Ashley Landis/Associated Press
The one-sided nature of the NBA‘s Eastern Conference playoffs might rear its head once again Monday.
Miami is on the verge of the third first-round sweep in the East, while Milwaukee can relocate to one win far from advancing if it beats Orlando.
Monday’s pair of Western Conference video games ought to be a lot more fascinating, as the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston have both dropped video games in competitive best-of-seven series with Portland and Oklahoma City, respectively.
The Rockets are the lone group with a series lead in the four-game slate seeking to get better from a loss after they fell in overtime in Game 3 to Oklahoma City Saturday.
NBA Monday Set Up
Game 4: Milwaukee vs. Orlando (1 p.m. ET, NBA TV)
Game 4: Houston vs. Oklahoma City (4 p.m. ET, TNT)
Video Game 4: Indiana vs. Miami (6: 30 p.m. ET, TNT)
Video Game 4: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland (9 p.m. ET, TNT)
Miami Choosing 3rd Sweep in East 1st Round
Miami bent its muscle on both sides of the ball to acquire a three-game advantage over Indiana.
In the first two video games, the Heat limited the Pacers to 201 combined points, and in Video game 3, they had 6 gamers reach double digits.
One of the lots of advantages Miami has actually had is three-point shooting, as 4 different players have made 19 or more shots from beyond the arc.
Alternatively, Indiana has two gamers who fit into that limit, and it converted on 12 fewer three-point shots.
The Pacers are also getting outmuscled on the boards without Domantas Sabonis. Miami leads the series in offending, protective and overall rebounds.
Indiana needs to improve all elements of its defense to prevent the sweep. In 11 video games inside the Orlando bubble, it has actually held four challengers under 110 points Among those incidents remained in the last seeding game against Miami in which the beginners did not play much.
Miami has been much more reliable, considering that it has enabled more than 110 points just 4 times in the bubble. Prior to Video game 3, the Heat lost every contest in which it permitted over that total.
Hitting that turning point needs to be one of Indiana’s goals, as must limiting the perimeter production.
If Malcolm Brogdon, T.J. Warren and Victor Oladipo smother the three-point line and contest shots from Duncan Robinson, Tyler Herro, Goran Dragic and others, the Pacers might discover an advantage to keep the series alive.
Houston Looking To Rebound From Overtime Loss
Oklahoma City took advantage of James Harden fouling out early in overtime and had more scoring depth in its Video game 3 win over Houston.
The Thunder do not have a best formula for beating the Rockets yet, but they can take positives from Saturday’s success.
Oklahoma City had four shooters struck numerous three-point shots and record 20- point games. It will not be as active as Houston from three-point range, but it can be more precise.
Billy Donovan’s team is shooting 35.2 percent from beyond the arc compared to Houston’s 34.2 percent, and in Video game 3, the distinction grew to 34.1 percent to 30 percent in favor of the Thunder.
Not just does Houston require better precision from Harden, who went 3-for-13 from deep in Video game 3, but it needs more well-rounded scoring depth from Eric Gordon, Danuel House and Robert Covington.
In Video Game 1, Gordon thrust himself into the supporting function together with Harden and Jeff Green, while 7 of the 8 Rockets to play in Game 2 reached double digits.
If Houston improves its shooting percentage and continues to limit Steven Adams, who is balancing 10.3 points and 12 rebounds per video game in the series, it needs to rebound and avoid dropping even in the series.
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Data acquired from Basketball Referral