INGLEWOOD, Calif —It was a wild Saturday across the NBA, but the two biggest games of the day were in California.
NUGGETS 101, LA CLIPPERS 99 (series tied 2-2)
Denver would have lost if this game had gone to overtime. Their starters had all played at least 42 minutes of regulation basketball, and you could see how tired they were, particularly in their suddenly slow (and sometimes non-existent) defensive rotations. The Clippers had the momentum.
However, the Nuggets had Aaron Gordon saving the game — and perhaps their season.
That theme about depth — the Clippers have it, the Nuggets do not — is going to be a main one the rest of this series.
In Game 4, the Clippers' bench played 59:45 minutes, more than double the Nuggets' 25:33 (to be fair, the Nuggets were without Russell Westbrook due to an ankle injury). The Clippers' closing lineup featured a bench player (Bogdan Bogdanovic in for Kris Dunn). All of that is why the Clippers were the fresher team down the stretch.
That matters, but the Clippers need better production from their bench and role players, or it won't matter. Dunn, Nicolas Batum and Derrick Jones Jr. shot 2-of-13 from 3 in Game 4. The Nuggets are just ignoring Dunn when the Clippers have the ball — doubling off him and daring him to shoot — and if he and the rest of the Clippers' bench/role players can’t make the Nuggets pay, then Denver will get the win.
It’s cliche to say Game 5 Wednesday is huge, but for the Nuggets it is especially so: This series goes to every other day starting with that game Tuesday, which means less time to recover for the Nuggets starters. It will wear them down even more. They can’t go down 3-2 and expect to come back against the deeper team.
WARRIORS 104, ROCKETS 93 (Golden State leads series 2-1)
Stephen Curry was mesmerizing, doing Stephen Curry things in the Warriors' win.
That, however, is not the big takeaway from this game or why the Rockets are really in trouble.
It’s that they can’t score in the halfcourt.
It was a concern coming into the playoffs, when the games tend to slow down. During the regular season, the Rockets ranked 22nd in the league in halfcourt offensive rating, positioned between Utah and Philadelphia (stats via Cleaning the Glass). In the playoffs, they have been worse — and on Saturday night they had an 81 offensive rating in the halfcourt. And that against a Warriors team without Jimmy Butler, who was out with a pelvic contusion (he may well return for Game 4).
Credit to Rockets GM Rafael Stone and ownership management, they were patient at the February trade deadline and didn’t make a rash move — get this core to the playoffs, see what happens, then adjust.
The adjustment is becoming clear: The Rockets need a high-level offensive creator and bucket getter to spark them in the half court, a player who fits with the timeline of their young core (so not Kevin Durant, who will be 37 next season). Jalen Green filled that role for a night scoring 38 in Game 2, but the Warriors loaded up the defense on him in Game 3 and things fell apart. Alperen Sengun is a high-level passing and scoring big man, but he's not a creator in the way the Rockets need. Amen Thompson might develop into that guy, but he's not there yet.
Which player the Rockets chase is a matter of speculation, but the Rockets have the picks and young players to put together an enticing trade package for whichever team is selling. Expect an aggressive Rockets front office this summer.
For now, Houston needs to come out with some real desperation and win Game 4 on the road, or this series is all but over.
THUNDER 117, GRIZZLIES 115 (OKC sweeps series 4-0)
Give the shorthanded Grizzlies (no Ja Morant) credit for putting up a fight. However, that does not change the big end-of-season question:
Where does Memphis go from here?
We know where Oklahoma City goes, it has looked dominant in dispatching the Grizzlies in a sweep and now awaits the winner of the Clippers/Nuggets bloodbath. OKC appears on a path to the NBA Finals.
Memphis' path forward is shrouded in mist. It is largely locked into the core of Ja Morant (three more seasons on his max contract), Desmond Bane (four more years) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (extension eligible this offseason and the one player the Grizzlies do not want to walk).
Should Memphis take a swing at a big-time trade? (Don’t say Kevin Durant, he does not want to go there.) Or, should it work around the edges and try to add shooting, athleticism and depth around the Morant/Jackson/Bane core and continue to ride this out to the end of the line? While some fans might suggest trading Ja Morant, the market for his services would not be very strong (unless the Grizzlies want to talk swapping one flawed player for another, such as Trae Young or LaMelo Ball), and the offers in return would be lowball. However, it's something to consider.
Also, who is coaching this team next season?
CAVALIERS 124, HEAT 87 (Cleveland leads series 3-0)
No Darius Garland for Cleveland, he aggravated a big toe injury that sidelined him a couple of games at the end of the season. It was evident how much the Cavaliers missed him at the very start of the game when the Heat raced out to a lead, although part of that was shooting variance (Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware hit some open 3s, while the Cavs started 0-of-5 from beyond the arc).
Things normalized soon after, the Cavaliers were up by 13 after one quarter and from there cruised to a win.
There is another game, maybe two, to play, but this series is over. The Cavaliers would love to end it in four, get Garland (and everyone else) more rest, and wait for the winner of the Bucks/Pacers series. Miami faces some hard questions heading into this offseason. With all due respect to the step forward Tyler Herro took this season, the Heat need another high-level offensive creator to make this all work, and you can expect them to be aggressive going after one. This is not a franchise that looks to tear things down and rebuild.
