Deacs in the NBA: Playoff Edition

With the NBA playoffs beginning, I felt like it would be nice to take a quick look at which former Wake Forest players made the postseason, how they are fairing thus far, and when you can catch their next game. Jeff Teague, Chris Paul, and Al-Farouq Aminu are the only 3 Deacs in the playoffs this season. While the Pistons never really looked like a playoff team, the Heat missed the postseason by just 1 game, ending the season tied with the Bulls and losing the tiebreaker. That of course means that Ish Smith and James Johnson won’t be playing in the postseason this year.

Jeff Teague, Indiana Pacers

The Pacers finished 7th in the East this season, meaning that they have the difficult task of taking on the reigning champs, the 2 seeded Cleveland Cavilers. While Teague has gained the moniker #PlayoffTeague due to his excellent play in the playoffs, he definitely has his hands full in this one trying to defend Kyrie Irving. The Cavs currently lead the series 2-0.

Teague struggled in Game 1 of the series, shooting just 3-10 from the floor. He managed to score 15 points and add 4 assists for Indiana, who came up short and lost 109-108. He had a much better Game 2, scoring 23 points on 8-12 shooting and adding 4 assists and 4 rebounds. He struggled a bit defensively against Irving, who went off for 37 points and helped give the Cavs and 117-111 win.

Series Schedule

• Game 3 - Thursday, April 20 @ 7pm on TNT
• Game 4 - Sunday, April 23 @ 1pm on ABC
• Game 5 - Tuesday April 25 @ TBD (if necessary)
• Game 6 - Thursday April 27 @ TBD (if necessary)
• Game 7 - Saturday April 29 @ TBD (if necessary)

Chris Paul, LA Clippers

Chris Paul continues to dominate the point guard position in the NBA. The Clippers finished 4th in the West behind the 3 best teams in the league, which puts them playing the 5th seeded Jazz in the first round. The series is currently tied at 1-1.

In Game 1, Chris Paul tried to put the team on his back and carry them to a victory, finishing the game with 25 points, 11 assists, and 7 rebounds. Down 8 with just a few minutes left, Paul scored 10 straight points for the Clippers, hitting a 3 to cut the Jazz lead to just 1 point. With a few seconds remaining, he hit this clutch floater to tie the game.

Unfortunately for the Clippers, they’d lose game 1 on a Joe Johnson buzzer beater. Game 2 was more of the same from Paul (would you expect anything less from the guy they call the Point God?), as he scored 21 points on 60% shooting and added 10 assists in helping the Clippers tie the series at 1 game apiece.

Series Schedule

• Game 3 - Friday, April 21 @ 10pm on ESPN2
• Game 4 - Sunday, April 23 @ 9pm on TNT
• Game 5 - Tuesday, April 25 @ TBD
• Game 6 - Friday, April 28 @ TBD (if necessary)
• Game 7 - Sunday, April 30 @ TBD (if necessary)

Al-Farouq Aminu, Portland Trail Blazers

The Trail Blazers finished 8th in the West, which means that they have the unfortunate task of taking on the NBA’s best team, the Golden State Warriors, in the first round. This means that Aminu will likely spend most of the series with the incredibly difficult job of guarding Kevin Durant. The Warriors currently lead the series 2-0.

Aminu had a tough first game in the series, scoring no points on 0-5 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench in a 121-109 loss. Trying to defend Durant can be pretty exhausting, so that might be one reason for his struggles. He was able to bounce back in Game 2, scoring 9 points on 4-7 shooting and addding 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. This could go to support the defending Durant theory above as KD did not play in this game. Despite Aminu’s improvement, the Blazers were blown out in Game 2, 110-81

Series Schedule

• Game 3 - Saturday, April 22 @ 10:30 on ESPN
• Game 4 - Monday, April 24 @ 10:30 on TNT
• Game 5 - Wednesday, April 26 @ TBD (if necessary)
• Game 6 - Friday, April 28 @ TBD (if necessary)
• Game 7 - Sunday, April 30 @ TBD (if necessary)