Tag: NBA MVP

NBA PLAYOFFS RECAP: 06/23/2021Written by Titan Frey 

Posted on by Titan Frey in Basketball, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Sports

Written by Titan Frey 

  • HAWKS 116
  • BUCKS 113 

Khris Middleton attempted a game-tying three at the end of the game and missed it. The Atlanta Hawks held on to win game one.

The Atlanta Hawks have now won game one in their first three playoff series. All of these wins have been on the road.

The Hawks are just the fourth team in NBA history to win game one on the road in three series during a postseason run. 

But enough about the teams, this game belonged to Trae Young. This dude has been ballin’ out all playoffs long and tonight was his best game. 

Young scored a playoff career-high 48 points while dishing out 11 assists. Young has become the youngest player (22) in NBA playoff history to have 40+ points and 10+ assists in a conference finals game. 

Young also tied LeBron James and Kobe Bryant for the most points in a playoff game before turning 23 years old. 

Trae Young’s 48 is the most points by a Hawks player in a playoff game since Dominique Wilkins scored 48 in 1988. 

Young also joins Luka Dončić as the only 22-years old and younger to have a 45+ point and 10+ assist game in playoff history. 

It’s safe to say Young is a bona fide star and if the Bucks can’t find a way to contain him, the Hawks will be heading to the NBA Finals. 

Game two is this Friday, June 25th at 8:30 PM Eastern Standard Time. 

NBA PLAYOFFS RECAP: 06/15/2021

Posted on by Titan Frey in Basketball, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Sports

Written by Titan Frey

  • BUCKS 108
  • NETS 114

This game was supposed to belong to the Milwaukee Bucks. It definitely looked that way at the start as the Bucks blew past the Nets. 

By halftime, the Bucks lead 59-43. The Nets have not had a game all year where they’ve come back and won being down by 16 points. 

Without Kyrie Irving, the task seemed too tall even for a player like Kevin Durant.

Right before the game, the Nets announced James Harden would be back. This would be a good thing for the Nets, right? 

Well, Harden did play, and he played over 45 minutes. Yet, he didn’t look like himself. His injured hamstring clearly must’ve been bothering him. 

Harden scored 5 points on 1-10 shooting. As I said, the former scoring champion did not look right at all. 

So, with Irving out and Harden going 1-10, how would the Bucks two best players play? Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 34 and Khris Middleton scored 25. 

Now that you have all this information, you must be asking yourself, “How did the Nets win this game?” I’ll tell you how: the Nets have Kevin Durant. 

“The Slim Reaper” as he’s called, had himself a ball game. Durant played the entire game (all 48 minutes), scored 49 on 16-23 from the field.

If you think that’s impressive, well, Durant wasn’t done. He also grabbed 17 rebounds, dished out 10 assists, stole the ball 3 times, and blocked it twice.

Kevin Durant did everything for his team on a night where analysts and fans alike said, “If Durant is one of the best ever, then he better prove it tonight”… he did, y’all.

The Bucks once again fell apart in the playoffs. Once again, Antetokounmpo, the former two-time MVP and defensive player of the year fell apart in the playoffs. 

As Kevin Durant was lighting it up down the stretch of the game, Antetokounmpo, the former defensive player of the year (just to remind you), didn’t step up to guard him.

Then, will about 17 seconds to go, down by two, Antetokounmpo let the ball slip through his fingers with a costly turnover that gave the Nets the win.

Game six is this Thursday, June 17th at 8:30 PM Eastern Standard Time. Are you ready?  

NBA PLAYOFFS RECAP: 06/13/2021

Posted on by Titan Frey in Basketball, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Sports

Written by Titan Frey

  • NETS 96
  • BUCKS 107

The NBA injury bug has struck again and in a big way. With about six minutes to go in the second quarter, the Brooklyn Nets Kyrie Irving landed on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s foot.


Irving’s ankle turned hard as he landed on the Greek Freak’s foot. Irving grabbed his ankle and screamed in pain as the play continued down the other way.


