 2022. They have played eight times since then. It’s safe to say the Nuggets have the Lakers’ numbers. In particular, the Lakers have no answer for Jokic. In last year’s Western Conference finals, they tried to defend him with Rui Hachimura so the AD can roam around the rim as a help defender. That doesn’t work. They tried to send help to Jokic – he took care of it.

Jokic is too good and too smart to slow down petty defenses. And you won’t confuse him with additional defenders.

The Lakers’ only hope is that Davis can take charge himself and make life difficult for Jokic. If he does, the Lakers can lock down the rest of the Nuggets and prevent them from getting out with easy dunks or wide-open jumpers. But if Davis can’t hold out and the Lakers have to start sending help, they won’t have a chance.

Can the Wolverines handle it? sun‘Mid-range shooting?

Minnesota leads the league in defense this season. Its scheme is determined based on Rudy Gobert – who is likely the Defensive Player of the Year winner – went back to the paint and nailed things at the rim. Which works almost every time. But it leaves the mid-range open. Only combatant have given up a greater percentage of shots from mid-range this season.

The problem for the Wolves is that no team is better equipped to exploit this than the Suns. IN Kevin Durant, Devin Booker And Bradley Beal The Suns have three of the best stop-and-pop shooters in the NBA. Unsurprisingly, only one team took a greater percentage of its shots from that area, and only the Pacers were more effective. Will the Wolves adjust their strategy? Will they live with those jumpers? It will be fascinating to watch.

This could be the best match of the first round and it will all depend on this question. We know Luka will go hunting James Harden And Ivica Zubac whenever they are on the floor. Then the Clippers will decide how to counter that. To be Kawhi Leonard Strong enough to protect Luka and fight through screens to stop the switches?

In addition, this is also where the presence of Kyrie Irving comes into play – tilting every defender towards Luke opens up all sorts of weak-side lanes for Irving. Perhaps the answer is to limit Harden’s minutes. Maybe a combination of Kawhi and Paul George Is enough. Perhaps there is another solution that we don’t know about yet. Either way, this will be an exciting chess match worth watching.

Yaron Weitzman is an NBA journalist for FOX Sports and an author Reaching the top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the boldest run in professional sports history. Follow him on Twitter @YaronWeitzman.

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