“HeatCheck” tag's highlights of related matches, posts & more...
WTF Just Happened In Game 2?!
How are there people complaining about this year’s finals matchup? Just look at how the ball flies offensively, but also the great effort by the Bucks on defense to close out and contest. At the end however Phoenix is able to penetrate inside and Ayton finishes with the and 1. This is absolutely beautiful and great effort from both teams. And despite the 2-0 lead, I have a feeling that the series is far from over. Let me explain. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. After getting burned on the pick and roll and those switches with Lopez in the first game, now you could see the adjustment by Milwaukee right from the start. They fought hard to get over the screens and got a second defender to help out forcing CP3 and Booker into taking a more contested shot, or the second option- the Bucks basically said: We know that these 2 can beat us, so we wanna see if the others can make shots. Thing is, they did make a lot of these kick out threes off of these kick outs. The Suns made 20 out of 40 threes, 50% on that many makes, will pretty much get you the win every single game. Booker was the only one to take and make a few of those hero shots, but the large majority of those threes were open shots like these off of the help. But despite the loss, I’m intrigued by the adjustments that Milwaukee made, and they could have won this game. First of all, they got to where they wanted and took good shots. The Bucks had 54 points in the paint as most of those were Giannis dominating every single defender, but also check out all these great looks that Jrue and Middleton are getting with Antetokounmpo as the screener. These are automatic buckets, and just as Phoenix plays the pick and roll with Chris Paul over and over and over again looking for mismatches, Milwaukee needs to be way more frequent in featuring the Greek Freak in these 2 man actions. The only reason I would say for why the series is not tied at the moment, is the horrific shooting night by Holiday and Middleton. Khris had a few open shots that just rimmed out, and if I’m him I continue to be aggressive and forget about this one. On the other hand, this is the second bad offensive game in a row for Jrue. I love how he gets inside and creates great looks for himself, but at the same time you can’t miss these. Not in the finals where every basket is invaluable. He even missed this layup on a fast break opportunity. And this sequence pretty much tells the story of the game for him. Gets all the way to the rim and misses the layup, but fights for the ball, and moments later look at how he finds himself completely wide open for the three. And misses that one as well. I love this player, and what he gives them defensively every single game including this one is indispensable but at the same time, Giannis needs help for this team to win. We saw that even by going nuclear with 42 points he cannot do it alone. And that’s how we get to my point. I think that back home in Milwaukee, with their backs against the wall, all of these easy shots will start to fall. There will be no missed layups, the intensity is going to be even higher, and we all know that role players play way better at home. So despite the 0-2 hole, I feel like they found an answer for the exploits from game 1 defensively, and now it’s only a matter of getting the offense right and executing. And even tho I’d love the Suns and CP3 to win it all, at the same time, I’m in for a long and interesting series. We’ll see if they give that to us. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.
POINT GOD REVEALED: How CP3 Got To The NBA Finals
The Clippers had success with the zone in game 5 so they started off with it again. However, Phoenix was expecting it and, check out the response this time. Crowder cuts along the middle creating the misdirection, all the attention is right here, but at the same time, Bridges takes off to the basket and gets a back screen from the big man, and you can already see it happening. The lob and the dunk. Next possession, we got the screen up top, allowing Chris Paul to penetrate in the middle and he kicks it to the corner. The pass is not perfect but a good catch by Crowder, fires and knocks down the three. The Suns started off blazing hot from downtown in the first quarter forcing LA to switch to a man to man defense and with that neutralizing the advantage that they had last game. And that’s only the beginning of this story, one that finally had a happy ending for CP3. