Combine the Nuggets fast pace (second in the league only to the Rockets) with the Lakers consistently poor transition defense and you have a dunk party. And it was one heck of a dunk party the Nuggets were throwing down on Monday night.
But the best one was Kenneth Faried’s alley-oop over Dwight Howard. That was the play of the day.
“Yeah, right.”
That was Dion Waiters Jr.’s response to pretty much everything LeBron James during the Lakers’ practice on Saturday before Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.
LeBron was getting up some corner threes and told Waiters Jr. he would make 100 straight.
“Yeah, right.”
When LeBron missed one, “I missed that on purpose.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I missed that on purpose, so you’d think I’m human,” LeBron joked.
little cheese giving bron an earful 🤣 🧀 🗣 👑 @dionwaiters3 @kingjames pic.twitter.com/2rTIDX63H8
— NBA Bubble Life (@NBABubbleLife) September 19, 2020
Got to love Dion Waiters Jr. — he’s got some of his dad’s spunk.
best buds in the bubble 👨👦🧀🧀 @dionwaiters3 pic.twitter.com/3DcdJWcWwx
— NBA Bubble Life (@NBABubbleLife) September 19, 2020
Families have been allowed in the bubble for teams for a couple of weeks, although LeBron’s sons are not there, with LeBron saying it’s not a great place for kids (he’s right, for anyone over about 7 or 8, there would be little to do).
On Boston’s first possession of the game, Marcus Smart drove right to the rim and got an and-1 on a reverse layup.
Next possession, Jaylen Brown got a bucket cutting for a layup, with the assist from Smart. Next possession, Brown drove the lane and banked in a floater. The next Boston bucket was a Jayson Tatum driving layup.
The first nine Boston points came with them attacking the heart of the Miami defense (going at Duncan Robinson in particular), and that continued all game with the Celtics getting 60 points in the paint.
“Boston came out with great force. You have to give them credit for that,” Heat coach Eric Spoelstra said after the game.
Throw in 31 quality minutes from Gordon Hayward in his return from a sprained ankle — providing more quality wing play and good decision making — and Boston raced out to a comfortable lead then hung on at the end for a 117-106 win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Heat lead the series 2-1, with Game 4 not until Wednesday night (a little delay to allow the West to catch up).
After a sloppy Game 2 loss where the Celtics became passive in the face of Miami’s zone defense in the second half, followed by a postgame meltdown and meeting of the minds, the guys at the heart of the Celtics young core stepped up their game on Saturday night.
Particularly Brown, who had 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting and was getting to the rim all game. He also was playing smothering defense.
Jaylen Brown dunk count: a lot#Celtics pic.twitter.com/sLItIGvrrH
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) September 20, 2020
Smart — an All-Defensive Team player — had his best game of the series, blanketing Goran Dragic, who had been the Heat’s best scorer and shot creator through two games. Without Dragic breaking down the Celtics’ defense and getting points in the paint, Miami has to live by the three and the Celtics defenders did a better job staying home.
“Marcus’ ball pressure on Dragic was important,” Celtics’ coach Brad Stevens said postgame. “It’s something we need to continue to look at. Marcus did a great job on a guy who is playing better than I’ve ever seen him.”
Boston also got more minutes from Gordon Hayward than expected, minutes Stevens called a “stabilizing force” for the team.
“I’m extremely tired right now. My ankle is pretty sore,” Hayward said postgame, adding with the extra days off he should be good to go for Game 4.
Hayward’s presence also allowed Boston to play small ball without Daniel Theis or any true center on the floor, the Celtics switched everything defensively, and Miami didn’t take advantage. Look for Eric Spoelstra to turn to more Bam Adebayo against that small lineup next game.
“They got us on our heels. They were out there hooping and having fun. I guess that was the difference in the game,” Bam Adebayo said postgame.
Miami didn’t shoot the ball well Saturday night, hitting just 27.3% from three. Jae Crowder, who had been hot, was 2-of-8 from deep, while Tyler Herro was 4-of-12. Adebayo had 27 points and 16 boards to lead the Heat.
