Second Round is Upset City!
Three of the four second round series have begun, and the underdog won game one in all three series. Casual fans may not make much of this, but prior to the start of this year's playoffs game one winners went on to win the series 77.1% of the time since 1983-84. In the first round of this year's playoffs, the game one winner went on to win all eight series.
The second round upsets began on Sunday with the Indiana Pacers defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers, 121-112. Cleveland's All-Star point guard Darius Garland missed his third straight game due to injury, and two other Cavaliers suffered injuries during game one that rendered them doubtful for game two: 2025 Defensive Player of the Year/2025 All-Star Evan Mobley sprained his ankle, and key reserve De'Andre Hunter dislocated his right thumb. The Cavaliers shot just 9-38 (.237) from three point range in game one
while allowing Indiana to shoot 19-36 (.528) from beyond the arc. Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 33 points but he shot just 13-30 from the field; high volume, low efficiency shooting by Mitchell has not been Cleveland's formula for success this season, as the Cavaliers have thrived with a balanced offensive attack complemented by an excellent defense anchored by Mobley. Andrew Nembhard (23 points) and Tyrese Haliburton (22 points, game-high 13 assists) led the way for Indiana's high octane offense.
Falling into an 0-2 hole before heading to Indiana for games three and four would be a nightmare scenario for a Cleveland team that led the Eastern Conference standings from wire to wire this season. Mobley scored 20 points on 9-13 field goal shooting while grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds, so if he is limited or unable to play that will be a major blow for Cleveland. Hunter added 11 points on 4-7 field goal shooting in 30 minutes off of the bench.
Last night's games featured two more upsets. Like the Cleveland-Indiana series, health could be a factor in the
Boston-New York series, as the Celtics are battered and bruised: Jrue Holiday just returned after missing time
with a hamstring injury, Jaylen Brown is battling a knee injury, and the
oft-injured Kristaps Porzingis played 13 scoreless first half minutes
versus New York before missing the second half due to illness/injury. In game one versus Boston, New York--who went 0-4 versus the Boston Celtics this season--stormed back from a 75-55 deficit with 5:47 remaining in the third quarter to take a 97-91 lead on a Jalen Brunson three pointer at the 3:28 mark of the fourth quarter. Derrick White's three pointer put Boston on top 98-97 with 2:18 remaining in regulation before OG Anunoby's three pointer gave New York a 100-98 lead. Jrue Holiday's layup tied the score, and Brunson's game-winning layup attempt rolled in and out before Jayson Tatum missed a turnaround shot at the buzzer. The Knicks never trailed in overtime as it took the Celtics nearly three minutes to score.
The biggest story from New York's 108-105 win is not that Brunson and Anunoby (29 points each) outscored Tatum and Jaylen Brown (23 points each) but rather that the Celtics set a playoff record by missing 45 three point shots. The Celtics shot just 15-60 (.250) from three point range, and in the third quarter they fired 19 of their 20 field goal attempts from beyond the arc while getting outscored 30-23. High volume three point shooting is a high variance strategy that can result in dire outcomes, perhaps most notoriously when the Houston Rockets missed 27 straight three pointers in a game seven loss to the Golden State Warriors in 2018. The Celtics won the NBA title last season because they supported their high volume three point shooting with great defense and with an offense that was capable of scoring from all areas of the court when necessary--but in game one versus the Knicks, the Celtics abandoned any semblance of offensive balance in favor of jacking up three pointers without regard to time, score, or matchups. The absence of Porzingis' size hurt the Celtics at both ends of the court, but there is no reason for versatile players like Tatum and Brown to combine to launch 25 three point field goal attempts while only shooting 18 times from inside the arc. This game is a microcosm of the problem with elevating "advanced basketball statistics" above all other considerations; yes, a three point shot is worth more than a two point shot, but that extra point does not mean that it makes sense to keep firing three pointers when other quality shots are available, let alone when doing so results in not drawing fouls, not getting the opposing team into the bonus/foul trouble, and losing control of the tempo of the game. The Celtics can still win this series, but only if they get their minds right along with getting their bodies as healthy as possible.
