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As recently as Tuesday night, the Brooklyn Nets looked cooked and the Bucks looked formidable. The L.A. Clippers were surging and looking like a possible title contender. And the Suns were sitting back watching it all, resting after a sweep of the Nuggets that put them in prime position to compete for a title.
NBA action, it's ... unpredictable, at least.
Kevin Durant's breathtaking performance pulled the Nets back from the brink of real danger. In a series tied 2-2 going into Tuesday, and in a game in which Brooklyn trailed by 16 at halftime, Durant played all 48 minutes and scored 49 points to go with 17 rebounds and 10 assists in a 114-108 win over the Bucks — a performance I talked about on Wednesday's Daily Delivery podcast.
Factor in that Kyrie Irving was out with an injury and James Harden went just 1-for-10 in his return from injury, and Durant's performance is right up there with the all-time great playoff efforts. Now Brooklyn is up 3-2 in the series with a chance to close it out in Milwaukee in Game 6 or at home in Game 7.
(And no, Reggie Miller, the Nets shouldn't hold Durant and Harden out of Game 6).
On Wednesday morning, ESPN reported that the Clippers' Kawhi Leonard is expected to miss Game 5 against the Jazz tonight after tweaking his knee late in a dominant Game 4 win. That would change the power dynamic of that series, giving Utah — which already has the home court edge — a massive advantage.
And then we found out Suns guard Chris Paul, perhaps the playoff MVP so far, will be out indefinitely after entering the NBA's health and safety protocols. That might not be a huge deal since the Suns don't play until next week, but if he's out for an extended period that would shift the power dynamic away from Phoenix.
If you thought at around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday — halftime of Bucks/Nets — that the favorites for the NBA title were the Bucks, Suns and Clippers, then by 8:30 a.m. Wednesday you might have shifted to the Jazz and Nets as favorites.
