May 3rd 2022 Game Recaps

Ja’s 47 edges out poor shooting night from Warriors

Game 1 was tight and showed promise that this series would be a good one, and Game 2 did not disappoint. Ja Morant has played much better this series so far, dropping 34 in game one and 47 here in Game 2, matching his playoff career high and scoring the most by anyone so far in these playoffs. Two major players were out of the game within minutes, after Dillon Brooks got a flagrant 2 foul for hitting Gary Payton II on the head. GP2 ended up crashing to floor, suffering a fractured left elbow and will undergo an MRI to determine the severity. Draymond Green went out shortly thereafter, receiving an elbow to the eye from Xavier Tillman, and returned in the second quarter after getting stitches. The Grizzlies throughout the game were careful to make sure Ja was not guarding Curry, not switching on screens Morant was involved in and trying to keep him out of those actions, and the Grizzlies did a great job with the players that did guard Curry. They never let him get comfortable, and while he finished with 27 points, he shot 11 for 25 and just 3 for 11 from deep, one of which was a bank shot off a broken play in the 4th and another being a miscommunication by the Grizzlies defense leaving him wide open. It was clear the Warriors were encouraging Morant to shoot, helping off him to wall off the paint when other players were attacking and sagging off him one on one. Ja took advantage, scoring 5 of 12 on his three point attempts, an encouraging percentage for him. And when he attacked, he was unstoppable. The defense was selling out on his drives, helping whenever he drove in from the perimeter, but it simply did not matter. Early in the game he was using that to pass out and create for others, starting a chain of passes to get open looks for others, while later he used crafty moves to get his shot off and refused to be denied. The Grizzlies treated Draymond as a non-shooter, helping off him defensively which allowed them to double in the paint. Draymond still was able to do a good job creating for others, hitting cutters on multiple possessions for easy baskets multiple times throughout the game. The Warriors outrebounded the Grizzlies for the second straight game, largely due to the continued absence of Steven Adams who is currently out in health and safety protocols. Bane also continued to struggle in this one, only scoring 5 points on 2 for 7 shooting, and it seemed his back issues are continuing to bother him after being listed questionable for this game. The Warriors noticed this and became noticeably less concerned with him as the game went on. Ja was out at the start of the fourth after being hit in the eye, but he came back with a vengeance. After a rough start to the fourth, with stagnant ball movement from the Grizzlies, Ja came back in the 8:55 mark with the score 83-80 in favor of the Warriors. The Grizzlies went on a quick 6-0 run after a couple of Curry turnovers, and the teams went back and forth from there. Curry hit two threes in a 20 second span with 4:33 left, but after that it was all Morant. He scored all 15 of the Grizzlies points in the final 4:16 with a dizzying array of moves, blow-by’s and body contortions to get off whatever shot he wanted to get. De’Anthony Melton came up with a crucial block on a curry layup with a minute and a half left, and Morant scored a tough floater shooting over the outstretched arms of Andrew Wiggins to put them up 3 with 30 seconds left. Number 12 finished the Warriors off with free throws to clinch it after Klay Thompson traveled with a mere 18 seconds left. A great game with a great performance from a great player. Looking forward in the series, both Klay Thompson and Desmond Bane need to be better. Bane’s struggles were mentioned previously, and Klay ended with just 12 points on an abysmal 5 for 19 shooting night while contributing to the Warriors 7 for 38 three point shooting. All eyes will now be on the Chase Center to see who is able to gain the edge in this highly entertaining series.

POTG: Ja Morant - 47 pts, 8 reb, 8 ast, 3 stl, on 15-31 fg and 5-12 3pt fg

Jaylen Brown’s hot start overwhelms lifeless Bucks

Down the reigning defensive player of the year and 1-0 in the series, the Celtics knew they could not drop another game at home, and they played like it. Leading from wire to wire, the C’s jumped out to a 15-3 lead before the first break in the game and didn’t let the Bucks get the score to single digits after the first quarter. The Celtics defense was very impressive all game, creating walls in the paint and not allowing Giannis to break through those walls, especially in the first half when the game was still competitive. The Celtics ball movement in the first half was exceptional and a big reason why they jumped out to a big lead. They went more iso heavy in the second, slowing the game down and only ended up with 44 points in the half, but still played good defense holding the bucks to only 46. Giannis was not as aggressive as we’ve seen him be before, being noticeably passive and not forcing the issue in the second quarter. Jaylen Brown was smoking hot in the first half, recording 25 points on 9 of 10 shooting and a perfect 5 of 5 from downtown. Grant Williams the best defender on Giannis, consistently stopping him time and time again. He finished with 28 points on 11 of 27, but if you take out a good 3rd quarter from him, when Grant Williams was usually not guarding him, he had 10 points shooting a measly 3 for 16. The Bucks continued to struggle in the fourth quarter, playing with low energy, and essentially let the Celtics cruise to the finish line with a 109-86 victory. The Celtics defense looked absolutely fantastic, and with Giannis not looking comfortable or efficient in both games this series so far, Bucks fans will need him and the coaching staff to get things figured out for him in order to keep the series competitive.

POTG: Jaylen Brown - 30 pts, 5 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk on 11-18 fg and 6-10 3pt fg