Back Em' Down

- Keyontae Johnson - Who can compete with Gonzaga? - LaMelo's first couple of games - Ja Morant looks to build upon ROTY - Did OKC strike gold with Poku & Maledon? - Emergence of THT To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

The Thunder and Lakers have reached an agreement to trade Dennis Schroeder for the 28th pick in this year’s NBA Draft, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA. Danny Green is expected to be apart of this trade as well to match salaries. The Thunder will look to expand this trade to flip Danny Green for more assets. The Detroit Pistons have traded G Bruce Brown to the Brooklyn Nets for F Dzanan Musa and a 2021 second round pick, sources tell ESPN. OKC has traded Chris Paul to Phoenix for Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque and draft compensation, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Milwaukee Bucks have traded Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, and three first round picks to New Orleans Pelicans for Jrue Holiday, sources tell @ShamsCharania. Houston Rockets are trading Robert Covington to Portland Trailblazers for Trevor Ariza, 2020 first round pick, and 2021 first round pick, sources tell @wojespn. Milwaukee Bucks are trading Donte Divincenzo, Ersan Ilyasova, and DJ Wilson to Sacaramento for Bogdan Bogdanovic in a sign & trade deal, sources tell @wojespn. Milwaukee’s Wesley Matthews will decline his $2.7M player option for the 2020-21 season and become a free agent, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. With the impending trade of Danny Green. We shall most likely see the Lakers make a strong push to sign Wesley Matthews to fill that role. Avery Bradley is expected to decline his $5M player option with the Lakers and enter free agency, via ESPN. Updated look at OKC Thunder's future draft picks 2020: Nuggets 1st round pick Lakers 1st-rd pick 2021: Own 1st Heat 1st HOU pick-swap 2022: Own 1st Clips 1st Suns 1st 2023: Own 1st Clips pick-swap Heat 1st 2024: Own 1st Clips 1st HOU 1st 2026: Own 1st Clips 1st HOU 1st The Hawks are in talks with the Celtics about acquiring Gordon Hayward. I do not know how the numbers get to matchup with the lack of big contracts on the books of the Hawks to match Hayward’s $32 million contract. They would have to combine Capela, Dedmon, and few young pieces to make it work and I do not know who if it is worth the Hawks to gut their future to win now. Russell Westbrook wants out of Houston. Where will he end up? Reports are that Westbrook wants to return to his role as the lead guy of an organization. At his age and coming off of an injury, who will be willing to sacrifice for maybe a couple of good years left? There have been reports that the Rockets are in trade talks to trade Westbrook to the Wizards for John Wall. It would be great to watch Westbrook play with Bradley Beal especially with the evolution of Bradley Beal’s game reaching new heights last season as he averaged 30 PPG. Will James Harden get traded? If so, will it be Brooklyn? They have moved up the list for him but it seems that some Nets’ players are reluctant on bringing Harden to Brooklyn. The other teams mentioned have been the Sixers & Heat. The Nets seem to be prepared to throw the “kitchen sink” to the Rockets without including Kyrie or KD. Personally, I would make rather see Harden in Philadelphia with Embiid as the Sixers trade Simmons to Houston. That duo would be one of the best in the league if not the second best behind LeBron and AD. It would be somewhat similar. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

What would be the best landing spot for Jrue Holiday? Will the Lakers get their third star? What should the Laker’s offseason blueprint look like? Who should be the #1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft? - Anthony Edwards - LaMelo Ball - James Wiseman - Deni Avdija - Tyrese Haliburton To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

The 2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers are the champions of basketball as they win Game 6 of the NBA Finals, 106-93. LeBron James - 4th Championship Danny Green - 3rd Championship J.R. Smith - 3rd Championship JaVale McGee - 3rd Championship Rajon Rondo - 2nd Championship Quinn Cook - 2nd Championship Anthony Davis - 1st Championship KCP - 1st Championship Dwight Howard - 1st Championship Avery Bradley - 1st Championship Dion Waiters - 1st Championship Kyle Kuzma - 1st Championship Alex Caruso - 1st Championship Markieff Morris - 1st Championship Jared Dudley - 1st Championship TCT - 1st Championship Kostas Antetokounmpo - 1st Championship --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

1Q: I don’t understand the Lakers staring down Dwight in the post. Miami is going to take that every time. KCP has been huge early with his dribble penetration and threes. Miami hasn't been as disciplined with the help and the closeouts. The threat of Duncan Robinson shooting is opening things up for Miami. Bam being aggressive offensively is huge for Miami. If he's able to score 1v1, especially vs. LA's smaller lineups, that helps Miami sustain offensively. The Lakers hold a 27-22 lead after the 1st Q, despite committing 7 turnovers to Miami’s 4. They made up for it at the 3-point line, hitting 4 of 5, and on the glass, with an 11-6 edge. 2Q: Miami's defense at times has been a coach's shell drill dream. Lakers have not figured out how to penetrate Miami's help defense. Since they've adjusted to selling out to take away the paint, Lakers have been very perimeter based. One of those halves where both teams probably feel ok. Lakers haven't played well but are still winning. Miami not shooting well from deep but have bothered AD. One big thing I've noticed from the Anthony Davis doubles. Miami is forcing him to his left (or middle), towards the help, and then hitting him then. Impacting the face up game, getting a double team but not opening everything up. Miami’s defense, especially in fronting the post, has bothered LAL considerably towards several of their 9 turnovers, but the Heat have converted those TO’s into only 6 points, matching LAL’s 6 points off MIA’s 5 turnovers. Miami showing a wall vs. LeBron in transition ala Giannis. Dribble penetration going to be so key for the Lakers with how Miami is defending. Has to be patience but with tempo and attack. LAL take a 49-47 lead into halftime despite not playing their best basketball, shooting 45% from the field, only getting to the FT line 3 times and turning it over 9 times. They held MIA to 42% FG’s and 4 of 15 3’s while hitting 7 of 16 3’s on the other end. 3Q: Lakers go small to start the 2nd half, with Morris in for Howard. This is the lineup the Lakers used effectively against Houston in Round 2. LAL have been out of rhythm offensively here. Have to hand it to the Lakers. They haven't played well and they are staying in the fight even if it's in the mud. LeBron in P&R attacking Robinson/Herro continues to be a pressure point. Lakers switching to having Anthony Davis go under those screens with Jimmy Butler handling has been a big difference. The other thing is LeBron on Bam. Allows LeBron to be a helper on the weak side. Can stay in a drop if Jimmy is in P&R. It’s been very interesting the impact Miami has had on the LeBron/AD P&R as they haven’t allowed for LAL to get much out of it. Davis is doing a great job making his presence felt on Butler at the rim here. He wasn’t able to do that as much in Game 3 due in part to the foul trouble. LAL up 75-70 heading into the 4th Q. 4Q: Going under vs Jimmy Butler has been so big. Not giving him the matchups. Miami has to find a way to create an advantage out of the Lakers playing so far back. This is where Herro, Robinson and co. are going to have to step up. With LA going under vs. Jimmy Butler in P&R, they have to take advantage the other way around. Lakers haven't had an answer for Jimmy coming off P&R on the side. Miami hasn't had an answer for LeBron coming off in P&R vs. Robinson. This is excellent from both teams. Lakers getting the second chances. Miami running offense through Tyler Herro with 4 minutes left in the Finals is wild. Kudos to Vogel and the Lakers, with everything they have and what they had working, they put Rondo in P&R with Anthony Davis and got two key buckets out of it. Lakers win Game 4, 102-96. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Lakers/Heat 1Q - Miami is competing, but that should be to no surprise for anyone who knows this team. They made it priority to protect the paint and recover from there. Heat picked up right where they left off offensively in Game 2, leveraging the gravity of their shooters as much as possible to create easy baskets. Short closeouts, early help, not putting themselves in a position where they can be beat off the dribble. Living with the kick outs and protecting the paint. This is the complete game plan from Miami defensively. A little past halfway the first quarter mark, the Lakers have more turnovers than shot attempts. This game is mirroring the Game 1 start, when LAL fell behind 23-10 into the first time out because of the sloppy play from the Lakers as the Heat took advantage of the turnovers. LAL had 9 turnovers in Game 2. They have 9 turnovers already with 4:48 left in the 1st Q. LAL’s margin for error is quite high from a talent standpoint especially with Dragic and Bam out. After all that, LAL trail by only 3, at 26-23. A really disappointing end to the 1st quarter for the Heat after their hot start. 