Three Things to Know: Lakers eliminated from playoffs after epically disappointing season

By Kurt HelinApr 6, 2022, 9:25 AM EDT

Three Things is NBC’s five-days-a-week wrap-up of the night before in the NBA. Check out NBCSports.com every weekday morning to catch up on what you missed the night before plus the rumors, drama, and dunks that make the NBA great.

1) Lakers eliminated from playoffs after an epically disappointing season

The warning signs were there when the Lakers went 0-6 in the preseason and got smacked around. We all ignored them, myself included.

The flaws in the roster were visible even before the season tipped off — Russell Westbrook was not a natural fit next to LeBron James, the Lakers were too old and not athletic enough, they lacked defenders — but LeBron had earned the benefit of the doubt. He wasn’t just one of the greatest players ever, he was the game’s greatest problem solver ever — he had lifted worse rosters to much higher heights. Anthony Davis is still elite and in his prime. LeBron and the Lakers would figure this out.

They didn’t. Tuesday night, the Lakers lost their seventh straight game, this time to the Phoenix Suns — a team that made sure all their stars dressed for what was a meaningless game for them because Davis said the other day the Lakers would have beaten the Suns in the first round last year if he were healthy, and the Suns took that personally. Phoenix ran Los Angeles out of the building 121-110 in a game that wasn’t that close (Phoenix led by 25 midway through the fourth, before garbage time).

The Lakers have been eliminated from even the play-in. They trail the Spurs by three games in the loss column with three to play, and the Spurs have the tiebreaker. It’s over.

That led to the Tweet of the night from the guys at Action Sports Network

Every other fanbase showing up to watch the end of the Lakers season pic.twitter.com/MQhiEsuRC0

— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) April 6, 2022

With the victory, the Suns set a franchise record with 63 wins on the season.

Franchise record!!! 63W’s
Pour one up for the fellas🤙🏽

— Book (@DevinBook) April 6, 2022

The postmortums are coming for Los Angeles. Davis again pointed to injuries, and that played a role, but every team faced them — the Grizzlies and Suns kept winning without their stars. Russell Westbrook was supposed to bring that to Los Angeles, and he did not come close to it. Frank Vogel could have been better as coach — and he will pay the price and be fired soon — but it’s also far from all on him. This was a poorly constructed Lakers roster that needed everything to go perfect to win, and things never go perfectly. A major overhaul is coming this offseason, but we saw that last season and… the benefit of the doubt for Rob Pelinka and the front office is gone.

The only remaining question for the Lakers this season: Will LeBron play two more games to qualify for the scoring title chase? He has played 56 games, he has to play 58 to qualify. After dropping 45 on Tuesday, Joel Embiid passed LeBron for the scoring title chase (30.4 per game to 30.3 for LeBron). If LeBron comes back and wants the title, he can’t just “cruise” to some 25-point games, he is going to have to put up big numbers. Will his ankle let him? Does he want to? The logical thing is to shut him down for the season, but what has been logical about the Lakers this year?

2) Nets win, Hawks and Hornets lose, Brooklyn back up to No. 8 seed in East

Speaking of teams not living up to the preseason hype…

The Brooklyn Nets will at least make the play-in, and their chances of advancing out of that into the playoffs proper got a big boost on Tuesday when they beat the Rockets 118-105 behind 42 from Kyrie Irving.

That combined with the Hawks falling to the Raptors 118-108 (a win that moved Toronto up to the No. 5 seed) and Charlotte falling to Miami 144-115, the Nets are back up to the No 8 seed in the East. Just a reminder, the No. 7/8 seeds need to win just one of two play-in games to advance to the playoffs, while the 9/10 seeds need to win two games in a row. There is no margin for error, and even with the Nets’ firepower they would like to avoid that.

The Nets control their own destiny in getting the No. 8 seed — win out and they are in. They have three games left: At the Knicks Wednesday on the second night of a back-to-back, against the stumbling Cavaliers, then at home hosting the Pacers.

3) Toronto wins, rises up to No. 5 seed, and will be a tough out come playoffs

The Toronto Raptors are good. And dangerous come the playoffs.

That needs to be acknowledged, because this is a team where too often the conversation is about how many Celtics could travel to Toronto if the teams meet in the playoffs. It shouldn’t be. Toronto has a borderline All-NBA player in Pascal Siakam and team of long, athletic, switchable 6’7″ to 6’9″ guys led by the efficiency and smart play of Fred VanVleet at the point. The Raptors don’t play the style of any other team, and no other coach wants to deal with the wrinkles Nick Nurse will throw at them in the playoffs.

Since the All-Star break, the Raptors are 14-8 with the second best defense in the NBA. Other teams have noticed. This is a tough matchup and the top four are eyeing easier ones out there.

Tuesday night the Raptors climbed up to the No. 5 seed after beating the Hawks 118-108 behind Pascal Siakam’s 31 points and 13 rebounds, while rookie Scottie Barnes added 19 points and 14 boards. Combine that Raptors win with the Bulls losing the Bucks, and Toronto is currently the No. 5 seed (the Raptors have one tough game left against the 76ers on Thursday, followed by the Rockets and Knicks over the weekend).

