Inevitable Nuggets, Surging Banchero, and Another Wild Knicks-Sixers Game

3 Most Significant Takes on Each of the 3 Game 3s

Last night we had 3 Game 3s, so let’s get into them with 3 most important takes on each of those games.

CLE - ORL Game 3

Banchero Used the Hustle to Get Into the Rhythm

Paolo Banchero started the game 2/10 in the first quarter, and it looked like he’s going to struggle yet again. He missed some wide-open 3-pointers and was well-defended by Mobley, Strus, and Niang. He didn’t let that put him down and continued to put in the work for his team by crashing the offensive glass and securing extra possessions and had 6 out of 9 offensive rebounds the Magic snatched in the 1st quarter.

Those rebounds were huge as they were converted into 13 points which put them ahead of the Cavs at the start. Banchero put in the work on defense as well, had some deflections, and made a steal on Mitchell in the 2nd that led to a 3-pointer by Jalen Suggs. All that got him into the rhythm as he finished the game on 13/26!

And boy oh boy, did that look majestic. The good defense continued by the Cavs team, but Banchero just kept knocking down tough shots one after another, knocked down open 3-pointers and even a step-back 3-pointer. He made up all the poor shot-making from the first 2 games and showed his flashes. Banchero also dished out 5 assists with his good shooting.

The Cavs Lost Their Flare and 4 Factors

Everything they’ve been doing good in the first two games fell apart in this one. The Magic team was fired up, and their guards and forwards started crashing the boards and putting pressure on many early Magic misses. Most of the offensive rebounds came to already mentioned Banchero, but it was because of a team effort. The Cavs started boxing out in the 2nd quarter, but the damage was already done big time.

As the Cavs corrected rebounding they started to turn the ball over. Only 8 turnovers through the game, but 4 of them came in the 2nd quarter and resulted in 9 points (meaning that all turnovers were converted successfully). So basically, the Cavs lost 4 possessions, and the Magic generated 9 free points, including several wide-open transition 3-pointers that additionally boosted the Magic’s offense. Magic lost just 1 turnover in 2nd quarter, and only 3 through the first 30 minutes (at that point, the game was already done). This was a complete turnaround from the first two games as well, as the Cavs kept forcing turnovers.

In the end, the Cavs’ shooting was abysmal. The Magic covered the Cavs’ shooters pretty well as they did in the first two games, but 14% (3/21) is still way too low. Mitchell and Garland couldn’t score from their pull-ups, Strus, Niang, LeVert missed their chances and that was game over. Donovan Mitchell was good at attacking the rim, and that notched most, if not all half-court points for the Cavs in the first two quarters - he dished plenty of easy assists for Allen and Mobley. The spacing is still an issue with both of them on the court. The ball is now in JB Bickerstaff’s court to make a change and respond.

The Magic Finally Knocked Down the Shots

In addition to better defense, and better hustle, the Magic knocked down the shots, both self-created and C&S shots. Jonathan Isaac, Jalen Suggs, and Paolo Banchero knocked their shots and were a big factor in building the lead.

Franz Wagner also knocked one down, but he jump-started his team early on with plenty of good makes on drives and isolations.

DEN-LAL Game 3

The “Other” Nuggets Duo

Jamal Murray was struggling in this one as well. The Nuggets wanted to feed him from the start of the game, but he couldn’t knock it down, he couldn’t get easy shots and lost some balls early in the game. He was still facilitating and controlling the game with Nikola Jokić, as their gravity is just insane. When they go into an empty-side handoff/pick-and-roll, the defense often gets shooked.

And yet, I think that the Lakers managed to do a good job. They often kicked the ball to Michael Porter Jr. who was very good at attacking the rim and not only settling for the 3-pointer. Porter knocked down some tough shots when the Nuggets struggled, and I felt like all his shots were heavily contested.

He also had several nice combinations with Aaron Gordon who is the player of the game. Gordon was constantly cutting from the dunker spot, which somehow was never covered. When the Nuggets’ shots weren’t falling in the 1st half he was the one cleaning up those misses with easy dunks.

The Lakers Need More Size

The Lakers felt small once again. And when they went without Davis, they didn’t sub in Jaxson Hayes who didn't play that well (I even talked about his minutes I think in the past posts).

The Nuggets countered without DeAndre Jordan, and it was more than enough to still feel like they’re oversizing the Lakers. Gordon dominated those small ball minutes, and the Lakers couldn’t push or reduce the lead. Even Peyton Watson managed to slow down Davis at times. The Lakers have a great team, but they’re missing another proper center to seal the deal and make a difference, to push Jokić around, to allow Davis to do what he’s best, roam the area and stop shots around the rim.

The Nuggets and Jokić are Simply Inevitable

Despite the size difference, I’d say that the Lakers’ game plan is legit, and they don’t have any major mistakes in their game. The only staggering one in my mind is covering the dunker spot. LeBron James talked about Gordon and his dunker spot maneuvering in one of the Mind the Game episodes.

He’s aware of it, he knows what’s following, and yet it kept happening throughout the game. Those easy makes by Gordon are also inevitable.

