Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The Celtics sacked Kaseya Center, taking a 2-1 lead in the series

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The Celtics smoked the understaffed Heat at Kaseya Center, taking a 2-1 lead in the series.

The Heat was absent Jimmy Butler (knee), Delon Wright (personal reasons) and Terry Rozier (neck).

The Celtics’ defense blocked the hosts from prosperity, allowing only three points through the first six minutes and then five of 21 attempts in the first quarter. On offense, Kristaps Porziņģis blasted the zone and man coverage with a pair of trays, plus slammed a lob from Jrue Holiday in the half-court. Jaylen Brown added six points on three of eight looks.

Haywood Highsmith and Bam Adebayo were the only Heatles who made multiple field goals early. The former scored on two isolation drives to the rim. The latter hit a baseline jumper with contact and logged a putback.

Next, the Heat’s defense yielded, giving up 42 points on 65.2% shooting in the second quarter. Jayson Tatum made five freebies, two trifectas and an iso step-back jumper over Caleb Martin. Derrick White put up a dozen on two 3-pointers, a tip-in off Brown’s missed freebie plus another putback in transition and a cut through the middle for a layup. The rest of the Celtics converted seven of 10 baskets.

Tyler Herro answered for the Heat with 10 points, canning a floater and 3-pointer against Porziņģis in drop coverage and another three when KP came up closer after the screen. Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jović and Adebayo scored four more points apiece.

At halftime, the Heat was down 39-63 and was outrebounded by 12. On top of that, the squad had 12 paint points, none on the break, five via second chances, two after turnovers and six from the bench.

The Celtics had 26 interior points, two in the open court, 10 on extra tries, 19 after turnovers and 14 from the reserves.

Out of the intermission, Brown spun past Herro to the cup, beat JJJ on the baseline for a jam, downed a floater in the lane and hooked over Adebayo at close range. White further contributed four points.

For the Heat, Adebayo maneuvered on the baseline around White and Porziņģis for a layup, dunked on the break and canned a floater at the dunker spot. Herro, Jović and Jaquez followed his lead, but it wasn’t enough.

The fourth quarter began with the Heat down 61-87.

Adebayo dunked over Porziņģis to cut the deficit to 27 points and later a hook over White, slicing the disparity down to 24 with six minutes left. And JJJ and Patty Mills combined for 11 points.

The Celtics produced 17 points on 35.7% accuracy in the fourth quarter.

The Heat lost 84-104 and was beat on the glass by seven. To boot, the team had 34 paint points, six on the break, 11 via second chances, four after turnovers and 17 from the bench.

Adebayo scored 20 points on eight of 18 attempts, with nine rebounds and three assists. Jović had 15 points on 45.5% shootings, with eight rebounds and one assist. Herro put up 15 points on five of 16 looks, with two rebounds, two assists and four turnovers. And Jaquez logged a dozen, making 38.5% of his tries and picked up five rebounds, five assists and three turnovers.

The Celtics had 42 paint points, two in the open court, 17 on extra tries, 24 after turnovers and 23 from the reserves.

Brown (22), Tatum (22), Porziņģis (18) and White (16) were the Celtics’ double-digit scorers.

At the postgame presser, Spoelstra said, “Early on, I thought the process was solid. We missed some open shots and then we made mistakes on the other end.”

Adebayo said, “We just made mistake after mistake on offense. Not communicating, throwing the ball away. Turnovers that shouldn’t happen in the playoffs.”

Jović said, “Our fans deserve to see us be better.”

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This… is Culture: The Miami Heat like it this way

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Culture is defined as the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group.

 

