Most No. 1 seeds in National Basketball Association history have traditionally coasted into the playoffs, usually resting starters and taking a slight mental break before the grind of the postseason. First reason is the turnovers where Houston ranks 27th in turnover percentage.
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Like their understated superstar, Kawhi Leonard, the perennial championship-contending Spurs remain silent but deadly heading into their 19th consecutive postseason.
“If they play well, it’ll be hard for anybody in the East to beat them four times”. Furthermore, two of the team’s main bench contributors, sixth man Andre Iguodala and backup center Festus Ezeli, both have fresh legs after being eased into action over the final games of the regular season.
In the regular season the Pistons were 3-1 over the Cavs but the number 1 seed in the East should get through here with no issues. They were 39-2 at home and 34-7 on the road. As this epic mixtape of their historic season makes abundantly clear, the defending champions should be heavy favorites on the dawn of the playoffs – just as they are.
The Raptors truly are a young team, and that can’t be discounted. They can’t let them get in their heads, as he will try to do his best to do so. “I think I was the only person who knew that he was going to lose weight”, DeRozan said. Many were concerned about them resting instead of going for 73. “We expect him out here on Monday”.
The Raptors have certainly looked like a different team in the regular season, but that won’t make much difference if they don’t play the part in the NBA’s second season.
“When we showed up at training camp there was obviously talk about it and we wanted to have a great start to the season which is what we did with that 24-0 start, and from there raised the bar of expectation for ourselves”, said Curry. Of course, it’s no guarantee that the Warriors will race through the playoffs. You have to side with Golden State given what we saw on Saturday. With all that being said, while this historically great team with their historically great player was making history, I was watching a 38 legend do something extraordinary. The Warriors, who finished the season with 73 wins, are led by Steph Curry, the reigning NBA Player of the Year. The Golden State Warriors are averaging 104 points on 42.9 percent shooting and allowing 78 points on 35.7 percent shooting.
That’s not something the Warriors have to worry about right now. They’re fifth in defensive efficiency, according to NBA Stats, on top of being incredible offensively.
The Houston Rockets hope to bounce back after being downright embarrassed in their game one loss. He had undergone season-ending left wrist surgery last spring and was relished to spectator.
The Boston Celtics take on the Atlanta Hawks in an evenly matched series in which the point guard battle between the Hawks’ Jeff Teague and the Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas could prove pivotal. OKC swept the Mavericks 4-0 in the regular season series.
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When a player or team in the league does start to rise to prominence and draw comparisons to Jordan or the ’96 Bulls, Chicagoans are quick to dismiss them, spouting off stats from that era or playing the trump card of “six world championships”.