The 68-14 Oklahoma City Thunder broke the all-time regular season record for point differential, and could be viewed as one of the greatest single season teams ever if they cap off this campaign by winning a title--but if they do not go all the way then they will be relegated into the group of great regular season teams that fell short in the playoffs, including the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors (73-9, lost to Cleveland in the NBA Finals), the 1972-73 Boston Celtics (68-14, lost to New York in the Eastern Conference Finals), the 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks (67-15, lost to Golden State in the first round), the 2015-16 San Antonio Spurs (67-15, lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round), and the 2008-09 Cleveland Cavaliers (66-16, lost to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals).
The Thunder led the Denver Nuggets 82-68 with 4:36 remaining in the third quarter, but the Nuggets outscored the Thunder 53-37 the rest of the way to seize homecourt advantage. Nikola Jokic led both teams in scoring (42 points) and rebounding (22 rebounds) while dishing for six assists; the only blemish on his stat line were the game-high seven turnovers. Aaron Gordon had 22 points, 14 rebounds, and the game-winning three point shot with 3.6 seconds remaining. Jamal Murray added 21 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Russell Westbrook scored 18 points off of the bench, and he made the assist pass to Gordon for the final shot. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played very well (33 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists), and he battled Jokic almost shot for shot in the fourth quarter, with Jokic logging 18 points in the final stanza while Gilgeous-Alexander answered with 13 points.
The Thunder won the turnover battle by forcing 18 while coughing up just 11, but the Nuggets destroyed them 63-43 on the boards. The Nuggets' advantages in second chance points (27-21) and points in the paint (54-46) loomed large in this tightly contested game. The Thunder used 10 players--nine of whom played at least 13 minutes--while the Nuggets used just eight players (seven of whom played at least 13 minutes), so the impact of fatigue and depth may not be felt until later in this series.
It seems improbable that all three underdogs will win these series but--based on how well game one winners have done historically--the possibility of one or even two underdogs advancing should not be dismissed.
Labels: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder
posted by David Friedman @ 3:21 PM
Minnesota Versus Golden State Preview
Western Conference Second Round
#6 Minnesota (49-33) vs. #7 Golden State (48-34)
Season series: Golden State, 3-1
Golden State can win if…Stephen Curry does not wear down, if Jimmy Butler dominates by scoring in the paint/drawing fouls, and if the Warriors' defense contains Anthony Edwards without conceding too many open shots to other Minnesota players. Minnesota reached the Western Conference Finals last year and has homecourt advantage, so Golden State faces an uphill battle in this series.
The Warriors floundered to a 25-26 start this season before acquiring Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat. After finishing the season with a 48-34 record, the Warriors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 121-116 in the NBA Play-In Tournament to earn the seventh seed in the Western Conference. Golden State took a 3-1 lead in the first round versus the second seeded Houston Rockets before losing games five and six to set up a game seven showdown in Houston; it appeared as if the younger and more physical Rockets had worn down the Warriors, holding Curry to 13-35 (.371) field goal shooting in games five and six while forcing him to commit eight turnovers--but Golden State won game seven 103-89 as Buddy Hield scored a game-high 33 points while shooting 12-15 from the field, including 9-11 from three point range. Curry bounced back to produce 22 points on 8-16 field goal shooting while grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds (just his second double figure rebounding game in the playoffs since 2022) and passing for a game-high seven assists. Butler added 20 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.
Curry is perhaps the most unusual of the players who can legitimately be ranked among the 15-20 greatest all-time; he and Jerry West are the shortest players in that group, but West was stronger, could jump higher, and played much better defense. During his playoff career, Curry has been targeted on defense, he has been worn down as series progress, and he has won the NBA Finals MVP just once during four championship campaigns--but he has also produced in the clutch on many occasions, including yesterday's game seven win in Houston and his 50 point masterpiece in a game seven win at Sacramento in 2023.
The addition of Butler has helped Golden State because Butler is not only an efficient scorer but he draws fouls, he is an excellent passer, he rebounds well, he is a very good defender, and he rises to the occasion in big moments. The Warriors would not even be in the playoffs this season without him. Against Houston, Butler ranked second on the team in scoring (18.3 ppg) and assists (4.8 apg), and first in rebounds (6.0 rpg). Butler played for Minnesota in the 2017-18 season before his contentious departure during the 2018-19 season, and this is the first time that he has faced the Timberwolves in the playoffs.
