In the Western Conference, the No. 3 Golden State Warriors had a rhythm from 22-year-old Jordan Poole, who led the Warriors to a 16-point victory over Nikola Jokic and No. 6 Denver Nuggets. And the seventh Minnesota Timberwolves, who beat the LA Clippers No. 7 against No. 8, beat Ja Morant and second Memphis Grizzlies behind an epic 36-point playoff debut from No. 2020. 1 choice Anthony Edwards. Earlier in the afternoon, Donovan Mitchell and No. 5 seed Utah Jazz faced No. 4 Dallas Mavericks, who do not have the franchise superstar Luka Doncic, eliminated from Game 1 on Saturday morning due to left-sided discomfort. calf. There are significant concerns about Doncic’s availability for Game 2 as well, ESPN sources said. 2 About In the East, the fourth Philadelphia 76ers crushed the Toronto Raptors with the fifth seed behind the explosive performance of second-year guard Tyrese Maxey, who scored 38 points in 21 shots in the Sixers’s 20-point game. 1 victory. Our NBA experts watched it all. Here are the most important conclusions from each of the four games of Day 1 of the playoffs. More: Everything you need to know about the 16 standing teams
No. 6 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 3 Golden State Warriors
Game 1: Warriors 123, Nuggets 107: Poole’s offensive firepower continues to be valuable security in pursuit of the Warriors title For the past three years, Jordan Poole has been asking his veteran teammates about the playoffs. So when he went to the stadium on Saturday in his first career playoff game, he was as ready as he could be. And he played like that. Poole scored 30 points with 30 points on shots 9 out of 13, including 5 out of 7 out of 3, a performance that saw Poole pass Steven Curry for most of the 3 playoff debuts (Curry scored four in 2013 ). It was the second most playoff debut in Warriors history, just behind Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 35. I am playing 2:10 Jordan Poole earns 30 points in his playoff debut, leading the Warriors to a dominant victory in Game 1. Although Curry returned to the starting line-up for the first time since March 16, Poole, who averaged 18.5 points and 4 assists per game this season, remained in the starting line-up. There is no decision on when or if Poole will return to the bench, with Warriors coach Steve Kerr saying: “We will cross the bridge when we get there.” Poole’s playoff debut continues his campaign for the Sixth Man of the Year, something that has only accelerated in the last month. From March until the end of regular season, Poole shot 41.9% from 3 of 85 chips – no other player scored more than 74 – and scored 24.7 points per game, with 47% shooting and 5, 4 assists This explosion is not new to him, Kerr insists. He believes he is going back to the last play-in game last season, when Poole scored 19 points from the bench in a defeat at the end of the season by the Memphis Grizzlies. For the Warriors to return to the title race, they will need Poole to continue to rise – and fast. – Kendra Andrews
No. 5 Toronto Raptors vs. No. 4 Philadelphia 76ers
Game 1: 76ers 131, Raptors 111: Tyrese Maxey could be the key to the Sixers reaching the Eastern Conference finals In the days before the start of the first round series between the 76ers and the Raptors, the whole focus was on how James Harden would play in his first post-season with his new team. Sunday, April 17 Nets at the Celtics, 3:30 p.m. (ABC) Friday, April 22 Heat at Hawks, Game 3, 7 p.m. Bucks at Bulls, Game 3, 8:30 p.m. (ABC) Suns at Pelicans, Game 3, 9:30 p.m. All times Eastern Match 1, however, saw a different guard emerge as the star of the game: second-year star Tyrese Maxey, who finished with 38 points in 14-21 shots. And, after his last stunning performance in a season full of them, his game begs an interesting question: Is it Maxey, not Harden, who is Philadelphia’s second best player after Joel Embiid? Anyone watching this game would find it difficult to disagree otherwise. Harden played well, finishing with 22 points, five rebounds and 14 assists in 40 minutes. But he went just 2-to-10 in 2-point shots, and when he is not fouled on the edge, he still does not show offensive firepower. I am playing 0:21 James Harden bounces a sweet pass to Tyrese Maxey on the go. Maxey, however, does not have such a problem. The 6-foot-2 guard, already one of the fastest players in the NBA, has gone from compromising with one floater after another as a rookie to exploding on the edge over defenders over and over again. One reason for this? An influx of space: After shooting just 30% of 3 last season with just 1.7 attempts per game, it has more than doubled its perimeter output, scoring 42.7% in more than four attempts per game. On Saturday, Maxey made a 5-for-8 from deep – even with Toronto flooding defenders. And while there were initial concerns about how he would fare with Harden, his 10-time All-Star arrival released Maxey as a devastating slasher and scorer – for whom the Raptors had no answers in Game 1. The rest of the postseason will not be so easy for the 76ers. They will not always have three turnovers in 48 minutes. They will not always hit 50% of their 3. But they will have the speed and energy of Maxey. And if he continues to play like that, it could be him – and not Harden – who is the key to the 76ers finally reaching the Eastern Conference finals and beyond, for the first time in two decades. – Tim Bodbebs
