The Daily Dose: Wizards Lose in Wall's Return
Thursday, May 14, 2015
There wasn’t much NBA news that didn’t relate to the playoffs on Wednesday. The league’s GMs don’t seem inclined to change the rules to eliminate the ‘Hack-a-Shaq’ strategy, Omer Asik was non-committal about re-signing with the Pelicans in free agency, and draft prospect Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell is expected to interview with the 76ers, Lakers and Pacers this week. We were graced with two enjoyable playoff games, fortunately, but before getting to those let’s run down the rest of Wednesday’s news.
Editor’s Note: Play one-day fantasy basketball tonight! Rotoworld’s partner FanDuel is hosting a $250,000 league for Thursday’s NBA games. It’s just $5 to join and first place wins $15,000. Starts tonight at 8pm ET. Enter now!
Headlines
Pau Gasol (hamstring) is probable for Thursday’s Game 6 in Chicago, as the Bulls look to even their semifinals matchup at 3-3. He suggested that he won’t play his usual workload, however, so owners in DFS leagues should temper expectations. His return is terrific news for the Bulls as their offense struggled to generate easy looks without him in Game 5 — Chicago shot 39.5% from the field and suffered through a few long droughts without their primary post option to bail them out.
There’s no word yet on whether the league will punish Taj Gibson for kicking Matthew Dellavedova during Game 5. Dellavedova himself didn’t seem bothered by the play (and he initiated the skirmish with a UFC-worthy leg-lock) and it’s unlikely that Gibson will be suspended. If he is, however, Chicago will be forced to lean heavily on Nikola Mirotic, especially with Gasol limited.
In other Bulls injury news, Derrick Rose‘s shoulder is reportedly “fine” even though it was an obvious problem for him in the second half on Tuesday — he even had trouble putting on a sweatshirt after the game. The word “fine” is relative at this stage of the playoffs and there’s no doubt Rose is hurting, but he should be in full-tilt attack mode against a banged-up Kyrie Irving on Thursday — it’s a matchup that the Bulls have exploited throughout the series, though Cleveland has countered by shifting Iman Shumpert onto Rose defensively.
Kyrie Irving‘s strained foot and knee tendinitis won’t get worse if he continues to play, according to the Cavaliers. He’s coming off a 25-point performance in Game 5, in which he shot 9-of-16 from the field with three 3-pointers, and it was the first time this series that he’s looked like his usual All-Star self. “This has been the biggest mental challenge of my career,” Irving admitted earlier this week … I’m still really confident in myself, but I just want to go out there and play for my brothers. That’s all that matters at this point.”
Kendrick Perkins was involved in an “altercation” with his wife on Wednesday but he’s expected to travel with the Cavs for Game 6. A caller told 911 that “a woman was hitting a man inside an SUV” on the side of the road, but Perkins and his wife told police that it was “just an argument” and it doesn’t sound like charges will be pressed on either side.
I’ll discuss John Wall, Tony Allen, Marreese Speights and more in the game recaps below.
Hawks beat Wizards, 82-81, for 3-2 series lead
The story of Game 5 was John Wall‘s return to action despite having five non-displaced fractures in his heavily-protected left hand. Randy Wittman said before the game, “You don’t risk today for tomorrow,” so Wall and the medical staff must have agreed that he wasn’t at risk of causing more serious or long-term damage by playing. Wall played well despite the injury, posting 15 points on 7-of-16 shooting, four rebounds, seven assists, four steals and two blocks. He also committed six turnovers in 37 minutes, but he toyed with Jeff Teague on offense and was a big reason Teague committed a game-high seven turnovers. He confirmed after the game that his hand felt “great” and he’ll be ready to go for Game 6.
The Hawks’ fourth quarter began as most have in this series — the Wizards frustrated them defensively and they missed their few easy looks, suddenly landing them in a deficit. The script was re-written with a dramatic 12-0 run late in the quarter to reclaim a three-point lead, however, and the play of the game was Al Horford‘s go-ahead putback with 1.9 seconds remaining — the Wizards had zero timeouts and Wall’s desperation heave was off the mark, pushing the top-seeded Hawks to a 3-2 series lead.