After a timeout and after taking some extra time to lie on the floor, Irving gingerly walked off the court.


It was later reported that Irving suffered a right ankle sprain and would not return to the game. The big question is now: how long will Kyrie Irving be out?


With the chances of Irving missing the remainder of this series and possibly longer, if the Nets advance, the need for James Harden to return is extremely great. 


If everything has to fall on Kevin Durant, that could be bad news for the Nets, despite how great Durant is. 


You have to remember, this is still the first season Durant has been back since his terrible Achilles injury. If his workload has to be expanded, you’d hate to see what it might do to his body. 


So, having James Harden back in the lineup is crucial to the Nets success for the remainder of this series. But at the same time, you don’t want to rush Harden back if he’s not ready, or he could hurt himself even more. 


This series, which started out looking like it may end in a Nets sweep, is very much a REAL SERIES, and the Bucks have the advantage. 


For the Milwaukee Bucks, their star, Giannis Antetokounmpo had himself another great game. The Greek Freak had 34 points and 12 rebounds. 


The Bucks had great balance today, with four other players scoring in double figures besides Antetokounmpo. 


Plus, P. J. Tucker has played incredible defense on Kevin Durant. In game four, Durant scored 28 but only shot 9-25 from the field. 


To dive deeper into the stats and to realize how good Tucker’s defense has been on Durant, Tucker held Durant to 9 points on 25 percent shooting. 


Game five will be played on Tuesday, June 15th at a time yet to be determined. 

  • SUNS 125
  • NUGGETS 118

The Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets went through a straight battle in game four. 


There were hard fouls. Mid-range jumpers. Technical fouls. A windup and smack in the face… this game had it all, and it ended with the Phoenix Suns making it to their first conference finals in eleven years. 


The Nuggets may have the MVP (Nikola Jokić), but the Suns have the MVP of the series in Chris Paul. 


Chris Paul dominated with his patented mid-range jumper. He finished with 37 points while dishing out 7 assists… he’s truly the “Point God”, as they call him. 


Devin Booker also came up big for the Suns. He scored 34 while grabbing 11 rebounds. 


As I stated earlier, the Nuggets had the MVP, but they didn’t have him for the entire game. 


Late in the third quarter, Jokić slammed down after the ball in a forceful way. In the process of swinging his hand at the ball, he smacked Cameron Payne directly on the nose. 


This wind-up and swing by Jokić was enough for the referees to throw him out. It was determined to be a flagrant two foul. 


The other Nuggets battled hard the rest of the way, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the sweep. 


The Phoenix Suns will now have to wait to see who they play in the conference finals. Will it be the Utah Jazz? Or the Los Angeles Clippers? 


The Jazz and Clippers play tomorrow, June 14th at 10:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. 

NBA PLAYOFFS RECAP: 06/12/2021

Posted on by Titan Frey in Basketball, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Sports


Written by Titan Frey

  • JAZZ 106
  • CLIPPERS 132 


It’s déjà vu for the Los Angeles Clippers. After going down 0-2 in their first round series against the Dallas Mavericks, the Clippers bounced back with a big win in game three. 


Now in the second round against the top-seeded Utah Jazz, the Clippers dropped the first two games. And like their previous series, the Clippers bounce back with a huge game three victory that keeps their chances alive in the series. 


Paul George, who famously gave himself the nickname “Playoff P”, but it appears he usually plays like “Pandemic P”, as the fans call him. 


After falling 0-2 against the Mavs in the first round, George became “Playoff P” by scoring 29 big points to help the Clippers get the win. 


Now, in this series, after falling 0-2, “Playoff P” delivered again with 31… it’s déjà vu!


Now Paul George wasn’t the only Clipper experiencing a case of déjà vu. Two time champ and two time finals MVP Kawhi Leonard also came down with a case. 


Leonard, who’s known as “The Claw”, thanks to his enormous hands and defensive ability, came up big with 36 points in game three vs the Mavs in the first round. 


How did he fare in game three against the Utah Jazz? As you already know, he played well, or it wouldn’t really be déjà vu, would it? 