Highlight of the Night: Clarkson splits the double, switch hands mid-air, gets bucket

Jordan Clarkson may not repeat as Sixth Man of the Year, but the man is still a walking highlight reel.

Utah picked up a quality win over Memphis, the kind of victory that can snap a team out of their slump.

Yesterday’s scores:

76ers 131, Pacers 122
Magic 120, Cavaliers 115
Nets 118, Rockets 105
Heat 144, Hornets 115
Raptors 118, Hawks 108
Bucks 127, Bulls 106
Wizards 132, Timberwolves 114
Thunder 98, Trail Blazers 94
Spurs 116, Nuggets 97
Jazz 121, Grizzlies 115 (OT)
Pelicans 123, Kings 109
Suns 121, Lakers 110

PBT Podcast: Heat vs. Nuggets NBA Finals talk, Vogel to Suns

By Kurt HelinJun 9, 2023, 7:15 AM EDT

After three games of the NBA Finals, there are still so many questions. Can the Heat stop the Jamal Murray/Nikola Jokić pick-and-roll? Will Miami find 3-point shot again and will that be enough? Is Denver the team that does not wilt under the pressure Miami puts on them? Is there a better player on the planet than Nikola Jokić?

Corey Robinson and Kurt Helin from NBC Sports get into all of that, then talk coaching hires. Is Frank Vogel a good hire in Phoenix? speaking of coach talk, Corey’s Jukebox talks Monty Williams and how a classic Aretha Franklin song sums him up.

Finally, the conversation turns to Team USA and the roster headed to the Philippines for the World Cup this summer — a lot of young, athletic talent, but will any of the American NBA elites join them? Also, who is your favorite NBA mascot?

You can watch the video of some of the podcast above or listen to the entire podcast below, listen and subscribe via iTunes at ApplePodcasts.com/PBTonNBC, subscribe via the fantastic Stitcher app, check us out on Google Play, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

We want your questions for future podcasts, and your comments, so please feel free to email us at PBTpodcast@gmail.com.

Miami has thrived in adversity all playoffs. They have plenty of it in Game 4.

By Kurt HelinJun 8, 2023, 5:46 PM EDT

MIAMI — Throughout the Heat’s playoff run, Erik Spoelstra has been confiding in and getting encouragement from another Miami coach — and it’s not Pat Riley.

Dolphins’ coach Mike McDaniel and Spoelstra have become friends.

“We’ve been texting back and forth,” Spoelstra said. “We share very similar thoughts about finding strength in adversity and using those as lessons to help you grow.”

Through that prism, the Heat have a real growth opportunity Friday night.

Miami trails Denver 2-1 in the NBA Finals heading into Game 4, and while that game is not technically must win for the Heat, it is in practice.

Getting that win means Miami finding some way to slow the Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray two-man game. Which is what every team has tried to do all playoffs long with no success, but Game 3 was the peak of their two-man game. The Nuggets stars ran 32 pick-and-rolls in Game 3, and those plays were the heart of both getting a 30+ point triple-double — the first teammates ever to have a 30+ point triple-double in any NBA game, ever. Murray and Jokić played 40 minutes together in Game 2 and the Nuggets were +14 in those minutes (in a game they won by 15).

“I mean, the Murray/Jokic two-man game is a pretty hard action to stop,” Haywood Highsmith said. “But we got great defensive players, got some of the great two-way players in this game, Jimmy [Butler] and Bam [Adebayo], so we’re gonna figure it out. We got a lot of different bodies we can throw at Murray as well.”

That might be the best adjustment the Heat can make —throw a lot of bodies at it, sell out to stop the Murray/Jokic two-man game and dare any other Nugget to beat them. Force them to diversify the offense. Denver coach Mike Malone has been able to lean into defensive lineups because Murray and Jokić provide enough offense, it’s time for the Heat to challenge that practice.

“Whatever you do, you just can’t do it all the time,” Spoelstra said of defending the Nuggets duo. “There’s no absolutes when you get to this level. It’s the highest level of competition. You’re getting the highest level of execution. Understanding what they’re trying to get to, and we try to get them out of their comfort zones as much as possible.

“The first half, they really got to that two-man action quite a bit. They were getting a lot of traction, so they didn’t need to go to any other part of their playbook.”

The Heat need to make adjustments, too.

One adjustment they will not make is playing Tyler Herro, he has been officially ruled out for Game 4. Herro went through a brief part of the fake practice/shootaround in front of the media on Thursday, but didn’t speak to the press. Spoelstra said Herro has not yet been cleared for a game, and while there were not a lot of details it didn’t sound like Herro was all that close.

Another thing the Heat need to do is less adjustment and more effort and luck — they simply have to shoot better.

Denver’s size bothered the Heat in the paint and Miami shot just 38.2% within eight feet of the basket. The Heat also got up 35 attempts from 3 but only hit 31.4% of that. Credit Denver’s size in the paint and they’re staying home with shooters for some of that, but Miami can — and Friday night must — do better.

Which brings up an interesting question: This deep into a playoff series, is it more about strategic adjustments, or effort and just playing better?