No. 7 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies
Game 1: Wolves 130, Grizzlies 117: Memphis will not be able to cancel Minnesota’s first attack in submission The Minnesota Timberwolves lit it up in Game 1 of the first round against the Memphis Grizzlies – and we should not expect anything less. The Wolves were the NBA’s most effective attack since the New Year. In Game 1, it was an attack that even the Grizzlies – the league’s third-ranked defenders since the New Year – could not contain. The celebration of NBA75 continues with the NBA playoffs, which started on Saturday and last until June, when the league will be crowned champion for the landmark season. • The most important conclusions from Day 1 • What you need to know about all 16 playoff teams • Playoff predictions: Choices for each series • Pelton: Nets-Celtics preview in the first round Minnesota’s 130-117 victory was a showcase in the depths of the creativity of this attack. Anthony Edwards’s first step pushed him to the heart of Memphis defense, but it ended easily. It’s a slasher that will keep the Grizzlies awake at night for the next two weeks. In Game 1, he also inflicted a lot of damage from the outside – four three-pointers. This is a player who completes his game on a big stage. Anything that bothered Karl-Anthony Towns as he played in the Wolves’ play-off win on Tuesday went out early on Saturday. He shot from deep, attacked from the periphery, won the Grizzlies defense with the help and worked with his winged touch around the basket. When he hit bodies on the nail, he hit the ball on the shooters again to see well from the bow. I am playing 1:00 Karl-Anthony Towns dad and Ja Morant dad have fun on the sidelines with one minute left. The Wolves shared the ball, got quality looks at the upsets and bypassing passes, and shattered the attacking glass. They kept their cool, chose their positions and scored great shots slowly. The Grizzlies can be comforted by the fact that they lost more than a dozen shooting attempts in the area of the direct basket in Game 1, something they are unlikely to do again. But to win the series, they must figure out how to slow down the Wolves’ locomotive, because any idea that the Grizzlies could use their physical ability and lip protection to sharpen Minnesota into submission seems overly optimistic. – Kevin Arnovic
Game 1: Jazz 99, Mavericks 93: “We just didn’t have enough offensive power throughout.” It should come as no surprise that the Mavericks’ attack fell while the injured superstar Luka Doncic was wearing a hood and watching from the bench. The Mavs’ chances of reaching the first round for the first time since winning their title in 2011 are dealt a major blow if Doncic eats popcorn during the games. Dallas’s hopes for success in the playoffs depend mainly on the performance of his MVP contender, which is unlikely to happen on Monday night for Game 2, as Doncic and the Mavs medical staff try to speed healing. of the left calf of tension. Dallas coach Jason Kidd calls Doncic “day in and day out,” but the Mavs would be ecstatic if he was ready to return by the time the series moved to Salt Lake City. I am playing 0:22 Royce O’Neale tells the Dallas audience to calm down after shooting a three-pointer in the fourth quarter. The Mavs proved on Saturday in their defeat in Game 1 99-93 that they can make the Jazz play in the mud, almost making a double-digit return against a team that is particularly prone to leave them. The Utah offense was bad. Dallas prevented the NBA top attacker from getting clear 3-point glances and lobbies from big All-Star player Rudy Gobert – a big achievement that denied both guns and made All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell (32 points) in 10-of-29 shots) worked so hard to score. The problem with the Mavs, as expected, was that their attack was even worse. Doncic led the NBA in percentage use for the second consecutive season for a good reason. He is as good as anyone in the league in solving defenses, threatening to score on all three levels and top in preparing his teammates for dunk and 3s. And he is surrounded by role-players who excel at playing outside of him – but are not fit to …
