Winner: Nikola Jovic, Miami Heat
No, we did not misspell his name. Yes, there is a player by the name of Nikola Jovic in the NBA. The forward was a late first-round pick of the Heat back in 2022. While he has not shown much in his young career, the United Kingdom native came to play big time against Boston. Jovic scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in 25 minutes of action. He added nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. While Jovic did turn it over five times, his all-around game was stellar with Jimmy Butler sidelined. That bodes well for Miami moving forward in the NBA Playoffs.
Loser: Kristaps Porzingis, Boston Celtics
Porzingis played well to open the NBA Playoffs over the weekend, scoring 18 points while connecting on four three-pointers in a blowout Game 1 win over Miami. If the big man had duplicated that success on Wednesday, the Celtics would’ve taken a 2-0 series lead. It was not to be. Porzingis hit on just 1-of-9 from the field, scoring six points. The more telling stat is that Boston was minus-32 in his 30 minutes of action and plus-22 in the 18 minutes that Porzingis sat. Has he played himself out of a major role moving forward in what has quickly become a hotly-contested series?
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Winner: Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Jaylen Brown didn’t show himself to be too aggressive in Game 1 with just 12 shots. He didn’t need to be as Boston blew out Miami. That changed with the likes of secondary options such as Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis struggling on Wednesday. The wing attempted 23 shots, connecting on 13 of them. He hit on four three-pointers in a 33-point performance while adding eight rebounds. Wednesday’s loss certainly was not on Brown.
Loser: Payton Pritchard, Boston Celtics
How does a professional suit up for 20 minutes in an NBA Playoff game and attempt zero shots? That’s what Celtics fans have to be asking themselves after Wednesday’s loss. It’s also pretty astonishing given the fact that Pritchard shot 39% from three-point range during the regular season and dropped a combined 69 points in Boston’s final two games ahead of the NBA Playoffs. It’s pretty darn pathetic. And in reality, the Celtics need more from him off the bench moving forward. Heck, any type of positive impact would work.
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Winner: Tyler Herro, Miami Heat
Tyler Herro’s last four games in the NBA Playoffs heading into Wednesday’s action saw him shoot a combined 13-of-39 from the field (33%) while averaging 7.8 points per outing. Needless to say, Miami needed him to step up Wednesday with both Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier sidelined. Boy, did the former NBA Sixth Man of the Year do just that. Not only did Herro connect on six three-pointers for 24 points, but he also acted as a table-setter on offense. That included dishing out 14 of Miami’s 25 assists in the win. He was the Heat MVP for one night, and is the primary reason this series is tied at one heading to South Beach.
Loser: Boston Celtics
The. Entire. Team. Well, outside of Jaylen Brown. From head coach Joe Mazzulla to the stars and the bench. Boston is the biggest loser of the NBA Playoffs thus far. Let’s put this into perspective for a second. The team was 37-4 at home during the regular season. It won a whopping 64 games while outscoring its opponents by an average of 11.4 points per outing. These Celtics swept the regular-season series against Miami, 3-0, while winning by a combined 45 points. It won by 20 in Game 1. Jimmy freaking Butler was not playing. It did not matter. Boston laid a complete egg. It was a disaster class of a showing inside TD Garden.
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Winner: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as an NBA MVP candidate is not a fluke. The OKC Thunder as a conference title contender is not a fluke, either. Both of these points were proven big time in a blowout win over the New Orleans Pelicans to take a 2-0 series lead Wednesday night. SGA was his typically dominant self, shooting a robust 13-of-19 from the field. He scored 33 points with the Thunder finishing plus-24 in his 35 minutes of action. Elite-level defense against perimeter Pelicans options in that of Brandon Ingram and C.J. McCollum can’t go unnoticed, either.
Loser: New Orleans Pelicans bench
Before the starters were pulled with Oklahoma City boasting a 31-point lead and just over five minutes remaining, the Pelicans’ bench had done absolutely nothing. That includes the likes of Larry Nance Jr., Dyson Daniels, Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall combining for six points on 2-of-9 shooting. The four were also minus-44 when on the court. With Zion Williamson injured and Brandon Ingram not anywhere near 100%, this isn’t the type of performance head coach Willie Green was banking on from the second unit.
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Winner: Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder
This former No. 2 pick was not as aggressive as we thought he’d be in Game 1 against the Pelicans. That changed big time early and often Wednesday night. Chet Holmgren was all over the court. He dropped 20 points in the first half alone, finishing with 26 while adding seven rebounds and two rebounds. Shooting an effective 9-of-13 from the field didn’t hurt, either. Holmgren is more than up to the task for Oklahoma City.
Loser: C.J. McCollum, New Orleans Pelicans
Simply put, New Orleans has no shot of advancing past Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs if McCollum continues to play this way. The guard shot just 9-of-22 from the field, including 2-of-9 beyond the arc, in Game 1. He was not much better Wednesday night with McCollum scoring a mere 15 points while committing four turnovers. The Pelicans were also minus-27 in his 36 minutes of action. That’s laughable.
