Rebound & Rant: Real Playoffs Edition

This article is part of our Rebound & Rant series.

By now you've forgotten the joy or pain of your fantasy hoops season and can enjoy the real NBA playoffs like a normal fan. There were some crazy shots and no-calls over the past few days, so let's dive in:

Raptors versus Heat

In case you somehow missed it, here is Kyle Lowry's bomb that sent Game 1 into overtime:

But the bigger story is why is Lowry shooting so poorly? He's hit 30.6 percent of his shots through eight playoff games versus the 42.7 percent he shot during the season. And his scoring is down from 21.2 to 13.0 points per game. Yikes. It just goes to show that regular season defense is nothing compared to playoff defense; just ask the Celtics. You need multiple scorers in the playoffs, which is making Miami's pickup of Joe Johnson look really good right now. The Raptors desperately need a third scoring option beyond their All-Star backcourt.

Speaking of the Heat, fantasy-wise I am very interested to see how much trust Josh Richardson gains during these playoffs. In a prior column I recommended Rook 2 as a sneaky late-season keeper league pick-up. He's averaging 28 minutes per game during his first eight playoff games; that looks like "trust" to me. Will the Heat let free agent Loul Deng walk this summer to free up minutes for Justise Winslow (Rook 1) and Richardson? It makes sense to me.

As for Lowry, at least he's staying late working on his shot:

More of Lowry, taking shots on the main floor at ACC 90 minutes after the final buzzer pic.twitter.com/DwytqDsjhi

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) May 4, 2016

Did people really think that anyone in the East could stop LeBron James and the Cavs without major injuries striking them? Cleveland played some pretty mediocre ball in Game 1 yet walked away with a somewhat easy win.

Coach Mike Budenholzer should remind his Hawks squad that in last year's playoffs, Tristan Thompson averaged 10.8 rebounds per game. That's a pretty darn good run over 20 games. He grabbed 14 in Game 1 and I'm not sure anyone on Atlanta can stop him while also playing tight D on the Big Three. Anyone else think the Cavs will end this in four?

I have no idea how you try to stop this and have energy to rebound:

Warriors versus Trail Blazers

So, anyone still think Damian Lillard isn't an All-Star? Obviously, with a 2-0 lead, the Warriors are going to win this series, even without Stephen Curry for most of it. But you have to give Lillard and coach Terry Stotts credit for getting what was supposed to be a lottery team into Round 2. Heck, while we are at, let's give Austin Rivers some love for coming back after that brutal facial he got in Game 6 of that Round 1 series. The kid was a FORCE in that fourth quarter. Look at him during the post-game presser:

But back to this series: frankly, I'd sit Curry until Portland wins a game. I bet the Blazers sneak one in Portland; great crowd, great atmosphere at the Rose Garden (Mota what?). Lillard and C.J. McCollum will catch fire and squeak one out, but it's hard to see any scenario beyond Warriors in five.

Spurs versus Thunder

OK, let's rewatch those last 13.5 seconds of Game 1 and see if we can count the five fouls that the NBA later admitted should have been called:

And now enjoy former official Steve Javie and the ESPN video crew do an amazing job of breaking down every aspect of that play:

Holy smokes, I could never be an NBA official! But still, they blew it. What sticks out to me is why did Manu Ginobili kick it out to Patty Mills instead of shooting what looks like a somewhat open five-foot runner? Yes, Steven Adams is there. But remember, the Spurs were only down one, they have no need for a three-pointer. I get it – it's chaos in those final seconds, but Ginobili has a pretty good shot, or maybe Adams fouls and Manu wins it at the line. On second thought, the refs had clearly swallowed their whistles for those final 13.5 seconds – Ginobili would not have gotten a call. I think a younger Ginobili hits that shot and the Spurs head to OKC with a big 2-0 lead.

But that didn't happen and now we have what looks like a hyper-competitive series that probably goes seven games. And the winner's reward? The Warriors! Oh, these western conference matches are going to be delicious!

That's it for me, ballers. Enjoy the Playoffs! Oh, and did I mention that I'm the 2015-16 Champion of the prestigious RotoWire Staff NBA Keeper League? Yeah, I won: