Everything You Need to Know about NBA 2021 Playoffs

Here is every part you want to know about the NBA 2021 Playoffs of Eastern Conference and Western Conference – New York Knicks vs Atlanta Hawks, Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Blazers, Milwaukee Bucks vs Miami Heat, LA Clippers vs Dallas Mavericks.

No. 4 NEW YORK KNICKS vs. No. 5 ATLANTA HAWKS

Top Line

• Back in Business: What a turnaround for the Knicks, who went from having the NBA’s worst report two years in the past to making the playoffs for the primary time since 2013. Breakout All-Star Julius Randle has been superior. Former NBA MVP Derrick Rose has reinvented himself as a prime sixth man. The Knicks play all-out beneath coach Tom Thibodeau, who has remodeled them right into a dynamite defensive workforce.
• Soar Subject: The Hawks have one of the best report within the Eastern Conference over the past two months. A deep, harmful workforce, Atlanta options dynamic scorer and playmaker Trae Young, NBA rebounding champion Clint Capela and red-hot shooters Bogdan Bogdanović, Danilo Gallinari. The Hawks are brimming with confidence after a 27-11 end beneath interim coach Nate McMillan.
• Playoff Debuts: Stars Julius Randle and Trae Young are gearing up for his or her playoff debuts. Randle is Mr. Everything for the Knicks, as he leads the workforce in factors, rebounds and assists. He averaged 37.3 factors in three video games in opposition to the Hawks (all wins for New York). Young was the one participant within the NBA to common 25 factors and 9 assists this season.

Quick Hits

• New York and Atlanta are assembly within the playoffs for the third time. The Knicks gained the primary two collection.
• Atlanta has snapped a four-year playoff drought.
• Former NBA MVP Derrick Rose has been a key a part of New York’s resurgence, rating fourth within the league in scoring off the bench.
• A wholesome Bogdan Bogdanović has helped gasoline Atlanta’s turnaround, averaging 18.7 factors for the reason that All-Star break.
• New York led the NBA in factors allowed per recreation for the primary time for the reason that 2000-01 season.
• Clint Capela is the primary Atlanta participant to lead the league in rebounding since Dikembe Mutombo in 1999-2000. He is the one one in all Atlanta’s prime 5 scorers to have playoff expertise.
• Danilo Gallinari was drafted sixth total by the Knicks in 2008 and performed components of three seasons in New York.
• The Knicks’ RJ Barrett and the Hawks’ Cam Reddish each starred at Duke as freshmen in 2018-19. Barrett (third) and Atlanta’s De’Andre Hunter (fourth) have been drafted back-to-back in 2019.
• New York’s starters have performed a mixed 16 whole playoff video games: Nerlens Noel has competed in 12 and Reggie Bullock has appeared in 4.
• Nate McMillan and Tom Thibodeau each gained Olympic gold medals with Team USA as assistant coaches beneath Mike Krzyzewski.

No. 3 DENVER NUGGETS vs. No. 6 PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

Top Line

• Basketball Genius: Nikola Jokić has accomplished a exceptional rise from a second-round draft decide to an NBA MVP favourite. Few gamers in NBA historical past can match his really feel for the sport and mixture of scoring and playmaking from the middle place. With the Serbian 7-footer taking his recreation to new heights, Denver has excessive hopes for an additional deep playoff run even with out Jamal Murray.
• Dame Time: Portland All-Star Damian Lillard is must-see TV within the playoffs, the place he has nailed iconic buzzer-beaters. Lillard is in a groove, too, having scored not less than 30 factors in seven of his final eight video games. He leads a dominant Trail Blazers offense that additionally options CJ McCollum, Norman Powell and Carmelo Anthony.
• Hanging Tough: Both groups are resilient and prideful. Last season, Denver grew to become the primary workforce to come again from 3-1 collection deficits twice in the identical postseason, and Portland made a stirring run within the bubble to attain the playoffs. This season, the Nuggets have gone 13-5 since shedding Jamal Murray, and the Trail Blazers rebounded from a five-game shedding streak in April to win 10 of their last 12 video games.