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. The type of defense didn’t matter for Devin Booker in terms of his approach for this game. He was going to attack at all costs. You could see him early on pushing in transition, and either going all the way to the basket, or stopping at his favorite spot right here at the elbow for the pull up and the swish. Booker and the Suns didn’t wanna allow the Clippers to set up their defense, and that worked extremely well for them early on. In the half court however, all the looks that Devin got, involved movement. Right here, he starts at the elbow, and great maneuvering going under the screen, leaving Beverley trailing behind as he goes on the outside. So there is no stopping as he catches the ball, rather going straight back to that right elbow where he fires and hits the jumper. Again, starts off ball at the wing, great handoff by Payne stopping Batum on the chase. Book goes around the Ayton pick and is all alone for this three pointer. You know that he’s going to punish the Clippers. Pretty much the same play in the second half. The handoff, the big man is waiting here, but actually slips the screen this time. So now you can see we got a 2 on 1 situation, Cousins leaves a lot of room for this floater and of course it goes in. And once again, only this time it’s contested way better but Devin is already in a nice rhythm so even the good defense doesn’t make a difference on this possession as we got another floater. And, I criticized Deandre the last game for the lack of aggression, so you can see him sealing the smaller defenders inside the paint and actively looking for the ball. As he should be. I mean, there’s no way that this small lineup that Los Angeles had on the court could contain him. I still think that this is not enough touches. Dude went 8/10 from the field. That’s 80%. Let’s try to see if he can go double that, 16 for 20. All night until the opposing team does something about it. Anyway, 16 points and 17 rebounds, another big night for him. Phoenix had a comfortable lead for a big portion of the game. But as the Clippers started to make a run, and you could feel the game getting close at the end of the third, it was none other than Chris Paul that took control and would not let go of the lead. 3 straight possessions in a 90 second span, of straight iso CP3, to get the lead from 7, all the way back up to 15 to enter the 4th quarter. He single handedly stopped the momentum of the home team, and continued even harder in the last 12 minutes of the game. 31 of his 41 points came in the second half with everything on the line. An unbelievable performance. You could see him sensing that this is the moment, the time for him to take matters into his own hands and after so many heartbreaks and missed opportunities, to finally step on the biggest stage that we all agree he deserves to be on. The NBA finals. For the first time in his career at age 36. Never say never baby. At the end, you could see how emotional Paul was, and how much this means to him. To be honest, I am super happy for Chris. As a person who appreciates smart and efficient play, to me he is the player when you talk about basketball IQ so I’ve been pulling for him to finally win the championship. Whoever comes out of the east, the Suns and CP3 certainly feel they have a great chance to win it all. I absolutely agree and wish that they do it. One time for the point god. Let me know in the comments who do you think come out of the east, and who you got in the finals. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.
WHAT IS GIANNIS DOING HERE?!?! (Nobody Is Talking About This!!!)
We witnessed a legendary performance by Kevin Durant. By now you’ve seen all the highlights, But did you notice how and why Giannis wasn’t guarding him on any of those possessions? Let me go deep and break down the hidden details that you may have missed. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. First things first, let me start off by saying I admire the courage of James Harden to go out there clearly injured and limited in what he could do but regardless give everything he got. Although he looked awful and I kind of felt sorry for him at times. Watch how he’s getting blown by guys in their first step. I know the joke was on him for years about his defense, but let me tell you there is no way he gets abused on defense like this if he’s healthy. Like look at this: Pat Counaghton just flies by him like there’s nobody in front. And there were multiple instances where Harden’s man created an advantage which resulted in a 3 for Milwaukee. And the situation was just as obvious offensively. 1 for 10 shooting, and you can clearly see that there’s no burst of speed, no acceleration, just jogging up and down the court, trying to preserve that hamstring which is where you fire off of when you want to speed up. Still despite all of that Harden played almost 46 minutes which is crazy. The team needed him to be on the court to just be a threat and have a defender close to him at all times, which as we saw was enough to open things up for KD to go ballistic. To me the real hero of this game was Jeff Green. 