- After the latest incident involving an unruly fan, Wizards coach Scott Brooks urged potential troublemakers to stay home, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. A fan ran onto the court in Game 4 between the Sixers and Wizards and was tackled by security. “There’s great fans in Boston and New York and Philly and D.C., Utah. But there’s some that just need to, you know what, stay home,” he said. “Your thinking is barbaric. Stay home. We don’t need you. We don’t need your dollars. Just stay home. Get away from us.” The fan will be banned from the arena and criminal charges are being pursued against him.
Joel Embiid will be listed as doubtful for Game 5 of the Sixers’ first-round series against the Wizards on Wednesday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. He had an MRI on his right knee on Tuesday, and is expected to be evaluated further prior to the game.
The fact that Embiid won’t be listed as out could be construed as a good sign that at least the injury isn’t serious. Embiid played 11 minutes on Monday before retreating to the locker room after taking a hard fall.
Washington remained alive in the series by winning Game 4 and the Wizards have a legitimate chance to rally back from a 3-0 deficit if Embiid can’t play or is limited the rest of the series. According to the latest injury report from the Wizards (Twitter link), Russell Westbrook will play in Game 5 after originally being listed as questionable with a right ankle sprain.
Dwight Howard and Mike Scott would likely pick up the bulk of Embiid’s minutes if he can’t play, though coach Doc Rivers could opt for smaller lineups.
Embiid underwent surgery on his left knee in 2017 and has dealt with soreness in that knee at times. He averaged 29.3 PPG in Philadelphia’s three victories in the series.
An MRI conducted on Davis Bertans‘ injured right calf revealed a Grade 2 strain, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski, Bertans will require four-to-six weeks to recover from the injury.
It’s bad news for the Wizards and for the veteran forward, who suffered the injury in Monday’s win over Philadelphia after scoring 15 points in just 23 minutes. However, given that Washington is down 3-1 in the series, it may not have mattered if Bertans had just been ruled out for a few days rather than for a few weeks — his season would likely be over either way.
Still, considering the Sixers are dealing with an important injury of their own – Joel Embiid (knee) is also undergoing an MRI today – the door is slightly ajar for the Wizards to make the series interesting. If they’re going to do so, they’ll have to lean on power forward Rui Hachimura to play an increased role. While he’ll be hard-pressed to replicate Bertans’ floor-spacing ability, Hachimura has knocked down 8-of-12 threes through four games.
After signing a five-year, $80MM contract last offseason, Bertans had an up-and-down 2020/21 season. In 57 games (25.7 MPG), he recorded 11.5 PPG on .404/.395/.870 shooting, which represented a dip in his production from ’19/20. He should be fully healthy well in advance of the start of the second season of that five-year deal.
While the Sixers will need a healthy Embiid to make a serious run at the NBA Finals, the club is confident that it can win one more game against the Wizards and advance to the second round with or without its All-Star center.
- Wizards forward Davis Bertans was having his best game of the playoffs on Monday before a right calf strain forced him to exit the game early. It’s the same injury that sidelined him for two weeks in March, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, who reports that Bertans will undergo an MRI on Tuesday.
Russell Westbrook was a game-time decision Saturday because of an ankle sprain he suffered in Game 2, but his Wizards teammates never had any doubt that he would be ready, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Westbrook not only played, he recorded his 11th playoff triple-double, posting 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in a loss to the Sixers.
“I know Russ. If it’s not broke, he’s going to play,” Bradley Beal said. “So, I’m gonna be honest, I kind of knew after the last game he was going to play. Just knowing who he is, if he could play for two minutes then he was going to go out there and give it everything he had.”
Westbrook said after the game that his ankle felt “so-so” and he “just tried to go out and do what I can.” His status for Monday night’s Game 4 hasn’t been determined.
There’s more on the Wizards:
- Beal has taken a major step this season in proving he can be a franchise player, according to Kareem Copeland of The Washington Post. Beal has been moving in that direction for years, but his status became clearer with the trade of John Wall. “I take pride in getting better each and every game and, obviously, in the offseason getting better,” Beal said. “… Coach trusts me, teammates and the organization trusts me to just continue to lead and kind of be the franchise focal point. Obviously, I still have a long way to go and still have a lot of room to go. But I’m definitely not the same player I was two years ago in that series.”
- The Wizards moved Davis Bertans into the starting lineup to provide more size against a taller Philadelphia team, but his shooting woes prevented that move from being effective, notes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Bertans is normally one of the league’s most dangerous three-point threats, but he made just one of five shots from long distance in Game 3 after missing all four attempts in Game 2.