Draymond Green defends well, sets good screens, and is a deft passer. He is also an emotional time bomb that has exploded on many occasions, both to his detriment and to the detriment of his team. His media buddies will say that Golden State cannot win without him, but Green's typical triple single statistics versus Houston speak loudly: 8.0 ppg (sixth on the team), 5.6 rpg (third), and 3.3 apg (third) with .393/.258/.571 shooting splits. Even if one buys the premise that Green does a lot of good things that don't show up in the boxscore, what shows up in the boxscore for Green is often less than impressive, and we have already seen that Green has minimal impact on team success when he is not surrounded by multiple future Hall of Famers, with his triple singles adding up to a 15-50 record in the 2019-20 season.
Hield's game seven performance was an aberration not only in the series--he scored five points or less in four of the seven games--but those 33 points are more than a third of his career playoff scoring total (98 points). The likelihood that he will ever score 33 points again in a playoff game is exceedingly low.
Minnesota will win because...the Timberwolves will use their size to frustrate Golden State at both ends of the court. The Rockets did not consistently exploit their size advantage versus the Warriors and the Rockets lack a defined, elite number one scoring option; the Timberwolves bludgeoned the Lakers in the paint in the first round, and Anthony Edwards is an elite scorer whose young career already includes playoff series wins versus Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Nikola Jokic. Edwards averaged 26.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg, and 6.2 apg versus the Lakers.
Former Laker Julius Randle, who the Timberwolves acquired from the New York Knicks in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns prior to this series, averaged 22.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, and 4.4 apg versus the Lakers. Randle can drive to the hoop with power, and he can nail three pointers as well, shooting 11-28 (.393) from long distance versus the Lakers to rank second on the team in three pointers made and second in three point field goal percentage.
Jaden McDaniels played excellent defense versus Doncic while also scoring 17.4 ppg (third on the team behind Edwards and Randle).
Draymond Green loves to mock and belittle Rudy Gobert, but now Green will have to deal with Gobert on the court. Gobert's first playoff matchup versus the Warriors ended in a 4-0 Golden State sweep of the Utah Jazz in 2017, but those Warriors featured prime Kevin Durant, prime Stephen Curry, and prime Klay Thompson, plus three big men (David West, Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGhee) who each averaged between 10-15 mpg during that series. Gobert averaged 15.5 ppg on .658 field goal shooting in that series, and he led both teams with 13.0 rpg, so the notion that he does not match up well with the Warriors is demonstrably false--and if Gobert can be effective versus the Lakers' trio of Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves, then he can be effective versus Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and the undersized Warriors. Gobert did not score much during the first four games versus the Lakers, but in game five he had 27 points on 12-15 field goal shooting while grabbing 24 rebounds; the Lakers defiantly stuck with a small lineup, and Gobert destroyed the Lakers in the paint.
Other things to consider: I did not pick either of these teams to reach the second round, so I have to candidly assess what specifically I either underrated about these teams or that I overrated about their first round opponents.
I expected the L.A. Lakers to exploit the scoring/playmaking of Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves to overcome Minnesota's size advantage--but the Timberwolves pounded the Lakers into submission at both ends of the court while sufficiently containing Doncic, James, and Reaves. The Timberwolves did not fall into the trap of going small to match up with the Lakers but instead punished the Lakers for being too small.
I expected the Houston Rockets to use their size advantage and physicality to wear down the smaller, older Golden State Warriors; the Rockets followed that blueprint successfully for substantial portions of this series--most notably during games five and six--but they could not overcome their anemic offense, scoring 93 points or less in three of the seven games.
The Timberwolves are a bigger, better version of the Rockets team that wore down the Warriors but could not knock out the Warriors; the Timberwolves will finish what the Rockets began.
Minnesota will defeat Golden State in six games.
