Nissan #ProJackets Basketball Report

April 27, 2017

By Wiley Ballard –

Iman Shumpert and the Cleveland Cavaliers won their 12^th straight first round playoff game to reach Eastern Conference semifinals … Derrick Favors delivered the best postseason of his NBA career in Sunday’s win over Los Angeles … Anthony Morrow and the Chicago Bulls face a must-win Game 6 tomorrow night against the Boston Celtics … All of that and more can be found in this week’s  Nissan #ProJackets Report.

After falling behind 2-1 in their first round series against the Los Angeles Clippers, Derrick Favors and the Utah Jazz knew Game 4 in Salt Lake City was paramount. The 25-year-old contributed just two points in the series’ third game and subsequently moved to the bench with the return of Rudy Gobert. Despite the demotion, “a rejuvenated Favors” turned in the best playoff game of his career with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting and six rebounds. Two nights later Utah seized control of the series with a Game 5 road win, 96-92. Favors took just three shots but added four points including two on this dunk. The Jazz look to win their first playoff series since 2010 in Froday night’s Game 6. Tip-off is at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

After missing the playoffs in each of his first seven seasons, Anthony Morrow appeared in an NBA postseason game for the second straight year on Friday night. The 31-year-old added four points in Chicago’s first loss of the series against Boston, 104-87. The sharpshooter did not appear in the Game 4 defeat on Sunday. Then in Game 5, Morrow added eight second quarter points on 3-of-5 shooting, but did not return in the second half. The Celtics outscored the Bulls 29-16 in the final period taking a 3-2 series lead with a 108-97 victory. Morrow and his teammates return home Friday night for a must-win Game 6. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Iman Shumpert and the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off the greatest second half comeback in NBA history after trailing the Indiana Pacers by 25 points last Thursday. After rallying for a 119-114 win, the Cavaliers buried their first-round opponent with a 106-102 series-clinching victory on Sunday afternoon. The win was Cleveland’s 12^th consecutive first-round victory since LeBron James returned from Miami. After not playing the series opener, Shumpert eight points and three rebounds in the final three games. Although the numbers hardly raise eyebrows, Cleveland.com‘s Bill Livingston contends “only the foolish think [Shumpert] hasn’t mattered.” Now Cleveland waits to see if they will face Toronto or Milwaukee. Game 6 between the Raptors and Bucks begins tonight at 7 p.m. ET with Toronto holding a 3-2 series lead.  

The Indiana Pacers may have been swept out of the NBA playoffs by the defending champions, but Thaddeus Young still supplied a stellar postseason performance. The first-year Pacer led his team in rebounds, steals and field goal percentage while averaging 12 points per game. In Indiana’s two home games, Young delivered a pair of double-doubles with 11 points and 14 rebounds in Game 3 and 13 points and 10 boards in Game 4. In his ninth NBA season Young averaged 11.0 points and 6.1 rebounds while making 74 regular season starts.