🏀 Ice Trae Lives On

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Enjoyers, these are the days that we live for. Clutch buckets galore, monster statlines from the biggest stars, insane upsets brewing, what more could you ask for as a hoops fan? Now, sit back, relax, and get caught up on two of the best days of basketball you’ll ever see.

Today’s Lineup

Ice Cold Buckets ❄ Trae Young and Atlanta stay alive with late-game heroics

Like It’s 2020 Again 🔥👑 Jimmy Buckets and LeBron dominate in upset W’s

Young Stars Shine Bright ⭐ Meet your Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Player

Jarritos

Our good friends at Jarritos know what’s up. They only use all-natural fruit essences and cane sugar (absolutely NO high fructose corn syrup) so you can enjoy the refreshing taste of soda without any artificial sweeteners.

Plus, their glass bottles keep your drink as chilly as Jimmy Butler in the clutch 🥶

ICYMI: Jarritos’ highly anticipated collab with Nike is set to release next week and we’re hyped to finally get our hands on them! Talk about a SWEET collection…have you seen the Dunks 👀 

Enjoy sodas the way they were meant to be experienced. Head over to your local Walmart (or nearest browser) and try Jarritos’ Fiesta Pack today.

Last Night’s Latest

Hawks beat Boston 119-117 behind Trae Young masterpiece, force game six

Knicks fans already know him well. Now, Ice Trae is making his introduction to the Celtics faithful.

The Hawks were well and truly out of it, down 13 with just six minutes left. Jaylen Brown (35 PTS, 65% FG) was taking full advantage of the +50% facemask skill bonus, Derrick White (18 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST) continuously carved through the Hawks, and the Boston defense seemed to have things mostly in check.

But then, what’s that? Bah gawd, that’s John Collins' (22 PTS, 4 3PM) music! Not a good fit? Negative asset? Scrub? How about nine straight points in a crucial playoff game to pull Atlanta within six. And then, he handed it off to his main man, Trae Young (38 PTS, 13 AST), to finish the job. 14 straight points, back-to-back audacious threes, and one ice-cold dagger to close it. This is what playoff basketball is all about.

Nuggets move on to second round in 112-109 win over the Wolves

You know when you shoot a jumper and the ball touches literally every part of the rim before bouncing out? That’s what this game felt like for Minnesota.

Anthony Edwards (29 PTS, 8 REB, 7 AST) flirted with a triple-double, Karl Anthony-Towns (26 PTS, 11 REB) woke up to put together his best performance of the series, and Rudy Gobert (16 PTS, 15 REB) was the head warden keeping Nikola Jokic (8/29 FG) in prison for most of the night. That seems like a recipe for a Game Five W, right?

Well…about that. Playoff Jamal (35 PTS, 5 3PT) continued his reign of terror to keep Denver in the game, even taking the time to bless us with another gravity-defying circus shot, And even when you think you locked up Jokic—you really didn’t. Joker crashed the offensive glass with authority to get nine crucial extra possessions, consistently found open teammates, and delivered the series-sealing and-one when the Nuggets needed him most.

And, in a fitting end, Ant was this close to sending the game to OT. Despite the bumps along the way, there’s something brewing here, Wolves fans: next year could be exciting. 👀

Suns advance despite late scare, beat Clippers 136-130

This was one of those games where you’re about to turn off the TV because you think it’s over, but you decide to stay for just one more play, and it actually ends up being worth it.

The Suns were in firm control heading into the fourth thanks to another herculean effort from Devin Booker (47 PTS, 8 REB, 10 AST), including one of the best third-quarter performances we’ve ever seen. Seriously, this should be the example video they show in ‘How to Get Buckets 101’.

But then—something strange happened. Mason Plumlee (20 PTS, 10 REB) channeled his inner Shaq, Nicolas Batum (19 PTS, 5 3PM) simply decided not to miss, and suddenly, it was a two-point game in crunch time! Kevin Durant (31 PTS, +13) ended up saving the day with a timely layup and a couple of clutch free throws, but props to LA for making things interesting till the very end.

Congrats to Phoenix, but man, imagine how fun this series would have been with Kawhi Leonard at 100%. The Clippers proved once again that they have a great supporting cast, but can their stars stay healthy enough for one more serious playoff run?

