The final week of the NBA’s regular season held a lot of excitement for multiple former Blue Devils as they look to prepare for the playoffs or capped off dominant seasons.
Jabari Parker, Milwaukee Bucks
Amidst rumors that head coach Jason Kidd will not return to Milwaukee next season after a disappointing 33-49 year, Parker helped lead the Bucks down the stretch of the season. Milwaukee fell to the Boston Celtics April 8 despite an 18-point showing from the Chicago native. He went on to post 15 points on 60 percent shooting from the field and 2-of-2 shooting from long range in Milwaukee’s final victory of the season April 10, a 109-108 overtime win against the Philadelphia 76ers. Parker’s second trey of the evening staked the Bucks to a seven-point lead with 1:34 left in the extra session, and Milwaukee held off a furious 76er rally in the closing minute. Perhaps the highlight of the game was Parker’s monster dunk on Nerlens Noel in the fourth quarter.
The Bucks lost their final road outing against the Orlando Magic April 11, with Parker scoring 17 points and pulling down three rebounds but committing two key turnovers in the final minutes of the contest. Parker posted 17 points and seven rebounds in Milwaukee’s final game of the season—a 97-92 loss to the playoff-bound Indiana Pacers. Parker—who completed his first full year in the NBA after his rookie season was cut short by an ACL tear—finished the season averaging 14.1 points per game on 49.3 percent shooting from the floor.
Justise Winslow, Miami Heat
Winslow has been an incredibly consistent rookie for the Miami Heat this season—adding tough and gritty defense to a veteran-filled roster. In the final week of the regular season, the Heat went 2-2, falling to the Magic and the Celtics on the road but defeating Orlando at home and the Pistons in Detroit. Winslow posted six points in 23 minutes of play in the loss to the Magic April 8. Two days later, the Houston native contributed five points in Miami’s 118-96 victory in the rematch against Orlando at home. He sat out the Heat’s win in Detroit with an ankle sprain, but returned to tally seven points and grab 10 rebounds in 28 minutes against Boston in the 98-88 loss. Winslow will get his first taste of the playoffs April 17, as the Heat host the Charlotte Hornets to open the first round.
Rodney Hood, Utah Jazz
After starting the month of April averaging 19.3 points per game, Hood cooled down for his final week of play this season when the Jazz needed him the most. The Meridian, Miss., native posted back-to-back 13 point performances in a 102-99 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers and a 100-84 win against the Denver Nuggets. In his final two showings of the season, Hood combined for ten points on 3-of-18 shooting from the field and 11 percent shooting from beyond the arc as Utah lost both games and fell out of the playoffs on the last day of the regular season. Hood finished the year averaging 14.5 points on 42.0 percent shooting from the floor.
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers had been on the brink of securing the top seed in the Eastern Conference for quite a while, but they could not lock it up in their first try this week. Irving put up 11 points and dished out eight assists in Cleveland’s 105-102 loss to the Chicago Bulls. The West Orange, N.J., native bounced back April 11, matching his season-high with 35 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor and a 4-of-8 showing from downtown to clinch the No. 1 seed in the East. Irving had a bit of a conflict with head coach Tyronn Lue after he was benched against the Pistons in the Cavaliers final contest of the regular season to rest before the playoffs, but the 6-foot-3 point guard will get plenty of chances to play Detroit in the Cleveland's first-round playoff series against the Pistons, which begins Sunday afternoon.
J.J. Redick, Los Angeles Clippers
Although Redick rested in two of his team’s four games this week, he seemed to hit his stride after suffering a considerable shooting slump since the beginning of April. In the Clippers’ win against the Dallas Mavericks, the Roanoke, Va., native knocked down all four of his attempted treys in his first 20-point outing since March 20. Redick shot 80 percent from the field—his third-highest shooting percentage of the season. He went on to score 11 points against the Memphis Grizzlies on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor. Los Angeles will take on the Portland Trail Blazers in the opening round of the playoffs.
Mason Plumlee, Portland Trail Blazers
Plumlee will be a major contributor when his Trail Blazers take on Redick and the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. In his penultimate contest of the regular season, the 6-foot-11 center notched his 15th double-double of the year with 15 points and 15 rebounds in Portland’s 106-105 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Plumlee scored eight points and pulled down eight rebounds in his final contest of the regular season, helping the Trail Blazers to a 107-99 win against the Nuggets in his 24 minutes of play.
Seth Curry, Sacramento Kings
Although his brother made history this week by knocking down his 400th three-pointer of the season and leading the Warriors to the best regular-season record in NBA history, Curry put together an impressive week of his own to close out the year. The Charlotte, N.C., native had back-to-back 20-point performances in wins against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Phoenix Suns, notching his first career double-double with a career-high 15 assists in the latter contest.
Curry closed out the season with a poor shooting performance in a loss to the Houston Rockets, but still scored 10 points and matched his career high with six rebounds. The Kings will not see any postseason action, but the 6-foot-2 shooting guard proved his worth in the last three weeks of the season before he could choose to opt into free agency this summer.
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