The second half of the season began last Wednesday, and the pressure has ratcheted up the intensity of games ahead of the playoffs. The Milwaukee Bucks have won all three games since the restart, with victories over the Los Angeles Clippers, Washington Wizards, and Miami Heat to sneak into the 4th spot in the Eastern Conference. The trades to acquire Kyle Kuzma and Kevin Porter Jr have improved the immediate results in the Cream City. On the West Coast, the Warriors continue to show their mettle by defeating the Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, and Dallas Mavericks to move to 6-1 since the trade for Jimmy Butler. There are other takeaways from the restart, and in this article, we discuss the biggest takeaways from this past weekend.
1. Lakers Rout Nuggets in Impressive Win- the Los Angeles Lakers have been 2-1 since the restart after losing to the Charlotte Hornets and defeating the Portland Trailblazers and Denver Nuggets. The latter was the most impressive performance in the past week, given that the Lakers had lost 13 of the previous 14 matchups to the Rocky Mountain franchise. It was a scintillating performance because the Lakers won the game 123-100 on the road in altitude and never trailing. The Lakers’ offense was impressive, with Luca Doncic enjoying his best game in purple and gold with 32 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. LeBron James scored 25 points, Austin Reaves added 23, and Rui Hachimura finished with 21. It marked the first time four Lakers players finished with 20+ points in a game this season. However, the most exciting part of the game for Lakers fans is how well they played defensively. The Lakers played undersized against Nikola Jokic and executed a brilliant strategy to double the team and crowd the three-time MVP. Jokic finished with 12 points but just 2 of 7 from the field and 20 turnovers as a team in a sloppy performance.
2. Knicks struggle against the Beasts from the East-after sneaking out a 2-point overtime win at home against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday, the Knicks had to travel to Cleveland on Friday and to Boston on Sunday for showdowns with the top two seeds in the East. The Knicks failed to raise their performance on the back-to-back and were bludgeoned in Lake Eerie. Cleveland dominated the Knickerbockers at both ends of the floor to win 142-105. The Knicks’ defensive struggles were palpable, with the Cavaliers having six scorers in double-digits. The matchup against the Celtics was seen as a big game for the Knicks to prove they belong among the elite. Instead, the entire Boston starting 5 scored in double digits and wracked up 97 of the 118 points to send a message to the Gotham City squad. The Knicks are now 0-3 against the Celtics and 0-7 overall against Boston, Cleveland, and Oklahoma City. The Knicks were reminded this weekend that making the Conference Final will be an uphill challenge.
3. Time to continue to trust the Process in Phillie- the Sixers began the restart with back-to-back disastrous performances against the Celtics and Nets. The Sixers got torched on their home floor by Sixth Man of the Year Candidate Payton Pritchard who scored 29 points by going 8 of 15 from three-point land. On Saturday, Joel Embiid was benched down the stretch and the Nets eked out a 2-point win on the road. The Sixers are 20-36 and the best decision they should make would be to shut down Embiid, perform the surgery, and allow him to return healthy next season. Paul George has also been dealing with injuries and has played one of his worst seasons this year. George is averaging 16.2 points per game which is his lowest since his third year with the Pacers as a young player in the league. Also, the Sixers need to lose to retain their top-six protected pick for the upcoming draft. The long-term contracts of Embiid and George appear to be problematic but Sixers fans will have to trust the process and hope everything aligns perfectly for this team next season.