Does this series quality and the length impact Philadelphia’s offseason strategy, whether that be making a major blockbuster trade or looking to reconfigure the role players on their roster? But the player I'm interested to see deal with that pressure is Anthony Davis, as unlike James, he hasn't proven himself in those situations yet. Harden has to win, not only because of what the franchise has given up, but to prove his front office made the right decisions last summer. They are The Nets will push the Raptors to a Game 7. Portland, however, did look like they were heating up heading into the postseason. Siakam, Tatum express disappointment in lack of … Bledsoe has been uneven the last two postseasons, and there is no Malcolm Brogdon around this time to bail him out. 7 Brooklyn Nets 4-0No. Still, warranted or not, an early exit would end up as a blemish on Harden’s ledger, and it will be on him to get Houston through the first round at minimum.LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo will look to have With Ben Simmons out for the series against the Celtics, Sixers center Joel Embiid is expected to carry the weight of his team.
However, we know LeBron James will be discussed the most. Are the Bucks losing their defensive identity? James Harden will need to play near MVP form regardless for the Rockets to advance.Lakers-Blazers is obviously the popcorn series and is the one I'm looking forward to most, fresh off what Damian Lillard and Portland have done. 4 Indiana Pacers 4-0No. After the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics completed their respective sweeps of the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, the Miami Heat finished their 4-0 knockout of the Indiana Pacers on Monday.The Utah Jazz have a chance to be the next conference semifinalists, as they take a 3-1 lead into Tuesday's tilt with the Denver Nuggets. This is actually a tough one if we’re just talking about the first round. Can the Blazers defeat the Lakers? It might not be the best series in terms of on-court product or length, — without Ben Simmons the short-handed Sixers on paper don’t seem to have enough talent to advance past Boston— however, Philadelphia has a lot to play for and a lot could be riding on the series. But I think Rockets-Thunder might turn out to be the best, even without Russell Westbrook.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel called him the "hottest player in the league" on Sunday. After a … 7 Bold Predictions for the 2020 NBA Playoffs. The Raptors have the best coach in the playoffs, a dynamic guard duo and perhaps the deepest rotation in basketball. He was having an MVP-caliber season before the suspension and everyone is waiting to see whether he can return to that level of play after a four-month hiatus. Milwaukee has been dominant all season, and Antetokounmpo deserves his second straight MVP. No superstar will have to do more heavy lifting early in the playoffs. With Ben Simmons out, Embiid becomes even more of a focal point on both ends of the floor. Instead, the pressure is on for Embiid to stay healthy. By Zach Frydenlund, Jannelle Moore, Adam Caparell. I'm only counting that as bold because Is James Harden facing the most pressure? The fact the Clips haven’t had their full deck available yet and are just now getting Montrezl Harrell and Patrick Beverley active concerns me slightly. But at the same time, he hasn’t been to the Finals since 2012, when he was the (very good) third wheel on the Thunder, and essentially a different player. Rockets guard James Harden sets a new playoff-record for made three-pointers in a game. All Rights Reserved. Going out at the hands of the Thunder would have to sting pretty bad.I want to avoid unfairly projecting championship pressure onto James Harden, because that’s not really what this is about. I expect Luka Doncic will see a lot of ball pressure and a range of different defenders over the course of the series, but Doncic is just built differently (literally and figuratively) from most guards. Aug 17, 2020. There's of course the narrative considerations as Chris Paul looks for revenge against his former team, but the on-court action should be just as fascinating. That alone makes it worth keeping a close eye on.Typically the first-seed matchup is uninteresting. He’ll need to top 150 (37.5 per game) to outdo Hakeem Olajuwon’s 1988 performance against Dallas. 5 Oklahoma City Thunder 2-2No. It could be the last time Brett Brown is the team’s coach. The former is battling knee soreness that kept him out of Game 4. O.K., I know I just downplayed the meatiness of the questions surrounding Houston, but I think this has to be James Harden. Neither can Mike Conley (65.4 percent from the field, 68.8 from three). Rudy Gobert can't miss (75.0 field-goal percentage). So we’ll go out West.
Utah won't mess around on Tuesday.With all due respect to the Rockets and Thunder, this is the best series of the first round by a wide margin.The back-and-forth between Doncic and Kawhi Leonard has been basketball brilliance at its best.