A silver lining for every NBA Playoff loser

Eight teams are down 0-1. Here's why that could change.

All Game 1s are in the books, and we’re currently on pace for an NBA-record eight first-round sweeps! Every home team won despite several high-profile injury absences, many in blowout fashion.

That said, losing by one or thirty doesn’t change the standings. Teams will make changes, and some squads will bounce back. Some won’t! But either way, there are always positive things to take away from playoff games. Here’s one for each losing team.

Phoenix Suns — They got to the rim

The Suns didn’t seem prepared for the playoff physicality of the Timberwolves despite the three wins they notched against them in the regular season. Minnesota altered their matchups (including putting Towns on Durant, as I predicted) and came out with aggression, and Phoenix couldn’t adjust in time.

One thing Phoenix can hang their hat on as they prep for Tuesday’s Game 2: they got to the rack. Only 30% of Phoenix’s field goal attempts came at the rim during the regular season, sixth-worst in the league, and Minnesota is a top-10 defense in preventing those shots in the first place. However, in Game 1, more than a third of their attempts were at the hoop. That’s a small but noteworthy difference.

Finishing, unfortunately, was the problem, as the Suns hit an unbelievably bad 43% at the rim. Minnesota’s length and help activity had a lot to do with that, but even relatively open looks wouldn’t fall:

Phoenix won’t collectively finish layups like Cam Payne again, and at least they were able to get there in the first place. Many of their other problems will be less pressing if they simply hit some of the point-blank looks they generate.

Miami Heat — The youngsters will learn

The Boston Celtics roundhouse kicked Miami in the teeth in the least surprising outcome of the weekend. The Heat, down two starters in Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier and playing their fifth game in 10 days, could not muster the firepower to compete with Boston, who came out with something to prove.

Miami will not win this series, but there is still a silver lining. Talented youngsters Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic are getting their first taste of real playoff minutes.

Jaquez felt like the only source of offense at times. 16 points on 8-of-16 shooting won’t win any efficiency awards, but he was one of the few Heat players able to get downhill against a ferocious Boston defense. He had several nice post-ups in isolation, including one against Derrick White. Perhaps more eyebrow-raisingly, he had success pushing the ball in transition and slaloming past numerous All-Defensive candidates before the Celtics could get set:

Meanwhile, Jovic held up better defensively than I would have expected. I thought we might see him on Kristaps Porzingis and Bam Adebayo on Jayson Tatum, and that happened a bit. But Jovic was stationed on small forward Jaylen Brown for much of the evening and did a credible job defending him and even Tatum on the perimeter.

Whatever the next iteration of the Heat looks like, Jaquez and Jovic will be important pieces (as players or in trades). Without the burden of expectations (those crumpled with Butler’s MCL), the young guys will continue to get major minutes and play a significant role in this series, providing a launching point for offseason development work.

Indiana Pacers — Pascal Siakam is ready

The Pacers paid a hefty price for Pascal Siakam, but they got their money’s worth in Game 1: 36 points on 15-for-25 shooting, 13 rebounds, and three stocks. It could’ve been an even bigger box score with better free-throw shooting (5-for-10 from the charity stripe).

The Bucks tried putting monstrous center Brook Lopez on Pascal Siakam, a strategy they’ve used on the former Raptor in the past. He was ready for it, nailing midrange jumpers early. Milwaukee quickly adjusted and set Khris Middleton to be his defender, and it didn’t make a difference.

The Bucks kept cycling between the two, and Siakam kept making them pay:

No one else wearing an Indy uniform showed up when the game mattered, and the Bucks’ Damian Lillard overshadowed Siakam with 35 points in the first half alone.

But Lillard won’t shoot like that again, and neither will the rest of the Pacers. As dominant as Milwaukee looked in Game 1, Indy has a clean slate in Game 2. If Siakam can play at anything close to this level again, this should be a much tougher series than it appeared on Sunday.

Dallas Mavericks — PJ Washington’s defense is legit

Weird, weird game in Los Angeles. Despite missing Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers came out and took it to Dallas, particularly in a second quarter in which the Mavs scored eight (8) points.

The best Dallas moments (outside of a not-particularly-real comeback at the end of the game) involved Washington’s defense. The trade-deadline arrival impressed on that end in the regular season, but the playoffs can be a different beast. Washington proved he was up to the task, limiting Paul George to three assists and 22 points on 8-for-20 shooting. More impressively, Washington often kept George from getting to his spots at all; George was forced to launch 12 triples, far above his norm:

It’s impossible to stop someone of George’s caliber completely, but Washington mirrored his movements well without fouling, bottling him up on several attempted drives and forcing benign swing passes.

It was a game to forget for Dallas, but people should remember Washington’s defense.

Philadelphia 76ers — The Knicks couldn’t stop the 76ers’ halfcourt offense