Quick Hits

• Portland and Denver performed a memorable collection within the 2019 Western Conference Semifinals, which included a quadruple-overtime recreation and the Trail Blazers’ dramatic street victory in Game 7.
• Portland is within the playoffs for the eighth straight season, the longest energetic streak within the NBA.
• Last season, the Nuggets made the Western Conference Finals for the primary time since 2009.
• Portland’s Carmelo Anthony faces his former workforce, which chosen him with the third decide within the 2003 NBA Draft. Now the NBA’s 10^th-leading scorer of all time, Anthony ascended to stardom with Denver.
• Denver’s Michael Porter Jr. is a rising star in his second season. He has averaged 22.3 factors for the reason that All-Star break.
• Nikola Jokić and Jusuf Nurkić will go head-to-head at middle. They are former Denver teammates who as soon as competed for minutes with the Nuggets. Denver traded Nurkić to Portland in 2017.
• The Trail Blazers ranked second within the NBA in offensive score however solely in 29^th in defensive score.
• Denver’s Aaron Gordon and Portland’s Norman Powell have been each acquired by their respective groups on the commerce deadline. They will play distinguished roles within the playoffs.
• Denver’s Facundo Campazzo, a 30-year-old rookie from Argentina, has been beginning instead of Jamal Murray. Campazzo is an exceptional passer and performs with aptitude.

No. 3 MILWAUKEE BUCKS vs. No. 6 MIAMI HEAT

Top Line

• Rematch: Milwaukee and Miami are assembly within the playoffs for the second yr in a row. The Heat upset the top-seeded Bucks within the 2020 Eastern Conference Semifinals, prompting Milwaukee to purchase Jrue Holiday and make different adjustments to its personnel and taking part in fashion. The Bucks’ new id shall be examined instantly by the skilled, surging Heat.
• Freak Show: Two-time reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was good once more in 2020-21. Can he carry it over into the playoffs and resolve a workforce that has slowed him down previously? Giannis and the Bucks are on a mission to ship the franchise’s first NBA Finals look in 47 years.
• Heat Is On: Here come the Heat once more. Led by Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, they completed the season with a flourish and started resembling the workforce that made a magical run to the NBA Finals final season. Being solely a sixth seed gained’t faze Miami, which made the Finals as a fifth seed.

Quick Hits

• Milwaukee and Miami are assembly within the playoffs for the third time. The Heat leads 2-0.
• Miami is within the playoffs for the ten^th time in 13 seasons beneath coach Erik Spoelstra, a two-time NBA champion who has a knack for pushing the fitting buttons within the playoffs.
• The Bucks led the NBA in scoring for the third straight season. They are the primary workforce to common not less than 120 factors per recreation for a season for the reason that 1984-85 Nuggets.
• The Heat is 33-19 with Jimmy Butler within the lineup and 7-13 with out him.
• The Bucks’ Khris Middleton shot higher than 47 % from the sector, 40 % from three-point vary and 89 % from the free throw line for the second yr in a row. He has a penchant for making huge photographs late in video games.
• Miami’s Tyler Herro is a Milwaukee native. He initially dedicated to play on the University of Wisconsin earlier than starring at Kentucky for one season. Herro had a formidable playoff debut as a rookie final season.
• Jimmy Butler performed school basketball in Milwaukee at Marquette.
• Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler and Miami’s Goran Dragić are former winners of the NBA Most Improved Player Award.
• Heat veterans Andre Iguodala and Trevor Ariza are two of solely 4 gamers from the 2004 NBA Draft nonetheless within the NBA. The others are Philadelphia’s Dwight Howard and Cleveland’s Anderson Varejão.