Horford finished with 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting, a rare 3-pointer, 11 rebounds, two assists, five blocks and zero turnovers. Excluding Horford and Mike Muscala (eight points on 4-of-5 FGs), the Hawks shot an abysmal 20-of-60 from the field (33.3%). ESPN’s stat department dug up an interesting fact about Horford — over the past five postseasons he has the NBA’s best FG% in ‘clutch’ situations at 61% (clutch is defined as the score being within five points with five or fewer minutes remaining).
DeMarre Carroll‘s hip pointer didn’t appear to limit him on Wednesday as he posted 10 points, one 3-pointer, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks without any turnovers in 36 minutes. Kyle Korver made only 1-of-5 shots, all from downtown, but he chipped in five rebounds and was atypically active on defense with six steals and two blocks. That ties his career-high for steals in a game, and he ranks ninth in the postseason with 18 swipes in 11 games.
Jeff Teague was conspicuously absent down the stretch of the fourth quarter, as coach Mike Budenholzer opted to stick with Dennis Schroder for all but two minutes of the final frame. John Wall was driving past Teague with relative ease, so Teague’s defense seems like the culprit in his disappearance, but he also coughed up seven turnovers in just 31 minutes. Atlanta again shifted Carroll on Wall, hoping to bother him with length, and the adjustments Wall forced the Hawks to make explain why his presence is crucial even when he’s playing with one hand. We’ll keep an eye out for updates, as it is possible Teague was limited by an undisclosed injury.
Horford’s pell-mell bucket stole a potential game-winner from Paul Pierce, who drained a corner 3-pointer to give the Wizards’ a one-point lead with 8.3 seconds remaining. After the shot Pierce turned to the Hawks bench and said, “Series.” He spoke too soon, but you can’t fault the veteran for a lack of confidence. In a coincidental twist, Pierce ranks second behind Horford in ‘clutch’ postseason shooting since 2010, at a sterling 52%.
Bradley Beal continues to step up with Wall ailing, and he led the Wizards on Wednesday with 23 points on 9-of-21 FGs and 4-of-5 FTs. He chipped in seven boards, four assists, one steal and three blocks with five turnovers in 42 minutes, richly rewarding daily-league owners who deployed him at SG. Otto Porter played well off the bench with nine points and 10 boards in 33 minutes but that’s where Washington’s second unit production ended — Ramon Sessions and Drew Gooden were the only other guys to play off the bench, and they both went scoreless.
Warriors beat Grizzlies, 98-78, for 3-2 series lead
Memphis jumped out to an early double-digit lead behind some unusually sharp shooting, but the advantage evaporated in a matter of minutes. The Warriors headed into the second quarter with a one-point edge, an ill omen for the Grizzlies, and they proceeded to steadily build their lead with accurate 3-point shooting, opportunistic fast breaks and stifling defense. The Grizzlies finished 39.8% from the field with only four 3-pointers, while the Warriors shot 46.9% with 14 triples.
Marc Gasol led the way for Memphis with 18 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block, but he shot only 8-of-22 from the field. At one point he missed seven straight shots while the Warriors established their lead in the second and third quarters.
Mike Conley is exhausted but he gave it all he had in 33 minutes tonight, finishing with 13 points, five assist and three steals. Courtney Lee also played well with seven points, three rebounds and four assists, though he only attempted three shots — he’s one of the Grizzlies’ only perimeter threats and they’ll need to find ways to keep him engaged throughout Game 6. An even bigger issue is the lack of bench production — Memphis ranked in the bottom-10 for bench scoring this season at 31.3 points per game, and they finished Wednesday’s defeat with only 17 points from their reserves.
Tony Allen wasn’t able to play in Game 5 due to a hamstring injury, leaving Jeff Green to take his place in the starting lineup. Allen is questionable to return for Friday’s must-win Game 6 in Memphis but it would be surprising if he sat out with the season on the line. Green was predictably inconsistent as a starter, scoring 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting with four boards, one assist and no defensive stats to his credit. Allen’s absence also led to expanded roles for backups Vince Carter (eight points in 20 minutes) and Nick Calathes (scoreless in 19 minutes). Allen’s offense is routinely and fairly maligned, but there’s a reason he stays on the court — Memphis doesn’t have anyone capable of reproducing his perimeter defense, energy or physicality.
