Eastern Conference Playoff series reviews!

Washington Wizards (4) x Indiana Pacers (5)

Here we go!

This series will be marked in NSL Lore as one of the upset sweep series where the 5thth seed Indiana Pacers took down the 4nd seed Washington Wizards and shocked the NSL world!

First, a quick prelude of how both season�s went for all you avid readers in the future:

Washington Wizards � This team, for about � of the season was one of the most lethal teams in the game, I believe, at one point being the top team in the East. The secret here is they had a combo of Damian Lillard and Devin Booker. For future readers, Lillard is the 2nd most dangerous player in the league, being outdone only by Steph (since James Harden has 2 other superstars playing with him). After Lillard was traded for KAT in a move to align the contract to Booker�s championship window and prime, the Wizards hung on, but the on-court output decreased.

Indiana Pacers � This one went a different route, the were scrappy and been out of playoff contention a couple times during the season, until they righted the ship and shot up the standings. At one point it seemed like none of the bottom 5 teams in the East wanted to go for the playoff spot, so the Pacers took initiative. There were 2 huge trades for GM Spudspace, which were acclaimed by NSL media for how precise he is when coming out of the shadows and pulling the trigger on deals. Bringing in mainly Siakam and Bogdanovic for times like the playoffs.

With that said, let�s analyze what transpired here:

Game 1: The double jab, but close! In Washington. This one had the Indiana Pacers shooting almost 56% from the field and a sparkling 40% from three-point land. Call it the Joel Embiid�s series playoff coming out party as it was his first ever playoff game as a Pacer and he balled out!! 34 points, 18 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 blocks all while shooting 15-20 from the field, a spotless game! This was actually the one game where it was somewhat close and this had the look of a legit 7-game series blow-by-blow all the way to the end.

On the Wizards side, Devin Booker did his best to counter Embiid�s performance with 37 points on 50% from 3, leading the team, but the famed supporting cast did not come out to play.

Wizards led the first quarter, but Indiana took the latter 3.

Furthermore, 3 of the top point scorers in the game came out of the Pacers side, with Gordon having 18 and Derrick Rose with 22. 124-117 � Pacers steal home court.

Game 2: The gut punch! Still in D.C. after letting the first home game slip by, the expectation was that the Wizards would come back with a vengeance, but again Joel Embiid was determined to make this the Late Show with Joel Embiid and was in full force with a 28 point, 6 assist and 16 rebound night to lead the Pacers to a 123-100 win and make the Pacers fans feel confident in their seats heading back to Indiana. As for the Wizards side, Devin Booker keep on fighting despite the adversity with 31 points, on 50% from the field.

It is around around this moment that everybody in D.C. started to wonder about the whereabouts of Karl-Anthony Towns. Researchers later found out that he was safely hidden inside Joel Embiid�s pocket with a 3-13, 10 point, 12 rebound night, so the great overwhelming feeling/question around the arena was �WTF�?

Game 3: The right hook and haymaker! Indianapolis, aaand oh boy!! Another Devin Booker sighting with 39 points, people! Couple that with 13 assists as the team�s, de facto, point guard.  What a playoff performance by a great young player with a 16-25 from the field. This brilliant performance came as one of the best moves by GM Joshua. The thing is, on the other side, you guessed it, Joel Embiid, I mean, what else can be said at this point, so I�ll just lost his stat line 45 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks for an even better game that outshined Booker�s night. This was also the night where Karl Anthony Towns moved to SF in a move to try to stunt the Pacers from going 3-0 but did not work in the winning column with a strong 132-117 Pacers win at home and take a 3-0 lead!

Game 4: The knockout blow! In our minds, we were thinking, �here comes the best game of the series�, one that would give people chills because of what was about to happen in the series. We are still in Indy, usually the team that is down 0-3 would bring their A-game and provide their best effort so far with their backs against the wall. That was the prevailing thought, but that�s where it ended.

That�s right, the Pacers had the Wizards on the ropes, from the get go, again leading big 2 of the 4 rounds. Before we talk about the highlights for every team, I�ll give a big lowlight, which set the tone for the series, which has been KAT�s performance. In this one he put up 8 points at the SF position and we were all just left wondering. GM Joshua is probably asking for a re-roll of the 2k engine, as most of us are. Let�s hope for new fortunes for KAT next year.

Onto the highlights, Devin Booker, once again had a 29-3-4 stat line and had the load of scoring for the Wiz once again. On the other side, you guessed it, another Embiid massacre for a 41 points, TWENTY-SEVEN REBOUNDS and 5 blocks. He was not going to let them lose. This was, in the end a 117-96 win for Indiana on the Joel Embiid show.

We both GMs good luck on their futures. I believe the Wizards have the highest long term potential and they have paid the price this year in order to contend in the future.

As for Indy, it�s on to the Detroit Pistons chainsaw for a re-run of the Malice at the Palace!

Cheers!