Indiana Basketball players are still in NBA Playoff action
I hate this cliche with a passion, but I’m going to do it anyway. If someone told me a year ago that Juwan Morgan would be playing playoff minutes for an NBA team, I’d never talk basketball with them ever again. You can’t reason with the unreasonable.
But alas, Morgan has started two games and is continuing to play minutes off the bench with the return of Mike Conley. What is even wilder is that Morgan is going to have a better 2020 playoffs than Victor freaking Oladipo, who is likely about to get swept in the first round.
Let’s take a more in-depth look at how Morgan and Oladipo are doing, along with the other two former IU stars.
Juwan Morgan
Morgan didn’t start game three, but he still played 22 minutes off the bench in a convincing win for the Jazz. Morgan only took one shot the whole game and missed it, but he contributed in a variety of other ways. He recorded four rebounds, three assists, and a steal and was +23 for the game. More importantly, his team won the game by nearly 40 points and appear to be firing on all cylinders. The Nuggets aren’t dead yet, but they need to kick it into gear and fast.
Final Stats: 1 point, 4 rebounds, 3 assists +23 +/- — UTA 124, DEN 87
OG Anunoby
The Raptors are likely going to sweep the Brooklyn Nets as most people thought. The Nets are simply no match for a team as in synch on both sides of the floor as Toronto — without many of their best players, at least.
OG Anunoby played 33 minutes in the game which put the Raptors up 3-0. He scored eight points, snagged five boards, dished three assists, and had a steal. He was also +23, tied for second-highest on his team.
The Celtics will undoubtedly be meeting Toronto in the second round, and it will be far more exciting to watch Anunoby go up against a real threat.
Final Stats: 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists,1 steal — TOR 117, BRK 92
Romeo Langford
t’s just about official. The process is faulty. The Philadelphia 76ers are crashing and burning, and Romeo Langford’s Celtics are them look like fools in the first round. Boston is up 3-0 and has hardly been in any danger during the series.
Game three was the closest thing we’ve seen to a challenge given to Boston from the Sixers. In an eight-point victory, Langford played 11 minutes and had 2 points on 1-3 shooting with a -7 plus/minus. His team may be rolling, but Langford’s performance left much to be desired. He’ll likely have much more playing time in game four and get a chance to redeem himself.
Final Stats: 2 points, -7 +/- — BOS 102, PHI 94
Victor Oladipo
Oladipo had a really nice game two, and followed it up with a decent performance in game three, finishing with 20 points and four rebounds. The caveat is his team is down 3-0 and looks completely outmatch by Miami. Oladipo’s frustration got the better of him and caused him to do something very uncharacteristic. After fouling out of the game in the fourth quarter Oladipo marched off to the locker room instead of staying with his team:
Victor Oladipo bounced, left the bench to head to the locker room after fouling out with over 20 seconds left in the game. pic.twitter.com/gmSwzGDt7j
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) August 22, 2020
Not a great look from Indiana’s best NBA player. The Heat look poised to sweep the Pacers, and game four could very well be Oladipo’s last home game in the Hoosier state.