Good morning. Let’s basketball.
Good morning. Khris Middleton’s buzzer beater was so ridiculous.
That and more in Wednesday’s NBA newsletter. SUBSCRIBE!
ARE YOU KHIDDING ME? Khris Middleton nails the prayer buzzer-beating three to end all prayer buzzer-beating threes. Huge bucket, huge Bucks win. Miami did everything right, too -- Lady Luck was just a Buck this night. By the way, this is Middleton’s second buzzer-beating, game-winning three of the season.
SHAQTIN OUT: Shaq was on one Tuesday night. Here, he re-enacts a halftime acrobatic show. He also gave us one of the best Shaqtin’ A Fool episodes in memory. Thanks, Shaq!
JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF MONTA: Monta Ellis, who has been beleaguered of late, broke out for 38 in a HUGE Dallas win over San Antonio. The Spurs are still percentage points ahead of the Mavericks in the standings. But with one game left between the rivals, Dallas can do no worse than a season series tie. Meanwhile, the Mavs have a better in-division record that will be hard for the Spurs to pass with so few games left. Essentially, even if the Spurs beat the Mavs in their final meeting, they’ll need to be a game better than Dallas in the standings to be seeded above them. That’s the difference between playing the Grizzlies or the Rockets right now. And that really does matter for the Mavericks, who don’t match up with Memphis AT ALL.
And hey, here’s the updated East version too.
NOBODY’S BLUEPRINT: I wrote about how the Warriors built their team, and how they overpaid and showed remarkable impatience at several stages.
TOO MANY URKELS ON YOUR TEAM: Ricky O’Donnell on the essence of Justise Winslow, who will be in the NBA next year.
RUSSELLMANIA: The best plays of the season from Russell Westbrook.
THE MOST UPLIFTING AND EMPOWERING SENTENCE YOU WILL READ ALL DAY: A couple got engaged at Tony Allen’s charity karaoke night in Memphis.
THIS IS NOT A DRILL. YOU PREPARED FOR THIS! Pau Gasol on Sesame Street.
PROTESTS TOO MUCH: Flip Saunders, who runs and coaches a 16-54 team, wants Utah announcers who said the Wolves are tanking to be fired. Ha. Ha ha ha ha ha. (But seriously, we just need better terms.)
MEMORIES OF AL: A reminder that Al Harrington, who quietly retired last week, once lost the Knicks two games in remarkably similar, remarkably bad ways.
WHEN FRANCHISEES OWN THE MEDIA: Katie Nolan has a point.
EVERYTHING INVOLVED IN THIS IS THE WORST: A man heckles Carmelo Anthony and is disorderly, gets booted from the Garden. A Knicks exec talks to the man’s co-worker the next day. The man gets fired. The man sues the Knicks for lots of money. Eject the lot of them off of the planet.
WOO-WEE: Michael Lee on DeMarcus Cousins, who is waiting for the team around him to finally get good.
WHIMSY: Ludacris unveils what fantasies from “What’s Your Fantasy” he has actually achieved.. The Georgia Dome and White House have been warned.
Happy Wednesday. See you next time.
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