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While the Suns have already advanced to the conference finals, they’re going to be waiting a bit for the other three entries. As Milwaukee did on Sunday, Atlanta and Los Angeles evened their respective series at two games apiece with wins Monday night. Below is a look at what happened, as well as an update on the status of Brooklyn’s starting guards ahead of Tuesday’s Game 5 against the Bucks.
Hawks 103, 76ers 100: Atlanta hangs on to even the series
While this wasn’t a “must win” for Atlanta, they certainly needed to avoid dropping both home games to the top-seeded 76ers. Nate McMillan made a change to his starting lineup, replacing the ineffective Solomon Hill with Kevin Huerter. While Huerter didn’t have a great night, finishing with ten points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and two 3-pointers in 35 minutes, he’s far more of a threat offensively than Hill (DNP-CD) was in the first three games of the series.
With Hill out of the rotation Atlanta essentially went seven deep, with Danilo Gallinari (7/6/1 with one 3-pointer in 23 minutes) and Lou Williams (9/2/0/1 with one 3-pointer in 14 minutes) being the only reserves to hit double digits in minutes. Expect more of the same for Wednesday’s Game 5, unless the Hawks are hit hard by foul trouble and/or injuries. Trae Young (25/4/18/1 with three 3-pointers) shot just 8-of-26 from the field, but he became the first Hawks player to dish out at least 15 assists in a playoff game since Mookie Blaylock in 1994.
Also worth noting was the fact that Young played with KT tape on his right shoulder, and it was heavily wrapped whenever the point guard was on the bench. This issue wasn’t listed on the Hawks injury report, and he did manage to play 40 minutes, but that is something to keep an eye on moving forward. Following the game, Young said that he took a hit to the shoulder during Game 3 and was dealing with some soreness. All five starters scored in double figures for the victors, with Bogdan Bogdanovic (22 points, five rebounds and three 3-pointers), John Collins (14/12/1/1/1 with one 3-pointer) and Clint Capela (12/13/1/0/1) rounding out the quintet.
Philadelphia also made a change to its starting lineup, but the move was due to an injury as opposed to a player’s struggles. With Danny Green ruled out due to a strained right calf, Furkan Korkmaz was promoted to the starting five for Game 4. He played 25 minutes and wasn’t a liability offensively, scoring ten points (4-of-9 FGs) with two rebounds, one assist, two blocks and two 3-pointers, but was a team-worst minus-13 on the night.
Green’s absence also means that Matisse Thybulle becomes a player of greater importance to the 76ers because of his defensive prowess, and in 21 minutes he accounted for five points, one steal and one 3-pointer. Thybulle’s defensive impact in Game 4 was minimal, and he also shot 2-of-7 from the field (1-of-5 3-pointers). It’s likely a safe assumption that the Hawks would be fine with Thybulle, a 30.1% shooter from three, putting up five 3-pointers in a game.
What also worked out well for Atlanta was their ability to limit Joel Embiid, who looked nothing like his usual self Monday night. While he recorded a line of 17 points, 21 rebounds and four assists with one 3-pointer, Embiid shot 4-of-20 from the field and did not record a steal or blocked shot. He went back to the locker room during the second quarter in order to get his back, which caused Embiid to miss time earlier this season, worked on. While the big fella’s knee is what continues to get him listed on the 76ers’ injury report, that back issue is worth tracking as well. Tobias Harris (20/5/2/0/1 with two 3-pointers) and Seth Curry (17/2/3/0/1 with three 3-pointers) shot a combined 15-of-25 from the field, while Ben Simmons (11/12/9/0/2) was 5-of-10.
But Simmons also made just one of his five free throw attempts, dropping to a poor 8-of-25 for the series. The free throw struggles are bad enough that he really didn’t have the ball in his hands down the stretch, as the Hawks could easily give a foul and send Simmons to the foul line. He attempted just one shot after halftime, and all ten of his field goal attempts came in the restricted area. You can’t become an elite free throw shooter overnight, but the 76ers are going to have to figure something out between now and Game 5. While they may be able to get away with Simmons struggling to this extent against the Hawks, Brooklyn and Milwaukee could be tougher asks in that regard.
Clippers 118, Jazz 104: L.A. jumps Utah early, evens series
Utah was once again without the injured Mike Conley, who missed his fourth straight game due to a strained right hamstring. And as was the case in Game 3, the Jazz missed having another capable playmaker on the court. Joe Ingles, Conley’s replacement in the starting lineup, put up a good line with 19 points (7-of-9 FGs), three rebounds, three assists, one steal and five 3-pointers in 27 minutes. But he isn’t the creator off the dribble that Conley is, and the same goes for many of Ingles’ teammates outside of Donovan Mitchell (37/5/5/1 with six 3-pointers). As a result the Clippers have been able to switch everything defensively, and Utah struggled offensively in both games in Los Angeles.
Mitchell led all scorers but shot 9-of-26 from the field in doing so; that level of efficiency, or lack thereof, won’t get it done in this series. He’s scored 30 or more in six straight games, becoming the fourth player in league history to do so while 25 years old or younger. The other three on that list: Lew Alcindor (now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, of course; nine straight), Rick Barry (seven straight) and Bob McAdoo (seven).
Mitchell’s doing what he can to shoulder even more of the load offensively, a task that proves especially difficult when Jordan Clarkson (8/5/2 with two 3-pointers) shoots 3-of-12 from the field. Bojan Bogdanovic (18/3/5/2 with two 3-pointers) and Rudy Gobert (11/8/0/0/1) also hit double figures for the Jazz, who got just 11 points from their reserves (the Clippers finished with 21 bench points) on the night. Conley’s absence also impacts the back end of the Jazz rotation, so the sooner he’s cleared to return, the better.
For the second straight game the Clippers’ stars stepped up as expected, with Kawhi Leonard (31/7/3/2/1 with three 3-pointers) and Paul George (21/9/4/1 with four 3-pointers) both surpassing the 30-point mark. They combined to shoot 18-of-39 from the field and 19-of-23 from the foul line, with George playing 40 minutes and Leonard 34. That was due in large part to Leonard having to leave the game with just under five minutes remaining after appearing to tweak his right knee in a collision with Ingles. Following the game Leonard said that he was fine, so we’ll take his word for it. But all bets are off if his name shows up on Tuesday’s injury report.
Also important for the Clippers was the play of Marcus Morris, who shot 6-of-11 from the field and 7-of-8 from the foul line. He finished with a line of 24 points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal and five 3-pointers in 35 minutes, surpassing his point total from the prior three games combined. Morris’ production helped cover for Reggie Jackson‘s quiet night, as he scored just four points with one rebound and three assists. Beyond George and Jackson the Clippers’ guard rotation consists of Patrick Beverley, Terance Mann and Luke Kennard.
Beverley was especially effective in Game 4, as he blocked four shots to go along with two points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal in 20 minutes. That isn’t worth utilizing him in a DFS lineup, but Beverley was more impactful in Los Angeles than he was in Salt Lake City. Of course there has to be an odd man out, and that has been Rajon Rondo. He hasn’t appeared in a game since Game 1, and was inactive Monday night. Should the Clippers advance, Rondo will have a shot at getting back into the rotation. But at this point, it may take an injury in order to see him again in this series.
Harden, Irving ruled out for Game 5
In a move that surprised no one, the Nets officially ruled James Harden and Kyrie Irving out for Tuesday’s Game 5 against the Bucks. Harden, who’s still dealing with what the Nets have declared to be a tight right hamstring, has not played since the opening minute of Game 1. As for Irving, he will sit due to the sprained right ankle that he suffered during the second quarter Sunday’s Game 4 loss in Milwaukee. The absence of Harden freed up a spot in the starting lineup for Bruce Brown, who has been solid and is averaging 10.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.5 blocks per game in the series while shooting nearly 52% from the field.
But who fills the void left by Irving? It could be Mike James, as this would get another playmaker on the court, thus alleviating some of the pressure that Kevin Durant will have to deal with. While James had his moments in the first two games of the series, he was comparatively quiet in Games 3 and 4. That being said, he’s a better choice than either Landry Shamet or Tyler Johnson when it comes to filling that playmaker role. Nothing changed with regard to Milwaukee’s injury report, as Donte DiVincenzo (left ankle surgery) and Jordan Nwora (left thigh contusion) were the only players listed.