“The Claw” scored 34 against the Jazz in game three, helping to secure their first victory of the series. 


The Utah Jazz star, and supposed “greatest Jazz player, ever” according to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, played well once again. He scored 30 but didn’t get the help as he did in the previous two games. 


The player I’m talking about is Donovan Mitchell. He’s a great player, who’s been exceptional in these playoffs and last year’s playoffs.


But he’s not the greatest player in Utah Jazz history. I’ll get into that in an article later this week. Stay tuned for that…


Game four between the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Clippers will be Monday, June 14th at 10:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. 

NBA PLAYOFFS RECAP: 06/11/2021

Posted on by Titan Frey in Basketball, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Sports

Written by Titan Frey

  • SIXERS 127
  • HAWKS 111

The city of Atlanta was buzzing before game three of the conference semifinals, between their Hawks and the top seed in the easy, the Philadelphia 76ers. 

After coming out of Philly with a split, the Hawks felt as a team; they were where they wanted to be.

It was a very familiar feeling to their first-round matchup with the New York Knicks, where they won game one, lost game two on the road, and eventually swept the rest of the series. 

Would this series against the number one seeded Sixers turn out the same? Absolutely not.

The Sixers have a couple of things going for them that the New York Knicks did not. First, the Sixers have a solid all-around team, and second, the Sixers have Joel Embiid (no offense Julius Randle).

After becoming the first Sixer to score 40 in a playoff game since Allen Iverson in 2003, in game two, Embiid followed that performance up with 27 points, 9 rebounds, and a playoff career high 8 assists.

Even though Embiid didn’t win the MVP this year, he proved once again that he sure can play like the MVP. 

This loss was a major blow to the Atlanta Hawks for numerous reasons. Of course, you don’t want to lose any game, especially at home. 

But this loss not only gave the home court advantage back to the Sixers, but before this game the Hawks were 19-2 at home since Nate McMillan took over.

Trae Young scored his normal points (28), but if the Hawks can’t figure out a way to slow Embiid, this series might not last much longer.

Game four will be played on Monday, June 14th at 7:30 PM Eastern Standard Time. 

  • SUNS 116
  • NUGGETS 102

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. The series victory against the Los Angeles Lakers gave the Phoenix Suns supreme confidence that might help carry them to the finals. 

On the night where Nikola Jokić received his MVP trophy, he came ready to show everyone that he was deserving.

Jokić had a monster game scoring 32 points, grabbing 20 rebounds, and dishing out 10 assists.

How good was this game for the MVP on MVP trophy night? Well, Jokić joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history with a 30/20/10 playoff game.

So, with this type of performance, you would figure the Nuggets got the win. The problem is, you know they didn’t. 

The reason why the Nuggets lost, even with the MVP playing like the MVP, is because the Suns had a lot more players who had pretty darn good games themselves.

The Nuggets, on the other hand, didn’t give Jokić a lot of help. Nuggets players Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. combined to score 19 points on 7-23 shooting… this is not going to get it done, not against these red-hot Suns. 

How dominant have the Phoenix Suns truly been playing? Well, in game three the Suns held a double-digit lead for the entire fourth quarter. This was their fifth straight game holding a double-digit lead in the fourth… yes, that’s how dominant they’ve been. 

Make sure you sit around your TV on Sunday, June 13 at 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time to see if the Suns remain hot or if the Nuggets can figure a way to cool them off. 

NBA PLAYOFFS RECAP: 06/09/2021 

Posted on by Titan Frey in Basketball, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Sports


Written by Titan Frey

  • NUGGETS 98
  • SUNS 123


By beating the defending champs, who have one of the greatest players on their roster, might have given the Phoenix Suns supreme confidence.


The Suns just handed the Denver Nuggets, who have this year’s MVP in Nikola Jokić, their biggest loss of the season. 


Led by Devin Booker’s 18 points and 10 rebounds, Booker was manhandling the Nuggets on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. 