To the Miami Heat, it means being the hardest-working, best-conditioned, most professional, unselfish, toughest, meanest, and nastiest team in the NBA.
Every season, there seems to come a point where basketball fans believe that this is overstated. And every season, at some point, the Miami Heat prove that they are indeed the hardest-working, best-conditioned, most professional, unselfish, toughest, meanest, and nastiest team in the NBA.
As if last season’s improbable run to the NBA Finals as an 8-seed didn’t prove that enough, the Heat—again as an 8-seed—must now find a way to try to replicate that run without Jimmy Butler, the man who led them through the East last season. And after an absolute beatdown in Boston in Game 1 against the Celtics, the NBA’s best regular-season team, it seemed as though the Miami Heat were undermanned and overmatched. But as Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra would say, the Miami Heat have enough.
Never one to make excuses, you had to know that Spoelstra—named one of the top-15 head coaches of all time—would have his team ready to come out and play inspired basketball. And that they did.
On Tuesday, Spoelstra spoke about the 3-point discrepancy in Game 1 and stated that they would need to be much better in that area to compete with the Celtics.
“I understand the math to it. You don’t want to lose in a certain area by 30 points,” he said. “It’s probably going to require some balance because we’re not going to bring them down to 25 [attempts], and we’re not going to shoot 50 of them. That’s not realistic.”
What the Heat did do, however, was set a franchise record for 3-pointers made in a playoff game with 23 makes from downtown, shooting 53.5% from 3 in a Game 2 win to even the series with Boston as they head back to Miami.
Tyler Herro led the 3-point barrage, shooting 6-11 from deep while also leading the team with 24 points. Caleb Martin, who was booed all night by the Celtics’ home crowd after his “hard foul” on Jayson Tatum in Game 1, also played a major role in the Heat’s shooting efforts, going 5-6 from 3-point range.
“He’s a competitor. He’s the ultimate X factor,” Spoelstra said of Caleb Martin after Game 2. “He’s the X factor of X factors.”
All five starters for Miami scored in double figures, and the Heat’s defense held Boston—the league’s best regular-season offense—to just 101 points on the Celtics’ home floor, where they were also a
league-best 37-4 this season.
Now it’s back to Miami with the series tied at one game apiece. The Miami Heat are surely still the underdogs in this series. To everyone except for them, at least. Because “culture” is not lying down because your best player is out.
Culture is going 30-11 in the second half of a season with Hassan Whiteside, Dion Waiters, and James Johnson playing major roles. Culture is the development of Haywood Highsmith and Duncan Robinson. Culture is making a run to the NBA Finals as an 8-seed. Culture is what happened on Wednesday night in Boston.
Nobody can tell you what will happen over these next few games. Not even Kendrick Perkins. But one thing is for certain. This is culture.
****
Kevin Rodriguez is a photographer, videographer and writer for Five Reasons Sports Network.

Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Michael Porter Jr. = Nuggets difference maker

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A valiant effort wasn’t enough for the Lakers to hold off the defending champions at The Crypt. Anthony Davis and LeBron James were dynamic. But the Nuggets’ fantastic four were overbearing and are now up 3-0 in a best-of-seven series.

Nikola Jokić chopped down interior protections. Jamal Murray’s jumper was on target in frames two and three. Aaron Gordon finished a dozen times in the restricted area. And Michael Porter Jr. closed the door on the hosts with 10 fourth-quarter points.

Unless the Purple and Mold transform into the ‘87 Lakers, and the Nuggets play with a tied hand behind their backs, what’s left of the matchup is a formality.

After the game, Jokić was asked about MPJ. He said his teammate is “one of the best shooters I’ve ever seen or played with… he’s capable of making big, tough shots.” Before leaving, Joker credited Porter’s mindset and his approach, too.

Porter’s glass clean up and marksmanship has been a security blanket for the outfit through three outings. He is the second-leading rebounder and his Effective Field Goal percentage is 12.3 points higher than the league average (54.7). Additionally, MPJ is putting up 20.3 points, nine rebounds, 1.3 assists and a steal per game against the Lakers in round one.

Yet, Porter is balling while going through an emotional time. His brother Jontay was expelled from the NBA for betting on games with someone else’s account. And his other brother, Coban, was sentenced to six years in prison for a drunken, fatal vehicular crash on April 19. MPJ was present in court that day, giving a character statement. He said Coban was the brother he looked up to while growing up.

Then Coban was cuffed and taken to prison at the hearing’s conclusion. As children, Michael and his brothers were best friends.

After Game 1, MPJ was asked about playing with heavy emotions in the locker room. He said, “[I] definitely tried to compartmentalize. Some bad stuff happened to my brothers, but I got 15, 16 more brothers in here. I knew I had to be here for them…”

On Friday, Porter’s nine-point flurry to close the first half helped the Nuggets reclaim its focus. In Game 2, he connected on a critical second-chance triple that tied the game with 75 seconds left. And late on Thursday, he buried the Lakers, swishing four jumpers and recording a layup off a backdoor cut.

As Lakers fans dispersed, Porter handled the on-court interview with Altitude TV. He said staying aggressive was the priority and that his jump shot was falling.

At the postgame presser, he was asked about his three assists that Gordon scored on. He said, “That’s my boy on and off the court. We definitely got a connection…you can throw the ball anywhere [and] he’s going to get it, he’s going to go up strong and dunk it.”

With Porter performing at this rate and the other pieces producing at a high level, knocking off the champs looks nearly impossible.

Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Heat upset Celtics in Game 2

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The outgunned Heat copped one of its finest wins in franchise history, splashing 13 first-half triples to stay within striking distance at halftime, and then the Celtics emerged from the break with even more suspect, three-point protection to close the game. Bam Adebayo outplayed Kristaps Porziņģis. And Tyler Herro had the top showing of his career.

