Enjoy Basketball: Defense wins championships edition

Welcome back basketball connoisseurs to another edition of the Enjoy Basketball newsletter!

Before we get into last nights games, I wanted to let you all know about a little thing we're doing on Twitter to help spread some positivity in the community. If you see anything basketball-related that embodies our message of loving the game and having fun, let us know using the hashtag #TeamEnjoyBasketball. Can't wait to see what y'all submit!

Heats defensive dominance slams door on Sixers season

Congratulations Miami on being the first team to secure a spot in the conference finals! And they did it in the most Miami way possible, by putting on an absolute defensive showcase. The Sixers had almost as many shots (87) as they had points (90) and the Heat did an especially great job guarding the superstar duo of Joel Embiid and James Harden, who combined scored a quiet 31 points.

Jimmy Butler did his usual playoff thing for the Heat, stepping up when it mattered most to deliver a smooth 32 points. And huge shout outs to PJ Tucker and Max Strus as well. Tucker was great on the offensive glass, 6-9 from the field, and played some impeccable defense while Strus continued to justify the Heats faith in him this postseason, scoring 20 points to go along with a game-high +23 +/-.

For the Sixers, it's definitely a bitter pill to swallow considering the monster season Joel Embiid had. But hey, you all still took the one seed in the east to six games with your best player missing the first half of the series and paying the second half with a broken skull. With Harden and Embiid getting a full offseason to learn to play together, the future is still bright.

Numbers to remember: 1-6

The Sixers record this season when Joel Embiid shoots 30% or less from the field, including their loss tonight. Shutting down the Cameroonian big man has always been the key to slowing down Philadelphia's offense and the Heat have figured out how to do just that. They're the only team to have held him below thirty percent shooting twice this year, winning both times.

Mavericks manhandle Suns to force game seven

Before this series, no team all season had held the Suns under 95 points.

Now in the past two weeks, the Mavericks have done it twice.

Dallas came through with a suffocating team defensive effort. They forced 22 turnovers, 15 steals, and held the Suns to under 40% shooting. Another solid game from Doncic along with some timely shooting from Bullock, Kleiber and Dinwiddie helped the Mavs pull out the win with ease. Shouts out to Frankie Smokes as well with four steals off the bench, you're still the GOAT in my book.

For Phoenix, all you can do is regroup at home in a winner-take-all game seven. Chris Paul and Devin Booker are going to have to show a lot more than they did tonight if they want to move on to the conference finals and make good on what has been one of the best seasons in franchise history so far.

Number to remember: 7

The number of years since a team had 15 or more steals while allowing 90 or less points in a playoff game before the Mavericks accomplished the feat tonight. It's a real testament to just how massive their defensive turnaround has been this season, especially to do it against a team with as much talent as the Suns.

NBA introduces new conference finals MVP awards

Just what we all need, another award for people on Twitter to argue over.

All jokes aside, I'm all for more ways for players to get recognition and this is a perfect way to honor individuals playoff success outside of just the NBA finals. And with the new award set to be given out this year, we won't have to wait long to see who can take home the inaugural trophies.

Fittingly, the awards are named after two great rivals and NBA legends, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, who combined to appear in every single NBA finals throughout the 1980s.

"The NBA Conference Finals represent the last hurdle a team must face for an opportunity to make it to the big stage, the NBA Finals," said Johnson. "I'm truly honored to have my name memorialized on the Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Trophy. This player excels on both ends of the court, makes his teammates better and leads his team to the greatest stage in basketball."

Along with the all-new awards, the NBA announced updates to the design of their pre-existing playoff trophies, such as the Larry O'Brien trophy and Bill Russell Finals MVP award.

Grizzlies Zach Kleiman named NBA Executive of the Year

At 33 years old, the Grizzlies Zach Kleiman became the youngest ever GM to win the NBA Executive of the Year award. Or, as I like to call it, the Kenny Beecham Rebuilder of the Year award. This award is a culmination of years of work for Kleiman and the entire Memphis front office staff, who have spent multiple seasons cultivating one of the youngest and deepest squads in basketball.

