No basketball on Monday, no basketball yesterday, no basketball today… what the heck are we supposed to do?

Well, here’s one great way to spend your next half-hour (after reading the newsletter, of course). Our main man Kenny talked with Jayson Tatum about his first call with MJ, his all-time Duke starting five, and how to improve All-Star Weekend on the latest episode of the Kenny Beecham Podcast:

Today’s Lineup

News Roundup 📰

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“Minnesota Mike” Conley lands two-year extension with T-Wolves

In the midst of his most efficient season as a scorer and playmaker, Mike Conley’s reliability has been a big reason why the Timberwolves find themselves atop the West. In fact, you might say that the 17-year vet has been aging like a bottle of Carmelo Anthony’s finest Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

So, it’s no wonder that Conley was just handsomely rewarded with a sweet 2-year, $22 million contract extension. That might not seem like crazy money, but we’re talking about a guy who’s gonna be 39 (!!) when this contract runs out. We’re just happy he’s sticking around for a couple more runs. 💙

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Jokic speaks on joining forces with Luka

Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic’s Balkan bromance was the talk of the town during All-Star Weekend, but could the two international stars ever join forces on the court? 🤔 Luckily, Miroslav Ćuk was on the scene to ask the Joker this all-important question (hint: it’s gonna be in Denver, if ever).

What We’re Excited For 🔭

We’ve got a bit of time to kill today with no games to talk about, so why not just list a ton of things we’re looking forward to the rest of the season?

We’re excited for….

• The race for the Western Conference first seed! It’s been a while since we’ve seen this many teams competing for the top spot so late in a season, but the Timberwolves, Thunder, Clippers, and Nuggets are all within three games of each other with plenty of head-to-head games between themselves left on the schedule. This one is so close that we might have to put it to a poll:

• Two more matchups between the gangliest pair of basketball-playing aliens you’ll ever see. We’ve already seen some pretty legendary showdowns between Chet and Wemby, and their remaining face-offs are already bookmarked on our hoops-watching calendar. Given how things are shaping up, these games might just decide the ROTY race…

• The totally-up-in-the-air MVP competition. Yes, we’ve narrowed down the candidates quite a bit, but there are still four really solid options. Jokic has been his usual otherworldly self, SGA has turned into a frighteningly-efficient two-way force on one of the best teams in the league, Giannis is destroying opponents down low in his most efficient season ever, and Luka is putting up the type of insane individual numbers that transcend the disadvantage of the Mavericks being 7th in the West. You know what? Let’s make it another poll:

• The (potential) breaking of some serious scoring records. As teams start to either (a) tank or (b) rest up for the playoffs, there’s a world where the right player meets the right matchup to make basketball history. Who knows! The way players are dropping buckets this year, Wilt might be a little nervous up there in hoops heaven. 🙏❤️

Three in the Key

Signing Off

Thanks for reading, even on a slow news day! With all the extra basketball-less free time, be sure to take some moments to work on yourself and your mentals today. Everything is better when your mind’s right.

Until next time,

-Spencer Poole