Winner: Jarrett Allen, Cleveland Cavaliers
Allen dominated Game 1 of this playoff series, grabbing 18 total rebounds in a 14-point win over Orlando. The Magic just had no answer for his rebounding ability. That came to fruition again during the NBA Playoffs on Monday. Allen grabbed another 19 boards, including nine on the offensive glass. This gave the Cavaliers more opportunities on a night that Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland struggled shooting (combined 14-of-33 from the field). It also has Cleveland in the driver’s seat with a 2-0 series lead.
Loser: Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic
Despite finishing the regular season with a surprising 47-35 record, the Magic don’t have a ton of margin for error. That’s why others need to step up behind star forward Paolo Banchero. It did not happen Monday night in Cleveland. Wagner shot a mere 5-of-17 from the field, including 3-of-13 from inside the three-point line. He also committed a whopping six turnovers. That’s just not going to cut it.
Winner: Josh Hart, New York Knicks
Say what you want about Jalen Brunson. But Josh Hart is really the glue that keeps the Knicks together. He proved that to open the NBA Playoffs on Saturday, dropping 22 points while grabbing 13 rebounds as New York took out Philadelphia. Hart was back at it again Monday night with another dynamic all-around performance. The wing scored another 21 points on 4-of-7 shooting from distance. He added 15 rebounds, two steals and two blocks in a tremendous outing. Did we mention that Hart played all 48 minutes in the three-point win? Simply insane stuff.
Loser: Kelly Oubre, Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia needs someone to step up outside of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey if the team is going to make this a series against New York. We did not see that in Game 2 Monday night. Oubre followed up a 3-of-7 shooting performance in the opener by completely disappearing. He shot just 2-of-7 from the field while scoring four points. The wing did not attempt a single three-point shot in the game. That’s just not going to cut it. At. All.
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Winner: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
It goes without saying that Joel Embiid is not anywhere near 100% after just recently returning from a torn meniscus in his knee. That came out big time as Philadelphia dropped Game 1 to open the NBA Playoffs on Saturday. Embiid shot just 8-of-22 from the field in that loss while dealing with more injury issues. While the 76ers were not able to even the series against New York on Monday, Embiid came to play big time. The reigning MVP scored 34 points on 12-of-29 shooting. He added 10 rebounds and six assists in 39 minutes of action. He did his part in this one.
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Loser: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Volume shooter. That’s what the Philadelphia 76ers have made Brunson through the first two games of the NBA Playoffs. The MVP candidate shot a mere 8-of-26 in Game 1. He was not too much better Monday night. Despite hitting a big three late in the fourth quarter, Brunson shot just 8-of-29. That included connecting on the one aforementioned three. Through the first two games of this series, the guard is shooting 29% from the field. New York needs more from its best player moving forward. That’s as clear as day.
Winner: Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
Murray headed down the stretch of Monday night’s game having shot a mere 7-of-22 from the field. Denver’s star point guard simply didn’t have the shooting touch. That’s when it all changed. With the Nuggets down 99-97, Murray connected on a 19-foot stepback to tie the game up with 30 seconds remaining. After LeBron James missed a three-pointer, Murray took on Anthony Davis near the right baseline. Falling down, he hit a fadeaway buzzer beater to send Denver to a 101-99 win and a 2-0 series lead to open the playoffs. Simply sensational stuff.
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Loser: Los Angeles Lakers bench
This is going to be a continued issue for the Lakers. They simply lack the depth necessary to compete with Denver’s second group. This came out in droves as the Lakers lost to their Western Conference rivals for a 10th consecutive time. Los Angeles’ bench scored a combined six points in 53 minutes of action. Jaxson Hayes, Spencer Dinwiddie and Gabe Vincent all went scoreless. If any one of them had even dropped a couple buckets, the Lakers wouldn’t be looking at a 2-0 series deficit.
Winner: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
We flirted with going Anthony Davis or LeBron James here. Both came to play big time for the Lakers. However, it really is hard to ignore Jokic putting up a 20-rebound triple-double. Just insane stuff from the potential NBA MVP. All said, The Joker shot a solid 9-of-16 from the field. He scored 27 points and dished out 10 assists. It’s not a coincidence that Denver was positive points with Jokic on the court. He really is a problem for the Lakers. That’s about as obvious as it gets after what we saw Monday night.
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Loser: Rui Hachimura, Los Angeles Lakers
James, Davis and D’Angelo Russell combined for 81 of the Lakers’ 99 points in Monday’s two-point loss to the Nuggets. If anyone else had stepped up to provide anything of substance, the Lakers would’ve come out on top. Instead, it did not happen. After scoring just seven points in the opener against Denver, Hachimura shot 1-of-7 from the field. He scored just three points without a single assist. The Lakers were outscored by seven points in his 38 minutes of action. Ouch!
