The NBA playoffs have changed dramatically! The defending champions suffered a series of reversals, 0-2 for the first time in history, and the Warriors had no chance

The NBA playoffs have changed dramatically, the defending champions have suffered a 20-point reversal in a row, the first place in the East has also pulled their hips, 2 dark horses have been born, and the two groups have fallen behind 0-2 for the first time in history, and the Warriors really have no chance?

Text: Lao Kan Kanqiu

Editor|Lao Kan Kanqiu

The second round of the NBA2024-25 playoffs is in full swing, and many sets of matchups have played surprisingly. The defending champion Celtics suffered a 20-point comeback, trailing the Knicks 0-2, and the Eastern First Cavaliers also pulled their hips, trailing the Pacers 0-2. The collective slump of the traditional powerhouses is in stark contrast to the strong rise of the dark horse teams, and the two giants in the East are in a desperate situation of falling behind 0-2 and have no future.

On the Western side, the Thunder and Nuggets finally fought to a 1-1 draw, which is the first team in the entire league to win at home, which is also amazing. Although the Warriors took the lead and led the Timberwolves 1-0, Curry suffered a hamstring strain in G1, and the injury is not optimistic.

1. The collective collapse of the eastern giants: 0-2 for the first time in history

1. Celtic: Three-point failure, defending champions suffered a 20-point reversal!

As the defending champions, the Celtics had a smooth first round this season, easily eliminating the Magic 4-1 in the absence of the two main players Porzingis and Holiday to advance to the second round, and set an all-time three-point record of 29 three-pointers in a single game.

However, in the second round, facing the lower Marnicks, their offensive system collapsed completely. In two consecutive games, he made 100 three-pointers and hit just 25, and his 75 three-pointers were also the highest three-pointers missed in the first two games of the NBA playoffs, including 10 of 40 three-pointers for G2 and 15 of 60 for G1. In addition, the Celtics also set the worst record in NBA playoff history - becoming the first team to shoot 25% from three≤-point range in two consecutive games (and at least 40 three-point attempts per game). ’

The most critical thing is that the Celtics did not have no chances, but they had a 20-point lead before the end of the quarter for two consecutive games, and then faced the Knicks' counterattack in the final quarter. It is ironic to be tackled by Bridges at a critical moment in two consecutive games.

So far, the Celtics have become the first team in the NBA league since the 1996-97 season to lead by 20+ points in two consecutive games in a single-season playoffs, while the Knicks have become the first team in the last 25 years to fall behind by 20+ points on the road in two consecutive games and finally reverse (including the regular season and playoffs). It is worth mentioning that the Knicks were swept by the Green Army in the regular season this year, with only 1 win and 8 losses in the past two years, but the current score is 2-0 ahead.

2. Knights: The inside advantage is gone, and the first halo in the East has dissipated!

The Cavaliers advanced to the playoffs with a 64-18 record and averaged 122.9 points per game in the regular season. However, in the first round of the face of the Pacers, their interior twin towers Allen and Mobley were completely dumb, in the G1 battle, the Pacers bench inside shot 22% with a true shooting rate of 62%, G2 even relied on Turner's 23 points and 8 rebounds to suppress the Cavaliers restricted area, and finally completed the extreme reversal of the stunner, leading 2-0, surprisingly, the Cavaliers' home court advantage is gone, and they are already standing on the edge of the cliff, and it is a desperate situation to take a step back.

It is worth mentioning that the first and second teams in the East are currently down 0-2, which is the first time in NBA history that both home teams are down 0-2 in the semifinals of the same division.

2. The birth of 2 dark horses: team basketball subverts the logic of superstars!

1. Knicks: Defensive upgrades

After the Knicks traded for Towns in the middle of the season, the shortcomings of the starting lineup were completely compensated, and the key to the rise of the playoffs was the upgrading of the defensive system. The team held the Celtics to 31.9 percent from three-point range (second in the league) and increased their opponents' turnovers to 15.3 per game with the help of Bridges and Hart's wing strangulations.

2. Walker: The ultimate performance of speed and space

The Pacers lead the league with an average of 123.4 possessions per game, averaging 30.4 three-point attempts per game (38.1 percent shooting) to open up space while using high pick-and-rolls from Siakam and Turner to slice the Cavaliers' defensive formation to pieces. According to the data, the Pacers' fast-break scoring accounted for 27.3%, far exceeding the Cavaliers' 18.6%.

I have to say that the Knicks and Pacers, as the two dark horses in the East, have both played incredible reversal performances, and this playoffs are really full of ornamentation.

3. Western melee: Injuries become the biggest X factor

1. Nuggets vs Thunder: The battle of contradictions is heating up

The Thunder carelessly lost Jingzhou in the first game of G1, and the lead in the final minute was tragically beaten by Gordon with a three-point shot, putting the team in a difficult situation. In the subsequent G2 battle, the Thunder rebounded strongly, and with the performance of as many as 8 players on the team scoring double-doubles, they defeated the Nuggets by 43 points, rewriting the big score to a 1-1 draw, and becoming the first team in the entire league to win at home.

Now that the two teams are back on the same page, the winner or loser of the series may depend on whether Jokic can crack the Thunder's infinite switching strategy, and it is not yet known who will win or lose.

2. Warriors: Curry has a hamstring strain, and the 1-0 lead is in danger

The Warriors fought with the Rockets in the first round to tie the seven, and finally narrowly passed, but the players did not have time to catch their breath, only one day after the second round against the Timberwolves, although with the strong performance of Butler and Hield, G1 narrowly defeated the Timberwolves, leading 1-0, but the team's big core Curry accidentally suffered a hamstring strain in the game, and after medical experts evaluated, he will miss at least 3-4 games (about 11 days) of games, and the Warriors' prospects were instantly clouded.

You know, the reason why the Warriors G1 was able to win was that the Timberwolves were caught off guard, the competitive state of the two teams was not on the same level at all in the first half, and when the Timberwolves regained their feelings in the second half, it was already too late, but in the G2 battle, the Timberwolves faced the Warriors who lacked Curry, and perhaps the result of the game would be different. The data shows that when Curry is out this season, the Warriors' offensive efficiency plummets to 109.3 (7th from the bottom in the league), and after Curry's injury, the Warriors' probability of advancing has plummeted from 64% to 38%.