NBA Weekly Recap: April 17
With the NBA play-in games wrapping up and the playoffs officially about to begin, here is a weekly recap of what’s happened this week.
Timberwolves Celebration
After beating the Clippers in the first play-in game, the Minnesota Timberwolves had an extreme celebration that went viral.
This celebration was led by Patrick Beverley who jumped on the scorer's table alongside Anthony Edwards. Beverley then proceeded to start crying after all of this, after he had just beat his former team who traded him to secure Minnesota's first playoff berth since 2018 and only the second since 2005.
Passion is great in sports, but this looked like the Timberwolves had just won the NBA Finals. The celebration even had the TNT crew making jokes about it.
It is now going to be very interesting to see how the Timberwolves play and are treated in the playoffs because of this.
Clippers Collapse
So after all that, neither LA team made the playoffs this season.
The Clippers lost both play-in games after leading in both in the fourth quarter. They did take a huge blow in the second play-in game against the Pelicans as Paul George was out due to COVID-19 protocols.
Another year has gone by and the Clippers have failed to make any sort of noise with the duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. This is mostly due to injury, but the clock is definitely ticking for their time together.
Ben Simmons Return
Ben Simmons, who has been out the entire season with injury and due to unhappiness in Philadelphia is now being reported that he could play in the playoffs.
Simmons is expected to now start practicing with the team in the coming days as they prepare for their first round matchup versus the Boston Celtics.
This is a complete turn of events as no one expected to really see Simmons this year with his ordeal in Philadelphia. However, this can be a really great addition to Brooklyn as they are lacking what he has and that is defense.
Ice Trae Gets It Done Again
After being coined the villain of New York last season, Trae Young has been one of the most clutch players in the league.
The Hawks, who came into the tournament as the nine seed needed to win out in the play-in for any hope to make the playoffs. Young led the charge as they beat both the Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers in both single-elimination games.
It seems like when the light shines the brightest, Young is always ready for the moment. Don’t be surprised if they give the Miami Heat a run for their money.
Luka Doncic Injury
Luka Donic, who got hurt in the third quarter of the final game of the regular season, now has to sit at least the first game of their series versus the Utah Jazz and possibly even the second.
As bad as it sounds, with Doncic playing their last game they still had a shot at the three seed.
Anyway, now there is no going back and it’s a huge blow for Dallas. This finally felt like the year Doncic could have a run in the playoffs and get past the first round.
The Mavericks have to hope that the Jazz have one of their signature playoffs collapses against them if and when Doncic returns.
Patrick Lepre is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email pjl5466@psu.edu.
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