LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are still alive. And the Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics were all rolling.Close games are hard to find in these NBA playoffs. Entering Sunday, 19 of the first 26 games of the first round were all decided by at least 10 points.
Quick Read
- Playoff Overview: The NBA playoffs have seen predominantly decisive outcomes with 19 of the first 26 games ending with at least a 10-point difference.
- Saturday’s Results: Four games on Saturday all resulted in double-digit wins: Orlando Magic defeated Cleveland by 23, Oklahoma City Thunder beat New Orleans by 21, Boston Celtics won over Miami by 20, and the Los Angeles Lakers had the closest game, defeating Denver by 11.
- Sunday’s Schedule: Four more games are scheduled for Sunday, featuring New York at Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Clippers at Dallas, Milwaukee at Indiana, and Minnesota at Phoenix.
- Upcoming Games and TV Schedule: The continuation of the playoffs includes games on Monday, Tuesday, and potentially adjustments based on Sunday’s results.
- Betting Odds: Boston Celtics are the favorites to win the championship according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by Denver Nuggets and other teams ranked by their odds.
- Awards Announcement: The Coach of the Year will be announced Sunday, with other awards like Most Improved Player and Sixth Man of the Year recently given and MVP still to be announced.
- Key Players’ Conditions: Updates include Jimmy Butler’s anxiety and Damian Lillard’s injury status.
- Stat of the Day: Boston, Oklahoma City, and Orlando each have two 20-point wins in the first round, a feat not seen since Toronto in 2020.
- Quote of the Day: LeBron James emphasized the critical nature of the Lakers’ next game following their recent win against Denver, describing it as a “one-game series” for them.
The Associated Press has the story:
NBA Playoffs 2024: Lakers stay alive, as Celtics, Magic & Thunder all win easily
Newslooks- (AP)
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are still alive. And the Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics were all rolling.
Close games are hard to find in these NBA playoffs. Entering Sunday, 19 of the first 26 games of the first round were all decided by at least 10 points.
All four games on Saturday were double-digit decisions: Orlando beat Cleveland by 23, Oklahoma City beat New Orleans by 21, Boston beat Miami by 20 and the Lakers beat Denver in the “close” game of the day by 11 to avoid a sweep.
Another quadrupleheader awaits Sunday: New York is at Philadelphia (Knicks lead 2-1), the Los Angeles Clippers are at Dallas (Mavericks lead 2-1), Milwaukee is at Indiana (Pacers lead 2-1) and Minnesota — up 3-0 in that series — looks to be the first team to reach the second round when it visits Phoenix.
NATIONAL TV SCHEDULE
Sunday
1 p.m. — New York at Philadelphia, ABC
3:30 p.m. — L.A. Clippers at Dallas, ABC
7 p.m. — Milwaukee at Indiana, TNT
9:30 p.m. — Minnesota at Phoenix, TNT
Monday
7:30 p.m. — Boston at Miami, TNT
8:30 p.m. — Oklahoma City at New Orleans, NBA TV
10 p.m. — L.A. Lakers at Denver, TNT
Tuesday
6:30 or 8 p.m. — Orlando at Cleveland, NBA TV
7 p.m. — Philadelphia at New York, TNT
9 or 9:30 p.m. — Indiana at Milwaukee, NBA TV or TNT
9:30 p.m. — Phoenix at Minnesota, TNT (if necessary)
(If Minnesota wins Sunday, the Magic-Cavaliers game is 8 p.m. and the Pacers-Bucks game is 9:30 p.m. on TNT. If Phoenix wins Sunday, Magic-Cavaliers is 6:30 p.m. and Pacers-Bucks is 9 p.m. on NBA TV.)
BETTING GUIDE
Boston has home-court advantage throughout the NBA playoffs and currently is the favorite to win the championship, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
The Celtics are listed at +130, ahead of defending champion Denver (+240). Next up: Oklahoma City (+1000), Minnesota (+1100), Dallas (+1300), New York (+1600), Philadelphia (+3000), the Los Angeles Clippers (+5000) and Indiana (+5000).
After that, it’s Milwaukee (+6000), Cleveland (+6600), the Los Angeles Lakers (+20000), Orlando (+20000), Phoenix (+25000), Miami (+50000) and New Orleans (+75000).
AWARD SEASON
Coach of the Year gets announced on Sunday, with Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault, Minnesota’s Chris Finch and Orlando’s Jamahl Mosley the three finalists.
Last week, Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey won Most Improved Player over Chicago’s Coby White, Minnesota’s Naz Reid won Sixth Man of the Year in a very close vote over Sacramento’s Malik Monk and Golden State’s Stephen Curry won Clutch Player of the Year over Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan.
The schedule for announcing the remaining individual awards has yet to be revealed. There’s Rookie of the Year (San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren or Charlotte’s Brandon Miller), Defensive Player of the Year (Wembanyama, Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert or Miami’s Bam Adebayo) and Most Valuable Player (Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Dallas’ Luka Doncic or Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander).
WHAT TO KNOW
— Jimmy Butler is anxious.
— Damian Lillard is hurting.
— Preview for Sunday’s games: Knicks-76ers, Clippers-Mavericks, Bucks-Pacers, Timberwolves-Suns.
STAT OF THE DAY
Boston, Oklahoma City and Orlando all have two wins by at least 20 points so far in Round 1. No team has had three wins by 20 or more in the opening round since Toronto did that to Brooklyn in 2020.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We’ve given ourselves another life. We’ve given ourselves another lifeline. It’s a one-game series for us. Monday’s game is the most important game of the season for us and we understand that.” — the Lakers’ LeBron James, after Saturday’s win over Denver to cut the deficit in that series to 3-1.
