Enjoy Basketball: Chris Paul shoots perfect game, Embiid-Harden duo dominate

Welcome back fellow basketball enjoyers!

Let's all be honest here, I bet many of you were splitting your time between playoff basketball and the NFL draft last night, so you may not have caught all of the action. Luckily, I'm here to save you the potential embarrassment of not knowing that the Sixers had a +34 +/- in the second half against Toronto, and plenty of other tidbits about last nights games.

Sixers clinch series with huge second half explosion

Yeah looking at that final score I can't believe this was a one point game at the half either.

It all started off so well for the Raptors. Monster second quarters from Pascal Siakam (16 pts) and Chris Boucher (11 points), as well as domination on the offensive glass kept the game close coming into halftime. But at the end of the day, they just couldn't stop the Sixers offensive onslaught. After halftime, Philadelphia shot the ball to the tune of 60/47/92 shooting splits, with four players scoring 10+ points in the half.

Leading the way for the Sixers were the usual suspects Joel Embiid, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey. Embiid finished with 30+ points and 10+ rebounds for the third time this series, and the Harden-Maxey backcourt combined to finish with a combined 47 points and and 23 (23!) assists.

Even though it was a tough way to end the season for the Raptors, they should be proud for making it this far. Many people thought this would be more of a rebuilding year for them and they exceeded all expectations. With such a young core, its only up from here.

Number to Remember: 34

The amount of points Philadelphia outscored Toronto by in the second half of game six. That +34 mark is good for the third best point differential in the second half of a playoff game since 2000.

Paul goes 14-for-14 as Suns book second round ticket

It was really just Chris Pauls world last night, and we were all living in it. The Point God headlined an all-around exciting offensive duel with his flawless shooting night as each team shot better than 50% from the field.

Phoenix found themselves down by eight at the half mostly thanks to some great offensive rebounding by New Orleans, specifically Larry Nance Jr, who finished with more offensive boards in the first half (6) than the Suns did all game (5). Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum carried the offensive load with 25 points combined by halftime.

But the second half was all Suns, specifically all Chris Paul. He scored 23 points on 10-10 shooting to close out the game, as Ingram and McCollum faltered on the other end, making just 5 for their 15 shots after the break.

I adopted the Pelicans as my team this postseason so it really sucks to see them go out so early (I probably should have known what I was getting into rooting for an eight seed). But they put up an incredible fight against this titan of a Suns squad and should be nothing but excited for the years ahead, especially when Zion gets healthy.

Number to Remember: 1

The number of players who have made 14 shots without missing in a playoff game. Chris Paul's perfect performance stands alone as the greatest 100% shooting game in postseason history. He passed both Nene and Larry McNeil, who each made 12 shots without missing.

Mavs send Jazz home with first series win in 11 years

Not gonna lie, a little disappointing that we didn't get any game sevens out of last nights games, but we at least got a couple of quality matchups, including this nail-biter in Utah.

Utah seemed the better team for most of the game but couldn't get it done when it counted despite Donovan Mitchells well-rounded performance. Mitchell was one of just two Jazz players to shoot better than 50% from the field, the other being Eric Paschall, who only attempted a single shot.

The Mavericks only needed about a quarter of quality basketball to get this one in the bag. They outscored Utah by 17 points in the third thanks to an offensive onslaught in which seven different players scored. Luka and Brunson did their usual thing with 24 points apiece, and Dorian Finney-Smith deserves a shoutout as well. The ultimate role player finished with an efficient 18,10 and 5 in a whopping 46 minutes of action.

It's a brutal loss for the Jazz, who were a Bogdanovic wide-open three away from sending the series back to Dallas for a game seven. That's not even taking into consideration the implications it has on the future of the Gobert-Mitchell duo in Utah. Rumors have been swirling around the two for months now, and its looking more likely than not that one of them will be on the way out of town this summer via trade. Until then, Jazz fans have an uneasy wait, as the fate of their teams future remains up in the air.

Number to Remember: 21

The number of total playoff wins the Jazz have had over the past five seasons, the 10th most of any team during that stretch. It's a decent amount, but a stark contrast from their 294 regular season wins over that stretch which ranks third among all teams. Utah's playoff struggles are well-documented, and their regular season dominance leaves one thinking of what could have been if they ever put it together come playoff time.

Middleton to miss second round series, possibly more

Playoff injuries suck, plain and simple, especially when they detract from a series that had the potential to be an all-time classic. Kris Middleton's knee injury was officially diagnosed as a grade 2 MCL sprain, meaning he will miss the entirety of the Bucks series against the Celtics, and possibly the conference finals if they advance.

The three-time all-star has been critical to Milwaukee's success over the past few seasons, and his absence will be impossible to miss for them, especially on the offensive end. Players like Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen and Bobby Portis will have to step up this series (and possibly beyond) for the Bucks to make another deep run in the playoffs.

Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat fined $15k each for 'obscene gesture'

Jimmy Butler and the entire Miami Heat organization find themselves in financial ruin after being fined a whopping $30,000 combined. The reason? Jimmy Butlers ... interesting ... three point celebration during the Heats 97-94 series clinching win against the Atlanta Hawks.

On the one hand, yeah its probably not a celebration the NBA wants kids seeing. But on the other hand its objectively hilarious. Honestly, the league finding this offensive enough to fine not just Butler, but the entire Miami Heat organization, makes it even funnier. Jimmy, don't let the league keep you down, celebrate how you want.

Jokic says he'll sign supermax extension

Hey Nuggets fans, its safe to come back to the newsletter because there's nothing but a bit of good news for you all today. Even though he'd just suffered a heart-wrenching first round loss to Golden State, last years MVP Nikola Jokic verbally cemented his commitment to Denver after game five, saying he'd accept a supermax contract extension from the team.

“If the offer’s on the table, of course, I’m gonna accept it because I really like the organization,” Jokić said. “I think we have something that we are building.”

The Nuggets have the chance to offer the five year extension this offseason, with the contract officially beginning in 2023-24. By it's end in 2027-28, Jokic would be making a whopping $60.9 million per season. With Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. also locked up long-term, expect Denver to a perennial contender in the West for years to come.

Nuggets season didn’t go as planned, but optimism remains. Just ask Nikola Jokic - Sam Amick (The Athletic)

Here’s who Strus, Vincent studied and how it has helped the Heat’s latest success stories - Barry Jackson (Miami Herald)

Weaving an all-time underdog tale, these Raptors believe firmly in who they are - Michael Grange (Sportsnet)

The Bulls' Offseason Needs Are Abundantly Clear - Chris Herring (Sports Illustrated)

Memphis Grizzlies @ Minnesota Timberwolves - 9:00 PM EST

Not gonna lie I don't care about the analytics, trends, or whatever when picking the winner of this one. All I know is that this series has been sick and absolutely deserves a winner-take-all game seven in Memphis. For that reason, Minnesota is going to win this game to appease the basketball gods and gives us one more game in this first round series for the ages.

If you need a real reason to think the Wolves will win, look no further than Karl-Anthony Towns. He's been much more aggressive the past two games and it's paying off big time. With Jaren Jackson Jr. consistently in foul trouble, the Grizzlies don't really have an answer for him.

Thanks for reading another edition of the enjoy basketball newsletter! We appreciate everyone who takes the time to read the whole thing and show out at our weekly twitter spaces (I had some hot takes on the Jazz this week). Hope everyone has a weekend as perfect as Chris Paul's shooting, and don't forget to keep enjoying basketball.

-Spencer Poole

Last Trivia Answer: The answer to Wednesdays trivia question is Kevin Johnson! The former Phoenix Suns guard was an integral fixture in the late 80's - early 90's Suns teams that made two conference finals and appeared in the 1993 NBA Finals.

Trivia Question: This NBA team is one of just four to have won a playoff series as an eight seed, and in the next round became one of just three teams to ever force a game seven after being down 3-0. Who were they?