2Q - Kuzma gets more opportunities to score/find a rhythm with Davis in foul trouble. Reason for his scoring drop off in the postseason is mostly due to LeBron+AD’s minutes going up, and Rondo’s increased role. The defensive game plan from Miami is eerily similar to the one employed vs. Milwaukee when they went all out to stop Giannis, but this one is solely focused on stopping dribble penetration. The big thing for the Heat in this game has been keeping the Lakers out of the paint so far. LA only has 12 points in the paint, also have only gave up one offensive rebound too. Butler has taken 9 shots in LAL’s paint already, making 6, taking advantage of the absence of Davis against LAL’s lineup with Morris at the 5. As solid as Miami's gameplay and help has been defensively, the doubles still aren't working. LAL trail 58-54 at the half. Credit a resilient effort from Miami, though LAL also hurt themselves with 14 turnovers. 3Q - Miami's offense is making strides. Feels like the Lakers have been in rotation more tonight than in the first two games combined. Short closeouts. Show help. Protect the paint. It's what Miami continued to do all game. Harder for LAL to switch AD over to Butler, as they have selectively in the series, due to his foul trouble. The Lakers defense hadn’t been sharp in this game (it wasn't sharp in game 2 too). The Heat were able to get a lot of great looks on the 2nd pass off of drive and kick actions. LAL closed on a 9-2 run to make it 85-80 heading into the 4th Q. After the last play of the quarter I would expect a heavy dose of LeBron in P&R in the 4th. This feels like a game where the Lakers are going to have to use LeBron to bend Miami's defense. That feels like the one action Miami hasn't felt as comfortable guarding/sending help/showing help. Davis started to pick things up in the 3rd, hitting 4 of 6 FG’s for 10 points. 4Q - LAL open the 4th Q on an 11-4 run, after closing the 3rd on a 9-2 run. That’s 20-6 overall, turning a 12-point deficit into a 91-89 lead. Lakers with just 4 points in the paint about half way through the 4th. 30 overall, the Heat have done a good job defending tonight. Butler got going and the Lakers were giving into the switch just too easily. Miami have turned to Jimmy Butler for isolation scoring down the stretch, with LAL not double-teaming, and it’s been effective enough to maintain their lead. Miami defeats the Lakers 115-104 in Game 3 as LAL’s lead is now 2-1 in the series. Jimmy Butler went off for 40 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Lakers/Heat 1Q - Lakers only have two fast break points but they are getting early offense if not a transition bucket. Dwight Howard with six early points. His verticality is helping the Lakers break down the Heat even when matched up with Leonard. They're just so much more physical than the Heat. You just have no chance defensively against LeBron with the Robinson-Herro-Leonard trio. LeBron + AD picking apart Miami’s zone here with interior passing. Miami is playing this zone to spread out by trying to takeaway three. This won't be much of a game too much longer if they don't start to protect the paint. LAL took a 29-23 lead out of the 1st Q. They generated good looks inside and out, and shot 52% from the field despite missing a bunch of open 3’s (3 for 12), while MIA shot 41% on tougher looks. 2Q - Miami needed to do a way better job in these mins where LeBron is off the floor, unlike last game. That they did as it is just a four point game. Hell of an effort by Miami which never stops moving and screening on offense. Butler’s basically driving everything that happens within Miami’s offense to begin with. Jae just keeps plugging away. Fighting hard at the top of the zone and also making plays on the offensive end. Lakers defenders have to make a ton of decisions every possession. Lakers are getting completely wide open 3’s as Miami sells out to try and protect the paint. They have still found way to get to the rim, and are 10 for 13 in the paint. Meanwhile, they’ve allowed MIA only 7 attempts (4 makes) in their paint. Beautiful offense from the Lakers utilizing pass fakes against the zone. LAL held a 68-54 halftime lead. As much as MIA sold out to prevent interior scoring, LAL still outscored them 30-18 in the paint. No team has been able to keep LeBron and AD specifically away from the rim. 3Q - Gonna be tough for Miami if Anthony Davis can keep hitting those midrange shots at the baseline. Without Bam, the Lakers are getting whatever they want inside. Davis is utterly dominant. Heat are playing hard but this is just steady, incremental accumulation of one team being better than another. Heat found some offensive traction using Butler as the roll man, to take advantage of that switching defense. Miami found success hitting the roll man against the Lakers' screen coverage might force an adjustment or two. LAL led 103-93 after 3. Miami’s using Frank Vogel’s pre Game 1 key, the FT line, to hang around. As they were a +15. 4Q - The Lakers' switching has taken away many of their usual actions. Best offense has been Butler getting downhill. It’s cool seeing all the ways Tyler Herro has learned from Goran Dragic offensively. The ball-screen craft, the probing in lane to keep his dribble alive, attempting audacious finishes at the rim. Since the Lakers always defend and score inside, they can live with the odd off shooting night from KCP and Green. Rondo has hit some MONSTER shots this postseason. There was another one. Just some pretty terrible offense in the 4th. Miami's had plenty of chances to get this closer. Not getting quality looks. Big closeout here by LeBron, not quite Game 5 WCF vibes but he's hitting some big shots. Lakers fight off the Heat to win Game 2 by a score of 124-114 to take a 2-0 series lead. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Doc Rivers and the Philadelphia 76ers have reached an agreement for him to become the franchise's next head coach. - My breakdown of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

And Here. We. Are. after all of the uncertainty of there being a restart to the NBA, if the players were going to continue playing after the Bucks decided to not play and the NBA taking a few days off before resuming the season once again; it is time for the NBA Finals. The Lakers, owners of the Western Conference's No. 1 seed and seeking out an NBA-best 17th championship, will face the Miami Heat, a No. 5 seed on a Cinderella run to the Finals after several years out of contention. These playoffs couldn't be ending any better. It almost feels like March Madness. The Lakers may be entering the series as heavy favorites, but the Heat have been the lower seed in each series and won since the playoffs began. They won't back down against anyone. This marks LeBron James’ 10th Finals appearance and first with the Lakers, who last played for the championship with Kobe Bryant in 2010. It is the Heat’s first Finals appearance since 2014, when LeBron James led them to the last of four straight title shots. The Lakers won both regular-season meetings between the teams — 95-80 in early November and 113-110 in mid-December —neither were representative of this version of the Heat. Miami was still starting Kendrick Nunn and Meyers Leonard, neither of whom cracked the rotation in the conference finals. The Heat had also not acquired Crowder and Iguodala. Also, neither Herro nor Robinson were playing at the level they are now. What we do know is that LeBron James & Anthony Davis completely outplayed Jimmy Butler & Bam Adebayo in their two regular season matchups. For Miami to have a chance in this series, this cannot be the case unless they get superhero like play from the likes of Dragic & Herro. Matchups to watch: Anthony Davis vs. Bam Adebayo LeBron James vs. Jimmy Butler What I will be watching: How will Miami decide to guard the Lakers in this series? They have used different game plans defensively in all three series and were able to execute. The first key for the Heat will be to shrink the floor vs. Lakers similar what we saw the Nuggets do. Shutting down the LeBron-Davis PnR will be priority number one. They were only able to generate 0.9 points per direct possession in the regular season, according to Second Spectrum. Another way Miami can negate the Lakers’ offense will be their switching scheme which will take away some of the off ball actions. This will find Adebayo guarding on the perimeter at times which will level the Heat susceptible to offensive rebounds as Howard/Davis will be attack the glass. It will be imperative for Miami to rebound well as a team. What Miami is effectively able to do better than any other team is run a zone and the Lakers offense has experienced a drop off when going against the zone. Lakers’ shooting - It is known that the Miami Heat are one of the best shooting teams in the league while the Lakers rank towards the bottom. This puts a lot of pressure on the likes of Danny Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Kyle Kuzma to hit shots from the perimeter. One of the keys to breaking Miami's zone is consistently shooting the 3. That responsibility falls on more than just one player, which is why Green, Caldwell-Pope and Kuzma are all being highlighted. They are shooting a combined 36% from 3 and 39% on C&S 3s. If this trio is knocking down the 3-ball, it'll certainly open things up for James and Davis inside. Prediction: Lakers in 6 Games To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Doc Rivers has been fired as the Clippers’ head coach. The two possible replacements are Ty Lue & Jeff Van Gundy. Victor Oladipo wants out of Indiana. His services would be greatly appreciated in LA with the Lakers/Miami/Phoenix. Heat beat Boston, 125-113. Miami wins series 4-2. Miami found their guys, built their guys up, developed their guys, didn’t just add the top tier talent but the talent that fit right into what they do. Erik Spoelstra gets the most out of his players. Puts them in the best spots to succeed. Adapts to his teams strengths and weaknesses. