NBA Playoffs 2022 on Sunday, 04/13/2022
The 2022 NBA Playoffs are just around the corner, but before that there are a handful of preliminary games to decide the remaining four seeds before things really get started.
While the Nets Cleveland odds invite a relatively easy win for the home side, it still won’t be a walk in the park. The New Yorkers are well-positioned with the experienced players Durant and Irving, but will at best only be able to pull off a win to measure.
At the beginning of the season, nobody would have seriously expected the Nets to have to fight for their play-off ticket via the play-in tournament. But six months later, after many setbacks and disappointments, that’s exactly what happened!
At least Brooklyn could start April with some good results and thus manoeuvre themselves into pole position. Because in the Seven-Eight-Game, a win in front of the home crowd is enough to already be able to take part in the “real” title race.
The Black and Whites should definitely succeed in this, because the bar has not been set very high with the Cavaliers. Moreover, the New Yorkers are much better than their mixed record of 43-38 would initially suggest.
The Nets are simply no longer a top favourite to win the NBA title, at the latest after the departure of James Harden. Nevertheless, the New Yorkers’ record is also so weak because one of their superstars has only played half of the games.
Kyrie Irving, in fact, was not allowed to play in home games all season because of his status as an unvaccinated player. However, this New York City ordinance was lifted on 28 March.
Since then, Brooklyn has won four of its last six NBA games at home including a landmark 118-107 win over its upcoming opponent for my Nets Cavaliers tip – under similar circumstances to boot.
Because when the Cavs went down to visiting Barclays Arena last Saturday, the conditions here were about the same as I expect them to be just 72 hours into the Seven-Eight Game.
The game took place in New York, the Cavs had to win at all costs and they fielded their best possible starting five. And yet, in the end, Kevin Durant proved to be too strong for Darius Garland and his teammates.
The Cavs generally ran the ball too seldom, Cleveland played only 19 assists (30 for Nets). Combined with a weak 8/27 three-point percentage (29.6 percent), it was ultimately too little to overcome Brooklyn.
Kevin Durant (32 points) and Kyrie Irving (18 points) were their team’s best players on Saturday, using a lot of experience and a strong final quarter (35-19) to leave Cleveland behind in the end.
That playoff experience from some key players will once again help the Black and Whites pick up the pace at the right time. However, had Irving not been “pardoned”, the duel would certainly have been a lot closer.
The Cavs finally managed to defeat the Nets 114-107 in mid-January. But on that occasion they were playing at home, while on the other side Irving was allowed to play but without the injured Kevin Durant by his side.
In a nutshell, when Kyrie Irving AND Kevin Durant play together – as they will tonight – the pendulum of playing superiority clearly swings to the side of the black and whites.
Conclusion: The qualitative difference between the two franchises, even with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant on the New York side, is not as great as some might suggest.
Accordingly, I expect the final score to be somewhere in the range of last Saturday’s clash, which New York won 118-107.
The conditions were almost exactly the same as they will be tonight. The experience of the home side will also be noticeable in the final phase of the game at the latest.
My Nets Cavaliers tip: The Nets win by at least six points!
