In his playoff debut, Reeves scored 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the floor, and he connected on three of his five attempts from distance. This includes a personal 9-0 run in the waning moments of the game when the outcome was very much still in doubt.Â
With day one of the playoffs now in the rearview mirror, our game from the second day of the opening weekend features the Los Angeles Lakers (No. 7 seed) taking on the Memphis Grizzlies (No. 2 seed). Without further delay, we will break down this matchup to determine which team has the edge.
My beloved Chicago Bulls fell to the Miami Heat 102-91. Chicago held a 90-87 lead with 3:47 left to play, but produced just one point the rest of the way. That’s kind of how their season has been, never knowing which team will show up on a given night. Miami’s reward for clinching the final playoff berth is first-round with the league’s best team – The Milwaukee Bucks.Â
The Bulls beat the Toronto Raptors in their first play-in game on the road. The Bulls were down 58 to 47 at halftime but stormed back in the fourth quarter on the back of their defense. They had nine steals and 10 blocks in the game and outscored the Raptors 37 to 24 in the fourth quarter.
The fourth and final play-in game was a thriller, with the 10-seed Oklahoma City Thunder becoming the second such seed (the first two in history) to win in the Play-In.
The Thunder have been off and on down the stretch but are one of the more exciting teams in the NBA. Furthermore, the Thunder have made the playoffs with one of the youngest rosters and without No. 2 pick Chet Holmgen for the entire season.Â
The Timberwolves season ended with a ton of drama. Minnesota beat the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, but Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson got into it during a huddle, with Gobert throwing a punch at his teammate.Â
The Chicago Bulls 2022-23 season can be summed up in one word – inconsistency. Sure, Lonzo Ball missed the entire season thanks to a lingering knee issue. However, the goal for this team was to advance to the second round of the playoffs, rather than finishing two games below .500 and trying to claw their way into the postseason via a pair of wins in the play-in tournament, but here we are.Â
The bad news is the regular season comes to an end today. The good news is the playoffs are right around the corner. Our last marquee matchup of the season features the Utah Jazz (37-44) taking on the Los Angeles Lakers (42-39). Let’s dive right into this matchup to see which team has the edge.Â