🏀 Luka and Kyrie finally clicked...

Kyrie and Luka last night like…

Today’s Lineup

Dynamic duo 🐴🐴 Kyrie and Luka finally clicked…

A new Sun rises ☀️ Our first time seeing KD play in the purple and gold…

On fire 🔥 We give you the top five hottest players/teams in the league…

Last Night’s Action

We had four great games last night—click HERE for the box scores. Let’s get into it!

Mavericks beat Sixers 133-126 in Kyrie/Luka eruption

As most Mavericks games are now, this one was a shoot-out. Luckily for Mark Cuban, it also played out like a Mavs fan-fiction showing what the Kyrie trade could lead to. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving were unstoppable on offense, dropping 42 and 40 points respectively in a win over a very good Philly team.

The Sixers (40-22) played well too! Joel Embiid had a dominant 35 points, James Harden had 27 and 13 assists, and Tyrese Maxey added 29 of his own.

But last night was all about the Mavs (33-31), just as the nasty highlights below will show you. We’re curious to see if these outbursts will correlate to playoff wins…

Warriors wax Clippers in 2nd half, win 115-91

Get ready basketball fans… the Warriors (33-30) look elite again. Last night, they wiped the floor with the Clippers (33-32) in a 24-point W behind Jordan Poole’s 34 points! The Clippers were abysmal offensively, scoring just 35 points in the 2nd half compared to the Warriors’ 70. We’re no math experts, but we’re pretty sure they doubled them up 😳.

How’d this happen? A savvy defensive scheme, Poole erupting for 25 second-half points, and a barrage of hype three-pointers, that’s how! Additionally, excluding Kawhi Leonard (21 points on 8-12 FG), the rest of the Clippers shot a collective 31% from the field and 17% (🤮) from three.

The good news? The Warriors seem to be back on track despite Steph Curry’s absence—they’re three games above .500 for the first time all year!

Washington tops Toronto 119-108 behind smooth Kuz

The Wizards (30-32) had some extra Magic tonight (no, not you Orlando fans) and knocked off a hot Raptors (31-33) squad. Kyle Kuzma was impressive in this one, pouring in 30 points and orchestrating the half court offense with patience and control. Delon Wright, a perennially underrated backup point guard, had a season-high 11 assists for the Wiz kids.

Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes struggled mightily for Toronto, but shoutout to OG Anunoby and Jakob Poeltl for being two-way monsters. With this victory, Washington has won six of their last nine and is now tied with Toronto for the 9th seed in the East… 👀 

Sochan’s Spurs squash Pacers 110-99

In an underwhelming offensive game, the Spurs (16-47) beat the Pacers (28-36). With Tyrese Haliburton out of the lineup, Buddy Hield (27 points) was the lone bright spot in a sputtering Indiana offense. Jeremy Sochan had the green light all night for San Antonio, attempting 26 shots on the way to his first career double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds! Pacers fans are down bad…

Wednesday Night Notes

He’s back! Kevin Durant made his Phoenix debut on Wednesday night, in which he put up an efficient 23 points en route to an easy win over the Hornets. It was good to see KD back on the court after he missed the past 20 games with an MCL sprain, but it’s gonna take a minute to get used to the Slim Reaper in the purple and orange. Trae Young and Jayson Tatum clearly agree:

Around the rest of the league, the Pelicans beat the Blazers as Brandon Ingram and Damian Lillard both went for 40+. Milwaukee won their 16th straight as Giannis’ 31 points dominated Orlando, while the Knicks won their 7th consecutive game behind Jalen Brunson’s insanely efficient 39 points on 15-18 shooting.

But the duel of Wednesday night was Jayson Tatum (41 points) vs Donovan Mitchell (44 points) in a game where the Celtics ultimately prevailed 117-113. Watch their masterful battle here:

Top Five Friday

For this edition of Top Five Friday, we’re giving you the Top Five hottest teams/players as of late. Let’s get into it:

1. Milwaukee Bucks

Doesn’t it feel like no one is hyping up the fact that the Bucks have won SIXTEEN (16) straight games? It certainly seemed like the Celtics had the #1 seed on lock earlier in the season, but Milwaukee is now a ½ game above Boston in the East. Giannis has been playing at peak MVP level—if you haven’t been tuning in, you really should be.

2. New York Knicks and Jalen Brunson

Many NBA fans and TV pundits laughed at the Jalen Brunson signing, but he just won February’s Eastern Conference Player of the Month—not to mention the New York Knicks are 8-1 in their last 9 games! We think he’s legitimately been the best point guard in the East in 2023—JJ Redick certainly agrees.

3. Damian Lillard

He dropped 71, and we Enjoyed that to its full extent, but why don’t we appreciate Dame’s full body of work? At age 32, Lillard is playing some of the best basketball of his eleven year career. In his last 23 games, Dame D.O.L.L.A. is averaging 38 points per game on almost 50/40/90% shooting splits. Historic.

4. Boston Celtics

Yeah, the Celtics are still good. Being 8-2 in their last 10 is not completely unexpected, but those two losses were to the red-hot Bucks and Knicks! These wins against the Cavs, Grizzlies and Sixers (twice!) speak volumes to Boston’s ability to beat good teams.

5. Kelly Oubre Jr.

‘Nuff said.

Frozen Moments

• Hornets coach Steve Clifford gave a candid, nuanced, and admirable interview on modern NBA defense that every Enjoyer of the game should watch.

• This Westbrook alley-oop made us realize Kawhi still has hops!

• This special Pacers/Spurs jersey swap is hard to wrap our heads around!

Good Reads

Malcolm Brogdon Is a Throwback—and Deserving—Candidate for Sixth Man of the Year - Zach Kram (The Ringer)

Cavaliers aren't skipping steps, but East reshuffle creates a playoff path - Tim Bontemps (ESPN)

Who really taught Kareem Abdul-Jabbar his hook shot? The answer might depend on whose story you believe - Joe Vardon (The Athletic)

What We’re Enjoying

It’s Fridayy: We’re enjoying Lil Baby’s new Forever music video featuring Philly rapper Fridayy!

Sharp as a Diamond: These’s Tiffany & Co-inspired Air Force 1’s are absolutely CLEAN! They (very selectively) drop on March 7th, so read more here if you wanna try your luck.

Signing Off

We’ll leave you here. Much like Kyrie Irving when pick-and-roll defenses hard hedge, it’s time for us to split.

Peace,

-Conor Geelan

Trivia Answer: The only one of these generational prospects to not win the McDonalds All-American Game MVP was… Anthony Davis! LeBron, Melo and Zion all got the hardware.

Before you go…