NBA Playoffs 2017: Schedule, Predictions, X-Factors for Monday's Round 2 Games
Kevin Durant is the bad guy now.
In a matter of minutes during the fourth quarter of Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals, the Golden State Warriors star got into a war of words with a Utah Jazz fan sitting courtside, cursed at the mascot and got a technical foul for shoving Rudy Gobert in the back.
He was in full-fledged villain mode, not unlike LeBron James in 2010-11, his first year with the Miami Heat.
Golden State took a 3-0 series lead on Utah despite off nights from Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. KD poured in 38 points on 15-of-26 shooting in the 102-91 win.
No team has ever come back to win a series after falling into a 3-0 hole—we know overcoming 3-1 is possible, though. Below you can find how-to-watch information as Utah tries to be the first.
Viewing Guide
| Warriors @ Jazz | Monday, April 8 | 9 p.m. ET | TNT | Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City | GSW 3, UTAH 0 |
X-Factors
Jazz: Find a third scorer
During this three-game set against the Dubs, Utah has been led by its stars: Gordon Hayward (24.7 points) and Rudy Gobert (16.7 points, 13 rebounds).
And that's it.
Off the bench, point guard Shelvin Mack is the only other Jazz player giving Quin Snyder double figures (10.3). That isn't going to fly against a historically stacked roster.
In Round 1 against the Los Angeles Clippers, Utah had five players averaging north of 10 points per game. Two of those players—Joe Johnson (8.7) and Rodney Hood (7.7)—are both shooting 33.3 percent from the field against Golden State.
With starting point guard George Hill sidelined for Games 2 and 3 due to a toe injury that plagued him all year, Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey used box plus-minus to raise the notion of getting Dante Exum more minutes:
Bailey also used NBA Math's FATS calculator to illustrate the impact Exum's made when given a chance in the conference semifinals:
Even if Snyder lets the Australian guard loose—or finds another source of scoring—it probably won't matter, as CBSSports.com's Matt Moore noted:
"And the Jazz are a good team AND pose no threat to the Warriors. Jazz had an amazing season. https://t.co/Z9piwcJv6O
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) May 7, 2017"
Whatever the Jazz do, it'll likely be too little, too late.
Warriors: Composure
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Right?
After Game 3, Anthony Slater of the Mercury News wrote about how any criticism of Golden State, undefeated throughout the playoffs, is "nit-picking":
"The Warriors are playing at an extremely high-level right now, winning their first seven playoff games by 12, 29, 6, 25, 12, 11 and 11 points. Any criticism is nit-picking. But as the Warriors rumble toward stiffer tests, it's probably wiser for them to identify the small trouble spots instead of basking in the countless other things they're doing right."
The Warriors didn't turn the ball over in the second half on Saturday night, either. Not once. In fact, they had a franchise-low seven giveaways:
That's why Utah, which led by nine in the second quarter, totally fell off in the end:
One of those "small trouble spots" Slater alluded to, though, could be self-control. Durant and Draymond Green both received technical fouls in the contest, which, in itself, isn't a big deal.
KD downplayed his clash with Gobert, saying that whistles like that are "why they call our league soft," per Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver:
Green was T'd up for chirping at referee Bennie Adams from the bench after taunting the Jazz crowd with a "2-0" signal:
Per Slater, receiving seven technical fouls results in a one-game suspension. Saturday night's was Green's first of the postseason, so he's in no danger of missing a game in the near future.
But we all know what happened in last year's NBA Finals. With his team leading 3-1, Green was suspended for Game 5, which led to the greatest comeback ever from LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With head coach Steve Kerr's back sidelining him indefinitely, it's up to Green and, to a lesser extent, Durant to keep themselves from hurting the team with self-inflicted wounds.
As Slater said, however, it's nit-picking. Expect the Dubs to break out the brooms on the short-handed Jazz and advance to the conference finals.
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