No. 4 LA CLIPPERS vs. No. 5 DALLAS MAVERICKS

Top Line

• Rematch: Add one other chapter to a brewing rivalry: The Clippers and Mavericks are assembly within the first spherical for the second straight season. LA gained final yr’s testy collection in six video games. The matchup produced an iconic second when Dallas’ Luka Dončić made a game-winning, buzzer-beating three-pointer in Game 4 to tie the collection at 2-2.
• Road to Redemption: The Clippers are looking for redemption after a heartbreaking end final season. In the Conference Semifinals, LA misplaced a 3-1 collection lead to Denver and fell one win shy of reaching the Conference Finals for the primary time. The robust ending prompted a training change and roster retooling. Led by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, the Clippers are again with one other shot at playoff glory.
• Encore Performance: Luka Dončić made a blinding playoff debut final yr at age 21 in his second season, which included an NBA-record 42 factors in his first recreation and an unimaginable game-winning three-pointer to punctuate a 40-point triple-double. What will the Slovenian sensation do for an encore?

Quick Hits

• LA and Dallas had by no means confronted one another within the playoffs earlier than final yr. Now, they’re assembly for the second yr in a row.
• Kristaps Porzingis might be an X issue: Dallas’ second-leading scorer and prime rebounder returned for the ultimate week of the common season after lacking 10 of the earlier 11 video games.
• Kawhi Leonard (24.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 5.2 apg) and Paul George (23.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 5.2 apg) posted almost equivalent numbers this season.
• The Clippers’ Rajon Rondo, acquired in a commerce through the season, is thought for elevating his play within the playoffs. He was a central participant within the Lakers’ championship run final season.
• The Clippers are within the playoffs for the ninth time within the final 10 seasons.
• The Mavericks haven’t gained a playoff collection since profitable the NBA championship in 2011.
• The Clippers led the NBA in three-point discipline purpose share and free throw share.
• LA’s Marcus Morris Sr. ranked second within the NBA in three-point discipline purpose share. Teammate Luke Kennard ranked eighth.
• Coaches Rick Carlisle of Dallas and Tyronn Lue of LA are each NBA champions as head coaches and gamers.
• Dallas’ Jalen Brunson has been one of many NBA’s prime reserves this season.
• Dallas’ JJ Redick had a few of his greatest seasons with the Clippers.
• DeMarcus Cousins has had a number of strong video games since signing with the Clippers in April.
• LA’s Serge Ibaka ranks eighth on the NBA’s profession playoff blocks record. Ibaka has an opportunity to crack the highest 5 this yr, relying on how the Clippers do within the postseason.

NBA PLAYOFFS: DID YOU KNOW?

• The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are tied for probably the most NBA championships with 17 every.

• The NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award was named after Bill Russell in 2009. Russell, a five-time regular-season MVP, gained a report 11 NBA championships as a participant.

• The NBA first named a Finals MVP in 1969. That yr, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Jerry West earned the distinction although his workforce misplaced to the Boston Celtics. West is the one Finals MVP from a shedding workforce.

• Michael Jordan has gained a report six Finals MVP awards. The Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James has the second-most Finals MVPs with 4, adopted by Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal with three every.

• Phil Jackson has gained a report 11 NBA championships as a head coach, two greater than Red Auerbach (9). John Kundla, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and Pat Riley are tied for third place with 5 every.

• Michael Jordan holds the single-game playoff scoring report: 63 factors for the Chicago Bulls in opposition to the Boston Celtics in double time beyond regulation in Game 2 of a 1986 first-round collection.

• Elgin Baylor holds the single-game NBA Finals scoring report: 61 factors for the Los Angeles Lakers in opposition to the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the 1962 NBA Finals. It’s the second-highest whole in a playoff recreation.

• Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell’s 57-point efficiency in opposition to the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of a 2020 first-round collection marks the third-highest whole in a playoff recreation.

• Karl Malone and John Stockton, former longtime teammates with the Utah Jazz, share the NBA report for many seasons competing within the playoffs with 19.

• Four gamers have gained an NBA championship with three totally different franchises: the Philadelphia 76ers’ Danny Green (San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Lakers); Robert Horry (Houston Rockets, Lakers and Spurs); LeBron James (Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Lakers); and John Salley (Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and Lakers).

• The NBA’s present 16-team playoff format began with the 1983-84 season. The first spherical expanded to best-ofseven from best-of-five starting within the 2002-03 season.