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Celtics beat the Heat, 121-108, to force a Game 6 in the Eastern Conference Finals. - Lakers beat the Nuggets, 117-106, to win the series 4-1 and advance to their first NBA Finals in 10 years. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Celtics/Heat Celtics are than happy with Bam Adebayo taking fallaway jump shots off the catch. Three paint touches, Boston gets a corner three. That's what Stevens wants. Multiple paint touches on each trip. Boston's defense has done a good job taking away Miami's back-cuts. It comes at the expense of opening up shooters on occasion. Heat are going without a real center right now, so Time Lord is guarding Iguodala. Couple of early tweaks to the sub patterns from both teams. Kemba Walker has been really active so far. You can tell the days off has really benefited him. Boston isn’t doing much to contest Iguodala’s perimeter shots and he is hitting them. I would they are going to live him shooting compared to Dragic/Robinson. Heat lead 24-23 after one. Jayson Tatum hasn't looked like himself at all. Looks a step slow on offense and all out of sorts. Quite the start from Tyler Herro as everything is going his way. Stevens has been begging for them to run to not have to play against set defense all series. The Celtics best offense has been going directly at Duncan Robinson with whoever he is guarding. Boston were getting great looks against the zone so far. They were not making the shots. With Smart having three fouls, no "Best Five" lineup for Boston to close this first half. Heat lead 50-44 at the half. As messy as that first half was, Boston is fortunate to be down just 6 points at the half with 11 turnovers. If the Celtics were ever going to reverse their third quarter woes, this would be the game to do so. Like a lot of the first half, the second half begins with a turnover for Boston. Adebayo-Robinson DHO game is borderline unstoppable. I’m not sure how Boston can get the offense going, but it's not going to be with Marcus Smart shooting. Marcus Smart is up to 9 assists. 5 of them have come in the third quarter. Smart is doing a good job of driving the zone and finding shooters. Tatum was able to shake off that first half on his way to 16 points in the third quarter. Heat lead 77-76 after three. Wonder if Tatum will go the rest of the way here? It was going to be hard to take him out. The Celtics really needed to put Marcus Smart on Tyler Herro at this point. It took too many possessions, but in the halfcourt, Boston has Kemba Walker hiding on Andre Iguodala now. Marcus Smart is on Goran Dragic and Jaylen Brown has Tyler Herro. Tyler Herro's shot-making has been the difference in the game. He was ridiculously good. Celtics needed to try attacking from the baseline more against the zone, especially when Miami has Dragic and Herro as the low corner guys. Offensive rebounds continued to haunt Boston throughout the night. Goran Dragic with the dagger off of a terrible decision to trap Andre Iguodala. The Celtics should be embarrassed with how they closed this game. Miami didn't even shoot well. They just played harder and took care of the ball. I hate to see the injury to Bam Adebayo- hope he can recover quickly for Game 5. Heat win 112-109. Lead series 3-1. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Lakers/Nuggets 1Q: Lakers have come out locked in like a team 2 wins away from the Finals. Denver has to take the punch and hang on. Physical game so far, with Jokic being very aggressive moving the Lakers around inside; we’ll see how that goes when Dwight Howard gets on him. Howard hasn’t typically played in 1st Q’s, but Jokic also hasn’t been this aggressive in 1st Q’s. Jokic's footwork is simply incredible underneath the rim. Baffling to me how it's Game 3 and the Lakers are still occasionally doubling off of Murray, who is the one perimeter guy you can't double off of. Think Denver is finding something with the early handoffs before the Lakers can load up. LAL trail 29-27 after 1, with Jokic scoring 11 points for DEN. LAL allowed 12 of 20 FG’s from the Nuggets, including 9 of 10 in the paint, where they usually force a much lower percentage. LAL were also out-rebounded 10-7. LAL shot well too, hitting 11 of 20 FG’s. 2Q: I never understand the point of going small and deciding not to switch. The Nuggets starters are going to play A LOT based on the rotations we're seeing. Last game Murray subbed out in the first quarter and the Lakers went on an 11-1 run. Now Murray and Jokic haven't subbed out at all. LAL’s bench has been really good all postseason, but they’ve struggled so far tonight. Uncharacteristic defensive breakdowns continue for LA. This game hasn’t been about lineups or personell; Denver is simply playing harder, with more desperation so far. Too many turnovers really hurt LA and allowed for Denver to score early in their offense and mostly against a not set Lakers defense. The Lakers offense in this stretch: Anthony Davis. The margin is 63-53 after a lackluster 1st half from the Lakers. They picked things up late in the 2nd Q to close the gap, but allowed 56.4% FG’s to DEN, and were outrebounded 23-11, a staggering gap on the glass for this big Lakers team, allowing 7 offensive boards. Monte Morris was huge in the first half. Jokic set the tone but he, Grant and Porter Jr contributing offensively changes things. Those guys have to be threats. And the thing Jamal Murray has proven in these playoffs, once he gets going, the task gets a lot harder. 3Q: Dwight starts the 2nd half, as he did Game 1. It was the small ball group that hurt LAL in the first half. They’re +2 in McGee’s minutes and + 6 in Howard’s. Dwight's defense has more value in this series than his role as an enforcer. He's got to realize that and not pick up some of the cheap ones. Jerami Grant was the main reason Denver was able to extend their lead. His offense has been critical. If Denver doesn't have anything on the first option they keep playing. And it's not just passing and screening anymore they are looking to attack the Lakers off the dribble and play out of that. Denver has mixed up the pops and rolls from Jokic in P&R and it's throwing the Lakers off. Lakers were settling for too many jump shots even though they got positive results every time they got paint touches. LAL were outscored by 8 for a 2nd straight quarter, and trail 93-75 heading into the 4th Q. They continue to struggle on the glass, trailing 33-18, and are 5 for 18 from 3. They've looked complacent on offense, confused on defense, and frustration has been adding up. 4Q: Jamal Murray with the huge dunk that seems like the dagger in this game, but not the case as the Lakers transition game really turned it up as they cut into the lead. LAL finally getting something positive going with better defense. Defense leading to transition offense here. Lakers zone has taken Denver all the way out of their rhythm. Tempo and flow is gone from Denver vs. the zone. Jamal Murray with a couple of huge threes from deep to shut down a Lakers comeback. Very impressive final effort by the Lakers, but the middle quarters did them in. Nuggets win 114, Lakers 106. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Lakers/Nuggets 1Q: This should be concerning for Laker fans, Green hesitates on the first open look he had, then misses one in the corner. If he's going to get gun shy from three, that is a serious problem. Aggressive early from LeBron … he’s 3 for 4, and the rest of the team 0 for 8, including a couple missed tap ins inside from Davis. Game is being called differently inside. Tight whistles in Game 1, more loose here in Game 2. Lakers have to adjust and play through it. The Nuggets got to think about sending a double when Davis is facing up on Jokic. Make him into a passer, can't leave Jokic on an island. 2Q: LAL’s defense has dropped of without AD on the court … Nuggets scored only 21 in the 1st Q (AD played 12 minutes). They already have 15 points at the 7:20 mark of the 2nd Q. Great cut from Kuzma with LeBron in the mid post and Grant loading up. Murray isn't staying connected to James. This is the value of playing Rondo with James, it turns James into a cutting option for the Lakers with the trust that Rondo will get him the rock. Dwight's been consistent all season, struggled at the start of the bubble but he's been big defensively for the Lakers in this series. Doing his job. Denver has to attack the switches better. These two games are the best the Lakers have looked on both ends in the playoffs. Nuggets were not able to capitalize on the minutes that LeBron spent on the bench as the Lakers lead expanded. 