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It’s only been one night, but the Scriptwriters for the 2026 Postseason are already COOKING. ✍️
🏀 🏀 🏀
ICYMI- If you’ve ever been curious about the story behind the rise of the Enjoy Basketball brand, along with the incredibly inspiring journey of our main man, Kenny Beecham, you’re in luck!
Front Office Sports reporter Derryl Barnes spent an entire weekend with Kenny and got all the answers on his rise in the content creation space, building and growing the Enjoy brand, and betting on him and the rest of the NOTB crew.
Trust us, this is worth the watch! ⬇️
Today’s Lineup
🗣️ All the Buzz!
LaMelo Ball and the Hornets win a wild one over Miami in the Play-in!
😳 Portland ➡️ Playoffs
Deni Avdija and the Blazers clinch the 7 seed out west!
😳 Wild Wild West!
Previewing all the playoff matchups out west!
🎉 Happy birthday Michael Cooper, Miles Norris, Walt Hazard! 🎉
Enjoy’s Toast of the Week 🍸🏀
And we're back for another edition of Enjoy’s Toast of the Week with our friends over at Stratusphere Gin.
This week we're raising one to Brandon Ingram. The Raptors locked up the 5 seed in the East and BI made sure they headed into the playoffs hot.
38 points, 7 boards, 7 assists against Miami. 58% from the field for the week. Eastern Conference Player of the Week. That's a toast-worthy stretch if we've ever seen one.
Grab a glass and raise it to BI. Who's getting the toast next week?
Game Recaps
Charlotte outlasts Miami in wild 127-126 Play-in victory thanks to LaMelo’s last second heroics
How lucky are we as basketball fans that the first game of the 2026 postseason was one of the best games we’ve seen all season?
The magical second half of the season continued in this one for the Charlotte Hornets. They appeared to be dead in the water late in the fourth, and it looked like Miami had the game wrapped up in regulation, holding a six point lead with two minutes to go.
Then, Coby White happened: 🔥
White (19 PTS, 17 in second half) gave Charlotte a massive lift all night, including an insane third quarter run that included four threes in five minutes, capped off by a buzzer beater to end the quarter.
After the three sent the game to OT, the extra five minutes of basketball were even crazier than the end of regulation. Charlotte held a five point lead with less than 30 seconds to go, but Tyler Herro (23 PTS) quickly scored six points in 15 seconds to give Miami a one point lead. There was just a little too much time left on the clock though, and LaMelo Ball (30 PTS, 10 AST) sent Miami home for the summer.
The Heat’s season comes to an end in tough fashion, especially after losing Bam Adebayo to an ankle injury in the first half in this one. As for Charlotte, they’ll await the loser of the Sixers-Magic game later this week to determine who will clinch the 8 seed and go to the playoffs. 🍿
🏀 🏀 🏀
Blazers shock Suns 114-110 on the road, clinch #7 seed to advance to the Playoffs
After the thrilling end to Hornets-Heat, the Blazers and Suns decided to give us yet another INTENSE finish on Tuesday night.
If you believe that basketball is a game of runs, then this was the game for you. Portland got off to a blistering start from three and led by double digits in the first half. Phoenix managed to close the gap to just a three point deficit at halftime, and came out with an all out blitz in the second half, going on a massive 29-8 run that spanned from late in the third to halfway through the fourth, taking a double digit lead of their own.
Just when it seemed like Phoenix was going to cruise to victory, Deni Avdija and Jerami Grant had other ideas in mind. Grant (16 PTS, 4/8 3PT) nailed multiple HUGE threes down the stretch to give Portland its first lead of the fourth, and Avdija closed off a masterful 41 point, 12 assist performance with the go-ahead tough and-1 finish:
Portland may have gotten the win, but Jalen Green was another star of the show in this one, as he led the Suns with 35. Phoenix will need another performance like this from Green if they want to avoid becoming the first 7 seed to ever be eliminated in the play-in tournament.
With the W, Portland now finds themselves heading to San Antonio for a matchup between Wemby and the Spurs in round 1. What a night of NBA basketball! 🍿
🧠 Daily Trivia 🧠
West Playoff Preview
Every year, the western conference playoffs give us star-studded matchups, elite games, and plenty of unforgettable moments. This year’s series should be no different. Let’s run through a few bite-sized breakdowns of every west matchup we know of so far:
(3) Nuggets vs (6) Timberwolves: For the third time in four years, we’re being blessed with a Nuggets-Wolves series, with this year’s being the rubbermatch. Denver won in five in ‘23, and the Wolves got their revenge in ‘24 with their historic game seven comeback. Facing off again in what looks to be the most intriguing first round matchup across the league, the Nuggets begin their title quest on a major high, entering the playoffs on a 12 game win streak. Minnesota on the other hand is just now getting healthy after being riddled with injuries over the past month, and are looking to play upset here. With these two teams being an even 14-14 against each other over the past four seasons, we’re in store for another WAR between Ant and Jokić. 🔥
(4) Lakers vs (5) Rockets: While it’s highly unfortunate that Luka Doncić and Austin Reaves will likely miss the entire series due to injury, we’re still being treated to a matchup between two of the all-time greats, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Bron and KD will go head-to-head in a best-of-7 for the first time since the 2018 NBA Finals, and will be their fourth time matching up in the playoffs in their careers. Similar to Denver, the Rockets are entering the playoffs on a high note, winning nine of their last 10 games entering the postseason. The time has come to see if Durant, Amen Thompson, and Alperen Sengun can make a real title run in the gauntlet that is the west, and they’ll have to start by defeating a shorthanded yet hungry LBJ-led Lakers squad, which will NOT be easy…
(2) Spurs vs (7) Blazers: For the first time in nearly a decade, the Spurs are once again true contenders to win the title. In just his third season, Victor Wembanyama has already reached heights that only legends have hit, but his first official postseason will be quite the test for the 22 year old. He and the Spurs’ quest to the title begins with a battle against the upstart Blazers, who’ll be looking to play the ultimate round one spoiler…
Play-In: (9) Clippers vs (10) Warriors: If the NBA season started in January, Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers would not be a play-in team, as they finished the season a with a remarkable 36-19 record after starting the season 6-21. Unfortunately for them, the season starts in October, and while their historic turnaround did get them into the postseason, they’ll have to win two games to get into the playoffs. The first game of the two is against arguably the last player you’d want to play in a win or go home scenario, Steph Curry. We’ve all seen how hot Steph can get when the lights shine the brightest, and in order for GSW to become the first 10 seed to make the playoffs, he’s going to need to go into his deepest bag of tricks, starting with a big performance against Kawhi, Darius Garland, and the rest of the Clippers.
Three in the Key
😎 Brand New Wing!
Congrats to Azzi Fudd on being selecting first overall in the WNBA draft!
🔥 Mile High Splash Bros!
Jamal Murray and Tim Hardaway Jr. hit Klay and Steph numbers this season from three point land!
🥲 Game of Emotions
Tyler Herro’s expressions shows us the highs and lows of postseason basketball…
What We’re Enjoying
It’s the best time of the year in the NBA, which means it’s also the best time of the year for Numbers on the Board!
In the latest episode of the pod, the guys draft each team that’s made the playoffs so far, along with covering the rest of the current landscape of the league.
Give it a watch! ⬇️
Signing Off
That’s all for today, Enjoyers! We appreciate you making us a part of your day. We’ve entered the best part of the NBA season, so sit back, relax, and get ready for two full months of NBA playoff hoops.
We’ll see you on Friday!