Boston had four players with more than 20 points: Brown (26), Tatum (25), Kemba Walker (21), and Smart (20).
Boston will need another game like that — and they will need to close better, Miami made it interesting late — to even the series on Wednesday.
Miami said postgame they saw what happened in this game as a challenge to them. Game 4 is going to be intense.
Ja Morant was not the unanimous Rookie of the Year — 99 out of 100 media members voted for him, one voted for Zion Williamson.
When the media votes became public Saturday, Morant got to see who the one voter who voted for someone else was: Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) September 19, 2020
Crowley stood up for his vote, and everything was good between them (at least on social media).
@JaMorant Ja is a transcendent player- no arguing that. But the ROTY should go to the most impactful. The NBA built a TV schedule around Zion and expanded a bubble for Zion. His 24 games were must-see TV. I'll take that 24-and change PER and stand on that side of history.
— Joe Cowley (@JCowleyHoops) September 19, 2020
have a blessed day Joe. 🙏🏽 https://t.co/KPVfIA9w6S
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) September 19, 2020
You too. Helluva year! https://t.co/hBTgSArHn1
— Joe Cowley (@JCowleyHoops) September 19, 2020
While the votes come from media members, the NBA goes out of its way to put together voters who see things differently, something ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne talked about is an excellent thread on Twitter, although she was speaking about the case for LeBron James over Giannis Antetokounmpo for MVP.
A word about awards voting. The NBA goes to great lengths to get a broad cross section of voters who all have different criteria for voting. That is intentional. You want a broad cross section of broadcasters, beat writers, columnists, radio play by play guys, former players.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) September 19, 2020
Some voters prefer statistical based arguments. Some vote for who they think the best player is. Sometimes it’s best player on best team. Some are swayed by leadership. Each year, each vote is different. But if you have a broad cross section that should even out.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) September 19, 2020
To be clear, I was one of the Morant voters, and I will readily admit that Zion is the better player (at least right now). I consider the impact on winning heavily when voting, which led me to Morant because he played 59 games before the bubble and had his team in a playoff position, while Zion played only 19 and did not (only games before the NBA restart in Orlando were to be considered, per NBA rules). I also expect and respect the fact that not everyone will see it that way, or even define what matters most in winning the award the same way. Diversity of thought and views is a good thing, it leads to better outcomes. Crowley should vote what he sees and believes, and that should be respected.
Unanimous or not, Morant will go down as the 2019-20 Rookie of the Year. The voting will be a footnote at most.
The Celtics are getting their X-factor back — Gordon Hayward is available for the must-win Game 3 for Boston.
This had been expected, but he was out warming up pregame as reports he would be available started to bounce around the web.
Gordon Hayward is warming up on the court ahead of Game 3.
According to reports, Hayward is AVAILABLE to play tonight off the bench after missing the last month with an ankle injury. pic.twitter.com/d9YCyGIamX
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) September 19, 2020
Brad Stevens says Gordon Hayward will come off the bench and will be on "minutes monitoring." Stevens said it will be up to Hayward if he can go, but said that he expects him to play tonight in Game 3, as @wojespn reported earlier.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) September 19, 2020
Even 20 minutes of Hayward would be a big boost for the Celtics. Hayward suffered a grade III ankle sprain in the first game of the playoffs against Philadelphia. He’s been out ever since, even leaving the bubble for a while to get treatment.
Hayward’s return gives the Celtics another versatile player who can create his own shot and knock down the open looks others create for him. Hayward can run pick-and-rolls with the second unit while Tatum and Walker get rest. He’s the Celtics’ fourth-best scoring option right now, but he’s more dangerous than any other team’s fourth scorer.
Miami leads the series 0-2. If Boston doesn’t find a way to break down Miami’s zone defense and defend the rim better themselves this series is going to be short. Maybe Hayward can help with that on Saturday night.