3Q: Denver’s done a better job of keeping LAL out of the paint of late, but AD’s now starting to rain in mid-range J’s. Lakers haven’t been getting into Denver’s lane much at all, doing a lot of settling for jumpers against a packed paint. When the Lakers have AD at the 5 and Jokic defends him, it’s similar to the Portland series for AD, when he could get a wide-open look at a mid-range jumper whenever he wanted against Nurkic or Whiteside. Jokic has to be aggressively posting up on these switches. LA has to double but coming from first pass away is always a bad idea. Too easy of a pass to make, especially for Jokic. Lots of uncharacteristic mistakes and breakdowns from the Lakers in the 3rd Q, and Denver took advantage. 4Q: Mike Malone stressed Denver’s transition defense above everything else, and the Nuggets have done a much better job getting back tonight. LAL had 6 fastbreak points in the 1st half, and only 2 in this 2nd half. LAL had 54 points in the paint in Game 1. They have just 34 tonight. This is due to the adjustment made by the Nuggets to pack the paint in and force the Lakers to beat them from the perimeter. It resembled the pack line defense. The Lakers got to get into their actions much earlier and be more deliberate with what they want to do. It is like they are just trying to figure it out on the fly. Hard back in from Jokic, who scores over Davis. That’s 11 straight from the Serbian center, and DEN’s lead is 1 with 20.8 left. But Anthony Davis answers with the game winner from 3 as the Nuggets make a huge mistake communicating on a switch which shouldn’t of took place anyways. Defensive sub Plumlee just completely blew that coverage. Wasn't even screened and just pointed for Grant to switch off LeBron. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Giannis Antetokoumpo named Kia NBA MVP. This is solely a regular season award and you can sit there to try justifying why Giannis won the award. He was not the “MOST VALUABLE PLAYER” in the league. His team would not be as worse as if the Lakers were without a LeBron. Bucks were a +2.4 without a Giannis compared to -1.9 for the Lakers without LeBron. That’s almost a five point difference. NUMBERS DONT LIE! NOT EVERYTHING IS WATCHING THE GAME. WHY DO YOU THINK ANALYTICS ARE APART OF THE GAME. - A complete breakdown of the 1st and 2nd Half of Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- In this episode, I go through quarter by quarter talking about different aspects of Game 2. This includes what worked well for Miami and Boston, but also where improvement must be made by Boston to get back into this series as they find themselves down 2-0. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Los Angeles Lakers are officially facing the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals. LeBron James and Anthony Davis now prepare for an opponent they had very few issues with during the regular season. The Lakers defeated the Nuggets in three of four meetings during the regular season, with the only loss coming in a game where James did not play. Their most recent matchup came in the bubble, where the Lakers won off of a game-winning 3-pointer by Kyle Kuzma. But the Nuggets are feeding off confidence as they have made two 3-1 comebacks in a row in the first two rounds. I do not know if they can dig theirselves out of a hole again if they get down to LeBron James and the Lake Show. Matchups: LeBron James vs. Jamal Murray (Lakers) Danny Green vs. Gary Harris (Nuggets) KCP vs. Jerami Grant (Lakers) Markieff Morris vs. Paul Millsap (Nuggets) Anthony Davis vs. Nikola Jokic (Lakers) Lakers Bench: Rondo/Caruso/Kuzma/McGee/Howard Nuggets Bench: Morris/Craig/MPJ/Plumlee (Lakers) Things to watch in the series: How much will the Lakers put pressure on Jokic in the PnR? The play of Nikola Jokic vs. Lakers’ bigs. Cutting aspect of the Nuggets' offense How will the Lakers guard Jamal Murray? To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

NBA announces that the official date for the NBA Draft is Nov. 18. All-NBA First Team: Luka Doncic (2nd Season) James Harden LeBron James (NBA Record 16th Selection) Giannis Antetokoumpo Anthony Davis All-NBA Second Team: Chris Paul Damian Lillard Kawhi Leonard Pascal Siakam Nikola Jokic All-NBA Third Team: Russell Westbrook Ben Simmons Jayson Tatum Jimmy Butler Rudy Gobert Biggest omissions: Joel Embiid Bam Adebayo Bradley Beal NBA All-Rookie First Team: Ja Morant Kendrick Nunn Zion Williamson Brandon Clarke Eric Paschall NBA All-Rookie Second Team: Coby White Tyler Herro Terence Davis II PJ Washington Rui Hachimura Biggest Omission: RJ Barrett Celtics/Heat - Game 1 Breakdown Clipper/Nuggets - Game 7 Breakdown In the 2009 Playoffs, Kobe: - Beat the Rockets in the 2nd round - Beat the Nuggets in Conf Finals - Won his 4th ring in Orlando In the 2020 Playoffs, LeBron: - Beat the Rockets in the 2nd round - Facing the Nuggets in Conf Finals - Trying to win his...4th ring in Orlando To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

MDA out in Houston Posted a 217-102 record in his four seasons with the Rockets. He reached the WCF once & semifinals three times. Expected to be hired in Indiana Clippers/Nuggets 1Q Nuggets are going to get a good share of open shots today with how aggressive LA is against Jokic and Murray. Today will come down to the role players making enough of them. Landry Shamet's speed attacking closeouts always catches defenders by surprise. Adjusting the bench rotation to play JaMychal Green more paid off immediately for LAC with 6 points. 2Q Clippers defense is locked in right now. A huge end of the quarter for the Clippers. It has all started on the defensive and that triggered their offense. The nuggets are playing hard but when the Clips are this locked in defensively there isn't much a team can do. I really think they had such a great 2Q due to how efficient they were in their transition offense which I believe is their best offense overall because, at times, there is no rhyme or reason to what they do in the half court and get stagnant. 3Q Clippers can't give the Nuggets Shamet and Harrell guarding Jokic and Murray in a pick and roll. It can't happen. It's tough for them to gain an advantage putting Kawhi/Paul George in action together. The Clippers are who they are at this point. A very good team that wins when they play a specific way and struggles when they can't do those things. And they have the talent to win even when they struggle. Clippers defense looks so much different when it's Kawhi and Zubac involved defending that pick and roll between Murray and Jokic. They're having to go to using LouWill's man as a screener to loosen things up. This is a great little thing from Denver. They have been attacking LouWill in P&R. They've been attacking Harrell. Did it at the same time. Craig screens, LouWill switches, Jokic is the second screener. Harrell stays in a drop, LouWill goes over, but no one there on pop. Look, the Clippers cannot play Lou Williams, Landry Shamet, and Montrezl Harrell at the same time without the defense going to hell. Just not a good idea. 4Q Clippers adjust by putting Kawhi on Jokic, PG on Murray and Zubac on Craig to help/double on post ups. Clippers scored 29 points in the 2nd quarter. They've scored 30 points total in the 2nd half with over 3 minutes left in the game. Denver is attacking all of the Clippers pressure points. Ask me what the Clippers have done to attack Denver. Denver has torched the Clippers just by putting the Clippers guards in P&R. It's forcing them into rotation every single time and the Nuggets are taking advantage of it. After winning this game, Denver has absolutely zero to lose going into Game 7. - Celtics/Heat Preview To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Lakers/Rockets Quite a start for the Lakers, who come out meaning business on a 13-2 run. Early in the bubble the Rockets defense was putting so much effort in their switching but it has dropped off in this series. The Rockets finally create an open three with Westbrook flashing middle and swinging quickly to Rivers in the corner. This is an action that should’ve been used more frequently. Their defense was strong yet again with their small ball units in the 1Q, though they left Rockets shooters open in the final 2 minutes and were punished with 3 straight makes. Much different look to this game since the Lakers stopped flying around on D. Rockets suddenly look comfortable. Much more work for the Lakers to do. It’s now 35-28 after a 17-2 Houston run into a time out. Russell Westbrook has wreaked havoc on the Lakers' passing lanes in this quarter. 11 turnovers by the Lakers so far. Kuzma's cutting this whole series has been great. LeBron was initiating everything early. He sat for some of this stretch, and it’s been Rondo running the offense since LeBron returned. LAL have re-invested defensively with some added intensity, with a massive Caruso chase-down block of Harden as an example. AD will need to be wary of Houston looking to draw his 3rd PF on the offensive end. Anthony Davis hasn't scored yet but he's adjusted really well to the attention he commands down on the block and already has four assists, the last two were easy layups to KCP and Caruso. It's been great seeing AD find the open man. His passing has looked better and better with each game. There’s one of the few times we’ve seen in this series as Harden is used as the screener for Westbrook. This should’ve been utilized much more by MDA. Turnovers are keeping Houston within reasonable distance. LAL have committed 11, towards 15 Rockets points. I just won't understand why teams are always posting up Harden. That plays right into the Rockets plans, he's a good post defender. The rule should be if he's on you go set a ballscreen. Rondo worked in this series. His ability to get to the rim made him pretty valuable. Houston’s been more committed to walling off the paint on LeBron and Davis especially, conceding a bunch of open 3’s as a result, and LAL’s role players are drilling them. The ball's been moving so fluidly on the offensive end. Such a beautiful sight to see. LAL continue to do a strong job defending Westbrook, encouraging him to shoot and contesting his shots at the rim. LAL advance to the Western Conference Finals on the strength of outstanding defense against two very strong offensive teams, beating both Portland and Houston 4-1. On offense, LeBron and AD led the way, as role players increasingly stepped up to knock down shots/make plays. