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It all comes down to tonight. Heat-Hawks. Mavs-Grizzlies. Buckle up!

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday to Bojan Bogdanovic, Nick Smith Jr, and Julian Strawther! 🎉

Play-In Update

Klay, AD help Mavs survive with 120-106 win over Sacramento

After Bulls-Hawks ended in a blowout (more on that later), we were excited to see this game start out as a competitive affair. DeMar DeRozan (33 PTS) and Keon Ellis (9 PTS, 2 3PM in second quarter) looked like they were keeping SacTown in the game in the first half, and Dallas’ offense wasn’t running smoothly in the early goings.

But the Mavs opened it up heading into the second half, with Anthony Davis (27 PTS, 15 in second half) leading the way and Klay Thompson (23 PTS, 5-7 3PT) following right behind. Dallas grabbed the win behind some more-than-solid team shooting (14-28 team 3PM) and some plain old hustle on defense.

The Mavs will face the Grizzlies tonight for the final spot in the Western Conference playoff picture, and the winner will face Oklahoma City in the first round. Not an ideal prize…

Herro-led Heat beat Bulls 109-90 in Miami’s third play-in win over Chicago

With three rotational guards injured (Lonzo Ball, Tre Jones, and Ayo Dosunmu), this was always going to be a tricky one for the Bulls. It got even trickier when the Chicago faithful saw what Tyler Herro (38 PTS) was doing at the United Center.

Led by the former 6MOY and first-time All-Star, Miami led Chicago wire-to-wire and came out on top with the nineteen-point win. The game wasn’t even that close—Miami led by as many as 25 in the second quarter and dominated Chicago in every aspect. Both Josh Giddey (25 PTS, 10 REB) and Nikola Vucevic (16 PTS, 12 REB, 2 BLK) put up double-doubles in the Bulls’ losing effort.

Miami now has a date with the Hawks for the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed and a series against the Cavaliers. But we wanna hear from you… ⬇️

Top Five Friday

In the playoffs, individual players making individual shots can turn the tides of league history. Here are our top five playoff X-Factors you should be aware of as the first round gets underway this weekend: ⬇️

1. Norman Powell (LAC): Powell’s ascendance from role-player to meaningful contributor on a playoff team has been incredible to watch, and he would’ve been a super fun MIP pick had he met the 65-game requirement. It’s well-known that Los Angeles hasn’t had as much playoff success as the talent on their recent rosters would suggest, but not with Stormin’ Norman playing at this level! As the third scorer behind James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, Powell might be able to help change the Clippers’ ways.

2. Jarrett Allen (CLE): Last year, Jarrett Allen fractured his rib during the Cavs’ first round series and wasn’t there to help his teammates battle against the eventual champion Celtics in the next round. Before the injury, Allen said he was playing the “best basketball” of his career—if it’s being in the playoffs that kicks Allen into high gear like that, Cavs fans should look forward to what he’s able to do on the glass against Atlanta or Miami after the play-in tournament concludes.

3. Kevin Porter Jr./Ryan Rollins (MIL): Okay, so we cheated. But without Damian Lillard, both of Milwaukee’s point guards will have the opportunity to make some major plays against the Pacers in the first round. Lillard is out indefinitely recovering from a blood clot, and while Giannis is one of the (if not the) most dominant players in the league, Milwaukee’s other guards will need to replicate what they’re losing with Dame out to avoid an Indiana series win. Porter has been huge for the Bucks since the trade that brought him there and Rollins continues to impress as a 22-year-old on his third team in three years.

4. Mikal Bridges (NYK): Bridges is on this list for two very specific reasons—one, because the Knicks will need everyone to step up in a major way after their disappointing record against the league’s best this season, and two, because of Cade Cunningham. Bridges will most likely be tasked with guarding Cade during the Knicks’ first round series against Detroit, and the young guard has been a brutal task for opposing defenders in the second half of the season. How well Bridges does with this matchup will be a tell-tale sign about the Knicks’ potential playoff success.

5. Jaylen Brown (BOS): We’ve seen what former Finals MVP Jaylen Brown can do in the playoffs. But as he deals with a nagging knee injury, Brown’s health will be a huge part of whether or not the Celtics are able to repeat as champs. Coaches and players alike have praised how tough Brown has been throughout his recovery process, and recent reports trend positive for the 4x All-Star and his availability.

Gotcha, JB.

Three in the Key

Signing Off

Can you feel it? It’s playoff time, Enjoyers, and we couldn’t be happier to spend it with you. See you on Monday!

Austin Zeglis