- Sixers center Joel Embiid is putting up dominant numbers in the first-round series after being an MVP candidate during the regular season. It’s a tough matchup for Daniel Gafford, but coach Scott Brooks believes the experience will benefit the young center in the long run, Hughes tweets.
The Wizards will have Russell Westbrook in the lineup for tonight’s Game 3 against the Sixers, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Philadelphia’s Seth Curry will also be active, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Westbrook was a game-time decision with a sprained right ankle that he suffered in Game 2. He didn’t practice on Friday, but he made enough progress with the injury that Washington’s medical staff cleared him for tonight.
Curry sprained his left ankle in Game 2 and missed practice as well on Friday, but received clearance just before game time.
Wizards point guard Russell Westbrook is officially listed as questionable to play Saturday’s Game 3 against the Sixers due to a right ankle sprain, the team tweets. Westbrook injured his ankle in the second half of Game 2. He played just 29 minutes and shot 2-for-10 from the field. If he can’t go, Ish Smith would likely move into the lineup and play big minutes.
We have more from the Wizards:
- Daniel Gafford understands why the coaching staff hasn’t let him play heavy minutes, as Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington details. Gafford has played 20 minutes in both games of the series. Gafford says his conditioning wasn’t ideal due to his spotty minutes before he was traded from the Bulls. “Sometimes it’s terrible, sometimes it’s better than what it was the day before,” he said. “I have to really just maintain consistency on where my conditioning is when it comes to doing things off the court and stuff. My conditioning was lopsided at the time [of the trade]. I’ve had a weird year, I’m not going to lie to you.”
- Regardless of how the series shakes out, the playoffs are a perfect measuring stick for the Wizards’ roster heading into a crucial offseason, Hughes writes in a separate story. It could require a trade or a key free agent acquisition to take the next step to being a title contender, or simply improvement from within, Hughes continues. They’ll have to decide whether to mortgage their future to put the necessary pieces around Bradley Beal and Westbrook, Hughes adds.
- The front office needs to put its mid-level exception and first-round pick to good use this offseason, specifically to address its lack of perimeter shooters, David Aldridge of The Athletic opines. With Davis Bertans rendered a non-factor in the series, Washington doesn’t have any consistent 3-point threats on the current roster, Aldridge notes.
It was a rough night for Russell Westbrook in Philadelphia on Wednesday. The Wizards guard left the blowout loss in the fourth quarter after injuring his right ankle, then had popcorn dumped on him by fan as he limped toward the locker room. Addressing the incident after the game, Westbrook called on the NBA to better protect its players with fans now permitted back in arenas, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes.
“To be completely honest, this s–t is getting out of hand, especially for me. The amount of disrespect, the amount of fans just doing whatever the f–k they want to do — it’s just out of pocket,” Westbrook said. “There are certain things that cross the line. Any other setting … a guy were to come up on the street and pour popcorn on my head, you know what happens. … In these arenas, you got to start protecting the players. We’ll see what the NBA does.”
The Sixers announced today in a press release that the fan who poured popcorn on Westbrook has had his season ticket membership revoked and will be banned indefinitely from attending events at Wells Fargo Center. While that’s a good first step, it’ll be interesting to see if the league takes any further action.
LeBron James (via Twitter) echoed Westbrook’s call for the NBA to protect its players, and the incident in Philadelphia isn’t the only one involving fans this week. A Knick fan appeared to spit on Hawks guard Trae Young on Wednesday (link via Bleacher Report), and Jason Quick of The Athletic notes (via Twitter) that multiple Trail Blazers players took issue with some Nuggets fans as the team was leaving the court in Game 2.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- Westbrook’s impressive play in the second half of the season was crucial in propelling the Wizards into the playoffs, but the team will need more from him in this series in order to have a chance at upsetting Philadelphia, writes Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. First and foremost, the Wizards will need Westbrook healthy — his status remain up in the air after Wednesday’s ankle injury.
- Hawks head coach Nate McMillan found his rotation decisions under the spotlight following Wednesday’s loss, but he said he was happy with his game plan, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. “Our starters played 35-plus minutes. That’s a lot of minutes for those guys,” McMillan said. “Trae plays 35. Bogi (Bogdan Bogdanovic) plays 35. Clint (Capela) is at 36. That’s a lot of minutes for starters. … I thought we got a little gassed in that first half. I think we have to give those guys a little breather. They’re not going to be able to play 40-48 minutes.”