The Heat was absent Jimmy Butler (knee) and Terry Rozier (neck).

Early, the visitors upped the pace, unsettling the hosts. Nikola Jović, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyler Herro each downed two trays against late closeouts.

On defense, the crew couldn’t stop Jayston Tatum in man-to-man coverage. He broke into the lane, making a layup, finished a lob on the break and hit three outside jumpers, totaling 14 of the Celtics’ 27 first-quarter points.

Through 12 minutes, the Heat led 28-27.

Afterward, Herro, Caleb Martin and Haywood Highsmith registered five 3-pointers in the second frame. Jović set up two teammates and drove left past Jaylen Brown from the top to the cup for a left-handed scoop. And Adebayo canned a fadeaway over Porziņģis in the paint and Euro-stepped into a layup on the break.

But Brown countered with the Celtics’ last 11 points to end the interval, making three 3-pointers and a layup on the break after stripping Jović in the post.

At halftime, the Heat was behind 58-61 and down on the glass by three. Additionally, the team had 10 paint points, five on the break, none via second chances, nine after turnovers and eight from the bench.

The Celtics racked up 28 interior points, 10 in the open court, six on extra tries, nine after turnovers and nine from the reserves.

Later, the hosts started the third producing on three of 13 attempts. In that span, Tatum was guarded by Adebayo for a bit, and the former didn’t attempt a shot with the latter on him. And Porziņģis kept failing on jumpers he usually makes facing closeouts or smalls on switches.

For the Heat, Herro, Martin, Highsmith and Duncan Robinson supplied six more artillery strikes in the third quarter. Adebayo cut up the baseline, dunking unchallenged, and slammed a left-side lob fed by Herro. And Martin scored an acrobatic layup on the break and zoomed by Brown for a basket through the middle.

The Heat entered the fourth quarter ahead 85-79.

Tatum was contained on two paint entries, and Porziņģis was invisible. Defensively, the Celtics deployed a weak 2-2-1 press.

Adebayo took charge the rest of the way, dribbling by Al Horford twice into the center for fall-away jumpers and making two shots off a pick-and-roll set with Herro. The rest of the Heat contributed five of 16 buckets to close the game, but it was enough.

The Heat won 111-101 and picked up one more rebound than the Celtics. Furthermore, the guests had 26 paint points, seven on the break, zero via second chances, 20 after turnovers and 20 from the bench.

Herro scored 24 points on seven of 13 attempts, with five rebounds, 14 assists, one steal and three turnovers. Adebayo logged 21 on his ledger on 69.2% accuracy, with 10 rebounds and two dimes. And Martin put up 21 points on seven of 12 looks, with two rebounds and a steal. Jović (11) and Jaquez (14) were the other double-digit scorers.

The Celtics had 46 interior points, 15 in the open court, eight on extra tries, nine after turnovers and 12 from the reserves.

Brown had 33 points on 13 of 25 shots and picked up eight rebounds, one assist, a steal, a block and three turnovers. Tatum accumulated 28 points on 50% shooting, with eight boards, three dimes and three turnovers. And Derrick White recorded 13 points on five of seven ventures, with one rebound and four assists.

Herro handled the on-court interview. He said, “We lost [badly] in Game 1, and everyone responded. That’s all you can ask for from a group of guys.”

The Heat made 23 3-pointers, a new franchise best for the Playoffs. The previous high was 20 triples in Game 1 v. the Bucks on May 22, 2021.

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The greatest rivalry in Florida: What led up to Panthers Game 1 win over Lightning

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Sunday afternoon was a successful day for the Florida Panthers in their 3-2 Game 1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

 

For historical accounts, winning their first round one opening game since 1997 is a nice addition for the record books, but with half of the current Panthers team not even being old enough to skate in 1997 ( if they were even born),  it’s an insignificant stat to them. 

 

Now, what is important for the Panthers is the early series lead, the win on home ice and obviously a great performance against their biggest adversary — the Lightning.

 

A Rivalry Brewing 

Last season, the Panthers experienced the grind it takes to reach the Stanley Cup Final. They know how grueling it is, the ups and downs and ultimately the 14 players who remain from the 2022-23 team understand just how tough it is to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup. 

 

But before they tasted victory and defeat in the playoffs, it was mostly just defeat — by hand of the Lightning.  

 

In 2020-21, the Panthers ran into the Lightning, the defending cup champions, in round one. As the higher seed and with home ice, hopes were high for the Panthers. The buzz quickly died down  as they lost both games 1 and 2 and ultimately the series in six games. Nine players still remain from that team.

