![]() ![]() How the Clippers got here: The Clippers survived despite losing their first three home games of the series against the Dallas Mavericks, winning Game 7 at Staples Center. Conley missed nine games late in the season due to tightness in that hamstring. However, his availability for the second round is uncertain after he suffered a mild strain in his right hamstring during Game 5. Point guard Mike Conley was phenomenal against his former team, averaging 17.6 points and 8.6 assists per game while shooting 54.8% from 3-point range. He averaged 28.5 points and 5.8 assists as the Jazz swept the games he played, capped with his 30-point, 10-assist performance in the closeout game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Mitchell didn't show much rust once he was cleared. Utah made Mitchell a late scratch for Game 1 - much to his displeasure - and that was the Jazz's lone loss of the series. How the Jazz got here: The biggest obstacle the top-seeded Jazz had to clear in the first round was getting All-Star Donovan Mitchell back on the floor after he missed the final five weeks of the regular season with a sprained right ankle. MORE: Full NBA playoffs schedule, results and news WESTERN CONFERENCE ![]() ![]() In the Western Conference, the LA Clippers needed seven games to overcome Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, while the Phoenix Suns stunned the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers to secure a second-round meeting with the Denver Nuggets. NBA playoffs 2021: What could shift Jazz-Clippers and every conference semifinal seriesĮSPNDB NBA, Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks, Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Utah JazzĪfter no first-round series in the Eastern Conference went more than five games, here we are in the second round with two star-studded matchups.Ĭan two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks get past the Brooklyn Nets' Big Three of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden? How much will the Philadelphia 76ers get out of All-NBA big man Joel Embiid, who is day-to-day with a knee injury? What does Trae Young have for an encore after the Atlanta Hawks knocked out the New York Knicks? The team still has the league MVP, a returning Murray and plenty of young talent, but taking the next step may require even more than that.įor now though, they can only sit and stew in the fact that they're the first team to get swept with the NBA MVP since Magic Johnson and the 1989 Los Angeles Lakers.You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser of the regular season in the series? What if Jokic played all of Game 4?įinding concrete answers to those questions will be impossible, but Denver will still have to navigate them as it enters the offseason. What if Jamal Murray's ACL was still intact? What if Will Barton could have started for the entire series rather than just Game 4? What if Michael Porter Jr. Nuggets season comes to frustrating endĪs well as the Suns played, the Nuggets probably can't help but feel a sense of "What if?" as they exit the playoffs. Whoever comes out of the other side of the bracket will be another strong opponent, but the Suns have done nothing but measure up since the end of the regular season. ![]() They were 3-0 against the Jazz, 2-0 against the Milwaukee Bucks, 2-1 against the Los Angeles Lakers and 2-0 against the Philadelphia 76ers, with losing records against the Clippers and Brooklyn Nets.īefore sweeping the Nuggets, the Suns took down the Western Conference favorite Lakers (with some assistance from Anthony Davis' groin injury). 500 during the regular season, the best mark in the NBA. The Suns as a whole were 27-11 against opponents over. Bleacher Report JThe Suns still look legit ![]()
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