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Grizzlies hire MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) women’s coach, Sonia Raman, as assistant coach. Raman’s tenure also produced two NCAA Tournament berths for the program, while the Engineers compiled a 91-45 record (.669) in her final five seasons. Following her first season in 2008-09, MIT’s record improved in each of the next five seasons. The Engineers enjoyed unprecedented success under Raman, winning the program’s first two New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) championships (2018, 2019) and reaching the championship game in 2020. This marks the franchise second women’s hire for the coaching staff. She replaces Niele Ivey who left for the head coach position at Norte Dame. - Breakdown of Game 5 - Clippers/Nuggets - Breakdown of Game 7 - Celtics/Raptors To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Lakers/Rockets 1Q Things are easier for Harden when he can see the trap coming. Westbrook's turnovers are maddening. Rockets not making LA pay for any of their mistakes. Nice adjustment by the Rockets doubling AD on those left low block post-ups. He's been really efficient there. Houston can’t be too mad with being down 4. Very sloppy offense, inconsistent transition D, and some missed free throws. Lakers are doing a great job running the Rockets off of the 3 point line, but their offense wasn’t impressive either. 2Q I can only imagine what Lakers twitter would've done if THT's fadeaway against Harden fell. Never seen a team shut down the process of the Houston offense like this. Only 11 3PA in the first half. I understand what the numbers say, but it’s games like this where the Rockets’ refusal to shoot midrange jumpers is puzzling. The offense just isn’t coming smoothly, the Lakers have them bottled up in the paint and beyond the arc. The Rockets look defeated. Lethargic offense and careless defense. This is not the same Houston team I’ve seen all series. They need to come into the second half refocused. LA is doing all of the little things and killing Houston in transition. The Lakers are killing the Rockets on the offensive boards. The Lakers' offense hasn't been super, super crisp, and Anthony Davis has to do a better job of responding to the post double teams, but other than that ... this has been as good a half as the Lakers could ask for. 3Q Looks like the Lakers are going back to the doubling of Harden in the 2nd half. I like the idea of not going to the double until the 2nd half, so they can't get experience with it in first half and make halftime adjustments. I think it was the Mavs in 2011 that really started making the fly bys a habit. I believe the rule was anytime you can run out after contesting an above the break three you do it. Helps to have a guy like LeBron who can pass it. The Lakers effort to closeout to the three point line has been just so impressive throughout the last two games. They literally are getting the Rockets to not shoot threes. Rockets have sleep walked all night. They’ve given up offensive boards, played zero transition D, and turned it over constantly. But somehow they’re down 16 and not 26. Will be interesting to see how LeBron comes out in this 4th. I’m expecting aggression. 4Q It's been tough for Houston to have Jeff Green in the rotation this series. Rajon Rondo hasn't been the offensive force he was in the last game, but he does have 10 rebounds tonight, which really, really matters. Three-straight possessions, three-straight turnovers for the Lakers. Eight points for Houston, lead down to 8 with 2:39 left. Incredibly frustrating game if you’re a Rockets fan. Lakers didn’t do anything special on offense, but all of those offensive rebounds and fast break points came back to kill Houston. Give credit LA for their defensive adjustments on Harden though. End of Game Stats: The Rockets trail the Lakers by 19 in the 4th quarter. They became the first team with 0 fast-break points and 0 second-chance points through 3 quarters of any playoff game in the play-by-play era (since 1997). Lakers win - two LA basketball wins away from Lakers-Clippers. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Breakdown of Game 6 of the Toronto Raptors/Boston Celtics series - Breakdown of Game 4 of the Los Angeles Clippers/Denver Nuggets series To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Billy Donovan out in OKC - Bucks/Heat - Lakers/Rockets - To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Celtics/Raptors Early tweak from Brad Stevens: Marcus Smart is defending Kyle Lowry to start the game. Lowry has been getting going early in each game. Smart guarding Lowry has two advantages for Boston. Celtics defense has focused on stopping Lowry penetration. I expect Brad Stevens to try and match Kemba Walker's minutes tonight to Marc Gasol's. That way the Celtics can bleed as much out of pick and roll against Gasol's drop coverage as possible. Boston was more ready for Toronto's zone than any point in this series. Celtics are playing against the zone with purpose tonight. No hesitation driving the gaps and getting the ball moving. The Celtics are really engaged defensively. Communication on switches, switch-backs and jump-switches is on-point early. If I was Stevens, I'd consider playing Williams more against Gasol and Theis against Ibaka. Williams is having trouble recovering back to Ibaka on the pick and pop. Not as much of a worry with Gasol in the game. Celtics straight switched that Raptors PnR. Subtle little tweak. When Toronto went super small, Stevens went to the three-guard lineup with Walker/Smart/Wanamaker. That allows Boston to counter Toronto's ballhandlers better, without fear of getting beat up inside on switches. This is some of the best defense the Celtics have played all year. Raptors look a step slow and Boston is way too quick for that. Maybe the minutes-load is catching up with Toronto? Raptors came out pretty desperate to start the second half. The Celtics look a little content. Raptors went small. 2-2-1 press from Toronto. Nurse waved the white flag. It's about time for Stevens to pull his starters now too. It's getting increasingly ragged. No reason to keep them out there. Celtics made the extra effort plays tonight, knowing they had to match or exceed Toronto's effort. Nuggets/Clippers Looks like Zubac had a mandate to be more physical with Jokic. That's now 4 fouls on the Clippers trying to pressure Jokic on the perimeter. Denver running some sets for him to dribble himself into postups, Clips probably are going to have to double. Looks like Harrell is going to look to slip that PnR early with Jokic coming up hard. That enables an easier pass to him and he's at the rim before the help. Kawhi had three assists in the first quarter, a reflection of the way he's found shooters to keep the ball from sticking. As gifted as MPJ is offensively, man he has room to grow in terms of shot selection. Clippers not being able to guard Jokic and getting smoked with him off the court seems like a rough equation for them. Harrell has absolutely killed the Clippers in this stint, as he has basically all playoffs. It’s time that Doc decides to go in a different direction to win games. Paul George has been really good so far - playing with a lot of rhythm. Clippers finally showed life on defense with that 12-2 run to close the half. Jokic will make a few great plays, but the Clippers simply need better effort on defense. Too much ball watching, lazy rotations, standing around when the ball hits the rim. But those 3 minutes of ball hawking is a big reason they’re within 2. Nikola Jokic’s weight loss dropped his strength and he can’t bang you down on the block as well, but he is a great shooter. With the performance of PG, it will be detrimental for the Clippers to lose this one. This is the adjustment to the rotation I wanted to see from Doc, Beverley with the 2nd unit. He totally blew up the Nuggets' first play. Once again, Denver stretches the lead with the second unit. This series after the last series shows the highs and lows of Jamal Murray. There’s still ton of work to be done to become a superstar. If Green is able to return then he should be getting Montrez’s minutes. If the scheme is to get Jokic up near the ball on PnR, Nuggets guards have to force handler to use the screen. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Steve Nash hired as Nets’ Head Coach - Ja Morant wins Kia NBA ROY (17.8 PPG/3.9 RPG/7.3 APG) - 34-39 Record - One vote away from unanimous - Montrez Harrell wins Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year (18.6 PPG/7.1 RPG/1.7 APG) - Surprised this wasn’t Schroeder - It will be interesting to see the voting breakdown. - Raptors/Celtics (2-1 TOR) - Clippers/Nuggets (1-0 LAC) To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Popovich selling his SA home - Utah Jazz and Donovan Mitchell will finalize a 5 year/$170 million max contract when free agency opens in the middle of October. - By the time the Lakers/Thunder or Rockets play Game 1, the ECSF will be into Game 3 already. What sense does this make? - Heat/Bucks (2-0 MIA) - Rockets/Thunder (4-3 HOU) To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Is Mike D’Antoni job on the line if Houston loses Game 7 tonight? Is Billy Donovan in the same situation? - Can Milwaukee bounce back from Game 1 tonight? - Celtics/Raptors (2-0 BOS) - Nuggets/Jazz (4-3 DEN) To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Brandon Ingram wins the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award and Bam Adebayo finishes 2nd. Heat/Bucks (1-0 MIA) George Hill to start in place of Eric Bledsoe. Possessions that can hurt the Heat are ones where the Bucks get the ball to Giannis on one side then there’s quick ball movement to the weak side. Rim protection and Bucks’ IQ on defense presents some problems that need adjustments from Miami. First 6 min of the 2nd Q hurt the Bucks when they kept turning the ball over and Miami closed the gap. The Heat's initial defense is so great. Where they have been able to take away scoring opportunities from the Bucks is stopping penetration and limiting paint touches. They are walling off Giannis in transition so well. I love watching Bam Adebayo. The possibilities are almost endless when he has the ball. Sees passing angles that only Nikola Jokic sees among current centers. I have a feeling in year 5 or 6, he's going to have that range extended to the arc too. Every time when Middleton got into isolation then the Heat would guard it in the same essence of TJ Warren as they try to turn him into a passer. This Goran Dragic bubble/playoff run has been something else. He has been a completely different player in the bubble compared to the rest of the season. The big shots hit down the stretch are why you go get a guy like Jimmy Butler. One thing that left me thinking for Milwaukee is when Miami went to the lineup of Crowder/Butler/Bam with Herro/Dragic that they aren’t constantly putting those two guards in multiple actions. Tonight was the least amount of threes (12) Miami has hit vs. Milwaukee all year and they won. Another interesting stat from this game is the 28 isolation possessions from Milwaukee which the second highest this season. I understand that Bledsoe was our, but some of the lineups inserted by Budenholzer were downright awful. Thunder/Rockets (3-3 TIE) Where I think the Rockets do well on defense is activity that is great but smart. Dort has lost all respect on the offensive side of the floor and has become a liability for this team when he’s on the floor because he’s only contributing on defense and with rebounding. OKC tried to go with Ferguson, but he was not any good either. It’s time for him to walk once his contract is up. Where the Thunder’s offense has struggled is making the Rockets’ defense move as they are easily switching a lot of the actions ran. Westbrook’s passing has been off as he tries to regain his rhythm on the floor and this has led to a few too many turnovers. Chris Pail has made it known that he is not ready to go home yet with his performance in the 3Q as he got into his back of tricks outside of the pull up game. Schroeder has not had a good offensive game, but his defense has been great. When Houston is moving the ball the crispness PF some of these possession then it is a thing of beauty and very hard to guard. The ball and player movement in this game from Oklahoma City has been much better than in previous games. On top of that, they have hit perimeter shots to open the floor. CP3/Schroeder/SGA have made the most of isolation possessions. This has been their bread & butter to penetrate and force rotation. PJ Tucker has helped negate some of this with his ability to help. Darius Bazley has made a few big plays in this 4th quarter. James Harden is commanding OKC’s full attention as they are placing focus on loading the his side of the floor. Everything been ran through CP3 as he looks to hunt mismatches. Where OKC fails far too often is in transition and it almost hurt them late. Thunder ice the game at the free throw line after a couple of Westbrook errors. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- John Thompson - Celtics/Raptors (1-0 BOS) - Clippers/Mavericks (4-2 LAC) - Nuggets/Jazz (3-3 TIE) To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Bucks/Magic (4-1 MIL) - Rockets/Thunder (3-2 HOU) - Lakers/Trailblazers (4-1 LAL) To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Pacers have fired Nate McMillian. This is extremely weird as the Pacers had reworked his contract for his final year to be this upcoming season with a team option for 21-22. - Celtics/Raptors preview This series has the potential to go seven games. Both of these teams have championship aspirations and it all begins here. Boston did win the regular season series, 3-1. Toronto has been the most impressive team in the bubble so far, but Boston is not too far behind them. These teams matchup quite well, so this series will ultimately come down to the game plans implemented my Nick Nurse and Brad Stevens. Where TOR May have a slight advantage is that their roster is healthy as the Celtics will be without Gordon Hayward. While the loss will hurt the Celtics, they have enough talent to overcome his injury. I want to take a look at each of the positional matchups - Kemba Walker vs. Kyle Lowry (TIE) - Marcus Smart vs. Fred VanVleet (VanVleet) - Jaylen Brown vs. OG Anunoby (Brown) - Jayson Tatum vs. Pascal Siakam (Tatum) - Daniel Theis vs. Marc Gasol (Gasol) - Boston Bench vs. Toronto Bench (TOR) Let’s take a look at what could be the deciding factors in this series: Is Kyle Lowry going to be 100% in this series? - The state of his ankle will be a huge concern until they are completely sure it is good to go. This can change the outlook of the series if he is unable to go for the first couple of games and Boston is able to get up early in the series. Unfortunately, this is not the first postseason where Lowry has been hampered with injuries. For the sake of the Raptors, they have performed well without Lowry in the lineup as they went 12-2 this season with him on the sidelines. Boston will enter this series with a lot of confidence - Will this be a mentality series? As I previously mentioned, the Celtics won the season series 3-1. What is even more impressive is that they won three games by an average of 14.7 points per game including a 22 point win during the seeding games. Toronto is going to need the best out of Siakam - Right now, the status of Kyle Lowry is uncertain. This adds more weight/pressure on Pascal Siakam. He has been up and down within the bubble so far. His play has definitely gotten better over the past few games and it looks like he is finding his rhythm. While not too far off, his numbers did take a dip vs. Boston as he average 22 PPG/5 RPG/1 APG and shot 43.2% from the field. He did shoot 50% from 3 though. It will interesting to see if Toronto is going to get All-Star Siakam or the one who has struggled against the Celtics in the past. Look for fastbreak points to be huge in the Boston/Toronto series: Fastbreak Points Scored per game: 1 TOR - 18.8 PPG 6 BOS - 15.2 PPG Fastbreak Points Allowed per game: 11 TOR - 12.7 PPG 16 BOS - 16.2 PPG In the playoffs, Toronto and Boston are 1-2 in fastbreak pts scored. BOS is #1 in fastbreak allowed at just 4.8 ppg allowed. TOR is #14 at 15.8 points allowed per game. But those are heavily influenced by opponent. PHI rarely ran, while BKN played track meets. So the question will be if Boston can slow down the Raptors need for speed? - The Raptors have been a terror for teams in transition as they average 24.2 transition possessions per game which is best in the league. What is even more outstanding is that the score 1.15 points per possession. This puts an emphasis on BOS to get back on defense and slow them down. What makes them so difficult to defend this aspect of their offense is how well the score off of live rebounds and with the ability Siakam has to initiate the offense, it creates more problems. I think an under appreciated part it is outlet ability of Gasol to the ball into the hands of Lowry/VanVleet to get out and run. But Boston is equipped to slow them down since they possess athletic wings such as Tatum & Brown as well as defensive stalwart, Marcus Smart. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Lute Olson CBB News - Eamonn Mahar/Toby Lane/Rosbie Mutcherson/K.T. Turner/Jai Lucas Giannis wins DPOTY. Jazz/Nuggets Nikola Jokic tasked with spacing the floor and punishing Rudy Gobert for playing drop coverage defensively, Jokic shot the lights out. This was his moment to put a stamp on the series and did he. I don’t understand Denver shrinking to the nail so much when Ingles has the ball on the left wing. Is he beating his man middle to his weak hand? And they have gotten repeatedly beat by straight-line drives when Ingles swings it to the opposite wing over the course of the series. Actually, it is do to who is guarding Ingles - Jamal Murray. Murray has to do a better job defensively. He can't give up a middle drive so easily. Jokic going off, but I think Utah turning him into a scorer is a bit to their advantage. This takes away from his threat as a set up man for his teammates. 