LeBron is playing great in this series, a first-time viewer would never say this man is 39 years old, at most they’d give him 33 or something like that. He still had a bunch of great defensive reactions and blocks, and in the end, he’s 2nd in the playoffs in fast break points per game at 6.7 (Kyrie is first at 7.0). But it takes just a second to lose the Nuggets’ cutters from their view.

But LeBron’s great series is heavily overshadowed by Nikola Jokić. He is not only the most dominant player in the series, but in the entire playoffs so far. His usage is only 22.5% (according to stats.nba.com), which puts him outside of the top 20, so it feels like he makes every touch count. He is generating so much space just with his handoffs because the defenders have to think about so many combinations coming out of it. His game is super patient.

This play is the epitome of Nikola Jokić. It’s a bit cut from the start, but Joker tried to go into handoff with MPJ first which didn’t generate anything. Then MPJ cleared the side, and Jokić went into the handoff with KCP resulting in a good and basically open shot for KCP.

This isn’t anything new, but it’s impressive how composed and cool he is even when the Nuggets are struggling, even when Anthony Davis is playing godlike defense, and the Lakers keep swarming everyone.

The Nuggets look way too comfortable, they look like they know they’re going to win, and they’re going to do it dominantly, they take care of details, and they don’t leave anything for grabs. The Nuggets are inevitable. Nikola Jokić is inevitable.

NYK - PHI Game 3

Polarizing Embiid

50 points is a major mark in a playoff game, yet the initial reactions after the game were all about Embiid’s grifting. But I didn’t see any of that in this game, at least on the called fouls. There was only one questionable call, where Hartenstein fouled him on a 3-point attempt. Other than that it’s either tough to tell because of the angle, or those fouls were just fouls.

But people put this game down as if Embiid wasn’t almost perfect from the field. He knocked down 3-point shots with players in his face. He pulled off a mid-range clinic once again. He did all that with a very good defensive presence and early foul trouble.

When Embiid is in attack mode he is scary, when Embiid wants to score he is unstoppable. When Embiid wants to get to the free-throw line, he is petty.

His attitude changes, he starts to complain, he doesn’t seem as dominant as Jokić, whom I talked about earlier.

I don’t see any contact in this play, and yet this ticked off Embiid more than it should’ve. In the next possession, Embiid went one step further.

He first tried to flop on a plush-pillow-level soft push from OG Anunoby and then “fouled” Mitchell Robinson in one of the dirtiest ways I’ve seen in these playoffs. This could’ve easily been a flagrant 2 which would have doomed and quite possibly knocked the Sixers out of the playoffs. MVP can’t allow himself to have such mental lapses, because he is the most valuable player for a reason. Not only to be a good basketball player but to be a good teammate and a leader.

3rd Quarter 3-Point Boom and Payne Push

The entire series has incredibly efficient shooting, the Knicks haven’t missed a beat from the 3-point range, and the Sixers responded big time in Game 3.

Tyrese Maxey started the run with two awesome step-back 3-pointers, which then increased defensive attention on him and left Embiid with a bunch of space. (To digress slightly, I must say that Maxey has shown that he is a playoff star, as his performances and ease of getting to the rim are impressive.)

Embiid knocked down several 3-pointers in a row, and the entire team (Oubre, Lowry, Payne) followed both of them by knocking down 3-pointers to end the crazy quarter on 9/12 from the 3-point range. During that stretch, they took the lead and didn’t let go of it until the end of the game.

Cameron Payne scored 11 points in total. That number alone is more than the Sixers’ bench points in game 1 and game 2 (not combined). His playstyle is similar to Maxey, and he has that bee-like energy, constantly swarming and buzzing around until he can get an open shot.

The Knicks had the only cold stretch of the night during that 3rd quarter exactly, and that was partly due to great defense by the Sixers. Kelly Oubre continues to hound his matchups, and Lowry and Maxey are trying their best to chase Knicks’ shooters over the screens.

Foul Trouble = Huge Trouble

Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson both struggled with fouls which led Thibodeau to introduce Achiuwa with more minutes. That didn’t look bad, but it didn’t look nearly as good when either of the two players was on the court.

Hartenstein has great touch around the paint and was hot from the start of the game. On the other hand, Robinson is a menace on the offensive glass and causes a lot of during rebounding. Achiuwa doesn’t really offer any of those skills. He is an okay roller, and theoretically could stretch the floor but he isn’t even average at that. If Robinson is out with a left ankle sprain, that will be a huge hole to fill, and Thibodeau doesn’t really have a lot of alternatives…

The Knicks went for a while with the small-ball lineup, and they tried to swarm Embiid more. I liked that approach, and trying to throw him off the rhythm is a good idea.

Outro Take - The Fight is Still On

Even though this game finished with +9 for the Sixers, it felt very close all the way in the 4th quarter. The Knicks will be looking to steal the Game 4 and hopefully close it out in the MSG and game 5. I think Thibs has many crazy ideas in his sleeve, and could pull out full-court press before 4th quarter.