The Warriors, meanwhile, were in stellar form. They set 2015 postseason highs with 14 made 3-pointers and 28 assists, nine of which came courtesy of Draymond Green. Green added seven points, five rebounds and one steal with only one turnover in 31 minutes, and even David Lee pitched in six points, seven rebounds and some steady defense in 17 minutes off the bench. The Warriors may have been down 2-1 in the series a few days ago, but they have resiliency to match their talent.
Golden State revealed that Andrew Bogut had an X-rays on his left knee on Monday, but the test came back negative. He also said that his ribs are also fine after an injury scare earlier in the series. Bogut defended Tony Allen for much of Game 4, a move which stifled the Grizzlies’ offense since Allen isn’t a viable threat from the mid-range, let alone the perimeter, but that wrinkle was negated tonight by Allen’s hamstring injury. It didn’t matter — Bogut was once again effective with six points, nine rebounds and four blocks, and the absence of Allen made it easier for Steph Curry and Klay Thompson to combine for 39 points, nine 3-pointers, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Harrison Barnes did a nasty split after slipping just before halftime but he returned to start the third quarter and didn’t seem worse for the wear. He posted 14 points, three 3-pointers, three rebounds and one block with five turnovers, and his versatility at both ends of the court has been a subtle key to the Warriors’ success in the series. Andre Iguodala was even more impressive tonight. The oft-overlooked former All-Star came off the bench for 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He sank two 3-pointers and thrived in transition, adding three rebounds and three assists with only one turnover in 25 minutes.
One final tidbit: the Warriors confirmed that Marreese Speights‘ calf strain will keep him out for the duration of their series vs. the Grizzlies, which leaves David Lee with an expanded role off the bench. Speights should be ready to return if Golden State advances to the Conference Finals. They can book their tickets with a win in Memphis on Friday.
There wasn’t much NBA news that didn’t relate to the playoffs on Wednesday. The league’s GMs don’t seem inclined to change the rules to eliminate the ‘Hack-a-Shaq’ strategy, Omer Asik was non-committal about re-signing with the Pelicans in free agency, and draft prospect Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell is expected to interview with the 76ers, Lakers and Pacers this week. We were graced with two enjoyable playoff games, fortunately, but before getting to those let’s run down the rest of Wednesday’s news.
Editor’s Note: Play one-day fantasy basketball tonight! Rotoworld’s partner FanDuel is hosting a $250,000 league for Thursday’s NBA games. It’s just $5 to join and first place wins $15,000. Starts tonight at 8pm ET. Enter now!
Headlines
Pau Gasol (hamstring) is probable for Thursday’s Game 6 in Chicago, as the Bulls look to even their semifinals matchup at 3-3. He suggested that he won’t play his usual workload, however, so owners in DFS leagues should temper expectations. His return is terrific news for the Bulls as their offense struggled to generate easy looks without him in Game 5 — Chicago shot 39.5% from the field and suffered through a few long droughts without their primary post option to bail them out.
There’s no word yet on whether the league will punish Taj Gibson for kicking Matthew Dellavedova during Game 5. Dellavedova himself didn’t seem bothered by the play (and he initiated the skirmish with a UFC-worthy leg-lock) and it’s unlikely that Gibson will be suspended. If he is, however, Chicago will be forced to lean heavily on Nikola Mirotic, especially with Gasol limited.
In other Bulls injury news, Derrick Rose‘s shoulder is reportedly “fine” even though it was an obvious problem for him in the second half on Tuesday — he even had trouble putting on a sweatshirt after the game. The word “fine” is relative at this stage of the playoffs and there’s no doubt Rose is hurting, but he should be in full-tilt attack mode against a banged-up Kyrie Irving on Thursday — it’s a matchup that the Bulls have exploited throughout the series, though Cleveland has countered by shifting Iman Shumpert onto Rose defensively.