7 for 8 from downtown, a scorching hot shooting night when nobody expected that from him. With virtually nobody else stepping up to help KD carry the load, Green was out there knocking down shot after shot, keeping the team within striking distance, and allowing for that offensive explosion by their leader to secure a comeback. And that same leader was loud in praising these 2 guys Green and Harden for how they battled in this game. DURANT PRAISING HARDEN AND GREEN But let’s now go to the main point of this video. Why and how did Kevin Durant score his 49 points, and could the Bucks players as well as coaching staff do something else to prevent this catastrophic outcome for them. This tweet by CJ Mccollum might look weird at first glance but let me decode it for you. This right here means easy money. And this is who that is. Easy Money Sniper on IG. So CJ is trying to say that while KD has been cooking in the second half, Giannis kept standing to the side guarding guys like Bruce Brown and Landry Shamet. Like for real, the Nets absolutely destroyed Milwaukee with this high screen for Durant letting him get a head of steam, switch the primary defender off of him, and then Brook Lopez is left on an island here, he drops to protect the basket, and KD just raises up and knocks down the jumper. This is exactly how Brooklyn cut down the lead in the third quarter that was as big as 16 points and made this game interesting. While that was in transition- in the fourth quarter in the half court, it was pretty much the same thing of just trying to get the main guy whether PJ or Middleton switched off of him. And once that happens, you can see how easy it is for Easy Money Sniper to get a shot up and splash it. And you can see throughout that whole time, Giannis Antetokounmpo- the 2020 defensive player of the year, and this year’s first team all defense is standing in the corner guarding guys who are nowhere near the threat of scoring 50 points in a game. And the media kind of pressed him on this topic in the postgame interview, about him taking the challenge and guarding the best player in this series. GIANNIS INTERVIEW So as he says right here, I guess it’s Coach Bud to blame for not putting him on KD? I don’t know, at some point when you’re the leader of the team, you gotta step up and take the responsibility in my opinion. And I guess I can understand the fact that Giannis is the main weapon offensively so maybe the strategy was to save him as much as possible on defense so that he could go all out on the other end, but maaan, KD was playing alone in this game and he still battled on defense. To me there had to be some possessions where if not directly on him, Giannis should have at least been higher up closer to the perimeter so that it’s tougher for Brooklyn to look for the switch. This way, Durant got blistering hot and when the game was on the line, he was able to fire off one last heat check, a contested shot from waaay downtown, which ultimately sealed it. And this reaction says it all. KD CELEBRATION Of course we don’t know what happens in games 6 or possibly 7, but to me, this iconic performance by KD a triple double with 49 points 17 rebounds and 10 assists, playing every single second of the game. Exactly 48 minutes out of 48 minutes on the court.
Wait... Bucks Won BECAUSE OF THIS?!?!
Look at this defense on the pick and roll. Lopez stops the penetration and Holiday is quick to get out of that screen. Great activity by both players, and once it gets to a 1 on 1, Jrue is absolutely attached to Kyrie, forcing a contested jumper and a bad miss. And watching this whole possession you’ll understand why this game ended with the score in the low 80s. Look at the multiple deflections, the aggressiveness, and ultimately the block, to force a 24 second violation as the crowd goes crazy. The game ended that way as well. Scramble situation, great double team on Irving, and they made Bruce Brown beat them which if you’re the Bucks, that’s exactly what you want, as this wild shot hits nothing but the backboard. Milwaukee somehow survived, but it definitely wasn’t pretty, and if you ask me I’m afraid that it’s hard to sustain as well. Let me go through some clips and explain exactly what I mean. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Starting off with what I loved from the game. There were multiple instances of suffocating defense, and part of the reason why KD and Kyrie shot 39 and 41% respectively is exactly that. Brook Lopez had 6 blocks in this game, and the perimeter defenders did a good job of pressuring and funneling guys towards him, so as you can see this sequence here, Irving has Holiday on him the whole time, so he’s not really able to see Brook coming to help. And as he flips it up, Lopez is there for the block. And as always I gotta give credit to PJ Tucker for fighting hard against possibly the greatest pure scorer the NBA has seen. Stays with him right here the whole time, goes up to contest and you see the result. But this is also where we get to a grey area in the game. Check out this drive for example, where we can clearly see the bump by Tucker. Last night this was a miss and play on, but we saw these being called in Brooklyn so PJ was constantly in foul trouble. This subtle bump right here by Jrue as well. Disrupts the rhythm of Irving, and even tho overall I loved this defense both from Holiday as well as Lopez, I’m afraid that they could be called on the Nets home court. But I never wanna comment on officiating so let’s move on. Instead, check out some of the missed shots by Brooklyn. A lot of these