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| Shane Battier was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, including 4 of 4 of three pointers, on his way to 22 points in Game 1. |
Our View: Battier averaged a four year low with 9.3 points a game this season, but he can sill dial up his offensive game on occasion, and he often does so without taking a lot of shots like he did tonight.
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| Tracy McGrady failed to lead his team to a victory in Game 1 as he scored 20 points with six rebounds and seven assists for the Rockets. |
Our View: Down 0-1 is not where McGrady wanted to be as he is still in search of his first playoff round victory of his career.
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| Deron Williams showed no ill effects from his injured backside as he played almost 44 minutes on Saturday night as he scored 20 points with 10 assists in Game 1. |
Our View: So much for the Rockets getting a break from Williams because of injury. Williams lead the Jazz to a 1-0 lead in the series and will look to continue his 20 point, 10 assist ways moving forward.
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| Carlos Boozer scored 20 points on 10-for-20 shooting, and grabbed 16 boards in the Jazz 93-82 victory over the Rockets. |
Our View: Boozer averaged 21.1 points and 10.4 boards per game over the course of the regular season, so tonight's effort was only slightly better than what he has done all season.
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| Chris Paul had an MVP performance in Game 1 on Saturday as he scored 35 points on 15-for-23 shooting while he also dished out 10 assists in the win. For good measure he added four steals. |
Our View: Paul's skills were on full display tonight as he seemingly will the team to the win as they overcame a 12-point half-time deficit.
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| David West scored 23 points, grabbed eight boards and blocked four shots in Game 1 for the Hornets. |
Our View: West was huge this year with an average of 20 and nine, and he offered more of the same today in the pressure packed environment of the playoffs.
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| Jason Kidd scored 11 points with nine rebounds and nine assists in the Mavericks Game 1 loss to the Hornets. |
Our View: Kidd took only five shots on the night and offered a line that only a few can match in the loss. Both Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki did their thing on Saturday, but the rest of the team was basically MIA.
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| Dirk Nowitzki scored a team-high 31 points on 9-for-21 shooting, but it wasn't enough as the Mavericks fell to the Hornets in Game 1 by the score of 104-92. |
Our View: Nowitzki also added 10 boards in the game, though shockingly he played almost 42 minutes without a single assist.
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| Tony Parker, besides playing over 51 minutes, was able to score 26 points with two rebounds and five assists before fouling out in the Spurs Game 1 victory over the Suns. |
Our View: Parker did what he always seems to do, and that is to manage the game to the point that the Spurs end up winning. The numbers may not always be spectacular, but the results more often than not are.
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| Coming into the playoff, the fans of the NBA speculated that the mighty defending champion San Antonio Spurs would struggle, for their leader and catalyst on both ends of the floor, Tim Duncan, has slowed a step or two and was struggling to produce at a top level. Those questions may have been answered today as Duncan shot 16-for-24 from the floor and 7-for-12 from the charity stripe to score 40 points, also adding 15 rebounds and three blocked shots. |
Our View: Duncan needs help to get the job done in what may be the most competitive 1st-round series the NBA has seen in some time.
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| Steve Nash did his part to help the Suns in their double OT loss today, shooting 9-for-20 from the field, 3-for-8 from three-point range, and 4-for-5 from the charity stripe to finish with 25 points, also adding 13 assists to the cause. |
Our View: Nash has taken a back seat to Amare Stoudemire this season as the team's leader, but that's not to say the canuck is not in the driver's seat. He dishes, he scores, and he makes everyone around him better.
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| As proved true during the regular season, it was Amare Stoudemire doing the bulk of the work for the Phoenix Suns in their 117-115 double OT loss to the Spurs. Stoudemire shot 13-for-26 from the field and 7-for-9 from the free-throw line to score 33 points. Stoudemire also added seven rebounds and two blocked shots to the statline, raking him as the MVP for Game 1 of this exciting 1st-round series. |
Our View: What a fine all-around effort for Stoudemire who played almost 46 minutes in the game. Look for him to continue to be the lead dog in terms of point on offense for the Suns.
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| With Gilbert Arenas struggling for health throughout the season, the Washington Wizards had come to look at SF Caron Butler as their team leader. Today, Butler failed to fulfill those obligations, shooting just 5-of-10 from the field, 0-of-3 from the three-point line, and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line to finish with 14 points. Butler also added just four rebounds, four assists, and three steals in the devastating 86-93 loss. |
Our View: A slight improvement from Butler would have brought a valuable road win for the Wiz, and we know Butler has much more to give. Look for improved returns (and different results) as we move forward.
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| The Washington Wizards took the 86-93 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of their NBA Playoff series, and Antawn Jamison is going to need to change his approach if the Wiz are going to improve looking forward. The normally-reliable Jamison struggled for accuracy today, shooting just 10-of-24 from the floor and a troubling 1-of-8 from three-point range, scoring 23 points. |
Our View: On the bright side, Jamison gathered 19 total rebounds in one of the top efforts for Washington on the day, but the inability to make good on so many offensive opportunities was the difference between a win and a loss.
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| The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the NBA Playoffs with one major question: Who is going to help LeBron James? After the 86-93 win over the Washington Wizards in Game 1, it appears center Zydrunas Ilgauskas and shooting guard Delonte West are going to stpe into the role. Ilgauskas shot just 7-of-17 from the floor but went a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, scoring 22 points with a team-high 11 rebounds. Meanwhile, Delonte West shot a troubling 3-of-10 from the floor but also was perfect at the charity stripe, shooting 8-of-8 to finish with a total of 16 points, adding five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks. |
Our View: Ilgauskas is still not 100% healthy, but he's the presence down low that will give the Cavs a distinct advantage over many of the teams in the Eastern Conference. West could do much better, but his performance today made a tremendous difference in earning the win and could serve as a sign of things to come.
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| Washington PG Gilbert Arenas didn't make the start, but he definitely got his time on the floor and did what he could to influence the outcome. Arenas finished with 28 minutes, shooting 8-of-16 from the field, 4-of-5 from three-point land, and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe to score 24 points. |
Our View: Unfortunately, Arenas wasn't able to help his team avoid the loss as the Wiz fell well short on the boards and well short of stopping LeBron James.
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| LeBron James wasted no time in announcing his presence in this year's NBA playoffs, shooting 12-of-19 from the floor and 8-of-14 from the free-throw line, scoring 32 points of the 93 total points the Cavs scored to beat the Washington wizards in Game 1 of the opening series, 86-93. |
Our View: James attempted just two three-point shots (making neither) and instead concentrated on driving the lane and spending time around the basket. James added six rebounds, four assists, one steal, and two blocked shots to the stat line as well.
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| Boston forward Kevin Garnett is expected to attend and take part in practice with his team today following two days off, according to Yahoo Sports. |
Our View: Garnett was attending to family matters and was excused, but he is back in Boston and should be with the Celtics as they prepare to raid the NBA Playoffs.
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