 

Tampa would go on to win a second consecutive Stanley Cup. 

 

The following year was a historic one for the Panthers. They won the Presidents’ Trophy, set a franchise record for points, were the highest scoring team in the league and finally won a playoff round for the first time since 1996. 

 

A clear cup favorite, they would once again run into the Lightning — this time in the second-round. 

 

Over the course of the season, the 2021-22 Panthers team was way better than the team which lost in the first round the previous year.

 

Once again with home ice, an improved team and series win under their belt, the assumption was a better fight would be seen from the team in Sunrise…

 

Florida got swept.

 

The loss was brutal, disappointing, embarrassing, it was bad. This couldn’t happen again, so general manager Bill Zito played his hand. 

 

The Panthers didn’t retain then interim head coach Andrew Brunette, instead hiring a veteran to run the bench, Paul Maurice.

 

Matthew Tkachuk was brought in from Calgary while Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar were on their way out of town.

 

All chips were put on the table and what could have been seen as a gamble at the time, turned into a heist by Zito.

 

A season after Tampa swept them, the Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Final with a new franchise player and a new head coach behind them.

 

The apparent third playoff ‘Battle of Florida’ was brewing from the second Tkachuk hit South Florida, as he fired away in his introductory press conference with, “I hate Edmonton, but I hate Tampa more now.”

 

This season, Florida won their division again, this time in the final game of the regular season. A loss in game 82 against Toronto would have set them up with home-ice in a series against… Toronto — a team whom they beat in five games the previous postseason.

 

A matchup against the Lightning would be the reward for winning the division and the Panthers did just that, lighting up the Leafs 5-2 en route to the Atlantic title — setting up another matchup with their cross-state rivals. 

 

Florida. Tampa. Playoffs. This is what hockey fans wanted.

 

“I don’t know if they feel the same way, but I would sit here and say they are our biggest rivals,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said before Game 1.

 

Eleven players on the Panthers playoff roster were there when they got swept in 2022 and the feeling hasn’t been forgotten.

 

“We remember a couple of years ago how our season ended,” Anton Lundell told Five Reasons Sports before Game 1. “The Battle of Florida is always pretty heated and both teams want to win so bad.”

 

GAME 1

Going into Game 1, it felt like this matchup had some more buzz to it than the previous two. People around the league acknowledge that Maurice’s Panthers play hard and aggressive playoff style hockey.

 

“Previously (they) really hadn’t had a taste of (playoff) success,” Jon Cooper said pregame. “ Now they have and I’m sure they are hungry for more,” 

 

As you’d expect, when the puck dropped shortly after 12:30 p.m. local time for Game 1, Amerant Bank Arena was juiced. The fans were buzzing as the Panthers came out hot — scoring the first goal and controlling the opening 15 minutes of the game.

 

“I thought the fans here were amazing. Our fans have been so good all year.” Matthew Tkachuk said. “Coming out for the first period, I had goosebumps… they’re very passionate down here, I love playing in front of them. I had chills definitely during that first period.”

 

It was a game you’d expect from two teams of their caliber and it fit into how Florida wants and needs to play to take down the Lightning.

 

Both sides played aggressive hockey, with 116 combined hits. Players like Aleksander Barkov, who isn’t known for his physicality, led all Panthers skaters with six hits.

 

A key matchup going into the series was the Panthers penalty kill against the deadly Lightning power play. Florida has seen far too many times how Tampa’s powerplay will carry them to victory.

 

Tampa did score once on the power play, but it was too little too late as the Panthers had a two goal lead when Steven Stamkos finally got the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky with 10 seconds left in regulation. 

 

Florida did relatively well staying out of the box, only taking two penalties in the game. They had a huge kill in a tied game midway through the second period to keep things even as the game went into the third.

 

The Panthers had three power plays, capitalizing once thanks to Carter Verhaeghe’s goal just 58 seconds into the third.

 

Matthew Tkachuk had the game winner, by way of an empty net goal with 2:05 left in the game — giving the Panthers much needed breathing room as there was still plenty of time on the clock with the game then 3-1.

 

Goaltending from both sides was huge in the game. Unsurprisingly, Andrei Vasilevskiy had another big performance, keeping the game close when Florida had their spurts of domination. Sergei Bobrovsky only saw 19 shots all game, but he was peppered by the Lightning’s late barrage as the clock expired. 

 

“It seems like every game he makes a phenomenal save. You saw what he did last year in the playoffs”, Carter Verhaghe said of Bobrovsky’s performance. “He was our best player and kind of our best player all year, again. We have so much faith in him back there, he’s our backbone.”