as you can see are wide open looks, that they usually are able to knock down. Especially when we talk about one of the best shooters in the league Joe Harris. Like, look at these. The Bucks really dodged a bullet in this game, as I really don’t see Joe going 1-11 on shots like these again in the series. Culminating with this last one with under a minute to go. He’ll never be more open than this. Wow. Anyway, a good thing for Milwaukee is the fact that Chris Middleton finally made his presence felt. After the abysmal shooting of 6 for 23 and 7 for 20 in the first 2 games, he exploded for 35 points on 48% shooting. On this pick and roll with Giannis, Brooklyn wasn’t switching, to keep the primary big on Antetokounmpo. So with the defender trailing him, Khris just raises up and hits the midrange shot. Again in the 4th, Blake gives him cushion, to defend the roll, and Middleton uses that to swish a clutch shot with the game on the line. And you know you have it going when you raise up above the long arms of KD and knock down a three in his face, and especially in transition, on a semi fast break, stopping on a dime and shooting a heat check to send a crowd into a frenzy. And the greek freak...maaan I could make a dedicated 1 hour video solely about the blessing and the curse of having him on the team. I’ll just explain that in under a minute. You have moments like these in transition where he looks unstoppable. Dunking all over the defense while guys just bounce off of him. But then in the half court, look at this absolutely mind boggling sequence of him just dribbling around going back and forth and back and forth which ultimately ends up with a jump ball. As you watch some of these bad looking possessions I’m not going to overcomplicate things and say that Giannis is at his best when he’s used as a screener, so if Im Budenholzer that’s what I'm doing. Either run a pick and roll with him and Middleton or him and Holiday, and make things happen from there. As for right now, as a neutral NBA fan, and one that’s always against superteams, I’m just happy that this series is getting longer. That’s all I need to enjoy at this moment. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.
The Most UNEXPECTED NBA HEROES In Clutch Games
Shake Milton of all people was the sixers hero of game 2. Doc Rivers put him in the game out of sheer desperation. And he delivered big time. Scoring 14 points in just as many minutes and while being blazing hot from downtown. In a way he brought Philly the win, by blowing the game open with this truly unexpected and memorable performance. So today, we’re taking a look at some of those unsung heroes. What up everybody my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Leon Powe: A 49th selection in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets, Powe was subsequently traded to the Celtics. His rookie season was modest to put it lightly. Powe averaged 4.2 points in 11.4 minutes per contest. Yet, the formation of the big three in the summer of 2007 in Boston might have been the best thing that ever happened to him. Though his averages in the 2007-08 season, too, were unspectacular, people in and around the league began noticing him. But what happened around five months later shocked the entire basketball world. In Game 2 of the 2008 NBA Finals, Powe erupted for 21 crucial points as Boston won, 108-102. The sophomore was aggressive from the moment he entered the floor, as evidenced by the fact that he scored nine of those points from the free-throw line. An underrated stat of his performance is that he spent just 15 minutes on the floor. As we all know, the Celtics would eventually go on to win the 2008 title. That’s why Celtics fans will always have a soft spot for him. Mike Miller: Did you know that Mike Miller was actually the Rookie of the Year in 2001 and Sixth Man of the Year in 2006. But even though he was a spectacular shooter (40.7% from deep for his career), his career until he joined the Big Three in Miami didn’t suggest he would one day be perhaps the crucial factor in a Finals game. Even LeBron, Wade, and Bosh, and Spoelstra and Riley for that matter, had to have been shocked after Game 5 of the 2012 Finals. The Heat, up 3-1 against the Oklahoma City, needed a win to secure the second title in their history. The focus was of course on the LeBron-Durant matchup. However, Miller outshone even them, despite James’ triple-double and KD’s 32 points. In just 23:14 minutes on the floor, Miller was unconscious from deep, hitting seven three pointers. What’s crazy, even by his standards, is that he needed just eight attempts to do so. Miller finished with 23 points and five rebounds, his performance being entrenched in Heat history. Mike would stay with this team for the following season as well, and win another championship. Which was followed by a one-year stay in Cleveland, and a two-year stint with the Nuggets to finish off his career. John Paxon: Most people remember John Paxson for his three-pointer against the Phoenix Suns in the 1993 Finals, which effectively sealed the Chicago Bulls’ first