NBA Playoff Schedule 2017

Before the playoffs began, I thought Bradley would need to average 18-20 points per game for the Boston Celtics to make a deep playoff run.

Here, Thomas puts Marcin Gortat in an uncomfortable position of having to decide whether he’s going to fight under or over the screen on a Horford 3-pointer.

This roller-coaster of a series and season between the Celtics and Wizards is heading down the final stretch.

Those three pillars of success, more than anything, allowed Boston to assert control in the first quarter and never look back in handing the Wizards a 123-101 thumping in Game 5. John Wall scored 12 points after being held to two in the opening 12 minutes. Watching Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Al Horford, and Amir Johnson hit 30-of-48 shots gets into the psyche of a player.

“We have to stay in the moment”, Isaiah Thomas said of Game 6. Guard Avery Bradley was on fire scoring 25 points for the Celtics in the first half.

Washington Wizards coach Scott Brooks gestures to his players during the second quarter against the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, in Boston, Wednesday, May 10, 2017. Who was going to outshine the other and lead their team to victory in what was casted as the most pivotal game in each of their respective careers?

LeBron James and his six NBA All-Defensive Team selections still gets left off of some “two-way player” rankings – although he is ironically often described as the best all-around player in the world. On both ends of the floor, offensively and defensively, he did it all and we need that from him.

Up 3-2 in the series, top-seeded Boston can advance to meet the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern finals with a win Friday night in Washington or Monday at home. Celtics made a history as they became the sixth team in National Basketball Association who scored 10 three pointers in six straight playoffs. He shot 63.2 percent in the game, which spoke more to the easy shots he got than the intense defense Washington played.

After Wednesday’s victory, Avery Bradley said the team was lacking Hoford’s veteran leadership during the previous two postseason runs. With the series tied at two games apiece, the victor of this game would head into Friday’s Game 6 in a good position to close out the series.

The Wizards pretty much know what they are going to get from John Wall, who has been tremendous all postseason with 28.1 points per game on 47.2 percent from the field. They’ll look to change the result of those past instances and extend their season this time around. Thomas’ standout performance came in Game 2 when he dropped a 50 point game on the Wizards including 14 in the fourth to seal the deal for the Celtics.

A Game 6 win for the Celtics in Washington would quickly surpass game 5 as their most impressive win of the post season. With the season on the line tonight, the Wizards should expect Wall to be aggressive from the start and this could be one of those special nights for the Wall Star.

The home team in each game this series has scored points easily, averaging 122.4 points per contest. The team that has tallied more fast break points is the team that has won all five games.

Thomas did chip in with 18 points and nine assists while Al Horford added 19 points, seven assists, and six rebounds.