 

Plenty Left To Go

Obviously, the win was huge for the Panthers. A home-ice advantage is only beneficial if you actually make use of it — otherwise the ball is now in the road team’s court.

 

Statistically, Florida is one game closer to winning the series than the Lightning, but it’s a best-of-seven for a reason and neither of these teams will go away until there’s no more hockey to be played.

 

Mentally, taking a 1-0 series lead at home is important. The Panthers fought themselves out of a 3-1 hole in the first-round last year against Boston, but playing from in front is always better than clawing back up from the bottom. 

 

In the playoffs, there’s no time to ponder. You have to learn, and adapt quickly and move on even faster. 

 

The Panthers showed up in Game 1 and won playing Panthers hockey. Now, they need to build on that if they want to take a 2-0 series lead into Tampa later this week. 

Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The Celtics torched the understaffed Heat in Game 1

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The hosting Celtics were up nine points within two minutes on the Heat, compelling coach Erik Spoelstra to call an emergency timeout. It didn’t get much prettier after the first frame as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown zoomed by Jaime Jaquez Jr. to the cup. Kristaps Porziņģis feasted at close and long range. And Derrick White plus Dan Houser poured in a glut of trays; while the Heat were stopped from getting into actions, misfired makable shots and failed to generate trips to the line.

The Heat was absent Jimmy Butler (knee) and Terry Rozier (neck).

But the 2-2-1 press, a stretch of stops in the 2-3 zone, and a stimulus from vintage Kevin Love cut the deficit to three points at the start of the second quarter. Yet, it was short-lived, and the Celtics converted its next 11 of 21 attempts. Gang Green’s leading man in the sequence was sharpshooter Sam Houser, who buried four jumpers.

Tatum successfully isolated Haywood Highsmith and JJJ for midrange buckets, scored on the break and made four freebies.

On the other side, Adebayo tried to drag the crew forward, logging seven of 19 field goals.

Jaquez nailed a fadeaway over White in the post, finished two layups and spun past Houser into the lane on the right side for two points.

But Tyler Herro didn’t produce. He was hounded by White and Payton Pritchard, scoring once in the first half while they were on him. And on defense, Herro was lost, giving up multiple 3-pointers.

At halftime, the Heat was below 45-60 and out-hustled on the glass by six. Additionally, the team had 24 paint points, four on the break, two via second chances, two after turnovers and 12 from the bench.

The Celtics had 16 interior points, four in the open court, eight on extra tries, 12 after turnovers and 22 from the reserves.

Later, Brown scored twice, racing by the Heatles in transition and swishing two outside jumpers. White downed two triples as well.

Yet the visitors came out of the half registering four of 12 ventures, credited to Nikola Jović, Jaquez and Adebayo. The group followed up with six straight misses as the Celtics contested perimeter shots cleanly and disrupted rim attacks.

Subsequently, the Heat supplied 14 of 19 baskets in the fourth quarter but never came closer than within 14 points. The Celtics were already in clock control, taking only six attempts in the first five minutes of the fourth.

The Heat was slaughtered 94-114 and allowed the Celtics 10 more rebounds. To boot, the squad had 44 paint points, 13 on the break, five via second chances, 17 after turnovers and 29 from the bench.

Adebayo totaled 24 points on 10 of 18 attempts, with six rebounds and three assists. Delon Wright put up 17 points on 85.7% accuracy, with one rebound, three assists and two steals. JJJ had 16 points on 16 tries and recovered four rebounds and four assists. And Herro logged 11 points, making four of 13 baskets, with four rebounds and four assists.

The Celtics had 24 interior points, six in the open court, 11 on extra tries, 18 after turnovers and 30 from the reserves.

Tatum (23), White (20), Porziņģis (18), Brown (17), Hauser (12), and Al Horford (10) were the six Celtics who scored in double digits.

At the postgame presser, Herro said the Celtics pressured the Heat on both sides. He also included that
the team didn’t “play with enough force and effort on the defensive end.”

Spoelstra said, “It’s clear, Boston controlled this game from the tip. The very first possession, offensive rebound and three. And from there, they controlled it.”

—

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‘You’re looking for that third line advantage’: Anton Lundell and company are ready for the playoffs

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Good hockey teams win games because of their stars. Great hockey teams win titles because of the guys who fly under the radar. 

 

Look at recent championship teams — what did they have? Yes, they all had elite goal scorers or Norris caliber defenseman. Great Goaltending? You bet. But what played a pivotal role for teams like Tampa, Colorado or Vegas win the Stanley Cup? Their depth. 

 

The ability to confidently and consistently roll four lines all game is a luxury that not every team has, but it’s needed if you want any hope of winning the Stanley Cup. 