Labels: Anthony Edwards, Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors, Jimmy Butler, Julius Randle, Minnesota Timberwolves, Rudy Gobert, Stephen Curry
posted by David Friedman @ 4:14 PM
Oklahoma City Versus Denver Preview
Western Conference Second Round
#1 Oklahoma City (68-14) vs. #4 Denver (50-32)
Season series: Tied, 2-2
Denver can win if…they bully the Thunder in the paint and slow down the Thunder's transition game. Nikola Jokic followed up his MVP-level regular season (29.6 ppg, 12.7 rpg, 10.2 apg) by averaging 24.0 ppg, 11.6 rpg, and 10.1 apg as the Nuggets outlasted the L.A. Clippers in seven games; only three players have averaged a triple double for an entire postseason: Oscar Robertson (1962, four games), Jason Kidd (2007, 12 games), and Russell Westbrook (2017, five games; 2021, five games). In order to beat the Thunder, the Nuggets will not only need triple double production from Jokic but they will also need their frontcourt of Jokic, Aaron Gordon (18.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg versus the Clippers), and Michael Porter Jr. (10.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg versus the Clippers) to do a lot of damage in the paint.
How a team scores can often be as important as how much a team scores; by scoring in the paint, the Nuggets can control the tempo of the game to limit the Thunder's easy transition scoring opportunities while wearing down the Thunder's players, putting the Thunder's players into foul trouble, and creating more scoring opportunities from the free throw line by getting into the bonus. If the Nuggets are lured into an up and down game then the Thunder will run them out of the gym because the Thunder are a more athletic and deeper team.
Russell Westbrook, who won the 2017 regular season MVP while playing for the Thunder, could play a key role in this series because of his athleticism and his ability to attack the paint. He averaged 13.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.8 apg, and 1.3 spg versus the Clippers.
On paper, this series is a mismatch in the Thunder's favor based on each team's overall statistics this season, but head to head these teams have been evenly matched for quite some time; it is not just
their head to head record this season that is tied: Denver and Oklahoma
City have split their last 16 games versus each other. Of course, the
caveat for that statistic is that many of those games were played when
Oklahoma City was tanking and the Nuggets were a championship team or at
least a championship contender.
If the Nuggets play at their absolute best and the Thunder drop off in any way then the Nuggets could win this series, but the Thunder have a much larger margin for error.
Oklahoma City will win because...their suffocating defense will rule the day. During the regular season, the Thunder led the NBA in points allowed (107.6 ppg), defensive field goal percentage (.436), and turnovers forced (17.0 tpg). They also led the league in fewest turnovers committed (11.7 tpg) while ranking a solid 11th in rebounding (44.8 rpg); they dominate the possession game and then they use their possessions efficiently, ranking fourth in scoring (120.5 ppg) and seventh in field goal percentage (.482). In their first
round sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies, the Thunder forced 77 turnovers
while only committing 42 turnovers, and they held the Grizzlies to .415
field goal shooting, including .304 from beyond the arc.
Shai
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 27.8 ppg, 6.0 apg, 5.0 rpg, 1.3 spg, and 1.0
bpg during the first round. The presumptive regular season MVP shot
poorly from the field (.402), but still had an impact at both
ends of the court. Jalen Williams, who made the All-Star team for the
first time, averaged 23.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, and 5.3 apg during the first
round. Chet Holmgren averaged 18.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg, and a team-high 2.8
bpg. Isaiah Hartenstein made his presence felt in the paint with 9.0 ppg
on .640 field goal shooting plus a team-high 8.8 rpg. Lack
of size was an issue for the Thunder during last year playoffs, but does not seem to be a
problem this season after the addition of Hartenstein.
Other things to consider: This series features two of the three finalists for regular season MVP honors: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic (the third is Giannis Antetokounmpo). The winner will likely be announced while the series takes place. In 1995, San Antonio's David Robinson was announced as the regular season MVP and then was later torched by Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon (the 1994 regular season MVP) in the Western Conference Finals: Olajuwon averaged 35.3 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 5.0 apg, and 4.2 bpg while primarily being covered one on one by Robinson, who averaged 23.8 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, and 2.2 bpg as Houston won 4-2 en route to capturing the second of back to back NBA titles.
