Jimmy Butler and the Warriors keep forcing the Rockets to miss opportunities

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The Cavaliers smacked the Heat so badly during the final two games of their sweep, I’m not even sure the Cancun jokes make sense. The Heat wanted to keep playing. The Cavs just wouldn’t let them. These are not your slightly older brother’s Cavs. 👀

Growing Pains

Rockets get playoff experience the hard way

There is no shame in losing to this Warriors team, even if you’re the No. 2 seed Rockets squad. Once the Warriors got Jimmy Butler, it transformed them into the type of Dubs squad we’re used to seeing in the playoffs over the last decade. That’s what made the Game 3 loss sans Butler so frustrating for the Rockets. It was their chance to take home-court advantage back, and they laid an egg.

Last night, they had another opportunity, this time with Butler limited with the glute injury but still playing. And the Rockets had a lot going for themselves in the game.

• With seven minutes left in the second quarter, the Rockets had a technical foul on Draymond Green. So, he had to be somewhat reserved by his standards.
• Late in the second quarter, Green had a flagrant-1 foul, so he had to make sure he wasn’t too physical.
• With 8:06 left in the third quarter, Green had his fifth personal foul.
• For the next 12:15 of game time, the Warriors played without Green.
• They held Steph Curry to seven points on seven shots in the second half. Three points in the third quarter.
• Fred VanVleet hit 8 of 12 3-pointers.
• Steven Adams had five offensive rebounds, four blocks and was plus-16 in 26 minutes.
• They held the Warriors to 41 percent shooting while Houston shot 49 percent from the field.

So, why did they lose Game 4 109-106 to go down 3-1 in the series? How did this happen? A big part of this is how limited the Rockets are offensively in their attack. For as good of a coach as Ime Udoka is, their offensive system is extremely limited. So much of it is to throw up a shot and go tap in the offensive rebound. They found some real positives in the fourth quarter with Amen Thompson attacking the lane as the initiator, and then just inexplicably went away from it.

Every time they needed a big moment, they couldn’t get it unless VanVleet or Adams was giving it to them. Occasionally, Alperen Şengün would come through because he’s their best player. He did finish with 31 points. But they had no direction on offense in the big moments, and that’s what you need against a veteran defense like Golden State.

When the Warriors needed big buckets down the stretch, they relied on their newest star Butler. Even as limited as his movement seemed, he knew what to do. He scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half. Fourteen of them came in the fourth quarter. He had 11 of their last 14 points, and nine of those came in the final four minutes. He gutted it out, and did it by finding his way to the free throw line.

As for the Rockets, their big attempt to win the game, down one with 10 seconds left in the game, was to send Şengün at Green one-on-one. An inexplicable decision, even if you have supreme confidence in your young star.

It did give Adams enough time to attempt another offensive board, except Butler soared in for the board. It’s bad execution, a bad shot and frankly bad coaching. That isn’t putting the young Rockets in a position to win. But it’s a good lesson of what needs to be tweaked. Their game plan was to make others beat them, like Buddy Hield and Brandin Podziemski, and those guys did. Podz was phenomenal with 26 points and big shots from all over. Hield had some big moments.

They can take a similar approach to the rest of this series, but they have to tighten up other aspects. Dillon Brooks can’t be a clown just trying to instigate whomever. The offense can’t be a clogged public toilet you’re hoping doesn’t overflow with the next flush. Jalen Green can’t be a single-digit scorer who isn’t playable in the fourth. You can’t find something with Thompson and then just go away from it. And you can’t miss 12 free throws in a game you lose by three.

This is a second bad loss in a row, but hopefully, Udoka and these young players can turn this into a good lesson. Playoff Panic Meter: 🚨🚨🚨🚨 for Houston. 

Game 5 is Wednesday in Houston. The Warriors close out with a win.

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The Last 24

Injury news as bad as we feared

🦌 Bad news confirmed. Damian Lillard did, in fact, tear his Achilles tendon. Where does Milwaukee go from here?

😢 Sending support. The city of Portland is having a tough time with Lillard’s injury news.

🐺 Face of the NBA. Becoming the face of the NBA is complicated. Anthony Edwards is finding that out, whether or not he wants it. 

🏀 Defensive genius. Law Murray explains why Jeff Van Gundy has been the Clippers’ secret to an elite defense this season.

🛑 Take a seat. Rick Mahorn popularized one of the most underrated defensive moves in basketball.

⭐ Here we go again. Stop me if you’ve heard this before. The NBA is reworking its All-Star format.

🙏 Great news. USC commit and son of Gilbert Arenas, Alijah Arenas, is walking and talking after the crash. Here’s to a speedy recovery. 

🤕 What a team! No Dunks crew is honoring the heroics of Kristaps Porziņģis. The All-Bandaged Face Team. 