2 different times MPJ gave up too much room on the hedge against Mitchell who splits it. DEN are finally being aggressive in PnR coverage and trapping the ball handler. What a special 3Q from Jamal Murray! Donovan Mitchell vs. Jamal Murray matchup this series has been some of the purest, most surgical play & shot-making i've seen in a while during a single series. It has to make Denver feel much better for when his max contract discussion comes up. Salute to Michael Porter Jr. His defense hasn’t been perfect but it’s been solid here lately as far as what Utah has been trying to accomplish in the PnR. Credit Mike Malone for making an adjustment by having MPJ drop, but stay with Mitchell. Overall, he looked better as he was rotating to the correct spots and not getting caught out of position. Important because DEN needs him on the floor. They are a plus 25 with Murray/MPJ/Jokic on the floor together. Grant was solid against Mitchell. Not perfect, but rather than getting bumped off by a screen consistently, Grant stayed close to Mitchell & forced him into tougher shots than all series. LAC are really trying to exploit DAL size. Pushing everything at the rim. They're still not closing out on shooters. LAC are showing a soft press to get the ball out of Doncic’s hands early in the shot clock. It will be important for the supporting cast to be ready to shoot. As TNT shows the stats about Doncic drives, he is doing that exact thing to start the game and is continuing to have success. Kawhi does such a great job of getting to his spots in the mid range and scoring. I’m a fan of what PG has done to start this game in being aggressive downhill. This game has taken a turn for the worse as LAC are on a 24-2 run. Maybe LA heard my last episode as they are trapping Luka off of ball screens. This is an important adjustment as the switching has not worked so far. Let’s see if DAL will take advantage of Harrell on Boban; he has scored at will against him. Dallas has to find ways to create tempo and space in the half court to get back in this game. We are now seeing PG get back into rhythm. But the ball is starting to stick for Clippers on offense. The one thing that surprised me in this series is how much the Clippers have struggled vs. Mavs’ reserves. In the previous game, Doc let his team play through the slump but tonight he calls a TO and they go on another run. You can really tell how much the ankle is bothering Luka tonight. One thing that is so impressive is how well he find space especially with the size he possess. This is the PG of IND when he is hitting shots like he did tonight. These become 2nd nature to him when he has his rhythm, when an offense flows through him, when he is attacking and leading. DAL needs Porzingis in that lineup. Unless Luka goes off they can't keep up. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Philadelphia fires Brett Brown  - Bucks/Magic (3-1 MIL)  - Thunder/Rockets (2-2 TIE)  - Heat/Pacers (4-0 MIA)  - Lakers/Trailblazers (3-1 LAL) To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Celtics/Sixers (4-0 BOS) - Mavericks/Clippers (2-2 TIE) - Raptors/Nets (4-0 TOR) - Jazz/Nuggets (3-1 UTAH) To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Moment of Silence for Kobe’s Birthday (24 Seconds) - Bucks/Magic (2-1 MIL) - Heat/Pacers (3-0 MIA) - Thunder/Rockets (2-1 HOU) - Lakers/Trailblazers (2-1 LAL) To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Raptors/Nets - Jazz/Nuggets - Celtics/Sixers - Clippers/Mavericks To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Heat/Pacers - Rockets/Thunder - Bucks/Magic - Lakers/Trailblazers - NBA Draft Lottery To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Raptors/Nets - Jazz/Nuggets - Celtics/Sixers - Mavericks/Clippers To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

- Magic/Bucks - Heat/Pacers - Rockets/Thunder - Trailblazers/Lakers To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Nuggets/Jazz Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray exchanged shots back and forth down the stretch, but ultimately Murray's play in overtime carried the Nuggets to a 135-125 win and a 1-0 lead in the series. Raptors/Nets You look at the final score to the game and it screams blowout. While Toronto did get up by 33 at one point of the game, but the Nets did not fold as they fought back to get the game within 8. As I mentioned in the NBA Playoff Preview: EC episode, this is who the Nets are and what they are going to do throughout the series even if they are at a complete disadvantage. Celtics/Sixers The common theme is that when Tatum has a big night then Boston usually wins. He ended the night with 32 PTS/13 REB/3 BLK. Boston is now 36-7 when Tatum scores 20 or more and 13-3 when he scores 30 or more. He was not the only Celtic with a big night as Jaylen Brown poured in 29 PTS. The Celtics are now 14-0 when he scores 25 or more. Tatum was the driving force throughout the first three quarters as Brown turned it on In the 4th to put Philly away. Clippers/Mavericks While the Mavericks were not able to steal Game 1 of the series, they put themselves in quite the position to win a couple of games in this series. Unfortunately, this game will be overshadowed by the unnecessary ejection of Kristaps Porzingis with two technical fouls. Both them were not deserving and each situation is bound to take place during a playoff series. The emotion are running high. The Clippers looked to put Dallas away early as they jumped out to an 18-2 lead, but the tide quickly turned as the Mavericks took an 14 point lead during the 2Q. As phenomenal of night that Luka Doncic had (42 points - a playoff record for a debut). It wasn’t enough as the Clippers depth and the 56 points scored between Kawhi and PG were too much to overcome. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Bucks/Magic The Magic were swept in the season series vs. MIL & are dealing with mult injuries. Signs point to Giannis as he looks to make his 1st Finals appearance. He’s done everything else up to this point, so that’s the only thing he is missing from the cabinet. He is going to be on a mission to bring the Bucks’ their 1st championship since Kareem was a member of the team. This team is out for vengeance as they were a couple of plays away from going up 3-0 on TOR before losing 4 straight. The Magic were one of the few teams who had players who could make things difficult for Giannis in Isaac and AG. ORL is without Isaac and Gordon is recovering from an injury. What I’m going to keep an eye on is how well Eric Bledsoe plays as he struggled in the playoffs last season. While they are not known to be prolific 3PT shooting team, if there’s an area where you can exploit the Bucks it is on the perimeter as they pack the paint. Pacers/Heat Main storyline in the series will be between Butler and Warren. Crushing for the Pacers is that it does not seem likely for Sabonis to return during this series. Maybe we see Oladipo return to form, but looks to be getting in shape. This will be the 1st time in some time that we see a relatively healthy Miami team who has still looked the part. Speaking of Butler & Warren, this potential 7 game series could provide us with the fireworks we have been waiting for between the two. We will need to see Oladipo take another step forward in returning to himself if the Pacers have a shot at winning this series. For what will be their 1st playoffs, it will be interesting to see how Herro & Robinson react. Celtics/Sixers Philly won 3 of the 4 games in the season series. Neither team was fully healthy in any of those games. This will be the first time they face off where one of them is at full strength. The Boston Celtics are the beneficiary in this regard while the 76ers will be without Ben Simmons. Not only Simmons, but Al Horford is dealing with knee soreness as well. There are a few aspects of this series that I will be keeping my eyes on. First off, the play of Kemba Walker. While he's avg 22 PPG vs. Philly, he’s only shooting 40% from the field. He has struggled with the size that Philadelphia possess. The most compelling matchup will be between Brown/Tatum vs Richardson/Harris. Honestly, I think between these two duos is where this series will be determined. But a huge problem for the Celtics will be how they are going to guard Embiid? He'll likely see a lot of double teams to force passes out of the post where there will be open 3s but will the Sixers hit them? Raptors/Nets A series I don’t think this will be as the Nets are w/o a majority of their team due to COVID/injuries, plus the Raptors are the defending champs & playing the best basketball out of all the title contenders. BKN won't go w/o putting up a fight. They did win 5 of their 8 seeding games to give them 7th seed in the East. The matchup w/ the Nets is a blessing as this is an opportunity for Siakam to find his groove and feast on the depleted Nets’ front court. Toronto should look to utilize him in the post. One of the best things the Nets do is the 2 man game ran between Joe Harris & Jarrett Allen. You really have to pick your poison between one of the best shooters in the NBA & a lob finishing big. Don’t let that be the only thing that makes this dangerous! Allen is a great passer who can find teammates w/o turning it over. Primary scorer for the Nets is LeVert & TOR needs to take him away by placing Anunoby on him. Raptors’ fans can get the brooms out because this'll be a sweep. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Lakers/Trailblazers - Rockets/Thunder - Nuggets/Jazz - Clippers/Mavericks - To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

