The NBA In-Season Tournament has been so far, so great.
Say what you will about players, fans and coaches alike not being certain of the rules for qualification, or the bright courts permanently damaging TVs and retinas with their Chicken-Roaster-from-Seinfeld-level glare, or the hit-or-miss city jersey concepts leaving some fanbases calling for Nike to hang it up, despite it all, the NBA’s in-season tournament has been a roaring success.
From Steph Curry’s controversial game-winning lay-up with 0.2 seconds left in a thriller against the Thunder, to James Harden’s redemptive four-point play to take the lead against the Rockets, snap the Clippers’ losing streak and beat the washed allegations. The In-Season Tournament has done a spectacular job of giving the regular season some higher stakes, elevating moments like these to a stage that in prior years would’ve just been another one in 82.
The Indiana Pacers are New Orleans Pelicans are into the final four after quarterfinal wins on Monday.
Here’s a quick overview of Tuesday’s quarterfinals matchups, how the teams are looking coming into the game and a player that could decide the one-and-done duels on the road to Vegas.
(4) New York Knicks @ (1) Milwaukee Bucks – Tuesday, Dec. 05, 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT
Group stage results: Knicks 3-1 | Bucks 4-0
Prediction: Bucks def. Knicks
The Pulse: Thibodeau-ball is in full effect in New York as the Knicks have quietly been one of the most fearsome defensive teams in the NBA through a combination of hustle and snot-nosed play. They currently sit third in the association in defensive rating, first in opposing points per game, first in opponent second chance points, fourth in opposing points in the paint, and first in defensive rebounding percentage. Effort is a defensive stat and the Knicks have it in spades.
Mitchell Robinson has unceremoniously been one of the best defensive bigs in the NBA as he carries the load for most of the aforementioned stats and leads the team in defensive rating at 105.1 (third in the NBA) and defensive win shares (sixth in the NBA). Sixth man Immanuel Quickley has only continued to emerge defensively after a breakout year last season and on offence, he shares the league lead for most 20+ point games off the bench.
But the team runs on the efforts of star point guard Jalen Brunson and the roller coaster ride that is Julius Randle. In Brunson’s best game this year, he put up a ridiculous 45 points in a losing effort against the Bucks during their matchup in the group stage of the in-season tournament. With Milwaukee’s porous point-of-attack defence, could a similar night be in store for the breakout guard?
Despite earning the win in their prior matchup, the Milwaukee Bucks looked mortal at that point in the year. Since then though, they’ve won eight of their last 10 and have seen the touted tandem of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard score 30.9 and 27.7 points apiece during that stretch. Only the duo of Devin Booker and Kevin Durant have scored more in their last 10 games. The Bucks possess the fourth-highest offensive rating and third-highest net rating over their last 10 as well, however, their defence still leaves much to be desired, as concerns surrounding the obvious downgrade on that end from Holiday to Lillard have more than reared their head so far this season.
X-Factor: Julius Randle, New York Knicks
As previously mentioned, the Knicks run on the efforts of Brunson and Randle. The reason they lost that 45-point Brunson game was because of a 5-for-20 shooting night from Randle on a night that saw Knicks fans once again calling for him to be traded.
He started off the season disastrously, averaging 13.7 points on .271/.225/.618 splits in the team’s first six games. But following the loss to the Bucks, Randle has turned it up, averaging 23.5 a night on .470/.319/.736 splits while grabbing 10.0 rebounds and dishing out 5.7 assists. They’re also 10-3 in the 13 games since that tight loss at the hands of their upcoming in-season tournament opponent.
Brunson is the leader of this Knicks team no doubt, but Julius Randle is the force that either wins or loses them games, with all-star-level peaks and Mendoza-level valleys. In a win-or-go-home situation like this one, they’ll need his best should they wish to challenge an in-rhythm Bucks team.
Can he get in the way of even more people looking to get rings?
(4) Phoenix Suns @ (1) Los Angeles Lakers – Tuesday, Dec. 05, 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT
Group stage results: Lakers 4-0 | Phoenix 3-1
Prediction: Lakers def. Suns
The Pulse: The Phoenix Suns’ big three isn’t real, it can’t hurt you.
Maybe one day the promised trio of Booker, Durant and Bradley Beal will take the court, but the In-Season Tournament knockout game against the Lakers will not be that day. But a spot in the knockout stage and eight wins in their last 10 games would tell you that hey, maybe they never needed a big three in the first place.
What Booker and Durant have done so far this season has been otherworldly, as whenever the two take the court together, the two possess a 124.9 offensive rating and score 59.6 points a game in their 22.4 shared minutes a night. Durant is currently third in the league in scoring at 31.0 points a game while putting up absurd .512/.494/.896 shooting splits. Booker has transitioned perfectly into his new role as a point guard, dishing out a career-high 8.4 assists a game while maintaining his ridiculously good form as a scorer, setting career-high marks in scoring (27.9), three-point percentage (39.7) and free throw percentage (93.3).
Meanwhile, the Lakers present another one of the most fearsome tandems in the league in LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and the two superstars have stood on business in the two prior matchups against the Suns this season, scoring a combined 51 and 50 points in the two games.
On defence, Davis has been every bit of the Defensive Player of the Year calibre player that he was expected to be as he leads the league in steals+blocks with 77 and has swatted a ridiculous 2.8 shots per game. The Lakers’ defence also hasn’t been at full power yet as the impending trio of Jarred Vanderbilt, Cam Reddish, and sophomore standout Max Christie could prove to be one of the most fearsome rotations of perimeter defenders the league has to offer.
X-Factor: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
James has continued to defy Father Time, averaging 24.4 points on efficiency numbers he hasn’t had since his prime in South Beach with .551/.383/.690 splits. He has the best effective field goal percentage of his career at 61.7 per cent and is hitting an absurd 82 per cent of his shots at the rim and is finishing 66.6 per cent of his drives.
His work in transition has been the highlight of this season, as his sheer power after grabbing a rebound and leading a fastbreak is terrifying, using his strength to completely overpower whoever is in his way. Despite his age, he has led the Lakers to the third-best field goal percentage in transition at 55.8 per cent while scoring 1.13 points per possession in that playtype.
He has only missed one game this year and made it clear after their first In-Season Tournament victory against the Suns that he was gunning for the inaugural NBA Cup and the $500,000. More importantly, how will it affect his legacy concerning the GOAT conversation if he wins the first iteration of the tournament?
Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean.
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