Oh, and our first second-round matchup is officially set, and boy is it a good one. The back-to-back MVP with a full-strength squad vs. the newly formed super team looking to return to the promised land. Let us know who you got in this second-round showdown. 👇

Jimmy Buckets and LeBron Boards

Just….wow.

Few names strike fear in opposing teams’ hearts come playoff time quite like Jimmy Butler and LeBron James, but Monday night was simply on another level.

Starting off in South Beach—the Heat found themselves in serious trouble. With Giannis Antetokounmpo (26 PTS, 10 REB, 13 AST) back in action and playing beautifully, the Bucks were six minutes and a 12-point lead away from heading back to Milwaukee tied up.

But then, Jimmy G Buckets (56 PTS, 9 REB) pulled off one of the greatest ‘I’m Him’ postseason performances of all time. Alongside the stellar shooting of Caleb Martin (10 4Q PTS, 80% FG), Butler dropped 21 in the fourth to drag Miami within a game of a playoff upset for the ages. Soak it in, people! These are the type of plays that go down in history.

Over in LA, let’s just say LeBron (22 PTS, 20 REB, 7 AST) isn’t beating the anti-aging basketball-playing alien allegations any time soon. The first 20/20 playoff game by a Laker since Shaq? At 38?? Be for real now, no mere mortal is capable of that.

But seriously, James was everywhere on the court Monday night. Whether it was drawing charges, crashing the glass like a maniac, or getting everyone involved with pinpoint passes, he went down the ‘Doing the Little Things’ list and checked every box.

And he topped it off with two MASSIVE buckets. First, floating in the game-tying layup over the outstretched arms of DPOY Jaren Jackson Jr. to send it to OT, and then giving Dillon Brooks a crash course on the dangers of trash-talking with an incredible big man move to ice it. Simply dominant. 💪 

It’s probably not going to happen, but we’re already dreaming of a 2020 Finals Rematch. 👀

Lauri and Paolo Take Home Silverware

Lauri Legend: Most Improved

We all enjoyed the superstar leap that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took this year, and who didn’t love Jalen Brunson’s dazzling rise in the Big Apple? But it’s hard to argue that anybody embodied the spirit of the Most Improved Player award more in 2022-23 than the Finnisher himself, Lauri Markkanen.

The Markksman certainly didn’t come into this season with star expectations. On his third team in three years, Lauri was struggling to find a consistent role for himself. But props to Will Hardy and the entire Utah Jazz coaching staff, because they saw the enormous potential the young forward has and gave him the freedom he needed to blossom into one of the league’s best scorers.

The Jazz might have cooled off after a hot start, but Markkanen never did, finishing with career highs practically across the board. From almost forgotten to All-Star, congrats on the incredible year, Lauri!

Paolo Banchero: From #1 to #1

From the #1 overall pick last summer to Rookie of the Year, Paolo Banchero put up a truly wire-to-wire performance in his first season on the job.

Paolo came in with lofty expectations and…met basically every single one of them. He joins Luka Doncic and Blake Griffin as the only rookies since 2000 to average at least 20/6/3, all while leading Orlando to an impressive 34 wins when many expected them to be in the NBA’s basement.

It wasn’t always pretty, but Paolo used his already elite foul-drawing ability and strong interior game to solidify himself as the Magic’s #1 scoring option in year one. The future is bright in Orlando. ☀

Frozen Moments

• Anthony Edwards showing off his volleyball skills with this block.

• The goat noises continue in the Lakers’ locker room.

• Jimmy Butler keeps it humble after his legendary performance.

What We’re Enjoying

How Zack Gonzales went from college walk-on to trusted NBA player development coach - Jovan Buha (The Athletic)

Back In The Office: The Chicago-born duo of Saba and legendary producer No I.D. dropped their first official collaboration earlier this month and it’s straight GAS. ⛽ Give it a listen below and make sure to be on the lookout for a longer project from the two coming soon.

Signing Off

That’s all for now! Today, why don’t we all take away a little something from Lauri Markkanen’s journey. You might not be in the right spot in your life now, but one day soon, you’ll find your own Utah Jazz. We believe in you. 💙🏀

Until next time,

-Spencer Poole

Trivia Answer: The answer to today’s trivia is Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot! TLC buried six threes in his playoff debut back in 2020 for Brooklyn.

Before you go…

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🏀 Anthony Edwards. Cold-Blooded.