- Heat president of basketball operations Pat Riley was aware that his club probably needed more firepower to have a chance to return to the NBA Finals this year, says Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. However, Riley was unable to land Kyle Lowry at the deadline and his acquisition of Victor Oladipo didn’t work out, which could contribute to an early postseason exit for the defending Eastern champs.
- With the Heat trailing the Bucks 2-0, Anthony Chiang and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald explore whether a frontcourt pairing of Bam Adebayo and second-half addition Dewayne Dedmon might be a viable solution to counter Milwaukee’s size.
During a recent media session, Wizards head coach Scott Brooks responded to growing fan interest in athletic, defensive-oriented reserve center Daniel Gafford receiving a heavier minutes load, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington.
“There’s always other things to consider; foul situations that we have to be aware of,” Brooks said. “One thing I love about Gaff’ is he understands and he wants to get better. He’s very coachable, he listens to our veterans, he listens to our coaches. He’s a really, really talented young player that’s going to continue to grow into a really good player.”
Gafford is currently averaging 17.7 MPG for the Wizards this season, more than starter Alex Len (15.8 MPG) but fewer than fellow bench big Robin Lopez (19.1 MPG).
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel wonders if the Heat will make another run at current Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry, a free agent this summer. Miami considered trading for the former six-time All-Star at this season’s deadline, but instead opted to add guard Victor Oladipo, who only appeared in four games for the club before requiring another surgery on the right quadriceps tendon he initially ruptured in 2019. Winderman notes that Heat star swingman Jimmy Butler and Lowry are close, as Lowry is the godfather to Butler’s daughter. Winderman adds that adding a high-level veteran point guard to upgrade the position could help the Heat convince Butler to ink a contract extension, which he will be eligible to do this summer.
- With the Magic potentially in position to make two lottery selections in this summer’s tantalizing draft, Josh Robbins of The Athletic examines which Orlando players seem most likely to stick around into the 2021/22 season, and which seem liable to leave. Robbins predicts that shooting guard Dwayne Bacon, forward Ignas Brazdeikis, and big man Donta Hall will all be moving on this summer.
- The Wizards will be boosting the crowd capacity of their home court, the Capital One Arena, to 50% of its total capacity, writes Ava Wallace of the Washington Post. The venue had previously permitted just 25% capacity due to coronavirus-era indoor attendance restrictions. Now, approximately 10,000 fans will be able to watch the Wizards’ first postseason home games in three seasons when the team’s current first-round matchup against the Sixers moves to D.C. on Saturday.
As we discussed on Monday, the postseason is off to a fascinating start in the Western Conference, where the underdogs in all four series won Game One. The results in the Eastern Conference haven’t been quite as surprising so far.
The No. 1 Sixers and No. 2 Nets took care of the Wizards and Celtics in their respective Game Ones. Although Washington and Boston were competitive, the star power of the higher seeds may be too much for the two play-in teams — Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris racked up a combined 67 points for Philadelphia on Sunday, while Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden scored 82 of Brooklyn’s 104 points on Saturday.
Meanwhile, after upsetting the Bucks in last year’s second round, the Heat have dug themselves a 2-0 hole in this year’s first round, and Monday’s loss was especially one-sided. Milwaukee poured in 46 first-quarter points and 22 total three-pointers en route to a blowout victory.
Based on what we’ve seen so far, the most exciting Eastern Conference series in the first round should be the one featuring two teams that have spent the last few years out of the postseason. The Knicks and Hawks went down to the wire on Sunday, with Trae Young clinching an Atlanta victory by hitting a floater with less than a second left in regulation.
The Celtics, Wizards, and Heat still have plenty of time to turn things around, but oddsmakers view it as a long shot that any of these three clubs will pull off a comeback. BetOnline.ag currently lists the Nets as -2750 favorites, meaning that if you want to bet on Brooklyn to win the series, you’d have to risk $2,750 in order to win just $100. The Sixers (-1800) and Bucks (-1000) are also heavy favorites.
The Hawks’ Game 1 upset has made them the frontrunners over the Knicks, but Vegas still views that series as practically a toss-up compared to the other three — Atlanta is only a -255 favorite.
We want to know what you think. Will the East’s top three seeds hold on and win their respective series with relative ease, or will the Celtics, Wizards, and/or Heat come alive and make things interesting? Do you expect a long series between the Hawks and Knicks? Who are you picking to win that one?
Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!