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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015
PAGE 9
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates."
Magic Johnson on the NBA Playoffs
FACT OF THE DAY
The Eastern Conference had two teams with losing records make the playoffs.
— ESPN
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: When was the last time the San Antonio Spurs missed the playoffs?
A:1996
NBA.com
THE MORNING BREW
NBA Playoffs first-round forecast
Chris Sitek
@ChrisSitek
This year there have been plenty of headlines going into the NBA Playoffs. From the East, the Atlanta Hawks at 60-22 set franchise records in wins and had the best record in the Eastern Conference, according to landofbasketball.com.
Atlanta is the perfect blend of balance and efficiency, as it is six overall in offensive efficiency and all five starters score in double figures. But not only are the Hawks efficient, they also share the ball. They're ranked second in the NBA with a 19.7 assist ratio, according to espn.go.com.
Both the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics made the playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Celtics are 20-11 since the All-Star Break and won six-straight games to get into the playoffs as a seventh seed. Boston did this through guard Isaiah Thomas, a dynamic, fluid scorer at 16.4 points-per-game coming off the bench, according to basketball-reference.com.
The Bucks have been solid at 41-41 through their coach Jason Kidd and guard Khris Middleton, a long-range scorer with 13.4 points per game, according to espn.go.com.
On the West side, the Golden State Warriors had the best record in the NBA at 67-15, with an astounding 39-2 home record, according to basketball-reference.com. The Warriors can light up the scoreboard. They led the NBA in offensive points per game at 110 and were led by the Splash Brothers, guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Curry is considered this year's favorite for most valuable player of the year. The New Orleans Pelicans and center Anthony Davis reached the playoffs for the first time since the 2010-2011 season, according to basketball-reference.com.
offs, but in a different uniform this year with the Dallas Mavericks. Rondo, one of the best passing guards in the NBA, with 7.9 assists per game, according to espn.go.com, joined the Mavericks via trade this year after spending the entirety of his career with the Boston Celtics. And who could forget about the San Antonio Spurs making the playoffs for the 18th consecutive year?
The first-round matchups for the East are: Atlanta Hawks vs. Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors vs. Washington Wizards. I have the Hawks winning their series through a balanced set of players sweeping the Nets, 4-0. For the Cavs-Celtics matchup, I have forward Lebron James and the Cavs winning their series, 5-1 over the Celtics.
Guard Rajon Rondo made the play
In the Bulls-Bucks series, I have Chicago as a slight favorite over the Bucks winning their series 4-2, due to the emergence of Bull's guard Jimmy Butler, who has 20 points per game on the season, according to espn.go.com. For the Raptors-Wizards matchup, I have the Wizards led by guards John Wall and Bradley Beal, and forward Paul Pierce winning their series 4-3 against the Raptors. Wall is one of the best passers in the NBA at 10 assists per game, according to basketball-reference com.
The West first-round matchups are:
Golden State Warriors vs. New Orleans Pelicans, Houston Rockets vs. Dallas Mavericks, LA Clippers vs. San Antonio Spurs, and Portland Trail Blazers vs.
Memphis Grizzlies.
I have the Warriors and their high-powered offense proving too much for the Pelicans and winning their series 5-1. In a Texas-sized showdown, I have MVP candidate guard James Harden's Rockets winning their series 4-2 over the Mavs. For the Clippers-Spurs series, I have the Spurs pulling the upset, defeating the Clippers 4-2 through the core of guards
tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard, and forward Tim Duncan. Lastly, I have the Portland Trail Blazers winning their
Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers will face the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
DARREN HAUCK/ASSOCIATED PRESS
series 4-3 over the defensive-minded Grizzlies.
Edited by Samantha Darling
Sporting KC loses heartbreaker to defending champs
GRIFFIN HUGHES
@GriffinJHughes
After finishing with one win and one draw in a two-game home stand. Sporting Kansas City traveled to the StubHub Center in Los Angeles with confidence and momentum on Saturday.
Awaiting them were the Los Angeles Galaxy, the defending Major League Soccer champions. The Galaxy had taken three points from its last two matches, and it was coming off a win at home against the Seattle Sounders,
even with the absence of one of its key players, forward Robbie Keane. In the end, the Galaxy triumphed over KC 2-1 on a last-minute goal.
"They threw a lot of numbers forward there towards the end and they were trying to pick up second balls," said defender Matt Besler, according to an article on the Sporting KC website.
That energy and physicality was evidenced in the disparity between the two teams' shots on goal: six to two in favor of the Galaxy.
After rupturing his Achilles
tendon in KC's last match,
Sporting KC defender Ike
Opara will be unable to return
"They threw a lot of numbers forward there towards the end and they were trying to pick up second balls."
MATT BESLER Sporting KC defender
to match action for at least four months. In his stead, defender Kevin Ellis made
The home team started early, scoring its first goal off a rebound in the eighth minute. Midfielder Baggio Husidic had dropped to the far post of the Galaxy's goal when Stefan Ishizaki penetrated the Sporting KC defense. He fired a left foot shot low at that far post, but goalkeeper Luis Marin deflected it away. Husidic immediately identified the loose ball and buried the rebound to give the
his second start of the 2015 season in this game and he was charged with holding down the defense with Besler.
Galaxy a 1-0 lead. Sporting KC answered back 14 minutes later as forward Krisztián Németh scored his second goal in three matches off an assist from midfielder Benny Feilhaber. It was a rare goal in the run of play that was set up by forward Dom Dwyer's lateral run near the edge of the 18-yard box. He passed a quick ball to Feilhaber, who quickly deflected the pass toward Németh. Németh took his touch and buried the shot to tie the game.
The score stayed knotted
at one until the 94th minute The U.S. National Team and Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez, who had checked in in the 78th minute, scored off a corner kick from midfielder Juninho. The ball whipped into the box and deflected off a couple players. It landed at the feet of Gonzalez, who put it in the net toward the far post to give the Galaxy the 2-1 win.
Sporting KC will take on the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium in its next match next Saturday.
- Edited by Chandler Boese
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