 

“I think, it seems to be the deciding factor in almost any series,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said on the importance of a team’s depth in the postseason.

 

A day before the Florida Panthers were set to take the ice for Game 1 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Anton Lundell took the ice — dawning his baby blue Panthers practice jersey. 

 

Unlike the other forwards, who wear white (top six), or dark blue jerseys (fourth-line, scratches), Lundell and his third line companions  — Eetu Luostarinen and Evan Rodrigues — stood out in their bright Panthers attire. 

 

The distinctive uniform color was nothing more than a way to separate one line from another, but the variance of the jersey aligns with the role that’s bestowed upon the ones who wear it — it’s unique. 

 

The top-six on the Panthers — really on most teams — is where you expect the bulk of the offense to come from. The fourth line is where you’d like to see your grinders generate some energy, whether that’s laying a big hit or disrupting the flow of the opposition. 

 

So what’s the role of the third line?

 

On the Panthers, it’s a little bit of everything. 

 

“The elite players are elite on both sides, there’s no advantage to one or the other, they’re just great,” Maurice said. “But It’s the third line, it’s the guys that come out third. They’re going to play against the top two [lines] at some point. And then you need an advantage somewhere in your lineup. So if it’s true that the first two lines saw off, then you’re looking for that third line advantage.”

 

Anton Lundell will be playing in his third Stanley Cup Playoffs — in as many years as he’s been in the league. The 22-year-old was heavily relied on by the Panthers on their run to the Stanley Cup Final last season. 

 

“I saw last year, it was no problem to play against whoever,” Lundell told Five Reasons Sports. “I saw I’m able to play great and it felt like I played the best hockey of my life in the finals and the playoffs. 

 

A year after putting up 10 points in 21 playoff games as a 21-year-old, he will once again command the middle of the ice as the Panthers’ third-line center come Sunday’s Game 1. 

 

Alongside him will be another Finn, Eetu Luostarinen, who has basically been glued to Lundell’s wing since last year’s postseason. First-year Panther Evan Rodrigues is the other piece to Florida’s third-line puzzle.  

 

“I’m going to put a lot of pressure on those guys tomorrow morning (Game 1),” Maurice smiled. 

 

The identity of the line is almost congruent to the roles of the three who will start the playoffs on it. 

 

Lundell has often been the guy to center the top line when Panthers captain Aleksandeer Barkov is out of the lineup. Luostarinen has bounced around numerous lines and positions since joining the Panthers in the 2020-2021 season and Rodrigues has been stapled to basically every line combination in the top-nine, all of which were fairly successful.

 

Like a Swiss Army knife, the three have more tools than you originally thought you needed, but in the end, they’ll be heavily relied on.

The Panthers will look to get off on the right foot this Sunday as they begin their playoff journey against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Sunrise. 

 

Expect to see Paul Maurice roll out his third line quite frequently as they face off against their cross-state rivals. 

 

The task at hand won’t be easy, as the Panthers have yet to beat the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions (2020,2021) in the postseason, but with their experience from last year’s run to the final — it should be a different ball game in this rendition of the Battle of Florida. 

 

“We remember a couple of years ago how our season ended (by the hands of Tampa),” Lundell said. “It’s a new series, it starts from nothing, 0-0. We want to take the charge in this series.”

Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The Heat beat the Bulls in the Play-In Tournament and advance to round one vs. Celtics

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The undermanned crew held off the Bulls in the Play-In Tournament to advance to the first round against the 64-win Celtics. The high Heatles were Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr..

The Heat was absent Jimmy Butler (knee) and Terry Rozier (kneck).

Two nights earlier, the team laid a second-half egg vs. the 76ers that would have made its Playoff road much easier.

But on Friday, the Heat played unlike themselves, racing down the floor and snatching control of the first quarter on a 19-0 run supplied by Herro, Bam Adebayo, Nikola Jović, JJJ and Haywood Highsmith.

Defensively, the squad permitted six of 23 baskets in the first frame.

Then DeMar DeRozan scored a dozen points in the second quarter, pivoting past multiple defenders for a layup, dribbling through protections in transition and nailing a tray. He also blocked Herro’s floater from behind when defending a pick-and-roll set.

Coby White scored the two remaining Chicago field goals in the second in six tries. The rest of the visitors were stifled to a fruitless nine ventures.

Naturally, the Heat’s offense sunk in frame two as well, producing 13 points on 25% accuracy.

At halftime, the Heat was ahead, 47-37. The hosts also had 18 paint points, 10 on the break, six via second chances, six after turnovers and 15 from the bench.

The Bulls accumulated 10 interior points, two in the open court, four on extra tries, six after turnovers and four from the reserves.

Next, Herro came out of the break blazing for 12 points, hitting a fadeaway over Alex Caruso on the baseline, attacking the rim on a PnR play with Adebayo, splashing a transition trifecta and downing freebies. On top of that, JJJ cut from the left wing to the paint twice for dunks, and Kevin Love’s activity at close range against mismatches resulted in six filed free throws.

On the other side, Nikola Vucevic countered with a basket in the post and a pair of threes. And Ayo Dosunmu dribbled past Herro from the wing to the cup for a layup and made a corner triple.

Afterward, the Heat entered the fourth quarter up 82-60. The crew shut down Dosunmu by closing out on time to his attempted deep jumpers but allowed the rest of the Bulls 13 of 24 buckets.

Yet it didn’t count for much. The Heat’s advantage bloated to 29 points midway through the period as Love attacked Caruso in the post and swished a corner banger, plus JJJ and Herro feasted from short and long distance.

The Heat won 112-91, ending the Bulls’ season for the second straight year. The squad picked up nine more rebounds and logged 36 paint points, 20 on the break, 14 via second chances, 17 after turnovers and 42 from the bench.

Herro tallied 24 points on eight of 17 attempts, with 10 rebounds, nine assists and five turnovers. Jaquez had 21 on his scoring ledger on 50% accuracy, with five rebounds and six dimes. Kevin Love put up 16 points on two of six looks and picked up seven rebounds. And Adebayo had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists.

The Bulls had 36 interior points, seven in the open court, 11 on extra tries, 11 after turnovers and 24 from the reserves.

DeRozan notched 22 points on eight of 16 tries, with three rebounds, four assists, one steal and a block. Vucevic scored 16 points on 41.2% shooting, with 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. And White had 13 points on 31.6% accuracy and recovered two rebounds and four assists.

Herro handled the on-court interview. He said, “I tried to be as much as I could of Jimmy [Butler] tonight, just trying to make the right play, get my guys shots and not force anything.”

Regarding the Celtics matchup in round one, Adebayo said, “It’s gonna be in the mud; it’s not gonna be pretty basketball.”

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“I would rather it be me than her…”: Coban Porter, brother of Nuggets forward, sentenced to six years in prison for role in drunken fatal crash

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Coban Porter was sentenced to six years in prison for the drunken automobile accident that killed Katharina Rothman, who was a mother and injured another. He will also serve two years for a related charge that will run concurrently, plus three years parole. He was also given one day of pre-sentence confinement credit.

Porter is the brother of Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr..

Porter arrived at the Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse with a large party, and more came after. They took up the entire left side of the courtroom, all of the jury seats and a section of the back row on the right. Family members of the victim and representatives of the District Attorney’s office sat and filled out the remainder of the right side. Porter’s arresting officer, Aaron Botts, stood on the left side of the room.

Following a few cases, Porter’s was picked up from the docket at 9:12 AM MT, but Judge Ericka Englert summoned DA Austin Leighty and Porter’s attorney, Harvey Steinberg, to the bench for nine minutes for a quiet discussion.

Six family members plus Leighty spoke on behalf of Rothman. First was her mother, Connie Johnson.

“This pain and trauma have become my worst reality,” Johnson said. “I stand here before you today, but all at the same time, I am elsewhere. On Jan. 22, 2023, my life ended with my sweet, innocent daughter, Katharina Rothman.”

The DA’s office advocated for the maximum eight-year penalty.

Leighty said, “He was driving more than 50MPH in a 30MPH zone… From the videos that were submitted, the light that Ms. Rothman was going to be driving through and tried to drive through was green at the beginning of the video. The crash occurred 23 seconds into [the video]. For 23 seconds, [Porter’s] light was red.”

Then friends and family of Porter spoke for him, including his brother Michael, who wasn’t planning on talking but wanted to offer his perspective on character.

“Coban was the one who [while I was growing up], that pushed me to achieve… He was the one I looked up to, even though I’m the oldest brother. I truly don’t think I would be in the position I am [in] today as a professional basketball player if I didn’t have a brother like Coban push me every day.”

Michael continued, adding that he wished to take his brother’s place. He posted the $2,000 bond payment for his brother following the arrest.

Lisa Porter said her son is remorseful for the crash and prays for the Rothman/Johnson family. “He has pleaded with God, to help them, to do something, to bring honor to Katharina.”

Subsequently, Steinberg defended his client, saying no one had suffered more than him throughout the case. On top of that, he said, “I hate to even say this, but maybe some good can come out of this… maybe Judge, if you choose, you can fashion a sentence that allows him to try to make up for what he’s done by making this world a better place, and by deterring others for making the tragic mistake he made in his youth, instead of simply saying ‘sorry’ and having that cell slam behind him.”

Porter talked last. He said he could never make up for the wrong, but that he is sorry, wishing it was him who died instead of Rothman. He said he wants to make a difference for people who were like him, too.

Next, Porter was cuffed and taken away.

Englert approved Denver7 and 9News’ request for expanded media coverage for the sentencing hearing, despite the defense’s objection. Englert had previously denied the application of expanded media in her courtroom for the Oct. 17 arraignment date.

While the case was in the arraignment stage, Englert allowed Porter to live out of state and agreed to remove GPS tracking on him, in spite of the DA’s objections. Then, his permanent address was then listed in Denver, now Columbus, Missouri.

Steinberg had no comment after the hearing.

Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Heat lose Play-In bout in crunch time to 76ers in Philadelphia

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The Heat’s quest to upstage the hosting 76ers in the Play-In Tournament was another late failed effort after taking control of the first half.

Terry Rozier (neck) was unavailable for the Heat. The 76ers were absent De’Anthony Melton (back).

Joel Embiid attacked Bam Adebayo early, forcing two early fouls in the post and on a drive. Next, Kevin Love subbed in for him as the Heat was down six points.

Butler guarded Tyrese Maxey and dunked twice on the break after steals plus downed two freebies within the first eight minutes.

Tyler Herro matched up with former Heatle Kyle Lowry and got loose for a pair of floaters- one dribbling into the paint against Embiid and another in transition.

Yet, the host causing the most damage was Maxey. He rattled in a tray and finished twice in the paint.

Eventually, the Heat deployed its 2-3 zone, then had its 2-2-1 press, taking time off the clock, leading into the scheme. And the guests took their first lead of the night with 28 seconds left in the frame after going behind by eight points.

But in the closing moments of the first, Butler went down after being fouled by Kelly Oubre and held his right knee on the ground. Pat Riley and Alonzo Mourning uncomfortably watched from their seats, and coach Erik Spoelstra looked like he’d seen a ghost.

Butler made one of two and limped to the bench.

But he stayed on the floor to start the second quarter and the Heat was still in zone defense.

Embiid and Maxey combined for one of seven baskets and Paul Reed was the lone 76er to make multiple in the second quarter.

Butler and Herro were no better on offense, but Adebayo bailed them out, catching a lob and hitting a jumper over Embiid. Subsequently, Caleb Martin, Love and Herro each hit a triple at the end of half, closing it on a 9-2 run.

The 76ers fans booed their team as it retreated to the locker room, and the Heat led 51-39 at halftime but was down on the glass by five. The squad also had 24 paint points, 11 on the break, eight via second chances, 17 after turnovers and 21 from the bench.

The 76ers had 18 interior points, six on the break, five on extra tries, two after turnovers, and seven from the reserves.

Then the Heat had another turd quarter experience. The group converted eight of 22 baskets against man coverage and the zone and its defense was solved.

On the other side, Nicolas Batum supplied three trifectas off Philly’s bench, and Buddy Hield added seven points.

The fourth began with the Heat above 74-69, but the hosts tied it up quickly and briefly seized the lead two minutes later.

Jaime Jaquez’s dunk through the middle and Haywood Highsmith’s floater on the left were two significant late baskets.

With Butler playing as a decoy, Herro was the only dependable on-ball scoring option. The latter put up 16 points, but when the team was down three with 28 seconds left, he had his triple blocked by Batum on the right side.

Highsmith instantly fouled Maxey and the free throw formality ensued.

Embiid, Batum and Oubre united for six of 13 baskets to close the game.

The Heat lost 104-105, gave up two extra rebounds, and committed two fewer turnovers. On top of that, the crew had 46 paint points, 13 on the break, 20 via second chances, 22 after turnovers and 40 from the bench.

Herro logged 25 points on nine of 27 tries, with two rebounds, nine assists and five turnovers. Butler had 19 points on 27.8% accuracy, with four rebounds, five assists and five steals. And Jaquez tallied 15 on his scoring ledger and picked up five rebounds, two assists and a steal.

The 76ers had 42 interior points, 11 in the open court, 15 on extra tries, 16 after turnovers and 36 from the reserves.

Embiid notched 23 points on six of 17 attempts, with 15 rebounds, five assists and three turnovers. Batum had 20 points, making 58.3% of his looks, with five rebounds and a block. And Maxey scored 19 on 16 attempts, with three rebounds, six assists and three turnovers.

At the postgame presser, Spoelstra said, “When you have a double-digit lead and a three-point lead going down the stretch, we just have to figure out a way to finish those games off.”

Spoelstra said Butler’s injury would be further checked out in Miami. 

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