Wednesday NBA Roundup: Should Derrick Rose's Return Worry Contenders Out East?
Derrick Rose started writing the third chronicle of his injury-related return trilogy Wednesday night, but nine points in 19 minutes weren't enough to keep the Chicago Bulls in occupation of the Eastern Conference's No. 3 seed.
With a 105-103 loss to the Orlando Magic and the Toronto Raptors' 92-74 drubbing of the Charlotte Hornets, the Bulls dropped into the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference and face a potential first-round clash with the fifth-seeded Washington Wizards by virtue of a tiebreaker.
The Bulls' loss also locked the Cleveland Cavaliers into the No. 2 seed and earned them their first Central Division title since 2010, according to SB Nation:
Matched up against an Orlando team that has played Chicago tough all season long, Rose displayed encouraging burst, comfortable acceleration and solid lift on a couple of his early attempts—including a bouncy stroke from the left corner and a calm pull-up attempt from the free-throw line.
| 1. Atlanta* | 59-19 | 0.0 | 1. Golden State* | 63-15 | 0.0 |
| 2. Cleveland* | 51-27 | 8.0 | 2. Memphis* | 53-25 | 10.0 |
| 3. Toronto* | 46-32 | 13.0 | 3. Houston* | 53-25 | 10.0 |
| 4. Chicago* | 46-32 | 13.0 | 4. Portland* | 51-27 | 12.0 |
| 5. Washington* | 45-33 | 14.0 | 5. L.A. Clippers* | 53-26 | 10.5 |
| 6. Milwaukee | 38-40 | 21.0 | 6. San Antonio* | 53-26 | 10.5 |
| 7. Boston | 36-42 | 23.0 | 7. Dallas* | 47-31 | 16.0 |
| 8. Brooklyn | 36-42 | 23.0 | 8. New Orleans | 42-36 | 21.0 |
| 9. Indiana | 35-43 | 24.0 | 9. Oklahoma City | 42-36 | 21.0 |
| 10. Miami | 35-43 | 24.0 | 10. Phoenix | 39-40 | 24.5 |
In fact, Rose felt so good that he's planning on playing Thursday evening on the second night of a back-to-back, according to the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson:
However, Rose quickly reverted to early-season form, settling for jumpers more often than not, with an emphasis on low-percentage looks from three.
All told, Chicago's floor general shot 3-of-9 from the field, with six of those attempts coming from beyond the arc.
Unfortunately for the Bulls, that was merely a continuation of a pre-injury trend.
Entering Wednesday night, Rose was averaging a career-high 5.5 three-point attempts per game and converting on just 28.7 percent of them. His average shot distance has subsequently reached a career-high 14.1 feet, per Basketball-Reference.com, up more than two feet from his six-year average.
What Chicago needs to strike fear into postseason foes is the return of vintage Rose—the slashing, contorting, breathtaking aerial acrobat who feasted on opponents around the rim.
They need this Rose, the one who went coast-to-coast and finished with a gorgeous up-and-under move for his third and final bucket of the night:
"In order to join the East's current two-team elite (Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks), Chicago needs Rose to be a star," Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes wrote. "And if that sounds at all familiar, it's because that was the exact same narrative attached to the Bulls heading into this season."
But in sticking to his new, conservative guns, Rose is attempting just over a quarter of his shots inside of three feet, which is a career low by more than three percentage points.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau has stressed patience, but Rose hasn't been left with much time to quell concerns regarding passivity that could lead to Chicago's second consecutive first-round exit and the fifth such departure in the last seven years.
"Just like all the other comebacks, he got better as he went along," Thibodeau said on Sunday, according to Johnson. "So the same should hold true here. We don't expect him to be playing 35 minutes a night or scoring a ton of points. Just go out there and give us what you have, and that's good enough because when he plays he makes the game easy for everybody.''
For the Bulls' sake, hopefully Thibodeau is right.
But barring a stylistic reversal from Rose, top-tier title contenders shouldn't be quivering with fear regarding the Bulls' ability to make serious postseason noise.
Around the Association
The Grizzlies Helped Sort Out the West
Well, kind of.
