Philadelphia were thrown a real curve ball in the build-up to Game 2 as Joel Embiid was ruled out with ankle and hip injuries. After such an impressive return from appendectomy surgery to lead Philadelphia past Boston in the first round, Embiid’s latest injuries are a real dent to Philly’s chances in this matchup. That said, they showed plenty of promise in their 102-108 defeat in Game 2 on Thursday, going tit-for-tat with New York before the hosts ran away with the win late in the piece. Embiid’s presence was sorely missed in the clutch, as Philly scored just 12 points in the fourth and just three points in the final 6:30 to allow the hosts to get out to a 0-2 series lead. Tyrese Maxey was able to exploit Jalen Brunson’s defence again to finish with 26 points and six assists, but it wasn’t all positive for the point guard as he recorded six turnovers and shot just 48.2% TS%. Paul George again had his moments, dropping 19 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks, but he also had some shooting troubles, going just 7/18 from the floor. Kelly Oubre also had 19 points on an efficient shooting night, while VJ Edgecombe was up and down with 17 points, three assists and four turnovers. Andre Drummond got the start in Embiid’s place but failed to make an impact with just six points and eight rebounds, seeing Dominic Barlow take most of Drummond’s second half minutes to good effect.
New York will be thrilled to have picked up both wins at home to start the series, again turning up their defence to record the victory. Their 107.4 defensive rating indicates that it was a good night on that end of the floor, but more telling was the fact that they limited Philadelphia to just 12 points in the fourth quarter. They consistently shut down the paint in the fourth and forced Philly into lots of rushed or contested threes, which they weren’t able to hit. Karl-Anthony Towns’ aggression to start the second half was also a key contributor for NY, as he dropped 11 points and three assists in just seven third quarter minutes to finish the night with 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Brunson again top scored with 26 points and six assists and Mikal Bridges shot well again for 18 points, while OG Anunoby looked rock solid with 24 points, five rebounds, four steals and one block before going down with a hamstring injury.
Anunoby is questionable for Game 3 but I will be shocked if he plays. Embiid is also questionable and his status is much murkier, but I am leaning towards it being that he does not suit up, putting Philly in a very tricky spot here, especially offensively. Anunoby has also been a key contributor for NY’s offence, thanks to his spot-up shooting and his cutting, and with two large offensive pieces potentially out for this game, the under is the bet.
Minnesota were humiliated in Game 2 on Thursday in a 95-133 defeat. It was the franchise’s biggest playoff defeat ever, as San Antonio’s defence completely silenced the visitors’ offence for a miserable 88.0 offensive rating. Minnesota shot just 9/30 from deep for a 44.9% eFG% and had a huge 22 turnovers to make for a very ugly night of basketball, with Anthony Edwards looking like a shell of himself. The star guard had just 12 points on 43.2% TS% to go with four turnovers, and Julius Randle had similar numbers with 12 points on 49.2% TS% and five turnovers. Jaden McDaniels was another to finish on 12 points but was somehow only a -6 in the loss, as his defence and facilitating somewhat kept Minnesota in the contest in the third quarter before getting himself into foul trouble again to be taken out of the game, and that sent Minnesota into freefall.
San Antonio’s defence has been their strength this season and we saw it on full display in Game 2 to pick up a crucial victory. Of course, it was Victor Wembanyama at the forefront, dropping 19 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks to dominate the game. Stephon Castle was much more impactful this time around with 21 points, four assists and two steals and Dylan Harper had 11 points, seven boards, five assists and two steals in an impactful bench cameo from the rookie. De’Aaron Fox was somewhat reserved with his 16 points, two assists and two steals but was reliable when called upon, as was Julian Champagnie who produced on both ends for another strong game.
With Edwards clearly not 100% and Ayo Dosunmu looking massively laboured in his 10 first half minutes on Thursday, Minnesota are up against it even at home. We have seen them emerge with a lot of unlikely victories in similar situations in the recent past, but I can’t get behind them as slim underdogs here. San Antonio’s defence is a real force and with McDaniels and Randle likely forced to do a lot of the steering on that end, I can’t see it going all that well for the hosts.