The Cavaliers‘ 55-point blowout victory in Miami on Monday sent them to the second round and established a new NBA record — Cleveland’s +122 margin in the four-game sweep made it the most lopsided playoff series in league history, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
There was plenty to like about the Cavaliers’ dominant first-round performance against the Heat. One major positive, Vardon writes, was the strong play of reserve forward De’Andre Hunter, who bounced back in impressive fashion after he “looked a little lost” in Game 1, when he went scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting in 16 minutes.
Hunter scored double-digit points in each of the next three games, including 20.0 PPG on 63.2% shooting (66.7% on three-pointers) in the two road victories in Miami. Head coach Kenny Atkinson said the Cavaliers didn’t make any specific adjustments after Game 1 and that Hunter’s strong play in his next three outings was about him “gaining more confidence and being more comfortable.”
The Cavs led the NBA in offensive rating during the regular season (121.0) and are doing so again in the playoffs (136.2). As Vardon observes, having Hunter scoring and shooting that effectively off the bench is one significant reason why Cleveland’s offense is so dangerous.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- In the wake of Damian Lillard‘s Achilles tear, Michael Pina of The Ringer argues that it would be in the Bucks‘ best interests to trade superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo sooner rather than later. With no clear short-term path to contention and no control of their own draft picks for the next several years, the Bucks’ best path to long-term success would be to build around the massive haul they could get in return for their two-time MVP, Pina contends.
- Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin, who missed Game 4 due to an abdominal contusion, had a hard time eating and sleeping after sustaining the injury in Game 3, head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters, including Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Mathurin has reportedly improved in recent days, but he’s not a lock to play in Game 5 on Tuesday — he’s listed as questionable.
[Update: Mathurin will be available for Game 5.] - Another Pacers wing, Aaron Nesmith, is considered probable to play on Tuesday due to a lower back bruise he suffered in Game 4 after a chase-down block on a Bobby Portis layup attempt (Twitter video link). Nesmith was lauded by his teammates for his willingness to put his body on the line, Dopirak writes for the Indianapolis Star. “That’s who Double-A is,” Tyrese Haliburton said. “What he brings doesn’t always show up on the scoresheet. Some people say, like, they’re willing to die for this. Double-A is willing to die for this. He gives it his all every night and I think every team in the NBA wants a guy like Aaron Nesmith. Every team who wins big and ultimately wins it all always has a guy like Aaron Nesmith.”
- It’s not uncommon for young teams making their first playoff appearance to experience growing pains as they adjust to the heightened intensity of the NBA postseason. The Pistons are going through that process during their first-round series vs. New York, as Hunter Patterson of The Athletic details. “We are learning our way through every challenge that’s in front of us,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “I think our guys have done a great job of learning from one moment to the next.”
Michael Pina, your opinion is just as good as mine and all others. Thank goodness all it is is an opinion. Where does it say that only major cities should be privileged to have superstar talent today for them? Enough with the LA, NY chatter.
Right, clearly sports media would benefit from Giannis playing in a a larger market. Every day it’s a new story even though he has said publicly he would never ask out; they gotta sell those advertisements.
It certainly doesn’t say anything about New York or Los Angeles in Pina’s article. It mentions Houston, Orlando and OKC.
Cmon Toad let um protest (forget about reality for a second) , they already bought the pitchforks, let um have their fun
Bigger Q Is… Wouldn’t you want to net the +++package for G right now if your a Mil fan??
Im not a Mil fan , but I certainly 1000% would, this team is going absolutely nowhere and you’d set a rebuild back 3~4 years if you don’t start it this summer. Nobody has to request anything, an adult meeting will occur and the writings all over the wall for everyone attending that meeting (Gianis inc)
G’s Mil tenure might be 19 more mins as of this post
It’s hard to trade a player like Giannis when he means so much to the city and the franchise but I think it’s the right move for all parties involved. The Bucks aren’t getting better and trade assets are depleted and everyone is getting older. His trade value will be at the highest this off season as he’s still under contract for two seasons after this one and the closer he gets to the end of it the less other teams will be willing to give up.
I hate to see Giannis’ prime wasted because he’s probably to proud to ask for a trade but would love to be in a truly competitive situation.
If it is one of the three teams Pina mentioned they all be instant contenders. That’s not to say OKC isn’t, they’re most likely winning it all this season but they’d be nearly unstoppable for next two seasons if they traded for Giannis.