Throughout the NBA play-offs, The National's resident NBA dudes Jonathan Raymond and Kevin Jeffers will be breaking down the key talking points of the night before, plus looking around the scope of the league. Here are our NBA Play-off takeaways.
Last night’s results
• Miami 106, Charlotte 73 | Heat win series in 7
• Golden State 118, Portland 106 | Warriors lead series 1-0
• Toronto 89, Indiana 84 | Raptors win series in 7
Wins from the 6
A 16-point fourth-quarter lead was disappearing in Game 7. The Raptors’ best player, Kyle Lowry, was barely making an impact. You could feel the Air Canada Centre crowd – Drake included – tightening up. Oh, no. It’s happening again.
But the Raptors were bailed out by, of all people, Paul George. With the clock in the final seconds and Toronto up only 3, the Pacers superstar, who had been brilliant all series while carrying the team on his back, turned the ball over for an astounding fourth time in the final quarter. Demar DeRozan – the once-second banana shooting guard who before this year was known mostly for his dunk-contest athletics – hit two subsequent free throws, his 29th and 30th points, and you could feel the Air Canada Centre collectively exhale.
Finally, the Raptors, who have been around since 1995, have won their first 7-game series. Finally, after three straight play-off berths, the Raptors are in the second round.
They have DeRozan to thank. While not all of his shots were falling – he took 32 of them – they needed pretty much all of those 30 points. He’ll be a free agent this summer, and you better believe Toronto is going to break the bank to keep him. He’s pretty much a national hero this morning.
• Related: This might be OKC's final chance together | Full play-offs coverage
Lowry (only 11 points) didn't deny the pressure in a post-game interview with ESPN: "There's no hiding it. It was one of those wins where, if we had lost this game, the season would've been a failure. It's kind of harsh to say that, but if we had lost this game, it would've been the end of the season. The pressure of the first round is off of us."
There’s still a lot of work to be done for a team that won a franchise-best 56 regular-season games. One series win was expected, even if it took 7 games. Another series win will take the team to their first ever conference finals. They’ll have to get past the much more experienced Miami Heat, who demolished the Charlotte Hornets in their own Game 7 on Sunday. Second-round berths are nothing to Dwyane Wade and his three NBA titles. Joe Johnson basically lives in the second round. Goran Dragic will run circles around Lowry if he continues to struggle. Miami should be a tougher test than Indiana.
But the Raptors can worry about that tomorrow. Today, they finally have life beyond the first round. Maybe now they can relax.
Moral victories
Few outside of Charlotte will remember this year’s Hornets, and few outside of Indiana will remember this year’s Pacers. But the NBA, more than any American league, is divided by the “haves” and “have-nots”, and smaller-market teams that out-perform expectations deserve any artificial moral victories attached to them.
The Hornets tied for the third best record in the conference and took the experienced Heat to the brink. Paul George is an absolute star, but he’s all that remains from a Pacers team that just a few years ago was among the conference elite. The Pacers pushed the Raptors to 7 games mostly thanks to him, and the team’s fans at least know they have a player to build around.
Neither franchise will be ever be a glamorous free-agent destination, but fans of both teams can rest assured they’re headed in the right direction right now. They aren’t advancing this year, but Charlotte and Indiana deserve a hand, and both teams could have even brighter days ahead.
Draymond the great
Meanwhile, the Western Conference’s top team handled the upstart Portland Trail Blazers thanks to another triple-double from Draymond Green, who in Stephen Curry’s absence is showing the world what a great all-around player he is.
It doesn’t look like Curry’s injury will deprive us of the Warriors-Spurs Western Conference Final we deserve, especially if Golden State continue to fire on all cylinders the way they have the past two games.
Green is the team’s catalyst. As long as he’s healthy, Curry can take his time recovering.
Tonight’s matches
• Atlanta at Cleveland, Game 1, 3 a.m.
• Oklahoma City at San Antonio, Game 2, 5.30am | Spurs lead 1-0
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Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Kandahar%20
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Villains
Queens of the Stone Age
Matador
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Pakistan squad
Sarfraz (c), Zaman, Imam, Masood, Azam, Malik, Asif, Sohail, Shadab, Nawaz, Ashraf, Hasan, Amir, Junaid, Shinwari and Afridi
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SPECS
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MATCH INFO
Manchester City 1 (Gundogan 56')
Shakhtar Donetsk 1 (Solomon 69')
Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
Company%20Profile
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57%20Seconds
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now