LSU is finally able to put their focus solely on the 2021 class after taking a little bit longer to finish the roster for this season. They were able to get a commitment out of three-star guard, Brandon Murray, who gives them a very impressive shot maker in the backcourt. The Volunteers and Rick Barnes get a huge commitment from five-star point guard, Kennedy Chandler. He will be attending Sunrise Christian in Kansas this season (originally from Memphis). He gives Tennessee a guard who can creator for himself as well as others due to his ball handling ability. Where he needs to improve is the consistency of his jump shot. This is the Volunteers first commitment for the 2021 recruiting class. One of the very best point guards found along the west coast, KJ Simpson from Chaminade HS in West Hills has found his college home. The four-star guard committed to Arizona on Saturday, giving the Wildcats a complete perimeter asset on both ends of the floor. Already sitting with two commitments in the 2021 class, Texas made another move towards finalizing its roster for many years. Four star forward David Joplin gave his verbal commitment to the Longhorns on Sunday. The Longhorns hold the commitments of three star Keeyan Itejere and four star Emarion Ellis as well. After a big breakout over the summer, three-star and 6’6 Small Forward, Sean Durugordon has cut his list to eight schools. His list includes Arizona St, Auburn, DePaul, Georgia, Hofstra, Missouri, Seton Hall and VCU. University of Georgia has offered 2021 guard, Trey Alexander - Heritage Hall, out of Oklahoma. Players to look at for the D1 level in Oklahoma: F Keyondre Young - Del City G P.J. Johnson - Casady F D.J. Freeman - Casady G Anthony Pritchard - Webster G Jake Gendron - Bishop Kelley F Jeff Nwankwo - PC North To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Kia NBA All-Seeding Team 1st Team: (Lillard (MVP)/Booker/Doncic/Harden/Warren) 2nd Team: (Giannis/Kawhi/LeVert/MPJ/Porzingis) Kia NBA Coach of the Seeding Games (Monty Williams) Trailblazers/Grizzlies: A lot of ball screens for Portland to free up Lillard. The guards are looking to get downhill vs. Memphis bigs. Lillard hits his first three after Blazers start 0-3 and Collins follows up with another corner 3 on the next possession. Well balanced attack from Portland so far - everyone chipping in. Trailblazers really need to buckle down defensively. They can really give teams trouble with the high low offense between Nurk/Whiteside. Portland has completely took over this game. Another area where Portland can gives teams trouble is possessing bigs who can stretch the floor. Hezonja with good minutes while hitting a 3. Whiteside and Anthony cannot defend the Anderson/Valanciunas pick and roll. McCollum & Lillard already in double figures. Both teams are fighting! Nurkic is hiring shots from all over the floor and now has a double double (2Q). He had 17 rebounds in the 1H to go along with 15 points. He is exhausted which will be something to keep an eye on. Blazer pick apart the trap with a quick pass to Nurk who kicks to McCollum. Blazers porous defense is the difference in this 3Q. It’s going to be their downfall. DAME WITH THE JAM! It always seems when Portland sets those wide screens with Nurk at the top of the key passing that it equate to success. Watching Lillard, I’m impressed with his jabs and rip throughs. This game is highly competitive. Trailblazers attacking Dieng. The problem for Portland now is that Memphis is beaming with confidence and they are trying to get back in the game. Gary Trent Jr. with a couple of huge deflections to get stops for Portland. McCollum ties it up! He is picking on Morant. STAY MEL0 Grizzlies are being aggressive in guarding the ball screens vs. Lillard. Brooks is such a competitor, he’s not going to back down from Melo/McCollum/Lillard. They are going to need Anderson and JV to step up as they are the ones with the most experience in pressure games. Morant is smooth in the open floor and is quick getting into the paint. Grizzlies are really struggling to score (1Q) as Brooks/Morant/JV/Clarke are 5-18. Melton will he needed to provide some scoring as the main options aren’t producing. But the best thing for them is that Dame hasn’t gotten go yet to put them away and their trio hasn’t gotten off to a good start. Now they are on a 13-2 run. Brooks looks like Lillard right now! Both teams are fighting! JV with 14 rebounds. Here’s the problem... Trailblazers are making a little run to end the quarter, but only down 8 and Ja isn’t playing well. He continues to be aggressive. Memphis needs to trap Dame the rest of the game. Morant is going to be a nightmare for teams once he can consistently knock down 3s. It sickens me how many long 2s Brooks takes. Anthony Tolliver has been such a steadying presence in this game. Brandon Clarke has stepped in this 3Q to provide scoring next to Morant. Ja has such a great ability of making that over the top pass off of screens to shooters. Grizzlies attacking Whiteside. What a 3Q from Memphis with 43 points. Morant is out here HOOPING! I really hate that technical in this game where there’s a lot of emotion. Morant’s ability to split on ball screens is impeccable. He’s getting to whatever spot he wants to. Is there a better player who can drive left and shoot the right handed floater better than Morant? Memphis really need to protect these offensive possessions late in the game and not give Portland extra possessions. Melton would’ve been better than Allen on Dame there. BROOKS! To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

The Pelicans have fired head coach Alvin Gentry, per ESPN. In five seasons with the Pelicans, Gentry finished with a 175-225 record. Gentry led the team to just one winning record and had just one 40-win season. That lone season came in 2017-18 when the Pelicans made the playoffs and swept the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. This season, New Orleans struggled with injuries at times but could never found a footing, highlighted by their 13-game losing streak. Though the Pelicans did have a run as one of the better teams in the Western Conference after Zion Williamson’s introduction, their woeful performance in the bubble was the final straw for Gentry, who had one year left on his contract. If you could change one moment in NBA History, what would it be? For me as a Magic fan, there are two moments that stick out. Tim Duncan almost signing when we had Hill & McGrady. Also, if Derek Fisher doesn’t hit the shot in G2 to send it to OT. All-Bubble Team (Dame/Booker/Warren/Kuzma/Porter Jr.) Damian Lillard: (Bubble MVP) The numbers: 37.6 points (50/44/89 shooting splits), 9.6 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 41.7 minutes a game Devin Booker: The numbers: 30.5 points (50/31/94 shooting splits), 6 assists and 4.9 rebounds in 33.8 minutes a game T.J. Warren: The numbers: 31 points (58/52/89 shooting splits), 6.3 rebounds and two assists in 36.4 minutes a game Kyle Kuzma: The numbers: 15.4 points (46/45/74 shooting splits), 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 28.5 minutes a game Michael Porter Jr: The numbers: 22 points (55/42/93 shooting splits), 8.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 33.3 minutes a game A look ahead to the play in game (Trailblazers/Grizzlies) The Trailblazers have to win one games. The Grizzlies have to win today to force Game 2 tomorrow. The biggest challenge for Memphis will be countering Portland’s size ... especially if Valanciunas gets into foul trouble. But also, stopping Damian Lillard. In the first restart game for both teams, Portland won 140-135 in overtime, but Lillard had what was for him an average game with 29 points. Lillard is shooting just 25 percent (4 of 16) on three-point attempts against the Grizzlies this season. During his recent 154-point outburst over three games, he shot a combined 48.9 percent (21 of 43). Will this be the beginning of how teams will guard Dame in the playoffs? Most teams use their athletic bigs to blitz Dame on PnR. This has really caused them problems in the past. Clarke is a big that can do this. My prediction is for the Blazers to win today. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Suns/Thunder - Mavericks/Jazz - Raptors/Bucks - Heat/Pacers - Lakers/Nuggets - To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Thunder/Wizards - Raptors/Grizzlies - Celtics/Magic - Spurs/Pelicans- Blazers/Sixers To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Clippers/Trailblazers Nuggets/Jazz Pacers/Lakers Suns/Heat Mavericks/Bucks To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Kings/Pelicans Bucks/Heat Pacers/Suns Clippers/Mavericks Trailblazers/Nuggets Rockets/Lakers To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support

Grizzlies/Jazz - 76ers/Wizards - Nuggets/Spurs - Thunder/Lakers - Raptors/Magic - Celtics/Nets - To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4.  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cody-johnson4/support