Each of the eight teams left in the NBA playoffs has played four second-round games, and two of the four series are knotted at two games apiece. It is time now to assess the level of fear each of the remaining teams should be feeling both in their current series and going forward — ranked from least to most afraid:
The Knicks also have two games left at home in the series if they can get to a Game 7, but Miami's Jimmy Butler is on another playoff rampage, and they have no answer for his ferocity. New York's lone victory against the Heat came when Butler rested his sprained right ankle, and he has shown no sings of constraint since returning from the injury in Game 3. The Knicks are built on toughness, and Miami is simply tougher.
Whenever Butler mercifully ends another thrilling Knicks season that ended well short of the ultimate goal, New York must ask itself: Has this roster reached its ceiling with Randle as a central figure in its offense?The 76ers should be thrilled with their current standing. Boston is the better team, but James Harden has taken a pair of games from a team that forgets how focused it needs to be to finish off an opponent.
with the Houston Rockets, Embiid's sustainability in the playoffs and Doc Rivers' viability as the coach of both.The Celtics could be facing a fraught reality of their own if they suffer what would be a crushing defeat. Their path to the NBA Finals will never get easier for this group. First-year head coach Joe Mazzulla's job may be in jeopardy if he cannot solve his team's late-game woes.
That means dragging a shallow supporting cast past a deeper Denver roster. Deandre Ayton's future in Phoenix gets grimmer with each no-show. Chris Paul, the 38-year-old future Hall of Famer, is injured again. The Suns are banking on Jock Landale, Landry Shamet, Cameron Payne, Terrence Ross and more players the casual NBA fan does not know to give Booker and Durant any help, and that is a frightening thought.
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