three-peat. Yet, though such a shot may be the pinnacle for a player of а similar stature, that is not the case with the Bulls guard. In Game 5 of the 1991 Finals, Paxson went off for 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the clinching 108-101 victory. He scored 10 of Chicago’s last 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the final minutes to break open a close game. Though Jordan scored 30 points, there was a moment in the fourth quarter when Phil Jackson specifically told Jordan to get the ball to Paxson. And of course the sharpshooter delivered big time, helping the Chicago Bulls secure the title. As one Bulls fan would jokingly explain, Paxson’s three against the Suns is for boys, his Game 5 performance against the Lakers is for men. Paxson, who averaged 7.2 points per game for his career, would retire with the Bulls with three rings in 1994. And he has held various positions within Chicago's front office since 2003. Kenny The Jet Smith It seems that as time goes by, younger fans will remember Kenny Smith more as the guy from Inside the NBA than as Kenny “the Jet’ Smith from the Rockets. That, however, would be unfair. This is not to say that Smith was a spectacular player, but anytime you win two championships and average 12.8 points per game and 39.9% from deep for your career, a majority of players would take that any day. Kenny Smith Game 1 of 1995 Finals: 23 PTS / 9 AST / 7-11 3PT But what he did in Game 1 of the 1995 Finals against the Magic made basketball fans forget all about those numbers. The Jet played 42 minutes, finishing with 23 points and nine assists. 21 of those points came on a then-Finals record seven three pointers (on 11 attempts). His contribution cannot be overstated, especially since the Magic had been up by as many as 20 with a little under four minutes to go until the end of the half. His career moment even came at the end of regulation. With his team down by three. Mario Elie inbounded to Kenny, who dribbled twice to the top of the key, pump-faked Penny Hardaway and leaned left to bury a 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left to tie game and force overtime.
EXPOSED: The REAL Reason For The LAKERS ELIMINATION
As Lebron James gets the deflection and the Lakers go in transition, he stays in the backcourt. And the Suns are able to contain the initial attack, so you can see at this moment that all the Lakers are in the front court but he’s not even in the frame. Oh there he is riiight here. In an elimination game at home, down by 21 in the second quarter, I absolutely expected more out of the king, and if you stick around you’ll see why it’s actually not surprising that the Phoenix Suns eliminated the Lakers. But at the same time, I’m not blaming James as well. Why? Let me explain everything. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. First things first, all credit goes to the Phoenix Suns. Like, look at this. You got 3 defenders literally standing in front of the basket, there is no possible way to get inside. And you got the 2 guys on the outside also being active. Woow talk about executing a game plan to perfection. Just look at Crowder and all the pushing and shoving and fighting that he did in this game to help his team out with every ounce of energy, battling on the defensive end against the much bigger Lebron. Check out the multiple efforts here as he ultimately ends up with the block for the jump ball. And lastly, with another block, saving what would have been 2 points here. But maaan, as much as was about the defense, look at Lebron, he’s got no lift whatsoever. That’s the reason why he misses this layup in the first place in my opinion. Same reason why he misses this one as well. Come on now, Devin Booker should not be able to contain him in normal circumstances right?! And let’s compare yet another missed layup on the drive against Frank Kaminsky right here… To another drive from earlier in the season against Rudy Gobert, when Lebron hammered it down, as the defensive player of the year finalist actually got out of the way in time. My point here is: James did not seem to have the strength nor the endurance to go in these playoffs. You could see him being gassed and hanging his head, not crossing half court as I already mentioned, being passive at times, and flat out asking for a sub in the fourth quarter just as the Lakers battled back all the way from 29 point deficit to make this an interesting game down the stretch. The face says it all tho, as this was far from the player that famously said “the whole game, I’m playing the whole game” in a similar elimination type setup from a few years ago. This exhausted and worn out look is definitely a lot different than this iconic death stare that we all remember from the legendary Heat vs Celtics series. Thing is, even if you have the determination and the will, you can only go as far as your body takes you. Whether it was that ankle injury that’s been bothering him, or the undefeated father time catching up to Lebron, he is starting to look like a mere mortal on the court possibly for the first time in his career. That