Kyrie Irving‘s strained foot and knee tendinitis won’t get worse if he continues to play, according to the Cavaliers. He’s coming off a 25-point performance in Game 5, in which he shot 9-of-16 from the field with three 3-pointers, and it was the first time this series that he’s looked like his usual All-Star self. “This has been the biggest mental challenge of my career,” Irving admitted earlier this week … I’m still really confident in myself, but I just want to go out there and play for my brothers. That’s all that matters at this point.”
Kendrick Perkins was involved in an “altercation” with his wife on Wednesday but he’s expected to travel with the Cavs for Game 6. A caller told 911 that “a woman was hitting a man inside an SUV” on the side of the road, but Perkins and his wife told police that it was “just an argument” and it doesn’t sound like charges will be pressed on either side.
I’ll discuss John Wall, Tony Allen, Marreese Speights and more in the game recaps below.
Hawks beat Wizards, 82-81, for 3-2 series lead
The story of Game 5 was John Wall‘s return to action despite having five non-displaced fractures in his heavily-protected left hand. Randy Wittman said before the game, “You don’t risk today for tomorrow,” so Wall and the medical staff must have agreed that he wasn’t at risk of causing more serious or long-term damage by playing. Wall played well despite the injury, posting 15 points on 7-of-16 shooting, four rebounds, seven assists, four steals and two blocks. He also committed six turnovers in 37 minutes, but he toyed with Jeff Teague on offense and was a big reason Teague committed a game-high seven turnovers. He confirmed after the game that his hand felt “great” and he’ll be ready to go for Game 6.
The Hawks’ fourth quarter began as most have in this series — the Wizards frustrated them defensively and they missed their few easy looks, suddenly landing them in a deficit. The script was re-written with a dramatic 12-0 run late in the quarter to reclaim a three-point lead, however, and the play of the game was Al Horford‘s go-ahead putback with 1.9 seconds remaining — the Wizards had zero timeouts and Wall’s desperation heave was off the mark, pushing the top-seeded Hawks to a 3-2 series lead.
Horford finished with 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting, a rare 3-pointer, 11 rebounds, two assists, five blocks and zero turnovers. Excluding Horford and Mike Muscala (eight points on 4-of-5 FGs), the Hawks shot an abysmal 20-of-60 from the field (33.3%). ESPN’s stat department dug up an interesting fact about Horford — over the past five postseasons he has the NBA’s best FG% in ‘clutch’ situations at 61% (clutch is defined as the score being within five points with five or fewer minutes remaining).
DeMarre Carroll‘s hip pointer didn’t appear to limit him on Wednesday as he posted 10 points, one 3-pointer, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks without any turnovers in 36 minutes. Kyle Korver made only 1-of-5 shots, all from downtown, but he chipped in five rebounds and was atypically active on defense with six steals and two blocks. That ties his career-high for steals in a game, and he ranks ninth in the postseason with 18 swipes in 11 games.
Jeff Teague was conspicuously absent down the stretch of the fourth quarter, as coach Mike Budenholzer opted to stick with Dennis Schroder for all but two minutes of the final frame. John Wall was driving past Teague with relative ease, so Teague’s defense seems like the culprit in his disappearance, but he also coughed up seven turnovers in just 31 minutes. Atlanta again shifted Carroll on Wall, hoping to bother him with length, and the adjustments Wall forced the Hawks to make explain why his presence is crucial even when he’s playing with one hand. We’ll keep an eye out for updates, as it is possible Teague was limited by an undisclosed injury.
Horford’s pell-mell bucket stole a potential game-winner from Paul Pierce, who drained a corner 3-pointer to give the Wizards’ a one-point lead with 8.3 seconds remaining. After the shot Pierce turned to the Hawks bench and said, “Series.” He spoke too soon, but you can’t fault the veteran for a lack of confidence. In a coincidental twist, Pierce ranks second behind Horford in ‘clutch’ postseason shooting since 2010, at a sterling 52%.