In demolishing the New Orleans Pelicans by a final of 110-74, the Memphis Grizzlies moved back into the No. 2 spot out West, locking the Dallas Mavericks into the seventh seed in the process, per Fox Sports' Mark Followill:
A trouncing of New Orleans was almost inevitable; the Pellies gave everything they had in an inspiring win over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, which meant a letdown effort in this one was a strong possibility. If the Grizzlies would like to avoid a potentially similar thrashing, they'll fight for that second seed down the stretch in an attempt at evading the all-systems-go Spurs in the first round.
A slip to third, where the Houston Rockets currently reside, could mean a date with San Antonio, which cruised past those same Rockets on Wednesday. In fact, the middle-of-the-West playoff ladder is so bunched that a No. 3 seed could result in matchups with the Los Angeles Clippers or Rockets as well.
The Mavericks are a far more palatable matchup for Memphis and, well...anybody.
Enough with the playoff machinations. Here's Marc Gasol being a fantastic human being you should love and/or name your first-born son after, via Grizzly Bear Blues:
That's it. I'm switching NBA loyalties to the Grizzlies. Who's with me?
—Contributed by Grant Hughes
The Southwest Is Coming Down to the Wire
On the second night of a back-to-back against the well-rested Rockets, the Spurs figured to suffer from a case of tired legs.
And they did—for a quarter.
Houston led by one after the opening 12 minutes, but San Antonio quickly wised up and crunched the Rockets, 78-65, over the final three quarters to capture a 110-98 win.
Not only have the Spurs won an NBA-best nine games in a row but they’ve routinely crushed opponents with an iron fist, as Basketball-Reference.com's Twitter account and NBA.com’s David Aldridge indicated:
"The @spurs have tied an @NBA record with 9 straight wins by 12+ points. The only other teams to do this were the 2008-09 Cavs & 2011-12 Heat
— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) April 9, 2015"
Tony Parker scored a game-high 27 points in the win, but his enlightening response regarding a question about Kawhi Leonard's emergence was the highlight of the evening, according to Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News:
Since Memphis owns the tiebreaker over Houston, the Grizzlies catapulted back into the Southwest Division lead following their romp of the New Orleans Pelicans.
But beware of the Spurs, who are lurking a half-game back.
Should San Antonio drop the Rockets again on Friday, Houston will sink to the sixth seed with San Antonio poised to rise, according to the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen:
Boston's Hot Start Helping Strong Regular-Season Finish
A scorching first-quarter run helped the Boston Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons, 113-103, pushing the Celtics into the Eastern Conference's seventh playoff position. Detroit was officially eliminated from postseason contention with the loss.
Now a full game ahead of the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat and in possession of a tiebreaker with the Brooklyn Nets, the Celtics are on the verge of completing what might be this year's most unlikely playoff push.
Boston's bench came up huge after the starters kicked things off with a lackluster start, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com:
Perpetually exasperated Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy summarized the run during a timeout. Thanks to Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports, we got a taste of his frustration:
The Pistons would battle back in the second quarter, but playing catch-up clearly taxed them, which allowed the Celtics to gradually expand their lead down the stretch. Isaiah Thomas led all scorers with 34 off the bench, giving him 82 points in his last three games.
If Boston holds on to that playoff spot, its scoring spark plug will prove useful in a first-round series against either the Atlanta Hawks or Cleveland Cavaliers. Speaking of which, much of the Celtics' fate is tied to the Cavs, whom they'll play twice in their final four games.
If Cleveland rests its stars ahead of the postseason, Boston could coast into the second season.
Regardless of what happens the rest of the regular season and playoffs, Boston's resiliency and fight will serve it well as the rebuilding effort continues.
—Contributed by Grant Hughes
Brooklyn Drops Back, Much to Atlanta's Delight
The Brooklyn Nets made a late charge, outscoring the Atlanta Hawks, 29-20, in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough to slay the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed.
With the 114-111 win, Atlanta captured a sweep of the season series with Brooklyn, which could provide the Nets with a nightmare scenario should they wind up sneaking into the playoffs with the East's No. 8 seed.
Despite entering the night a half-game up on the Celtics, the Nets dropped back to the eighth seed for the time being due to Boston's domination of Detroit.
