On April 22, Beijing time, the NBA will play three more playoff games: the Hawks, who are 0-2 down, will face the Celtics at home, can Trae Young usher in an outbreak? The Knicks host the Cavaliers after a 1-1 draw between the two teams, who will take the lead at G3? With the Timberwolves back home after losing two games, can Towns rebound to avoid a 3-0 situation? Here's a rundown of the three races –
7 p.m.: Celtic vs Hawks
For the Hawks to take back a city, Trae Young would have to explode. In the first two games, Yang's partner, Deontay Murray, shot 21-of-49 from the field and 7-of-19 from three-point range, but Young's numbers weren't so impressive, scoring just 40 points, shooting 14-of-40 from the field and 3-of-13 from three-point range.
In the fourth quarter of the G2 game, Trae Young walked to the free throw line when Green Army fans yelled "overrated" at him. After the game, Young said: "I can play better, these two shots are not good, there are some mistakes in the break, I will play better at home. ”
The most efficient guard in this series so far is Celtic's Derek White. He scored 50 points in two games, and only Tatum scored above him among the Green Army players. White G2 had 26 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks after Reggie Lewis was the only Green Army guard to have at least 25 points + 3 blocks in a single playoff game in 1992. White said Tatum and Brown attracted a lot of defensive attention and gave them offensive opportunities.
For the Hawks, they need to ramp up their offensive firepower. The Hawks averaged 118.7 points per game in the regular season, but averaged just 102.5 points per game in both playoff games, and the Green Army's defense limited their shooting percentage to 40.7 percent.
8:30: Cavaliers vs Knicks
The Knicks went crazy after Mitchell in the offseason, but now the native New York guard is in the first round of opponents the Cavaliers. The first two games were tied 1-1, with Mitchell averaging 27.5 points and 10.5 assists per game.
Mitchell, a native of New York, seems to have sensed Madison's hostile atmosphere in advance. "When we go to New York, it's going to be crazy, it's noisy, no one is cheering for us, we know it's going to be a fight." Mitchell said.
In four regular-season games against the Knicks this season, Mitchell averaged 31.8 points per game, but in the two games he played in New York, Mitchell shot only 37 percent (17-of-46), and the Cavaliers lost those two games.
Mitchell knew the Cavaliers G3 was under pressure. His partner, Garland, excelled in G2, scoring 32 points from the game, including 26 in the first half. "The whole arena was telling me to play more aggressively and keep shooting!" Garland said.
Allen's serious foul made Randall a little angry. He thought that action was completely unnecessary. Randall's last-minute presence on the pitch was also met with some skepticism. Thibodeau explained after the game: "I was actually going to get Randle off, but he wanted to stay and play a few more rounds and find a rhythm. ”
The Knicks are hoping Barrett and Quickley can regain some touch in G3, where the former is only 6-of-25 from the field and the latter is 4-of-13.
9:30: Nuggets vs Timberwolves
The Nuggets' Jamal Murray has finally exploded after the last two years of playoffs where he needed to recover from a torn left cruciate ligament and was out for a long time. "It's tough to just sit on the sidelines and watch," Murray said.
The Nuggets are currently leading the Timberwolves 2-0, and Murray's form is back in his prime. In the first two games, he averaged 32 points, 6.5 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game, including G2, where he scored 40 points. It was the fifth time in Murray's 35 playoff games that he had at least 40 points in a single game, compared with just four of his 410 regular-season games with more than 40 points. There is no doubt that he belongs to the big stage of the playoffs.
Nuggets coach Malone hopes the team doesn't let up. "All we have to do is not be satisfied and not be complacent if you want to be a great team."
The Timberwolves trailed 2-0 in history and never turned around. Edwards scored 41 points in the G2 loss, 14-of-23 and 6-of-10 from three-point range. If the Timberwolves want a chance to comeback, Towns must bounce back. So far in the series, Towns has been 8-of-27 and 3-of-12 from three-point range, and his form is sluggish. In the 8 games before the playoffs (6 regular season games + 2 play-off games), Towns shot 54.6% from the field and 44.1% from three-point range.