Toronto -8 (3u) L / over 194.0 (2u) W
- Giannis absolutely carried the Bucks on his back to pull out a Game 1 victory on the road, and looked like a generational talent out there on the court. The Bucks locked down on their defense in the second half, limiting the Raptors to just 32 points and utilizing their size by starting the tallest lineup in the NBA (6'5", 6'7", 6'8", 6'11", 7'1"). This was an efficient way to practically eliminate a 6'1" Lowry who ended the night with just 4 points on 2 for 11 shooting, and DeRozan struggled from an efficiency perspective, shooting just 7 for 21 from the field. Toronto should look to get their bigs a little more involved and take advantage of the weight they have on the Bucks' starting back court. If the Raptors can stay efficient and limit their turnovers, they have way too much talent to let the Bucks return to Milwaukee with a 2-0 lead in the series.
Boston -7 (3u) L / over 206.0 (2u) W
- This was an extremely close and hard fought Game 1 by both sides, with the veteran presence on the Bulls being a key factor on pulling out the win on the road. The Celtics got absolutely torched on the boards (53 to 36) and Boston's lack of rebounding from their bigs, which has been their weakness all season long, may prove to be the dagger to their season unless they turn things around in Game 2. IT was visibly shaken before Game 1 due to the tragedy of losing his sister and still played an excellent game but got little to no support on the court from the rest of his teammates. Boston should come out firing tonight and put together a dominant, statement win to grab the home court advantage back before travelling to Chicago.
LA Clippers -9 (4u) L / over 198.5 (3u) L
- Although Gobert went down in the first minute of Game 1, the Clippers had prepared around figuring out Gobert on both ends of the court. With a few days to properly strategize against a Utah team missing their potential first time all-NBA and/or DPOY, Doc should have a game plan to expose the mismatch in the paint and utilize plenty of pick and rolls to play favorable matchups all game long. The Clippers need to make sure to create second chance opportunities with their size advantage in the front court and we should definitely see more of a fast-paced, "Lob City" style offense with DJ scoring more than the 10 points he scored in Game 1. If the Clippers can't pull out a win tonight, they might as well start planning their blow up and rebuild because it'll certainly be CP3's last games in LA.