Considering the Hawks' average margin of victory in four regular-season contests with Brooklyn was 17.2 points, it would behoove the Nets to do everything in their power to avoid a first-round series with Atlanta.
Led by 24 points and seven rebounds from Al Horford, the Hawks shot 50 percent from the field and 39.3 percent from three as four of their scorers finished in double figures.
For the 10th time in his last 12 games, Brook Lopez topped 20 points, pouring in a game-high 26 points (8-of-17 shooting, 10-of-10 from the free-throw line), but Atlanta's 33-21 edge from three proved to be the difference.
Pacers-Knicks: Paul George: The Reminder
Paul George may be showing the kind of rust you'd expect after an eight-month layoff, but his return seems to have polished the rest of the Indiana Pacers into prime form.
Indy downed the New York Knicks by a final of 102-86 Wednesday, as George continued to work his way back into the swing of things. He finished with a solid 10 points on 2-of-7 shooting, getting to the line six times in just 16 minutes.
It wasn't always pretty, as Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star observed:
Nonetheless, George's teammates—most notably veteran mainstays David West, Roy Hibbert and George Hill—looked very much like the crew that has led Indiana, along with George, to two straight conference finals appearances.
Granted, the Knicks aren't the best measuring stick, but it's hard to downplay Hibbert's 11 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in just 16 minutes. The same goes for West's 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting. Hill, perhaps Indiana's best player over the past two months, pumped in 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals in 27 minutes.
Maybe this sounds crazy, but it's almost like George's presence reminds the rest of the Pacers just how good they once were.
A full game still separates Indiana from the No. 8 spot in the East, but you can bet that the conference's top seeds are quietly praying the Pacers don't make up the difference down the stretch.
George's return has reminded them how good Indy can be, too.
—Contributed by Grant Hughes
So Long, LeBron
Don't worry, Cleveland Cavaliers supporters; LeBron James isn't leaving you again.
Not for another city, anyway. But with the Cavs' 104-99 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, LBJ and Co. secured the No. 2 seed in the East. With no way to fall into the third spot and no chance of catching the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland has nothing left to play for this year.
So while there are four more games on the Cavs' schedule, don't expect to see James suit up for all of them.
ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst reiterated as much:
We saw what two weeks off could do for James' game earlier this year; his post-hiatus return in January revealed a completely rejuvenated player. If a few games off in the season's final week has even the slightest chance of making a similar impact, you can bet the Cavs will duct-tape James to the pine.
In other words, drink in highlights like this one from King James:
You probably won't be seeing any more during the regular season.
—Contributed by Grant Hughes
Toronto Deals Charlotte a Death Blow
If a Tuesday night loss to the Miami Heat didn't seal the Charlotte Hornets' fate, a 92-74 blowout defeat at the hands of the Toronto Raptors certainly did.
Charlotte entered the evening two games back of the eighth seed, but a putrid showing plus Boston's win pushed the Hornets three games back of the East's final spot.
Fittingly, an inept offensive display prevented the Hornets from trying to salvage their postseason hopes. Charlotte mustered 45 points over the game's first three quarters, which gave Toronto a cushy 24-point lead entering the final frame.
Without Kyle Lowry (back) and Amir Johnson (ankle), DeMar DeRozan, Greivis Vasquez and Lou Williams led the way with 18, 16 and 16 points, respectively.
Thanks to Chicago's loss, Toronto vaulted into the No. 3 seed and a potential first-round matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Elfrid Payton Can Fly
Dunk of the night honors go to Elfrid Payton, Orlando's rookie point guard who finished with 17 points, nine assists and nine rebounds in the Magic's win over Chicago.
Using his spring-loaded legs, Payton skied for a putback slam over Bulls forward Taj Gibson in the second quarter:
He's not going to win Rookie of the Year, but Payton's proving Andrew Wiggins isn't the only first-year player who can fly.
Your Knicks Blooper of the Night
This year's Shaqtin' A Fool awards could be dedicated solely to the Knicks, and Cole Aldrich demonstrated why with a comical first-quarter blunder against the Pacers:
Savor these moments, for the Knicks only have four games left to entertain us.
