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Hope everybody had an amazing Mother’s Day celebration. You should surprise her again next weekend with the same thing.
Playoff Panic Meter (PPM)
Let’s check each series’ readings
We’re a week-plus into the second round of the NBA playoffs. Because a couple series flipped on their heads, now is the perfect time to fire up the Playoff Panic Meter (PPM) and measure the remaining four series’ tension. The PPM is measured on a scale of 1-5 appropriate emojis. Five emojis means the most panic possible.
(2) Nuggets 🏆 vs. (3) Timberwolves, series tied 2-2
Two games ago, the Wolves looked like they might upset the defending champs after stealing Games 1 and 2 in Denver. After dropping Games 3 and 4 in Minneapolis, the Wolves are now tied with the Nuggets and must win two out of three. It also turns out Jamal Murray waking up is enoug
How did we get here? Game 3 in Minnesota was devoid of energy for the Wolves. Game 4 had no good decision-making beyond Anthony Edwards. Karl-Anthony Towns couldn’t make shots. Rudy Gobert crowded the offensive spacing. And the Nuggets seemed to hit everything. They couldn’t miss at times, so now we’ve got the defending champs flexing resiliency against a Wolves team that’s never been in this position before. Remember when everyone said the Wolves figured out how to defend the Nuggets? That lasted about a week. Good times.
Where do we think this is going? My friend Myles Brown was talking about a six-game sweep by Denver after the Wolves’ Game 4 loss. Is that a thing? It is if a team loses the first two but wins the next four.
PPM for Nuggets: 🐺🐺🐺 | PPM for Wolves: 🥹🥹🥹🥹
(5) Mavericks vs. (1) Thunder, Dallas leads series 2-1
Although Luka Dončić looks like he might collapse like a Mr. Potato Head at any moment, Dallas enters tonight’s Game 4 after powering through a Game 1 loss. The Mavericks have turned matchups into defensive masterclasses as the Thunder realize their inexperience.
How did we get here? P.J. Washington has become Robert Horry? Question mark? He’s scored 56 points and made 12 3s in Dallas’ last two wins. Kyrie Irving has been great, and we’ve seen Luka battle Lu Dort pretty well, whilst feeling it physically. When things aren’t going well, the Thunder need consistent help for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Where do we think this is going? It feels like the Mavs have figured out the Thunder a bit, but OKC coach Mark Daigneault has lots of weapons to throw at Dallas. Regardless, I think this goes seven.
PPM for Mavericks: ⛈️⛈️⛈️ | PPM for Thunder: 😟😟😟😟
(2) Knicks tied vs. (6) Pacers, series tied 2-2
It was all good just a few days ago. The Knicks were surviving health issues and the Pacers’ offense well enough to take a 2-0 series lead. Then, Indiana battled back at home to even up the series. We’re seeing the Pacers’ depth come through and the Knicks’ lack thereof hurts them.
How did we get here? The biggest difference is the Knicks look pretty susceptible without OG Anunoby. Jalen Brunson was slowed enough in Games 3 and 4, so now the banged up Knicks are about to force another referendum on Tom Thibodeau’s insistence on a tight rotation. To think an improbable, 31-foot stepback 3-pointer by Andrew Nembhard at the end of Game 3 might have buried the Knicks early.
Where do we think this is going? If New York can’t get Anunoby back, Indiana could pull off the upset. This series is going seven, though.
PPM for Knicks: 😱😱😱😱 | PPM for Pacers: 😨😨😨
(1) Celtics vs. (4) Cavaliers, Boston leads series 2-1
The Cavs must prove whether they’re to be taken seriously as threats or simply had a Heat-esque moment in their surprising Game 2 win in Boston. The Celtics have blown out Cleveland in both of their wins in this series, so it looks like they’ll cruise to the conference finals.
How did we get here? While we didn’t get the full force of Boston’s offense in Game 3, the Celtics manhandled Cleveland and never really had to sweat out the result. Boston’s defense can lock down whenever.
Where do we think this is going? I can’t see this going beyond five.
PPM for Celtics: 🥱 | PPM for Cavs: 🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨
The Latest From Shams
Bronny James expected to remain in draft
Bronny James, the son of NBA superstar LeBron James, is expected to stay in the 2024 NBA Draft, league sources said.
James, who suffered a cardiac arrest last July before returning to the court for his freshman season at USC, has been fully cleared to play by the NBA’s Fitness to Play Panel and will participate in all pre-draft activities, beginning with the NBA Draft Combine this week. The 19-year-old guard had declared for the draft last month while maintaining his college eligibility and entering the transfer portal for further flexibility.
Lotta Lotto Results!
Atlanta won the lottery, so what’s next?
Imagine having a three percent chance of winning the lottery – except, once you do win it, the prize is a Blu-ray copy of the movie “Bloodsport,” with all kinds of extra features you’ve never seen nor truly wanted before. Sure, it’s a cool prize and you’re happy to have it rather than not. It isn’t exactly the generational wealth you were hoping for, but it’s a new DVD!
That’s what the Hawks experienced by winning the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery. By moving up from having the 10th-best odds to picking first overall, Atlanta gets to set the tone for June’s draft.
The problem? Well, teams don’t have a Victor Wembanyama to fawn over. Instead, the Hawks will pick between a bunch of intriguing ideas, rather than a sure-fire way to fix the team. You must immediately check out Sam Vecenie’s mock draft. He has the Hawks taking French big man Alex Sarr first overall. Everything after that is very confusing.
Atlanta is already trying to figure out if it will overhaul a talented but disappointing and underperforming roster. Dejounte Murray could be on the move. Plenty have wondered if the Hawks and Trae Young might need to part ways at some point. This might be the weirdest time to have won the lottery. As a reminder, though: That Blu-ray copy might have some cool features to kill time. It’s not all bad.
More Draft Lottery Fallout
Who else was impacted?
The Hawks weren’t the only team impacted by the lottery’s surprising results. Two teams dramatically moved up (and only one benefitted). Four squads in the lottery lost their picks as results flowed in. With a little over a month before the draft, let’s dive into more lottery fallout:
- Poor Detroit: For the third straight year, the Pistons will pick fifth in the draft. It was one thing for them to have the third-worst record and select fifth in 2022, but they’ve had the NBA’s worst record in the last two seasons and still got fifth again. This isn’t as bad as missing out on Wemby, though.
- All that tanking for nothing: The Raptors lost 21 of their final 24 games and just so happened to have a top-six protected pick. Then, the Nets and Hawks moved up, bumping them down to eighth. Toronto’s pick goes to San Antonio due to the Jakob Poeltl trade.
- Houston loses but gains: Houston didn’t move up with its pick (12th), which sent it to OKC (thank you, Russell Westbrook deal). However, the James Harden trade meant Brooklyn winning the third pick in the draft actually goes to Houston.
Bounce Passes
It’s been 10 years since Kevin Durant called his mom “the real MVP.”
Screen Game (All times Eastern)
- The Big One: Thunder-Mavs (9:30 p.m. TNT). It’s not entirely a must-win for OKC, but it’s pretty close.
- The Big One for Boston: Celtics-Cavs (7 p.m. TNT). Boston can start to put Cleveland away. The full schedule here.
(Top photo: David Berding / Getty Images )