There are going to be five Game 7’s take place this weekend around the National Basketball Association. It represents the most do-or-die games for any round in the history of the playoffs. It would have also been six if Damian Lillard didn’t hit the shot of his life Friday night in leading the Portland Trail Blazers to the next round. In any event, let’s check in and preview all five of these decisive games set to take place over the next 36 hours or so.
We start with today’s three-game slate and will provide you with previews of Sunday’s action early tomorrow morning.
(8) Atlanta Hawks at (1) Indiana Pacers
When/Where: 5:30 PM ET on TNT
Courtesy of Yahoo: Indiana staved off elimination in Game 6. Can it now grab the series?
This series has had a little bit of everything. From Paul George being called out during a blowout home loss by the Pacers to Indiana going on the road in Game 6 and coming away with a series-tying win, you can’t say that this one Eastern Conference postseason matchup hasn’t been intriguing. The Hawks now look to go on the road and pull off one of the greatest Game 7 upsets in the history of the NBA.
They are going to need someone outside of Jeff Teague and Paul Millsap to step up if they’re going to steal one on the road. Those two budding stars combined for 45 points, 21 rebounds, seven assists and four steals in the Hawks 95-88 Game 6 loss. The rest of Atlanta’s roster tallied just 43 points on 16-of-47 from the field, including 6-of-25 from three-point range.
One player that will have to step it up from the perimeter is Kyle Korver, who was averaging 13.2 points per game before tallying just nine on 3-of-8 shooting in Game 6, all behind the three-point line. If Korver is able to become that third-scoring option, Atlanta will be in a good place.
For the Pacers, it’s all about showing up and playing their game…something they haven’t done throughout the majority of this series. Heading into the final quarter of Game 6 down by three and facing elimination, Indiana came alive by outscoring the Hawks by 10 in the final stanza on Thursday. Can it continue that momentum today? That’s the big question.
Paul George, David West and Lance Stephenson all put in 20-plus points, combining to shoot nearly 50 percent from the field with a ridiculous 28 rebounds. If they have a repeat performance in Game 7, the Pacers will win going away. The issue here is that West was averaged just 13.2 points in the first five outings and has been terribly inconsistent. In reality, it’s going to be all on George to be the super star that he thinks he is and carry the Pacers to a must-win for a head coach in Frank Vogel who is suddenly on the hot seat. Unfortunately for the coach, I don’t see it happening. Prediction: Atlanta over Indiana 99-92
(7) Memphis Grizzlies at (2) Oklahoma City Thunder
When/Where: 8:00 PM ET on TNT
Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, who blew a chance to clinch at home in Game 6, they will be without All-Star power forward Zach Randolph. The big man was suspended by the NBA for throwing punches in the 20-point loss. He put up 16 points and eight boards in the loss, while Marc Gasol led the club with 17 points.
Outside of that, the Grizzlies couldn’t get anything going in the disheartening defeat. The rest of the team shot a horrid 32 percent from the field. That’s obviously going to have to change if Memphis is going to pull off an upset win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfNa-Ztsk8A
Point guard Mike Conley must improve on his 2-of-10 night in order to provide Memphis with a scoring punch in Randolph’s absence. Prior to that five-point performance, Conley was averaging over 17 points and eight assists per outing. He’ll now have to become a shoot-first point guard with the big man out.
For the Thunder, the victory in Game 6 temporarily saved Scott Brooks’ job. But a loss here pretty much means that he will be getting his walking papers early next week. The Thunder have struggled a great deal over the past two months, going 24-16 since the first of February. By their standards, that just not going to get it done.
In Game 6, Kevin Durant quieted critics, at least for one night. He tallied a game high 36 points on an economical 11-of-23 from the field. Russell Westbrook also did his thing, going for 25 points on the night. If those two play like that this afternoon, especially with Randolph out of the mix for Memphis, the Thunder will win this game going away. In fact, that’s more than likely going to happen. Prediction: Oklahoma City over Memphis 110-92
(6) Golden State Warriors at (3) Los Angeles Clippers
When/Where: 10:30 PM ET on TNT
Well if the first two games of the day are duds, like I project them to be, NBA fans can look forward to this high stakes cross-state rivarly game between two teams that simply don’t like one another. In what was a pretty ugly overall Game 6 on Thursday night, Golden State pulled off a 100-99 victory, mainly by holding Clippers point guard Chris Paul in check. Outside of horrendous shooting (39.3 percent from the field), the Warriors completely outplayed Los Angeles. They out-rebounded the Clippers 18-16 on the offensive glass, committed just eight turnovers compared to 12 for the road team and forced both Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick to foul out.
If Golden State continues its gritty all-around play that we saw on Thursday, you can bet that its shooting will come around and be enough to win. In no world, is it possible for Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry to shoot a combined 3-of-12 from three-point range in consecutive games. Second-year forward Draymond Green may very well be the x-factor here, especially with Jermaine O’Neal unlikely to go. He put up 14 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and five steals on Thursday. A repeat performance this evening will go a long way in determining the winner of the series.
For the Clippers, it’s rather clear what they need to do. Paul put up a career playoff-low nine points on just 3-of-10 shooting, turning the ball over four times in the process. It’s unreasonable to believe he’s going to play that poorly at home in front of what is going to be a ridiculous home-court advantage tonight. Blake Griffin, who fouled out of Game 6, is also going to need to up his performance. He shot just 33 percent from the field on Thursday. With Andrew Bogut and O’Neal out of action, there is no reason for Griffin to struggle the way he did in Game 6.
The one x-factor here for Los Angeles that I touched on above is that it has home-court advantage in Game 7. Doc Rivers’ squad lost just seven games at home. Do you realistically see them losing two of four at the Staples Center in this series? The Warriors, who were a solid 24-17 away from Oakalnd, surely hopes so. I’m sticking with my original prediction prior to the start of the series. Prediction: Golden State over Los Angeles 111-109 in overtime
Photo: Kyle Terada, USA Today