🎧 Tuning in. Today’s NBA Daily debates whether the Thunder or the Cavaliers had the more impressive first-round sweep.

Set the Table

How many series will end tonight?

We have four games on the schedule with the potential for three of the series in the Eastern Conference to end. Wins for Indiana, New York and Boston would mean the entire East has moved on, as these teams would be joining Cleveland. And in the late game, we continue the best series in the West. Let’s get ready for tonight (all times Eastern).

Bucks at Pacers, 6 p.m. on NBA TV: Pacers lead 3-1

• The Bucks are reeling after the Lillard news, and the Pacers are looking to move on to Cleveland in the next round.
• Can Milwaukee stave off elimination? The Bucks will need another great performance like we saw in Game 3, when Gary Trent Jr. hit nine 3-pointers to help Giannis Antetokounmpo.
• What’s the key? Shut off the paint. When they made their run in Game 3, they stopped allowing shots at the rim.
• How confident are you they will? Almost zero confidence that this series continues.

Pistons at Knicks, 7:30 p.m. on TNT: Knicks up 3-1

• The Pistons are still mad at that bad no-call at the end of Game 4, but at least the refs admitted they were wrong?
• Can Detroit stave off elimination? Absolutely. This entire series has been decided by eight total points.
• What’s the key? Detroit has to stop turning the ball over so much.
• How confident are you they will? I feel good about this series extending. I think we will go back to Detroit for Game 6.

Magic at Celtics, 8:30 p.m. on NBA TV: Celtics up 3-1

• The defending champs have a chance to get a little rest by putting the Magic away.
• Can Orlando stave off elimination? Definitely. Game 1 is the only matchup that hasn’t been tight.
• What’s the key? Keep defending the 3. They’ve held Boston to 31 percent from 3 in the last three games.
• How confident are you they will? Not very. I believe Boston closes out at home.

Clippers at Nuggets, 10 p.m. on TNT: Series tied 2-2

• The best series of the first round is destined to give us another banger. Don’t miss this one.
• Who needs Game 5 more? Denver. The Nuggets can’t go down 3-2 and head back to LA.
• What’s the key? Whoever gets more out of their bench will be in a position to win this game.
• Who wins, and are you confident in the pick? Denver and not at all.

Farewell to Thee

Have a good summer, Heat and Grizzlies!

As teams get eliminated throughout the playoffs, we’ll say goodbye to them in this space. I bet we’ll have quite a few of those in the next couple of days. This morning, we bid adieu to the two squads who suffered sweeps in the first round of the playoffs.

We begin with the Grizzlies, who started their series getting embarrassed by the Thunder before finding a more dignified way to lose. Remember they fired their coach Taylor Jenkins and bumped Tuomas Iisalo to interim status with nine games left in the season. This is their situation this summer.

Grizzlies (48-34, eighth in the West)

• Draft pick situation: The Wizards have their first-round pick (18th) for getting off of the Marcus Smart contract at the trade deadline. They acquired Marvin Bagley III in the deal. They gave up a 2024 first to acquire Smart initially, so that’s back-to-back firsts for Smart. They also don’t have their second-round pick (49th) but do have 56th.
• Upcoming free agents: Marvin Bagley III, Luke Kennard, Santi Aldama (restricted), Lamar Stevens, Yuki Kawamura (restricted), Cam Spencer (restricted)
• Main guys: Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr, Desmond Bane
• Any cap room? They could have roughly $17 million in cap space depending on what they do with their free agents.
• Do they have to worry about any tax aprons? No, they’re way under.
• What do they need this summer? Decide whether or not JJJ is a supermax guy (if he makes All-NBA) and decide if Iisalo is their coach. He likely is, but that needs to be firmed up.

The second team is the Heat, who got absolutely obliterated in their final two games against the Cavaliers. The Heat suffered their worst playoff loss in franchise history with a 37-point loss in Game 3 and then topped that with a 55-point loss in Game 4. Here’s how they enter the summer, following a season that saw Butler force his way out.

Heat (37-45, eighth in the East)

• Draft pick situation: Their pick (15th) goes to OKC, but Miami has the 20th pick from the Warriors. Their second-round pick (41st) goes to the Warriors.
• Upcoming free agents: Duncan Robinson ($19.8m player option), Davion Mitchell (restricted), Alec Burks
• Main guys: Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, Kel’el Ware
• Any cap room? No, they’re definitely capped out until the summer of 2026.
• Do they have to worry about any tax aprons? They’re about $15 million under the first apron, but Mitchell’s restricted free agency should push them beyond that.
• What do they need this summer? Figure out if Jaime Jaquez Jr. is still a piece for their future and if they can stomach another mediocre season with their eyes on trying to transform the team in 2026 to add to their core of Adebayo, Herro and whatever Ware looks like by then.

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(Top photo: Kelley L Cox / USA Today Network via Imagn Images )

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