NBA Playoffs can start
The NBA regular season ended up last night with the eleven ultimate games of 2018/2019. Most playoffs teams were already known before yesterday, except for the last qualifying place in the East Conference, disputed between the Charlotte Hornets of Congolese center Bismack Biyombo and the Detroit Pistons of Andre Drummond. In the West, the order could change, and it did.
Suspense was light still. Detroit could pass provided they won against the weak Knicks, worse team in the league with 17 wins (and 65 defeats). They did not even have to worry about Charlotte’s result as long as they beat New York at Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks lost 32 times this season. Detroit won 115-89 away from home without Blake Griffin (injured) but with 20 points and 18 rebounds for Drummond. In the meantime, Charlotte lost against Orlando 114-122 (6 points and 6 rebounds in 26 minutes for Biyombo). The Pistons will face up to Milwaukee for the first round of these playoffs.
In the West, the main news came from Portland, whose players took the third place to Houston after a last win 136-131 against Sacramento, already out. Only six players participated to this game (no Harkless, Aminu, McCollum, Lillard…) and the Rockets directly paid for their defeat in the last seconds the day before, when OKC won 112-111 on a last shot from Paul George. Talking about the Thunder, they will be the next contenders of the Trail Blazers in the next step.
At last, let us mention the end of career of two emblematic and top players in the league over the last 15 years, Dwyane Wade (Miami) and Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas), who both retired last night since neither the Mavs nor the Heat got qualified. Duncan, Ginobili, Wade, Nowitzki…An era is coming to an end.
Playoffs confrontations (starting April 13th):
Milwaukee (1) – Detroit (8)
Toronto (2) – Orlando (7)
Philadelphia (3) – Brooklyn (6)
Boston (4) – Indiana (5)
Golden State (1) – Los Angeles Clippers (8)
Denver (2) – San Antonio (7)
Portland (3) – Oklahoma City (6)
Houston (4) – Utah (5)
By Guillaume Mahot
Sources: www.basketsession.com
