Donovan Mitchell continues to show why he’s a key to the Utah Jazz continuing to advance to through the NBA Playoffs. He’s played in two games in the playoffs and the top-seeded Jazz have won both of those games. Utah will look to take a commanding 3-1 lead with a win at Memphis on Monday.
Joel Embiid and the 76ers are showing the Washington Wizards no grace in these playoffs. They’ll look to close the series out on Monday night with a win. The 76ers continue to be big favorites in every game and will continue to be as long as they dominate other teams.
Every day during the NBA Playoffs, The Athletic’s NBA writers will make their picks straight up.
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Game 4 – Philadelphia 76ers (-8) at Washington Wizards
Total: 229.5
Game 3: Sixers 132, Wizards 103
Series: Sixers lead 3-0
It’s a 1-seed beating an 8-seed in the manner in which you expect. The Philadelphia 76ers are far better than whatever the Washington Wizards can muster. Russell Westbrook is trying to fight through pain in his body and Orville Redenbacher in his jersey, and he did an admirable job. Westbrook and Bradley Beal combined for 51 points in the game, but Joel Embiid scored 36 points in 28 minutes, as he just dominated everything the Wizards threw at him. Understandably, Washington is overmatched in this matchup, and there’s only so much they can do to hope to put pressure on Philadelphia. But allowing 58.6 percent from the field and 51.5 percent from deep isn’t going to accomplish that. Westbrook got another playoff triple-double, at least? That’s something!
Game 4 – Utah Jazz (-5.5) at Memphis Grizzlies
Total: 224.5
| Pick | |
|---|---|
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Ethan Strauss |
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Seth Partnow |
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Richard Deitsch |
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Sam Vecenie |
Game 3: Jazz 121, Grizzlies 111
Series: Jazz lead 2-1
Two games in this series with Donovan Mitchell playing for the Utah Jazz, two wins. The Jazz took down the Memphis Grizzlies, building a double-digit lead by jumping all over them in the first quarter of this game, then maintaining and weathering the storm the rest of the night. Mitchell led the way with 29 points for the Jazz, and Mike Conley added 27 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds against his former Grizzlies teammates. Jonas Valanciunas tried to have a big second half to counteract what Rudy Gobert was doing all night long for the Jazz. Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks tried to put up big efforts to lead Memphis to a home victory. There was just never enough momentum for the Grizzlies to take control of the game and threaten the No. 1 seed in the West. The Grizzlies got outscored by 18 points at the 3-point line and 10 points at the free throw line. That’s just too many points for the young Grizz to neutralize by taking shots within the arc.
NBA Playoffs
Where East NBA playoff field stands: Odds, rankings, what to like and what to worry about
Where West NBA playoff field stands: Odds, rankings, what to like and what to worry about
NBA predictions unplugged: Anonymous scout, coach and exec pick 2021’s first-round winners
John Hollinger picks: Early exit for LeBron and Lakers, Blazers over Nuggets and more
Scores & schedule | NBA podcasts | Complete NBA coverage
(Top photo: Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images; The Athletic may receive an affiliate commission if you open an account with BetMGM through links contained in the above article.)c
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