“I think it’s a little bit of both,” Highsmith said. “It’s definitely some things we can adjust on, and then it’s also about a little bit more effort and just doing more. You always need more, always can do more… we definitely have to make some adjustments on both ends of the floor, but you know, we’ll figure it out.”

Whatever Miami does defensively, Denver will score, they have an elite offense led by a two-time MVP in Jokić. If the Heat are going to even this series headed back to the Rocky Mountains, they must find more offense.

“I mean, they, they have a really good defensive scheme. They have good defensive players,” Duncan Robinson said. “You know, for us offensively, it’s going to be about creating advantages and really putting pressure on their schemes and their players to scramble and kind of get them a motion and a lot of that happens when we’re moving the ball attacking, playing to our identity.

“We had stretches last night, and definitely stretches in this series where we’ve done it. And, we’ve definitely had stretches where we haven’t gotten to that as much as we’d like to, so we’ll continue to work through it.”

They have to work through it fast because time is running out.

Bucks’ Middleton reportedly has knee scoped, should be ready for camp

By Kurt HelinJun 8, 2023, 1:24 PM EDT

Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images

The Bucks said an MRI of Khris Middleton‘s knee just before the start of the playoffs was clean even if his play made observers question that news.

Turns out, maybe it wasn’t totally clean.

Middleton had his knee scoped after the playoffs, but he will return to his offseason training in July, reports Shams Charania and Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

The report said the surgery was to clean up “an issue that plagued him this past season,” and it was scheduled before the Bucks’ playoff run began. So, they knew, as did most anyone who watched Middleton and didn’t see the same burst as he had in the past, especially on the defensive end. He looked a step slow.

This minor surgery shouldn’t change Middleton’s or the Bucks’ off-season plans. Whatever those may be. Middleton has a $40.4 million player option, something he reportedly is considering opting out of to re-sign a longer deal with Milwaukee — or elsewhere — likely at a lower per-season salary but with more total dollars (the team may also reach an extension with him). At age 31, Middleton may want the security of years.

Milwaukee needs Middleton and his shot creation, plus his two-way play, if they are going to compete at the highest levels. However, they need the healthy Middleton who was an All-Star and All-NBA player, not the one that only played in 33 games last season due to wrist surgery and knee issues.

It will be an interesting offseason in Milwaukee with 35-year-old Brook Lopez a free agent and Jrue Holiday becoming extension eligible in the fall. The Bucks had the best record in the NBA last season, but the roster is getting old and expensive fast, and a pivot is coming. At some point. But maybe not this summer.

Nuggets’ Christian Braun on verge of history, NCAA and NBA titles in consecutive years

By Kurt HelinJun 8, 2023, 9:24 AM EDT

MIAMI — Only four players have ever done it: Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Henry Bibby and Billy Thompson.

Christian Braun could become the fifth player to win an NCAA title and an NBA championship in back-to-back seasons.

Last season he was the second-leading scorer on the Kansas Jayhawk team that won the NCAA tournament, with Braun scoring 12 points and grabbing 12 boards in the title game against North Carolina.

Braun isn’t just riding the Denver bench to his piece of history, he scored a critical 15 points in Game 3 to spark the Nuggets win. Braun scored 11 points in a stretch at the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth when Denver pushed its lead to 21, then held off the early fourth quarter charge from Miami that had defined the Finals for two games.

Braun’s cuts to the rim — not to mention his steal and dunk — were things of beauty.

Christian Braun scores 15 points (7-8 FG) off the bench as Denver wins Game 3!

DEN/MIA Game 4: Friday, 8:30 PM ET on ABC pic.twitter.com/UrY4Al1Znc

— NBA (@NBA) June 8, 2023

“I told him, you won us the game…” Nikola Jokić said of Braun (which was generous considering Jokic’s 32-21-10 triple-double). “He won us the game, and he was really good tonight.”

“Tonight, man, I could just feel the confidence kind of oozing out of him,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “The physical, aggressive drives, making plays for guys against their zone. It was really fun to watch a young man step up like the way Christian did tonight.”

Denver drafted Braun with the No. 21 pick and it was a perfect fit for the Kansas native (who led his high school team, Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, to three state titles). Braun was drafted onto a contending team and was given a clearly defined role by Malone. Braun took that and earned his minutes with hustle and defense all season long, and sometimes the points come with that.

“Those guys make it really easy,” Braun said of playing with Jokić and Jamal Murray. “Playing with those guys, they make the right play every time. My job is just to be ready when my name is called…

“Like I said, my job is not very hard; I’ve just got to come in, play with energy, and they find me in the right spots on offense and the defense just give effort. So those guys have trusted me all year and put me in the right spots and my job is to deliver.”

Braun was ready to deliver and it showed.

If he and the Nuggets can deliver a couple more wins, he will be part of a select group in history.

1) Lakers eliminated from playoffs after an epically disappointing season

2) Nets win, Hawks and Hornets lose, Brooklyn back up to No. 8 seed in East

3) Toronto wins, rises up to No. 5 seed, and will be a tough out come playoffs

Highlight of the Night: Clarkson splits the double, switch hands mid-air, gets bucket

Yesterday’s scores:

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