Devin Booker wasn’t the only Sun to put in work. The entire team contributed with great balance. 


Every Sun starter scored in double figures, including Chris Paul, who scored 17 and gave out 15 dimes. 


Paul also had 0 turnovers, and his stat line (15+ Points, 15+ Assists, 0 Turnovers), is the third of his playoff career.


There have only been four other games with that stat line in NBA history. 


The Denver Nuggets better figure out how to get the MVP more help if they want to have any chance at getting back into this series. 


Jokić scored 24 and grabbed 13 rebounds, but without the high-scoring Jamal Murray, the Nuggets “other” players, need to give more. 


Game 3 will be played on Friday, June 11th at 10:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. 

NBA PLAYOFFS RECAP: 06/08/2021

Posted on by Titan Frey in Basketball, NBA, Sports

Written by Titan Frey

Before we get started with the game recaps, I want to let you know an award was given out. 

The 2021 NBA MVP was awarded to Denver Nuggets big man, Nikola Jokić. He received 91 out of the 100 first place votes that were cast by selected media members.

Jokić season averages looked like this:

  • Points per game (26.4)
  • Rebounds per game (10.8)
  • Assists per game (8.3)
  • Blocks per game (0.7)
  • Steals per game (1.3)
  • Field Goal percentage (56.6%)

It’s safe to say the NBA got the MVP right this year. Congratulations, Nikola Jokić.

  • HAWKS 102
  • SIXERS 118 

The question on everyone’s mind coming into this game 2 between the Atlanta Hawks and the Philadelphia 76ers was, “Can the Sixers slow down Trae Young?”

Well, NBA fans. In game 2, Philadelphia gave you their answer… It was a “yes”, if you were wondering. 

The Sixers defense held Young to 21 points on 6-16 shooting and a dismal 1-7 from deep. So, yes, the Sixers did their job defensively. 

Now, let’s talk about the Sixers. Did their star player show up? Or did his knee injury hold him down?

Joel Embiid was not held down by anything or anyone in this game. He scored 40 while grabbing 13 boards.

Embiid became the first Sixer to score 40+ points and grab 10+ rebounds in a playoff game since Billy Cunningham in 1970.

Now, Joel Embiid wasn’t the only Sixer to have a stat that hasn’t been done in a long time.

Shake Milton had a +/- of +15 in only 14 minutes of playing time. 

This +15 by Milton is the highest +/- for a Sixer player who played under 15 minutes in a playoff game since 1997. 

Milton scored 14 points in his 14 minutes of action… it’s safe to say, Milton hit the Hawks with that SHAKE, baby! (sorry, terrible joke)

Friday, June 11th at 7:30 PM Eastern Standard Time will be game 3 in Atlanta… get ready, folks. 

  • CLIPPERS 109
  • JAZZ 112

Game 1, the Los Angeles Clippers vs the Utah Jazz. One team just came off of a game 7 win and only one day off.

The other team had 5 days off to prepare for this game… which team will be ready?

The answer to that question is, both teams. Each team came out playing hard. It appeared the rest helped the Jazz and the constant playing helped the Clippers keep a good rhythm. 

The big difference in this game would be Utah’s Donovan Mitchell. He scored 45 on 16-30 shooting. 

Mitchell’s play was huge. He alone outscored the Clippers two star players (Kawhi Leonard and Paul George) 45 to 43. The Clippers need their two-headed monster to play better, especially Paul George.

George shot a horrible 4-17 from the field. That’s not going to get it done, and I’m not sure George can overcome this. 

Paul George has a history of underperforming in the playoffs. As you might know, George once gave himself the nickname “Playoff P”. Fans, on the other hand, gave him a different nickname during last year’s playoffs… “Pandemic P”

Even with Mitchell’s amazing performance, the Clippers had a chance to tie the game with a three with about 2 seconds to go, but the possible defensive player of the year, Rudy Gobert, came up with a huge block on Marcus Morris Sr.

Can the Clippers bounce back and steal a game in Utah? Game 2 will be played on Thursday, June 10th at 10:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.