Jokic won the 2024 regular season MVP--his third such honor in a four year span--with Gilgeous-Alexander finishing second, and that order will likely be switched this year in light of the Thunder's record-setting season. Unlike Olajuwon and Robinson, Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander will not battle each other one on one in this series (except for occasional defensive switches), but this series will nevertheless be viewed historically as a referendum on the 2025 regular season MVP voting. The reality is that Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander are both worthy candidates, just as Olajuwon and Robinson were in 1995. In 1995, Olajuwon was already an NBA champion who was about to win his second NBA title, while the nearly three years younger Robinson won both of his NBA titles several years later (1999, 2003). Jokic is a little more than three years older than Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jokic won the NBA championship in 2023, while Gilgeous-Alexander has yet to win an NBA title.
In my 2025 Playoff Predictions article, I explained why I would select Jokic as the regular season MVP, and I anticipated an Oklahoma City-Denver second round matchup, favoring Oklahoma City in six games. Nothing that I saw in the first round altered my thought process on either count. I still think that Jokic is the NBA's best all-around player, and I still think that Oklahoma City will win this series.
Oklahoma City will defeat Denver in six games.
Labels: Aaron Gordon, Chet Holmgren, Denver Nuggets, Isaiah Hartenstein, Jalen Williams, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Nikola Jokic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Russell Westbrook, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
posted by David Friedman @ 1:49 PM
Nuggets Overwhelm Clippers in Second Half of 120-101 Game Seven Rout
The L.A. Clippers led 26-21 after the first quarter, but trailed 58-47 at halftime and then collapsed in the second half as the Denver Nuggets won game seven 120-101 to advance to a second round matchup versus the Oklahoma City Thunder; the final score obscures the fact that the Nuggets led 103-68 with 8:49 left in the fourth quarter before calling off the dogs. The Nuggets became the first team to have six players each score at least 15 points in a seventh game. Aaron Gordon led the way (22 points), followed by Christian Braun (21 points), Nikola Jokic (16 points), Jamal Murray (16 points), Russell Westbrook (16 points), and Michael Porter Jr. (15 points). Jokic led the Nuggets with 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Westbrook contributed five rebounds, five assists, and a game-high five steals.
Kawhi Leonard scored a team-high 22 points on 6-13 field goal shooting, but he did not impact the game across the board the way that he usually does, finishing with five rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots, and a game-worst -33 plus/minus number. James Harden, the All-Star guard who is supposed to be the team's reliable second option, had seven points on 2-8 field goal shooting and a -29 plus/minus number; his game-high 13 assists were not nearly enough to make up for not only his poor shooting but his refusal to shoot in an elimination game: the game was still within reach at halftime, but the game was out of reach after Harden scored 0 points on 0-2 field goal shooting while playing all 12 third quarter minutes. Leonard had eight points during the third quarter.
Before digging into the details of yet another pathetic performance to add to Harden's horrific elimination game resume (which now includes a 3-11 won/loss record since he fled Oklahoma City after the 2012 season), we will give credit to the Nuggets. Each Denver starter had between 11 and 16 field goal attempts, and Westbrook provided a critical energy boost during his 27 minutes off of the bench; the 2017 regular season MVP is not the first or second option on a regular basis at this stage of his career but--unlike many players who struggle to accept a lesser role when doing so becomes a necessary reality--he is a team-first player who embraces with enthusiasm his current role as a player who provides hustle, scoring, playmaking, rebounding, and defense off of the bench. The Nuggets took a double digit lead into halftime in large part because Westbrook had 10 points, three assists, two rebounds, two steals, and no turnovers while playing all 12 minutes in the second quarter. When Westbrook rebounded his own missed free throw and scored in traffic at the 3:10 mark of the second quarter, I thought about how stupid it sounded when Amin Elhassan and Zach Harper giggled their way through a segment on their radio show while asserting that Westbrook is a stat padder who obtains easy rebounds from complicit teammates. Westbrook is not a stat padder; he is an energetic game-changer: that play sparked a 9-4 run to close the first half, and set the stage for Denver's third quarter avalanche that ended the game and the series.
Westbrook is not a perfect player and he is the first to admit that, but he never cheats the game, his teammates, or the fans: he plays hard, and his basketball IQ is underrated; after the game, Christian Braun--who drew the primary assignment of guarding Harden--mentioned that Westbrook's knowledge of the Clippers' offensive sets in general and Westbrook's knowledge of Harden's tendencies in particular were invaluable to him.
If you love watching basketball being played the way that it is supposed to be played, then you have to love Westbrook; you may not root for him if he is on the opposing team, but you have to respect his approach to the game.
