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Looking ahead to two pivotal NBA Game 5s
Two conference semifinal series are hitting what they usually call a “pivotal” Game 5 on Wednesday, so we thought it best to anticipate what could tilt the most as four teams attempt to break a well-earned tie.
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Washington at Atlanta, Game 5, series tied 2-2
How we got here:
The Wizards genuinely seemed well on their way toward building up a series upset in the hours leading up to Game 2 until the team disclosed that a nasty wrist injury would keep star guard John Wall out of that contest. The Wizards had previously downplayed the injury, and Wall had played with it down the stretch of Game 1, so it was assumed that the previously undefeated Wizards would continue to roll.
Atlanta saved face in Game 2, barely lost Game 3, and did well to eventually hold off the Wizards in Washington in Game 4. That contest was marked by a much-needed and long-anticipated return to form for Hawks point guard Jeff Teague, who managed a masterful 32 minutes – notching a career playoff high 26 points with eight assists, two steals and only one turnover.
The Wizards are circling the wagons, barely, but mostly featuring Bradley Beal’s playmaking and taking advantage of opportunistic drives to the rim from Ramon Sessions, but Wall tends to tilt things on both ends of the court. Washington is still acting coy at best and evasive at worst in discussing Wall’s 2015 postseason future, sometimes in embarrassing fashion, but it’s hard to imagine that a point guard with five fractures in his (left, non-shooting) hand would be of much help in the interim.
How Washington can win:
After a notoriously poor postseason thus far, even in victory, big forward Nene finally came through with a solid performance in Game 4 with 12 points and seven rebounds. He and center Marcin Gortat failed to adequately follow Atlanta’s roaming bigs Al Horford and Paul Millsap around, however, and the advantage was clearly Atlanta’s. With Bradley Beal (34 points on 25 shots, six rebounds and seven assists) playing himself into a lather, it’s on the Washington big men to at the very least approximate the work of their counterparts.
How Atlanta can win:
Sometimes these here sports are too stupidly simple, but it really does come down to Jeff Teague. If he plays more like the energizer that marked ATL’s 2014-15 jump to prominence and less like the sometimes passive point man that minded the store prior to last fall, the Hawks should take this pivotal game. If it’s true that the playoffs are less about solid ball movement and more about a frenzied individual attack, then Teague has to be the guy that makes these Hawks something a little bit more dynamic than Spurs Lite.
Memphis at Golden State, Game 5, series tied 2-2
How we got here:
The Grizzlies should have been on the ropes before the series even began, with guard Mike Conley at the time out for an undetermined amount of space after rather invasive facial surgery, and Golden State coming off a 67-win season that was topped off with four wins in four tries against a game New Orleans squad. Working behind the ferocious defense of Antonio Brown Tony Allen and the steady calm of the returning Conley, however, the Grizzlies roared back to take Games 2 and 3, with Game 2 impressively coming on the road. Golden State slowly built up its confidence and eventual its cohesion in Game 4, however, taking the game in Tennessee behind an MVP-level performance from Stephen Curry.
Long considered to be interchangeable as potentially the case with all Western seeds, Golden State surprisingly pulled away from the regular season pack in 2014-15 while Memphis topped off a hot start with a mediocre finish. It took this series to remind ourselves that these were the top two seeds in the West for the majority of the season, however, and this has turned out to be the slugfest we expected in winter.
How Memphis can win:
As it always is with Memphis, the points have to be there. While much of the attention focused on Golden State’s missed shots after the first three games of the series, it was the Warrior defense that mostly let GSW down as Memphis pushed and moved its way into good looks after clean cuts. Marc Gasol and Conley combined to miss 22 of 34 shots in Game 4, however, and with those two taking up the majority of Memphis’ offensive load, this performance cannot be duplicated in Game 5 if Memphis wants to win.
How Golden State can win:
Along the same lines, Golden State’s top-ranked regular season defense needs to show up. If the refs will allow, Andrew Bogut and Draymond Green have to attempt to drive various Grizzlies batty, and Klay Thompson cannot be made to look like a pushover on both ends. Yes, Stephen Curry’s 33 points were the highlight of the Game 4 win, but Golden State can prevail on nights when his touch leaves him. The Warriors have to force the Grizzlies to play catch-up with early turnovers, and garner all the long rebounds for all the attempted compensatory three-point shots that will follow.
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is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops
