Good morning. What a night! Let’s basketball.
The Warriors won 73 games and were upstaged by a retirement party
Good morning. We have that and more in Thursday’s NBA newsletter.
73-9: The Warriors finished a dream (regular) season by pounding the Grizzlies at Oracle, with Steph Curry nailing 10 more threes on his way to 40 points in less than 30 minutes. Curry finished the season with 402 three-pointers; no other player has even hit 300 in a season. Golden State broke the unbreakable record and really went 73-9. Simply amazing. And, of course, it don’t mean a thing if they can’t win that ring ...
MEANWHILE, IN LOS ANGELES ... In his final NBA game, Kobe Bryant did the most Kobe Bryant thing possible: he took 50 shots (!) and put up 60 points for his adoring fans. This was so very Kobe that as the Warriors were putting the finishing touches on seventy-three and nine almost everyone in the known universe was watching a 37-year-old gunning away in a game with no impacts between two lottery teams. Here are the highlights. After the game, Kobe spoke to the crowd and finished by saying “Mamba out” and dropping the mic. (He’s selling “Mamba out” t-shirt on his website now. Of course.) There was a lot of love for Kobe from favorite teammates.
OH YEAH, AND PLAYOFFS: We also finally got closure on all the playoff races! Of course the four teams in the Nos. 3-6 spots in the East finished with the same records. Of course. The Rockets beat the Kings earlier in the evening, clinching a spot, and Dallas lost to San Antonio, meaning there was little but history at stake by the time the late games began.
Here are the first-round matchups. First, the East:
Cavaliers (1) vs. Pistons (8)
Raptors (2) vs. Pacers (8)
Heat (3) vs. Hornets (6)
Hawks (4) vs. Celtics (5)
And the West ...
Warriors (1) vs. Rockets (8)
Spurs (2) vs. Grizzlies (7)
Thunder (3) vs. Mavericks (6)
Clippers (4) vs. Blazers (5)
Here’s the full first-round schedule. Action begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday with the Pacers visiting the Raptors.
THE CAROUSEL BEGINS: The Timberwolves jettisoned Sam Mitchell and made clear they are also looking to hire a president of basketball operations. That means coaches who demand personnel oversight are in play. Hello Tom Thibodeau? Meanwhile the Wizards split with Randy Wittman. The Kings are obviously cutting ties with George Karl.
SCORES GALORE ...
MIA 88, BOS 98
TOR 103, BKN 96
ORL 103, CHA 117
DET 112, CLE 110 (OT)
ATL 98, WAS 109
PHI 105, CHI 115
SAS 96, DAL 91
SAC 81, HOU 116
IND 97, MIL 92
NOP 109, MIN 144
MEM 104, GSW 125
UTA 96, LAL 101
LAC 105, PHX 114
DEN 99, POR 107
FASCINATING: 538 looks at the players passed to least often. Willie Cauley-Stein leads the way, because of course. The Andre Drummond appearance on the list is interesting.
DANG, GRANT: James Harden can’t defend a Kings fast break, and Kings broadcaster Grant Napear wants you to know that’s totally normal. (Via r/nba)
Let’s take a breather. Happy Thursday. See you next time.
* * *
Kobe Bryant is not actually retiring
See More:
