Basketball Tips

Oklahoma City came into the season as defending champions and title favourites and they lived up to expectations in the regular season, finishing with a league-best 64-18 record to be the market’s pick heading into the playoffs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may well be in line for another MVP award after leading his team to the #1 seed again with 31.1 points per game on an absurdly efficient 66.5% TS%. The superstar guard was incredibly consistent all season and despite Jalen Williams missing over half of the regular season and constant injuries to the likes of Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex…

Denver ended their season as the third seed in the West with a 54-28 record, taking a 12-game win streak into the postseason. It was another outstanding offensive season from the Nikola Jokić-led side, as they finished with a league-best 122.5 offensive rating — 6.6 points better than league average — on the back of averages of 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game from the Joker. Jamal Murray also earned his first All-Star selection of his career to play and important role, but there have been some struggles along the way. Aaron Gordon missed 46 games, Christian…

Orlando produced an extremely disappointing performance in their 7-8 clash against Philadelphia on Thursday, losing 97-109. Without Joel Embiid, the hosts were significantly under strength but Orlando weren’t able to capitalise. Jamahl Mosley is now under serious head heading into the play-in game after Orlando spent most of the game on the back foot, thanks some poor showings from key players. Paolo Banchero struggled all night, going 7/22 from the field and throwing away six turnovers, finishing the night with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists to be a -17. Jalen Suggs was also terrible, with four points on…

Philadelphia and Orlando finished with the same 45-37 record, but Philly’s 2-1 win of the season series sees them host this 7-8 play-in game. A couple of straightforward wins over Indiana and Milwaukee made it a pleasant last couple of games for Nick Nurse’s men. It’s been another injury-shaken season for Philadelphia and that’s carried through to the play-in tournament, with Joel Embiid out after having appendectomy surgery last week. That’s a terrible outcome for Philadelphia, who have just a -2.5 net rating without the former MVP on the floor this season, meaning a lot of pressure will be on…

Charlotte finished the regular season as one of the Eastern Conference’s hottest teams, with the best net rating (+10.5) in the conference since the beginning of February, and a 22-10 record in that stretch. There were certainly speed bumps along the way in that stretch, including recent defeats to Boston and Detroit, but a 110-96 win over an undermanned New York team sent them into the play-in tournament with winning form. Their defence was able to limit the hosts to just a 104.3 offensive rating, although the likes of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Town and OG Anunoby all sat this game…

Boston had no worries in getting past New Orleans on Saturday, in a 144-118 victory. That ensured a #2 seed finish for Joe Mazzulla’s team, come in another massive offensive performance, with a 138.8 offensive rating. It was a lights-out shooting night from the hosts, with a 69.3% eFG%, hitting a record-equalling 29 three-pointers on the night, going 29/59 from deep. Sam Hauser was the hot hand, going 8/12 from beyond the arc for a team-high 24 points and four assists, while Payton Pritchard hit five of his nine attempts to record 21 points and 10 assists. Nikola Vučević had…

Atlanta and Cleveland square off again on Saturday after Kenny Atkinson’s side picked up a 116-122 victory on Thursday. This time around, the game is being played in Atlanta, and the men from Georgia will want to get revenge in front of their home crowd after being well within reach of a win on Thursday. Despite trailing by 18 points early in the fourth, Quin Snyder’s men mounted a comeback, thanks to a 23-7 run, to get within two points with just five minutes to play. They were never able to record the crucial go-ahead bucket though, and Cleveland found…

New York made it three wins on the trot on Tuesday, beating Atlanta 108-105 to tighten their grip on the #3 seed. It was a hard-fought win from Mike Brown’s side, who were really tested by this surging Atlanta team, but New York’s quality became evident in the clutch, holding Atlanta to just three points in the final 1:40 to break the 102-102 deadlock and win the game. Brunson scored 14 of NY’s final 16 points in another dominant takeover down the stretch, as he finished the night with 30 points, 13 assists and two steals, but he had some…

Cleveland improved to 5-1 in their last six games with a 142-126 win over Memphis on Tuesday. The visitors were given a real fright early on, as a 7-21 run from Memphis gave them a 25-42 lead less than two minutes into the second quarter, but they responded with a 28-9 run of their own to take the lead and that set Cleveland up for a relatively cruisy win. It was a rather strange game, as Memphis hit a record-equalling 29 threes to give Cleveland a bit to think about, but Cleveland responded with a massive offensive effort of their…

Toronto have lost three of their last four games and are now in the #7 seed, meaning a play-in finish is looking increasingly likely. It’s been a real dip in form from Darko Rajaković’s men, and Monday’s 101-115 loss to Boston was an indicator of where they are at. Toronto were certainly in the hunt in the fourth, heading into three-quarter time down just 77-80, but they showed little resistance to Boston’s offence, giving up 35 fourth quarter points to lose this contest. It was a rough night from the big three of Toronto’s with Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and…