Our NBA Previews for the Weekend - 7/5/22

After what looked to be a very competitive series, looks to be all over already, with the Heat beating up on a 76ers team missing their star player, Joel Embiid, and the series is now heading to Philadelphia, with the 76ers trying to salvage their season.

The 76ers chances of getting back into this series are slim, but it all relies upon James Harden, he was traded to the 76ers in February and was expected to return to his MVP form, but as of yet he hasn’t with the Heat able to defend him really well, limiting him to just 18 points per game on 39.3% shooting from the field and 25% from three-point range.

The Heat’s best player so far in this series has been Bam Adebayo, averaging 23.5 points and 10.5 rebounds, shooting 71% from the field, and being a team-high +41 over the two games.

The first seeded Phoenix Suns are living up to their expectations so far this series, taking a convincing 2-0 lead into Dallas, despite Luka Doncic averaging 40 points across the two games so far.

The Mavericks had a great defence in the regular season, but the Suns have completely taken it apart, and in-game two it was a clinic by 37-year-old Chris Paul, especially in the fourth quarter, where he scored 14 points, on six of seven shooting from the field, where he went at Doncic on almost every possession.

If the Mavericks are to get back into this series, they need their role players to step up, most notably Jalen Brunson, who was integral in their first-round series vs the Utah Jazz, but the Suns have defended him really well, limiting him to just 11 points per game this series, on a poor 32% shooting from the field and 25% from three-point range.

Despite the series heading to Milwaukee tied 1-1, the two games in Boston were not very closely contested, with Milwaukee controlling the bulk of game one, and Boston dominated game two, beating the Bucks by 23 points.

The Celtics have done an amazing job on reigning finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, with Al Horford, Robert Williams and Grant Williams defending him at an elite level, limiting him to just 40% shooting from the field, compared to his 56% shooting from the field in the first round against the Chicago Bulls.

The difference between game one and game two for the Celtics was the play of Jaylen Brown, in-game one his play was a bit hectic offensively and defensively, leading him to just shoot four of 13 from the field, with seven turnovers, compared to game two where he hit 11 of his 18 shots, including his first five three-pointers.

This series by far is the most hotly contested so far, not only because the two games were won by less than five points, but with both games seeing players ejected, creating very physical and hostile games.

In-game two, the Warriors had no answer for Grizzlies star Ja Morant, as he scored a career playoff-high 47 points, including 18 points in the fourth quarter, dragging his team to victory as only two of his teammates made shots in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors with all their championship experience will be calm going back to their home floor, knowing if they just shoot as they can do, they can run away with the victory, as Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole combined to shoot seven of 36 shooting from three-point range, something that will very likely improve drastically as the series goes on.