Kleiman's marquee decision was of course drafting Ja Morant second overall in 2019, but his work on the margins to build a great roster around him is what should really be applauded. Moves like trading for Brandon Clarke, drafting Desmond Bane and Xavier Tillman, and finding John Konchar as an undrafted free agent all helped the Grizzlies have such an incredible team, even without Morant on the court.

Hall of Famer Bob Lanier passes away at 73

A former first overall pick, eight time all-star, and NBA Hall-of-Famer, Bob Lanier was nothing less than an NBA legend. The former Detroit Piston died on Tuesday at the age of 73.

Lanier played his college basketball at St. Bonaventure, where he averaged over 27 point and 15 rebounds per game while leading the Bonnies to the 1970 final four. Thanks to his dominating college career, he was selected first overall by the Detroit Pistons. In his nine full seasons with the Pistons, Lanier made seven all-star appearances, serving as a consistent force on a team that was often in turmoil around him. He finished out his career in the early eighties with the Milwaukee Bucks, helping lead them to conference finals appearances in 1983 and 1984, retiring after the latter.

"He was one of the greatest centers to play the game and one of the toughest and fiercest competitors," said fellow Pistons great Isiah Thomas. "Just as he impacted the game on the court, Bob was one of the game’s greatest ambassadors. His class and caring for others set a great example for so many to follow. I’m grateful for his friendship and mentorship."

Rest in peace Bob, and thank you for your many contributions to the game we all love.

Trae Young’s ex-roommate is hoping for a chance with the Hawks: ‘How fun would that be?’ --- Chris Kirschner (The Athletic)

NBA Superstars on Trade Watch This Offseason -- Zach Buckley (Bleacher Report)

Luka Doncic vs. the Suns: ‘We’re Playing Chess Right Now’ -- Rohan Nadkarni (Sports Illustrated)

Victor Oladipo is finding his verve with Miami -- Mark Schindler (Basketball News)

Boston Celtics @ Milwaukee Bucks - 7:30 p.m. EST.

As much as this heavyweight showdown deserves to go to seven games, I have a feeling Celtics-Bucks is going to end tonight with Milwaukee booking their third ticket to the conference finals in four seasons.

The reason? Obviously, it's Giannis. The Celtics may have the personnel to keep the Greek Freak in check on paper, but in practice it's been a whole different story. Antetokounmpo has proven multiple times this series he has what it takes to drag the Bucks to wins, even when the offense around him isn't clicking like in game five. With a chance to finish it off at home, I see Giannis putting up yet another monster game to close things out.

Memphis Grizzlies @ Golden State Warriors - 10:00 p.m. EST.

That 39 point blowout on Wednesday night really came out of nowhere. We all knew that the Grizzlies were still a crazy talented team even without Ja Morant, and they showed it on the biggest stage yet. Golden State had no answers, especially on the offensive glass, where Steven Adams made his impact felt for the first time this series.

If the Warriors want to take game six, they'll need to run Adams and his offensive rebounding ability off the court, something they couldn't do last time out. 39 points worth of mistakes is a lot to make up in one game and because of that I think Memphis will push this thing to a game seven. That being said, I'm still taking Golden State to win this series. I think the talent disparity without Ja Morant will be too much for the Grizzlies to pull out three straight wins.

Thanks for reading another Enjoy Basketball newsletter. I wanted to take this section to thank all of you for your support because we just hit 25,000 subscribers! If you had told me three years ago when I started my sports writing journey that that many people would read my stuff every week, I wouldn't have believed you so it really means a lot.

Until next week.

-Spencer Poole

Last Trivia Answer: The answer to Wednesdays trivia question is Latrell Sprewell and Ben Gordon! Sprewell accomplished the feat in 2003 as a member of the Knicks while Gordon did it twice, once in 2006 with the Bulls and again in 2012 with the Pistons.

Trivia Question: The Grizzlies 39 point demolition of the Warriors on Wednesday night was one of the 30 largest margins of victory in NBA playoff history. The largest playoff margin of victory (since 1960) happened in the first round of the 2009 NBA playoffs. This 58 point beatdown involved which two teams?