Jayson Tatum has accomplished plenty of incredible things throughout his basketball career.
But coming back from an Achilles tear in 298 days? That might be at the top of the list.
Today’s Lineup
🍀 Tatum’s Return
The C’s star makes his season debut!
💪 Coast to Coast
Luka leads LA to a win over NY.
📈 Enjoy Stock Market
RJ Barrett, the wild West, and a tight award race.
🎉 Happy birthday Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Adonal Foyle! 🎉
Game Recaps
Tatum helps Boston to 2-0 weekend in return from Achilles tear
A decade ago, we wondered if players would ever return to form after tearing their Achilles. Now, we wonder how soon they’ll return.
Over the weekend, Jayson Tatum made his highly anticipated return for the Celtics, helping Boston to a pair of wins in his first action since last year’s playoffs. On Friday, Tatum recorded a solid all-around effort with 15 PTS, 12 REB, and 7 AST in a 120-100 win over Dallas. Then, on Sunday, he kept his ramp-up going with 20 PTS in a 109-98 dub over the Cavs (despite some downright silly assists from James Harden.) Jaylen Brown also led the Celtics in scoring in both games, notching 23+ on both nights.
Boston hasn’t just stayed afloat in their star wing’s absence— they’ve made waves. The C’s currently sit second in the East with a record of 43-21, with banner seasons from Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard helping the team maintain its elite status. Now, with Tatum back in the fold, Boston is one of the frontrunners to win the conference in a season many thought they’d fold. What’s not to Enjoy?
🏀 🏀 🏀
Luka drops 35 to lead LeBron-less Lakers over Knicks 110-97
In a battle between the two largest American cities, an international hooper led the way.
On Sunday, Luka Doncic dropped another gem in his All-NBA First team caliber campaign, racking up 35 PTS and 8 REB in the Lakers’ home win over the Knicks. LeBron missed the game due to injury, forcing LA back to many of the schemes it used during James’ early-season absence, including mashing the Austin Reaves button— AR added 25 PTS as LA won its 39th game, tying Denver for the fifth spot out West.
New York got 25 from KAT and 24 from Jalen Brunson, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter as part of a sizable Knicks run. NY cut a 23-point deficit to 10 after the Lakers scored just one basket in 6 ½ minutes, but timely threes from Luka and deadline acquisition Luke Kennard were enough to ice the game. Fun one in LA!
Plus, how do you guard this?
🏀 🏀 🏀
Elsewhere around the NBA:
Bam Adebayo has been one of the league’s most impactful players by plus-minus this season, and that remained true when the star big notched 24 PTS, 9 REB, and 6 AST to help Miami knock off the first-place Pistons 121-110. The effort also helped Bam eclipse the 10,000-point mark for his NBA career, becoming just the second player to score 10k in a Heat uniform (the other being Dwyane Wade.) Tyler Herro added 25, while Detroit lost its fourth in a row despite 24+ point performances from Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren.
Speaking of impact, many of the players at the top of the plus-minus leaderboard are San Antonio Spurs, and games like Sunday’s are a big reason why. SAS blew by Houston 145-120, with Wemby (29 PTS, 8 REB, 4 BLK) buoying a dominant night for the Spurs’ starting lineup— they were all +17 or better, and none clocked more than 33 minutes. Shooting 52.5% from three didn’t hurt.
You may have seen the bonkers stats about Atlanta’s remarkable ability to stay exactly .500, but right now, they’re two games above thanks to a six-game win streak that includes a 125-116 win over Philly. Jalen Johnson did his thing with 35 PTS, 10 REB, and 7 AST, while the Embiid/Edgecombe-less Sixers hit nearly 55% of their shots but struggled to slow Atlanta down. Tyrese Maxey scored 31 but left the game late with a hand injury after colliding with teammate Adem Bona. He’ll miss at least the next two games and undergo further testing.
Improving offensively was the Magic’s #1 priority coming into this season, and those efforts bore fruit in two weekend wins over the Timberwolves and Bucks. First, Orlando snapped Minny’s five-game win streak behind 30 PTS from Desmond Bane and 25 from Paolo Banchero. Then, the former #1 overall pick was dominant against Milwaukee, netting 33 PTS on 75% shooting in a 39-point win.
🧠 Daily Trivia 🧠
Enjoy Stock Market
Which players, teams, and trends are on the rise in the league this week? Let’s break it down.
💯 Big-time Barrett
There will be postseason basketball in Toronto for the first time since 2022, and the play of RJ Barrett has been a major reason why. The former Knick is averaging 18.3 PPG on 48.3% shooting from the field, good for the second-most efficient campaign of his career. Recently, he racked up 31 PTS on just 19 shots to key Toronto’s 122-92 win over Dallas, and he’s scored 20+ in each of his last four games. Plus, reaching 8,000 career points is always a win.
🤩 Wild, wild West
The Western Conference being stacked with contenders is nothing new, but this season’s top group has begun to separate itself. Of the top four seeds, three are 8-2 or better in their last 10 games (San Antonio 9-1, OKC 8-2, Minnesota 8-2), and that collection does not include the Nuggets, who are widely seen as one of the top challengers for the crown. If the postseason started today, we’d get series like Minnesota-Denver and Houston-LA in round one… what a league.
🏆 Award races
As the end of the regular season draws near, the competition for the league’s major awards only gets more heated. SGA is the current favorite for MVP and Wemby the frontrunner for DPOY, but the tightest call looks to be in ROTY, where two former Duke Blue Devils are vying for the hardware. #1 pick Cooper Flagg appeared to have the award wrapped up earlier in the year, but an 8-game absence and a surge from Charlotte guard Kon Knueppel have given the latter favorite status. Kon has already set the all-time mark for threes by a first-year. Can he claim the trophy too?
Three in the Key
🗣️ LANDLORD!
Gafford is all about efficiency.
👀 Madness Approaching…
Some teams we’d love to see in the big dance.
😮 This Pass
Trae Young is back and better than ever.
What We’re Enjoying
We’ve already mentioned how cinematic these West playoffs will be, but what has each contender shown us so far? Our guys over at Numbers on the Board tried to answer that question in their most recent episode, going through the lessons we’ve learned from each West squad. Give it a watch!
Signing Off
And we out! Thanks for spending a portion of your day with us. This week, be sure to get outside and enjoy the springtime! Folks with Daylight Savings will have an hour of extra sunlight for the next few months, so don’t forget to make the most of it. See you soon!
Walker Carnathan
