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The first weekend of the 2018 NBA Playoffs has passed us, with Game 1 of every series in the books. Home teams dominated, winning six of the eight Game 1s.
Unfortunately, the first-day wasn't as entertaining as everybody expected. Two of the four Game 1s on Day 1 ended with a winning margin of more than 20 points. However, if you were to pick even one game out of Day 2, it more than made up for the lack of competitiveness on Day 1.
You expect games to be uber competitive at this time of the year in the NBA calendar. For certain teams, injuries impacted their dexterity. However, the same can't be said for the other teams. Even for the teams that were short-handed, the game wasn't even close 'cause their next go-to player did not perform up to the mark.
With all teams having played one game, we look at the five notable superstars that put up disappointing performances in the opening weekend:
#5 LaMarcus Aldridge
Stat line: 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 24 minutes
The San Antonio Spurs opened Game 1 with a small starting line-up having LaMarcus Aldridge at the center position; many believed he would want to avoid his matchup with reigning Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green.
But he didn't do too well even with his new matchup - JaVale McGee. To his credit, he was in foul trouble early on but it's not like he was producing for the Spurs on a consistent basis.
In the absence of Kawhi Leonard, Aldridge led the San Antonio Spurs all season but just like last season in the Conference Finals, he didn't show up in this Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors.
He's got to step-up, take charge and lead front the front. The Spurs are already struggling on offense and if he continues to play like he did in Game 1, this series will end in a disappointing sweep.
#4 Damian Lillard
Stat line: 18 points on 6-of-23 shooting, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals
This is one of those rare games Damian Lillard doesn't shoot too well. Eight out of ten times, he makes more than 40-45% of his attempts but not in Game 1 against the New Orleans Pelicans where he shot 26.1%. If it wasn't for the bad shooting, his box score looks decent but in his 42 minutes, he registered a team-low -7 in the +/- category.
If Lillard's struggles continue for the rest of the series, the Blazers' postseason might be short and sour. It's highly unlikely that such a performance will be repeated by him, so expect a strong bounce-back Game 2 from Lillard.
#3 Karl-Anthony Towns
Stat line: 8 points on 3-of-9 shooting, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
It was Karl-Anthony Towns' Playoffs debut but the performance was extremely disappointing.
The Minnesota Timberwolves ended up losing the game by only 3 points, a game that was decided in the final minutes of the final quarter. Imagine, what could have happened if Towns was able to be a little more assertive on either one of the ends of the floor.
The Wolves could have stolen home court, by upsetting the Houston Rockets, the team with the best record in the league.
Towns played a team-high 40 minutes and after that was only -1 in the +/- category but that's the thing. Playing so many minutes and hardly doing anything other than his double-digit rebounds, he could have easily taken control of the game by doing something spectacular in the final minutes. That would have certainly kept him off this list, even with those numbers.
As much as we expect from him, the postseason is another beast altogether, and at the end of the day, it was his debut. Expect him to bounce back from strong in Game 2 but can they win? Only time will tell.
#2 Jimmy Butler
Stat line: 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
This wasn't Jimmy Butler's playoffs debut.
He himself mentioned in the postgame press conference that he needed to guard James Harden better. On that end of the floor, there's only so much he can do. Harden is such a talent that on his day, even if Butler is having his best defensive performance, he could drop 40 and win the game.
Where the Timberwolves needed Butler more was on the offensive end. He has been their on-court and emotional leader since essentially taking over the reigns of the on-court play over the new year. And on that end of the floor, he didn't deliver. He was off on his shooting and although he did record 3 assists, it was below his season average (4.9).
Late in games, unless there's a mismatch for Towns to exploit, Butler has to take control of the offense and eventually over the course of the game, it has to result in more than 13 points.
#1 LeBron James
Stat line: 44 minutes 7-of-17 shooting (41.7%), 0-of-4 on 3s, 24 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds, and -13
This might be harsh.
He did a record a triple-double but winning is what James has made us expect from him. A triple-double can't be something to gloat about when you lose by 18 points to an inexperienced Indiana Pacers team.
Greatness is what James has made us expect from him, that's what he failed at. So much is said about his field goal percentage. Well, forget about nearing 60%, it's almost 40%. Yes, from a productivity standpoint, I agree he did all he could but he's the leader right?
From a playmaking standout, he could have done more and that's saying something when he already has 12 assists. If JR Smith is having a hot hand, he needs to make more plays for him and get him open looks. He needs to ensure a scorer like Kevin Love gets more than 8 shots for the game.
Another argument for him could be he has a miserable team around. Well, he was making his MVP case with this team, winning games in the second half of the season. So, he's done it before, he just didn't do it on Sunday afternoon.
Don't get me wrong, he didn't play badly. He just didn't play at the standard that he has made us expect from him all these years. And that's what led to him losing a Round 1 playoff game after being unbeaten for 21 games. This was also his first-ever Round 1 Game 1 loss.
Expect him to have a strong bounce-back Game 2.