was only amplified by the fact that the Suns only needed to cover him defensively, since Anthony Davis gave it a go with the groin injury but in only 5 minutes on the court, he saw that he’s by no means healthy enough to play, so as you can see right here, the painful grimace, the disappointment, as he left the game early in the first quarter, leaving the king all by himself. If you ask James himself tho, there’s no room for concern whatsoever, as he said that the prolonged rest that he’ll be able to have this off season will take care of all problems and come next season, he will be ready to compete at the highest level. (LEBRON INTERVIEW) And despite the loss, after a hard fought series, I love the humility as we see Lebron James and Devin Booker here. James gifting an autographed jersey saying continue to be great to Book, which of course most of you know is sort of like a 2nd chapter in Booker’s career after Kobe Bryant famously gifted his sneakers to Devin and wrote Be Great on them. Something that meant so much to the young fella that he even went and tattooed that same Kobe writing. And boy am I glad for him! From being attacked year after year that he’s kind of an empty calories type of player, that he can only put up big numbers on a losing team, Booker led Phoenix to the next round defeating the champions of all teams, and putting up ridiculous numbers. Just look at some of these games that he had. Culminating with this game 6 where he exploded for 47 points on 8 for 10 from downtown. 80% from beyond the arc! Book had the flamethrower on him for this one. He burned the Lakers 2 times in a row with this action, starting from under the basket, then curling around for the handoff and fir ing away for the bucket. Exact same thing again. And when you get it going like that, then it’s heat check mode, raising up from anywhere! hand in his face, it didn’t matter.
Luka Doncic Did THE UNTHINKABLE & Nobody Is Talking About It
On this drive, Luka Doncic sees 3 defenders on him. Look at Morris swiping at the ball, Nick Batum is on his hip, and then right in front is Terrance Mann. Still, Luka handles a triple team like it’s literally nothing, as he easily lays it in. And right here, check out how much attention he attracts, as he’s boxed in by 4 Clippers players, but he sees Maxi Kleber wide open at the three point line, kicks it out and Maxi knocks down this great opportunity provided by Doncic. These plays are just an illustration of how dominant Luka was in this game. Doing absolutely anything he wanted on the court. But what if I told you that he did something that nobody else has in NBA history. What if I told you that this performance by him was one for the record books. Sit tight and follow along closely. We got a big one today. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. If you watched the game, or even if you didn’t and only took a look at the boxscore, you would see a stat line of 42 points and 14 assists which of course is monster in itself. But then, the unthinkable. Check this out: What you’re watching right now are 6 field goals, 4 made by Tim Hardaway Jr, 1 by Dwight Powell, and 1 by Kristaps Porzingis. These 6 were the only possessions that Luka Doncic was not involved in. Either by scoring or assisting on it. As we take a look at the complete list of field goals in this game, the red being the points by Luka, and the green being all of his assists, you see that he was directly involved in 31 out of the 37 made baskets for the Dallas Mavericks. Wait what?! Doncic created virtually all of the made baskets for the team in the entire game. So basically if you take away Luka, you take away 75 points from the Mavs in this game. If we factor in the free throws that other players made, 75 out of the total 105 points that Mavericks ended up with as a team is 71.4% that Doncic was personally responsible for. And 31 out of 37 is 83.78% if we talk about field goals. This is an unfathomable level of carrying a team. That’s virtually every successful possession for the team was in a way because of him. I’ve definitely never thought of this stat but if anyone told me I would watch a game like this, I’m not sure if I would believe them. This is crazy. Now, there are players that have a combined scoring + assisting number that’s higher than Luka’s 75. Just think of Kobe’s 81 + the 5 he assisted on that’s 86. Or Wilt’s 100 + the 4 assisted ones. However, percentage wise, Kobe’s 86 out of the Lakers total 122 in that game is 70.49% And Wilt’s 104 from the team’s 169 is only 61.54% compared to the 71.4% from Doncic. This puts him near the very top when we talk about carrying a team and how much a franchise is dependent on its star player. But he’s not number 1, and I will make a list about that in a video in the near future. Make sure you’re subscribed for that as well. Factoring in the circumstances of the injury that Luka’s been dealing with and we could see the previous game that it’s bothering him quite a lot at times, and the fact that this was a playoff game, a pivotal one at that, on top of that being played on the road, makes