The emotional exclamation point for Denver's win happened after Westbrook stole the ball and delivered an uncontested fastbreak dunk at the 6:53 mark of the fourth quarter to put Denver up, 107-76. Westbrook hung on the rim for an extended period, and did not care at all about the ensuing technical foul; during the stoppage of play, Westbrook exchanged high fives with Denver fans while very emphatically telling the Clippers' fans in the crowd to go home. One got the sense that Westbrook was not only sharing joy with Nuggets' fans while talking trash to Clippers' fans but that he was also letting out a lot of pent-up energy directed toward both of his former teams in L.A.--not just the Clippers, but also the Lakers and the sycophantic media members who unfairly made him a scapegoat even though knowledgeable analysts like Hubie Brown praised Westbrook during his time with the Lakers.
James Harden is the exact opposite of Russell Westbrook: Westbrook keeps himself in shape all of the time, plays hard, accepts his role, and focuses on doing with high energy whatever his team needs him to do, while Harden is often out of shape, often does not give maximum effort, pouts if he does not like his role, and disappears like clockwork when his team needs him most, as if he looks at his Gucci and knows that in clutch moments it is "time to get ill."
Harden has said that he does not play in a system because he is "The System." His biggest fan, Daryl Morey, insists that Harden is a better scorer than Michael Jordan. Look up delusional in the dictionary, and you should see those two statements as prime examples.
Morey loves "advanced basketball statistics," but the basic boxscore numbers are more than sufficient to tell Harden's story. When Harden's team plays in an elimination game, you can write the story template before the game and then just fill in the specific statistics after the final buzzer, because you know that he will choke and his team will lose. In 2023 as a 76er, Harden scored nine points on 3-11 field goal shooting with seven assists, and five turnovers in a 112-88 loss to the Boston Celtics; the 76ers trailed by just three at halftime, but Harden looked at his Gucci and got ill in the second half with three points on 1-3 field goal shooting. In 2024 as a Clipper, Harden scored 16 points on 5-16 field goal shooting with 13 assists in a 114-101 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, including four points on 2-5 field goal shooting during the decisive third quarter when Dallas outscored L.A., 35-20. This year versus Denver, Harden gave a game seven preview when he disappeared in Denver's 131-115 game five win (11 points on 3-9 field goal shooting with five assists, four turnovers, and a game-worst -16 plus/minus number). Coach Tyronn Lue may deserve the Coach of the Year award for coaxing 28 points on 10-20 field goal shooting out of Harden in a 111-105 game six L.A. win; that is the most points Harden has scored in an elimination game in five years.
Nuggets-Clippers was the most closely contested first round series this year--Golden State-Houston is the only other series to even reach a seventh game, to be played on Sunday night--but game seven turned into a blowout because it is difficult for a team featuring Harden in a first option or second option role to overcome his propensity to disappear when it matters most: if a player who is expected to score 12-15 points only scores 6-10 points, his team can overcome that, but if a player who is expected to be a dominant scorer who draws double teams instead just disappears then there is no way for his team to overcome the huge gap between expected production and delivered production. Very few players are capable of filling the first or second option role on a championship contending team, and Harden is not one of those players, as I noted 12 years ago after Harden fled Oklahoma City instead of accepting a third option role behind Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
Harden is not the only reason that his teams have lost so many elimination games, but he is the biggest reason because of his overall approach to the game: if the purported leader is out of shape, does not play hard, and shrinks in big moments then his teammates are going to follow that example in one or more ways. Leonard, who is candid if dry during his press conferences, admitted that the Clippers' game seven effort was disappointing.
Westbrook lifts his teammates' energy, and Harden deflates his teammates' energy.
At least Leonard went to the post-game press conference. Harden left the arena without speaking to the media, which is not the first time that he has done this after a crushing loss, and is yet another example of how ill-suited he is to the role of being a franchise's best player or second best player; a leader does not shirk responsibility for a loss, and speaks to the media even if he knows that there will be uncomfortable questions.
Labels: Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, Denver Nuggets, Jamal Murray, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, L.A. Clippers, Michael Porter Jr., Nikola Jokic, Russell Westbrook
posted by David Friedman @ 12:31 AM
