u/Elyx_117

Boston's fall has been attributed to its inability to pivot away from a 3-shotting focus. That piqued my interest - which remaining playoff teams are the least dependent on 3 pointers?

Based on the NBA shot dashboard, four of the bottom five 3FG frequency teams (ie the five playoff teams with the lowest proportion of 3s out of total FGs) have progressed to round two. They are the Lakers at dead last (33.6%), followed by the Twolves, Pistons and Spurs. At the other end is of course the Celtics, which literally hoisted half of their shots (52.5) from outside.

If you look here, you can see that the Wolves also lead in drive points per game (40) and points in the paint per game (57). This confirms what most of us know by eye test - in Minnesota we have a team that is tactically oriented to, and physically built for, battling in the paint. OKC and the Knicks also rank well in some of these metrics.

What's my point then? Imo you just gotta feel good, feel **safe** with a slugger like the Timberwolves. As the playoffs progress and defensive intensity increases, struggles like Boston's are bound to repeat. In those dire moments, it's your ability to get to work down low that's gonna save the day.

Anyway, no hot takes here, just wanna have some ball discussions going and maybe learn a few things. The first round was a thriller... Here's hoping the second will be even better.

A lot of the narratives today are about Boston crashing out and being a fraud. But I think it's worth mentioning an alternative view: that this is a legit outcome against a full-fledged Sixers superteam that some fucking how just managed to click literally within the last 10 days. Recall:

- Embiid was **again** out most of the season and is considered by many to be winding down for a retirement. Last 3 games: 28.7ppg 8.7rpg 7.3apg.

- The expensive PG contract was widely ridiculed and dude was even suspended for doping, never mind his injuries. And then Playoff P went from running joke to real menance in this series, with some of his best defensive showing in fucking years.

- Maxey's acension continues and is quietly primed for the franchise player hole left by Embiid. This isn't the surprise. The surprise is Edgecombie and a superstar backcourt that kinda just fell out of the sky.

My point is this - how many team as broken as the Sixers were just six months ago get to snap out of its slump this suddenly, if at all? None.

The Sixers miraculously took its final form in the nick of time and even the best teams may struggle against that kind of turnaround. The Celtics certainly have disappointed...but this defeat, against this team, isn't fraudulent at all.

And should the Sixers get knocked out of the second round, because of course Embiid is hobbling again, remember guys - for just a week in May 2026, the Sixers weren't a letdown. They were the world beaters that Philadelphia has been dreaming of for a decade.

Here's the list of playoff OREB since 2020. Hartenstein had 12 in 2024. Highest in this span is Valanciunas, 13 in 2022.

https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/most-offensive-rebound-in-a-playoff-game-since-2020

Personally I'm a strong believer of OREB as it is the main catalyst for second chance points. This is particularly crucial in the playoffs when defence is ramped up and scoring gets stagnant. Tonight the Lakers didn't win but they did score more second chance points, 13 to 6.

More broadly, OREB is just such a great expression of playoff grit, alongside (successful) iso ball. There's nothing cooler than turning a blown attack into a strong counter, right there in the enemy territory.

The top record holders here are Shaq, Duncan and Rodman.