this one heck of a heroic performance by the young slovenian. He was a bit less enthusiastic than that however, and in the postgame Doncic said that he played pretty bad according to his standards. (DONCIC INTERVIEW) Luckily coach Rick Carlisle agreed with me so much that he actually was stumbling to find the right words to explain what he saw in game 5. (CARLISLE INTERVIEW) Talking about how great he is, Luka just had his 4th game with 40 or more points in the playoffs. And in just 11 career postseason games, he has as many 40s as Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan, Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard and Karl Malone had in their careers. Doncic has more than some NBA greats like Kyrie Irving, Paul Pierce, Anthony Davis, Patrick Ewing, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Just think about how unbelievable of an achievement that is at only 22 years, and again, with only 11 playoff games under his belt. Incredible. Even with all the heroics, the job is still not finished tho. Going back home for a closeout game 6 should be the perfect setup for the Mavs but this series has been so wild and unpredictable that we should absolutely be prepared for anything. This playoff matchup between LA and Dallas is only the second one in NBA history to have every road team win it for the first 5 games. The first one being the 1995 Western Conference Finals between the Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs. So since Kenny the Jet Smith was a part of that, he had something to say about this on Inside The NBA.
NOBODY IS TELLING YOU THIS: How The Suns SHOCKED The Lakers
As Lebron James gets the ball, great pressure up top by Crowder but then look at the rest of the suns, how they’re all in the paint ready to help. So as Lebron drives, he sees all these bodies, and look at this. This turns into a dogfight. And even after James was able to escape from that, you see again how Phoenix is protecting the paint at all costs. He’s forced into a contested jump shot and you see the result. There was a lot of this in game 5, as the Suns absolutely shocked the Lakers to get 1 step from winning this series. Let me reveal everything. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Similar situation here: Crowder is extra aggressive on this screen, and as soon as Lebron steps into the paint, look at all of these Phoenix defenders on him. The pass goes out to Dennis Shroeder who’s a below average 3 point shooter and he misses right here. Thing is, with the way LA has been shooting from downtown at only 30.2% the Suns had every right to take this gamble and make them hit shots from outside. Even in this situation, as the exact same thing happens, the drive, the multiple bodies in front, we got a great find in the corner for the wide open Carusso who knocks it in. This didn’t alter the game plan whatsoever for the Suns, as they played the numbers and it ultimately showed as the right move for them. In transition, check out the familiar defensive strategy of forming a wall that teams usually use against Giannis. James sees that and knows how tough it would be if he decides to go inside, so instead, settles for the long three right here and misses the shot. Even on the backdown, as the king steps inside, look at all this crowd here, and the great defense by Bridges here who stays vertical, hand up, forcing the kick out, Kuzma does a hot potato pass to Caldwell Pope, and this ultimately ends up being a bad, bad possession. Phenomenal rotation by the Suns tho. I gotta give them credit for executing the game plan to perfection. And I guess this whole thing of parking everyone under the basket, kind of surprised Dennis Schroeder, as he was a complete no show in this one, settling for long range shots, and shooting 0-9 and finishing game 5 without a single point. His drives were some of the main weapons offensively for the Lakers and a big reason for the 2 wins. But again, with this type of defense, there was not a lot of room for him to operate and just couldn’t figure things out. On the other side however, Devin Booker exploded from the very beginning. He was aggressive and looking to attack from the opening tip. Dude finished the first quarter with 18 points, and watching some of these shots, you can absolutely see why he can be one of the streakiest, hottest shooters in the league. I like the approach however. Booker knew that in order for Phoenix to win this game, he had to have a big game, and in front of the home crowd, Devin started off hot, and in combination with the team defense, they put the Lakers away by halftime. Leading by a mind boggling 30 points at the break. Now of course, all of this was made possible in part because of the absence of Anthony Davis who didn’t look good at all before the game, at this moment it seems like he won’t play in the next one as well. And if that’s the case, we may just have a new champion at the end of this season. But let’s wait and see. Let me know what you think, can Lebron will this team to the next round? That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.