🏀 Jokic gets the first laugh...

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Happy Humpday, Hoopers! Not feeling super lucky today? It’s fine, we can’t all be the San Antonio Spurs. Regardless of the lottery results, we feel lucky to talk hoops with you on this fine, fine morning!

Today’s Lineup

Striking Gold: Denver’s offense outshone a Laker comeback…

Spurs Have a Lot o’ Luck: Wembanyama should look good in grayscale…

Celtics vs Heat Preview: We give you two extra-Enjoyable players to keep an eye on 👀 

Before we get on into it, we thought we’d get a little ~political~ for a sec. Just kidding, we’ll stick to being basketball nerds around here:

Jarritos

Whether you're rooting for the Celtics or The Heat, make sure you have a Jarritos on hand to enjoy the game.

Their all-natural fruit-flavored sodas use only cane sugar, so you can enjoy the delicious taste of soda without any artificial sweeteners. And because it comes in a glass bottle, Jarritos stays cold longer!

Not sure which flavor to try first? Well, these player comparisons will help get your taste buds tingling 😋

🍉 Luka Dončić: sweet, smooth, and always comes up clutch.

🍓 Stephen Curry: bright, bold, and versatile.

🍍 Giannis Antetokounmpo: refreshing, insanely powerful, and an all-around favorite.

You simply can’t go wrong with Jarritos. Enjoy sodas the way they were meant to be experienced and try a Fiesta Pack!

Nuggets hold off Lakers comeback, take 1-0 lead

Despite a fourth-quarter Lakers surge, the Nuggets won 132-126 to seize an opening home victory. Nikola Jokic (34 points, 21 rebounds, 14 assists) was an offensive juggernaut tonight, hitting shots over Anthony Davis at the rim and from 35 feet. He also shredded the Los Angeles defense with numerous backdoor dimes for easy teammate layups.

The Nuggets dominated the first half to solidify an 18-point halftime lead, getting stops on defense and running in the fast break. However, when the Lakers began sinking shots and set up their defense, their size and physicality shrunk the Denver margin until it was a 3-point game with a minute left. But a scrappy hustle play and elite fast break dunk sealed the game:

Denver’s offense erupted in every facet, with Jamal Murray pouring in 31 points and role-player MVP Kentavious Caldwell-Pope adding an efficient 21, including a clutch floater.

As for the Lakers, Anthony Davis excelled on both ends with 40 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. King James got his 26 points, though came up short in crunch time. When things got tough, the man who really helped the purple and gold scrape back into it was Austin Reaves—yes, he’s still this good. In an offensive shootout, Denver had more firepower tonight, but the highlights from both sides burn bright:

Box Score

NBA Draft Lottery

IT HAPPENED! Victor Wembanyama is (basically) a San Antonio Spur as the Spurs hit the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery last night! Coach Pop has a chance to add to his ridiculous résumé of HOF big men:

The Ringer described Victor as a “Gen-Z Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.” Whether that means he’ll be dancing on TikTok or the best NBA player in a generation, the Spurs should be elated to have Wemby! After the lottery, the Frenchmen explained his admiration for the Spurs through the play of fellow Frenchmen Tony Parker and Boris Diaw.

We’ll think and re-think NBA mock drafts a billion times from now to June 22, but we’ll still be excited about the future of our league. With shades of Russell Westbrook’s tenacity, Allen Iverson’s shiftiness, and John Wall’s burst, Scoot Henderson would make Charlotte or Portland even more exciting.

Or perhaps they’ll go with Alabama’s Brandon Miller, who is competing with Scoot for the #2 spot. His NBA-caliber shot-making and scoring flow have earned him comparisons to Paul George. Regardless, the draft order is set, these teams are ready to sculpt their future, and we’re pumped to watch the draft unfold.

Series Preview: Celtics 🍀 vs. Heat 🔥 

In this #8 Heat vs. #2 Celtics series, Cinderella meets Prince Charming. The Heat are just the second #8 seed to make the Conference Finals, but now they’re head-to-head with the sweet prince Jayson Tatum who, despite some games that were colder than a Boston winter ❄️, has been scorching as hot as a Miami summer ☀️ this post-season.

The Celtics are clearly the more loaded team, with the Jays hitting J’s for Days. Defensive studs Derrick White and Marcus Smart will give Heat guards headaches. Miami, on the other hand, is giving NBA analysts headaches. How are they this good? They're not like the Lakers, who completely remodeled their roster at the trade deadline. As one Enjoyer of Basketball replied to us, the Heat’s deadline was less of a revamp and more of a “before-and-after pics where a dude has a different haircut.” The fade is looking pretty tough though…

What to Enjoy for Miami 🔥 Kyle Lowry was crucial to the Heat’s six-game conquest over the Knicks. We’ll Enjoy him still being lightning in a bottle-shaped bottle for Miami. He’s like the can of nitrous that Dominic Toretto (Erik Spoelstra) slams to shake things up. Unlike the Fast and Furious franchise, Heat fans should hope their team ends up in the Finals rather than outer space.

What to Enjoy for Celtics 🍀 If Al Horford can shut down MVP Joel Embiid, we’re gonna love what the approximately 50-year-old Horford throws at Bam Adebayo, who killed the Knicks in Game 6. Plus, Boston’s offense is automatic when Horford is raining down threes.

What to Enjoy for Everyone 🏀 This will be the sixth time the Celtics and Heat are facing off in the playoffs and the third time in the last four seasons. We'll get to see elite wings (Jimmy Butler vs. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown) go to war again for a shot at the Larry O’Brien 🏆

Frozen Moments

• Victor Wembanyama seemed really excited at the lottery announcement…

• Paul George and DeMar DeRozan laugh about how LeBron made them leave Toronto and Indiana 😂 

• Last year Jimmy Butler made a bold prediction…that actually came true!

What We’re Enjoying

The Two-Track Plan Divided the Warriors - Logan Murdock (The Ringer)

Enjoy Basketball also likes to Enjoy Zillow hunting, so we loved this house tour of Devin Booker’s absolutely sick home in the Phoenix desert ☀️

Signing Off

We’ll leave it there so you can get on with your day. Just remember: don't forget to take the little moments today has to offer for some You Time, and don’t take yourself too seriously! You got this!

-Conor Geelan

Trivia Answer: The answer is Bill Bradley! After a 10-year career with the New York Knicks in the 60s and 70s, Bradley served three terms as senator for New York from 1979-1997.

Before you go…