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Hawks at Nets
6:00 pm CDT
NBA TV
The Nets have put up surprising (to me) resistance to the Hawks so far in this series, competing in Atlanta and grabbing the first game in Brooklyn. The Hawks will need to turn things up or face the danger of returning home with a tied series, something they don't want, especially since the Wizards are now home resting after their sweep of the Raptors. The Nets have gotten strong play inside from Brook Lopez, who is leading them in scoring in the series and shooting better than 50%, while the Hawks have found it tough sledding to get their usual open looks and are under 40% as a team so far.
The Bucks forced a game five with a buzzer beater in game four, but now have to return to Chicago where they lost the first two of this series. The Bucks have struggled to score throughout the series, and went with a mostly second unit in their win in the last game. Jimmy Butler is dominating proceedings for the Bulls, averaging 28 points and shooting it great, while Derrick Rose is looking much better than he has in a long while. The result is they haven't needed big games from Pau Gasol offensively to win, which is good because Pau has been struggling. At some point, he'll find his groove again; hopefully in time for their 2nd round match up with the Cavs.
Grizzlies at Blazers
9:30 pm CDT
TNT
The Grizzlies will be without Mike Conley, who underwent surgery to repair broken bones in his face today, though Beno Udrih is expected back tonight after missing game three with an ankle sprain. The loss of Conley might not affect the outcome of this series, with the Grizz up 3-0, but is a blow to their overall hopes this post-season. Udrih was excellent back in Memphis, and they are getting tremendous shooting from Courtney Lee and their usual good defense, but Conley is a huge part of what they do and losing him is tough. No doubt they would like to end this series here and begin to prepare for Golden State, but I actually expect the Blazers to come out and get one tonight. We'll see.
Enjoy the games and chat about them here.