Bradley Beal continues to step up with Wall ailing, and he led the Wizards on Wednesday with 23 points on 9-of-21 FGs and 4-of-5 FTs. He chipped in seven boards, four assists, one steal and three blocks with five turnovers in 42 minutes, richly rewarding daily-league owners who deployed him at SG. Otto Porter played well off the bench with nine points and 10 boards in 33 minutes but that’s where Washington’s second unit production ended — Ramon Sessions and Drew Gooden were the only other guys to play off the bench, and they both went scoreless.
Warriors beat Grizzlies, 98-78, for 3-2 series lead
Memphis jumped out to an early double-digit lead behind some unusually sharp shooting, but the advantage evaporated in a matter of minutes. The Warriors headed into the second quarter with a one-point edge, an ill omen for the Grizzlies, and they proceeded to steadily build their lead with accurate 3-point shooting, opportunistic fast breaks and stifling defense. The Grizzlies finished 39.8% from the field with only four 3-pointers, while the Warriors shot 46.9% with 14 triples.
Marc Gasol led the way for Memphis with 18 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block, but he shot only 8-of-22 from the field. At one point he missed seven straight shots while the Warriors established their lead in the second and third quarters.
Mike Conley is exhausted but he gave it all he had in 33 minutes tonight, finishing with 13 points, five assist and three steals. Courtney Lee also played well with seven points, three rebounds and four assists, though he only attempted three shots — he’s one of the Grizzlies’ only perimeter threats and they’ll need to find ways to keep him engaged throughout Game 6. An even bigger issue is the lack of bench production — Memphis ranked in the bottom-10 for bench scoring this season at 31.3 points per game, and they finished Wednesday’s defeat with only 17 points from their reserves.
Tony Allen wasn’t able to play in Game 5 due to a hamstring injury, leaving Jeff Green to take his place in the starting lineup. Allen is questionable to return for Friday’s must-win Game 6 in Memphis but it would be surprising if he sat out with the season on the line. Green was predictably inconsistent as a starter, scoring 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting with four boards, one assist and no defensive stats to his credit. Allen’s absence also led to expanded roles for backups Vince Carter (eight points in 20 minutes) and Nick Calathes (scoreless in 19 minutes). Allen’s offense is routinely and fairly maligned, but there’s a reason he stays on the court — Memphis doesn’t have anyone capable of reproducing his perimeter defense, energy or physicality.
The Warriors, meanwhile, were in stellar form. They set 2015 postseason highs with 14 made 3-pointers and 28 assists, nine of which came courtesy of Draymond Green. Green added seven points, five rebounds and one steal with only one turnover in 31 minutes, and even David Lee pitched in six points, seven rebounds and some steady defense in 17 minutes off the bench. The Warriors may have been down 2-1 in the series a few days ago, but they have resiliency to match their talent.
Golden State revealed that Andrew Bogut had an X-rays on his left knee on Monday, but the test came back negative. He also said that his ribs are also fine after an injury scare earlier in the series. Bogut defended Tony Allen for much of Game 4, a move which stifled the Grizzlies’ offense since Allen isn’t a viable threat from the mid-range, let alone the perimeter, but that wrinkle was negated tonight by Allen’s hamstring injury. It didn’t matter — Bogut was once again effective with six points, nine rebounds and four blocks, and the absence of Allen made it easier for Steph Curry and Klay Thompson to combine for 39 points, nine 3-pointers, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Harrison Barnes did a nasty split after slipping just before halftime but he returned to start the third quarter and didn’t seem worse for the wear. He posted 14 points, three 3-pointers, three rebounds and one block with five turnovers, and his versatility at both ends of the court has been a subtle key to the Warriors’ success in the series. Andre Iguodala was even more impressive tonight. The oft-overlooked former All-Star came off the bench for 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He sank two 3-pointers and thrived in transition, adding three rebounds and three assists with only one turnover in 25 minutes.
One final tidbit: the Warriors confirmed that Marreese Speights‘ calf strain will keep him out for the duration of their series vs. the Grizzlies, which leaves David Lee with an expanded role off the bench. Speights should be ready to return if Golden State advances to the Conference Finals. They can book their tickets with a win in Memphis on Friday.
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