Deacs in the NBA: Playoff Update

It has been a week since the last NBA update, and things did not go so well for our Deacs in that time. Teague and the Pacers failed to win a single game against the defending champions and were swept 4-0. Aminu and the Blazers, likewise, were swept by a stacked Golden State Warriors team that looks poised to take home the championship this year. That leaves Chris Paul as the only former Wake Forest player left in the playoffs, and even he finds himself in a tough situation down 3-2 and facing an elimination game on the road. I’ll just give you a brief rundown of the individual numbers for Teague and Aminu before looking at CP3’s chances of moving to the second round.

Jeff Teague, Indiana Pacers

Game 1: 15 points, 3-10 shooting, 2 rebounds, 2 assists

Game 2: 23 points, 8-12 shooting, 4 rebounds, 4 assists

Game 3: 15 points, 5-11 shooting, 3 rebounds, 7 assists

Game 4: 15 points, 6-12 shooting, 4 rebounds, 10 assists

Average: 17 points, 22-45 shooting (49%), 3.25 rebounds, 5.75 assists

Al-Farouq Aminu, Portland Trail Blazers

Game 1: 0 points, 0-5 shooting, 3 rebounds, 0 assists

Game 2: 9 points, 4-7 shooting, 7 rebounds, 1 assist

Game 3: 14 points, 6-13 shooting, 9 rebounds, 2 assists

Game 4: 25 points, 7-12 shooting, 7 rebounds, 1 assist

Average: 12 points, 17-37 shooting (46%), 6.5 rebounds, 1 assist

Chris Paul, LA Clippers

It seems like every year Chris Paul and the Clippers are playing great basketball, and then in the playoffs things just never go their way. 2 years ago they blew a 3-1 lead to Houston, last year Paul and Griffin were injured, and now Paul find himself in a similar situation with Griffin out for the rest of the playoffs after injuring his toe in Game 3. Griffin averaged 21.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game this season, so that is a huge loss for the Clippers, who don’t have much of a bench outside of Jamal Crawford. With Griffin out, Chris Paul has been spectacular, but the Clippers have dropped 2 straight to the Jazz and now trail 3-2 in the series. In Game 3, Paul dropped 34 points and added 10 assists in leading LA to a 111-106 victory.

In Game 4, Paul continued his elevated play with 28 points and 12 assists. The Clippers would still lose 98-105. Last night, the Clippers fell again, this time at home, despite Paul’s 28 points and 9 assists. With the last of the Deacons in danger of getting sent packing in the first round, Chris Paul will need to come up with something special to force a Game 7. For the Point God, that shouldn’t be a problem.