NSL Playoff Reviews: 22/07/2021

 

New Orleans @ San Antonio

 

Round 2 is run and done and one of the eagerly anticipated match ups was between the heavily improved and potential Portland killers, San Antonio, and everyone�s choice for dynasty of the future, New Orleans. The Spurs made light work of the Grizzlies in Round 1 with a 4-0 sweep, while the Pelicans were locked into a shoot out with the Curry led Nuggets and prevailed 4-2 to set up the match up with the Spurs.

 

Game 1 and the Pelicans came to play. They stunned the Spurs in a game that yielded 290 points in an absolute shoot out. The Spurs came out as you would expect, taking a 13 point lead into the � time break but by halftime that was 5 points and � time all square before the 4^th quarter went to the Pels to the tune of 6 points. Mitchell poured in 40 for the Pelicans who had 6 guys in double figures and 3 in with 20 or more, while Lillard paced the Spurs for a game high 48 which fell short and handed the Spurs their first playoff loss of the 2021 playoffs.

 

Game 2 was a revenge game. The Spurs didn�t take kindly to the game 1 loss, switched Butler onto Mitchell and Holiday onto Bridges and decided they�d top the 148 that the Pels put up in Game 1 with 152 of their own. They dropped 47 in the 1^st to lead by 22, handed a couple points back to by 19 at the half, but then made it 25 and finally 27 points by the final siren. Lillard led all scorers with 43 while Butler at SG dropped 32. Nerlens Noel bounced back from a tough game 1 to have 21 points in this one while Drummond matched that total, but with rebounds, hauling in 21 big rebounds in a game that saw a +23 rebounds to the Spurs. They answered the call and the series is locked at 1-1.

 

Game 3 back in New Orleans but the Pels appeared tired in this one. They were there abouts after 1, down 6, but by the half it was 21 and when they fell behind by 38 by � time, it was time to unload the benches. Trey Burke featured in their double figure scorers as a result but no starter played more than 26 minutes and their top scorer was Rozier with 20. They failed to make it to 100 points for the first time in the playoffs and the Spurs ran them ragged to the tune of 62% from the field versus 39%. Jimmy Butler had 30 and 10 on 12/14 shooting, but was still topped by Lillard�s 33 point effort to lead all scorers again and all 13 players got on the court with only Mychal Mulder failing to score. He was fired immediately. The Pels were going to need to find something for Game 4 or this one might be too tall of an order. 2-1 Spurs.

 

Game 4 saw changes a plenty in New Orleans with John Collins going to C, Keldon Johnson being inserted into the starting PF spot and Mitchell being switched away from Butler to the PG spot with Morant shifting to SG. The Spurs remained the same, why not, and the script ended up being written in the same fashion as the previous New Orleans game. The Spurs went up 6, then 22, handed back a couple in the 3^rd to 18 but ran away by 33 in the end with another 6 double figure scorers and this time all 13 guys getting on the court and scoring (Including Mulder who was rehired between games). Lillard had 34 to lead all again and a massive 66 rebounds to 44 was seen by the Spurs with 11 steals to 2. You can�t overcome that. 3-1 now and heading back to SA for an attempted close out.

 

Game 5 back in San Antonio saw the Pels bring in Brook Lopez to try and stem the tide, while shifting Bridges down to SG and Mitchell up to SF. It was to no avail though. Only 3 players made it to double figures again, versus 6, and Mitchell�s 20 was their leader. The Spurs went up 14, then to 30 by the half before the benches again got involved despite it being �only� 23 at � time and finally 34. Lillard was beaten for scoring for the 1^st time in the series with 26 and Butler�s 30, and 64 rebounds to 38, with 13 blocked shots to 3 was the tale of the tape. It ended up being a methodical series for the Spurs after the game 1 upset and showed that while the Pels are going to be like this or better for a long time, they need a couple pieces to get to that next level. 4-1 to San Antonio.

 

Congratulations to the Spurs for getting through to the Western Conference Finals behind the series MVP Damian Lillard who averaged 36.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists, over 10 points more than anyone else in the series. They had 6 giys average double figure scoring and Andre Drummond averaged 17 rebounds which covered the 2 highest Pelicans rebounders. Commiserations to the Pelicans who should be back here next year with a year of development under their belt and an offseason full of flexibility to help them along the way.

Good luck San Antonio against the Portland Team Killers�I mean Trail Blazers.

 

- NSL Insider News.