The playoffs are closing in, the reigning MVP is healthy, AND we got the men’s and women's Final Four this weekend? Yeah, we’re eating good. Let’s talk about it.

Today’s Lineup

Full-Court Press

• Two teams with everything to play for in a crowded Western Conference playoff field, Mavs vs Warriors did not dissapoint. On a night where Steph and Klay weren't splashing home treys with their usual gusto, Golden State came out on top thanks to some top-tier bench play and a dash of Draymond Green defensive heroics.

• Wemby vs Jokic or as we like to call it, superhuman vs supercomputer, did not disappoint. The French phenom and the Serbian superstar traded blow after blow all night long, as the #1 pick again flirted with the ever-elusive quadruple-double. But, it was Joker who got the last laugh, dropping 42-12-6 to help the Nuggets narrowly escape with the win.

• We regret to inform the rest of the league that Joel Embiid is back and as good as ever. The reigning MVP got right back to his old ways in the Sixers’ home victory over the Thunder, drilling elbow middy after elbow middy before sealing the game with a clutch strip and free throws in the final minute. Welcome back, beast 💪

• The playoffs are almost here, which means it’s just about time for everyone in the Heats rotation to start hitting everything in sight. Yesterday it was deadline addition Terry Rozier, who sank the Knicks with 34 points and 8 threes, including the dagger while absolutely blanketed.

• Who else but the #1 defense in basketball to extinguish the Rocket’s hot streak? Naz Reid poured in 25 and Anthony Edwards added a couple of sweet slams to help the Timberwolves keep pace for the #1 seed out West. How is anyone supposed to stop this man?

• Do you smell that? Something is finally cooking in DC! The Wizards are 4-3 over their last seven, including an impressive four-point W over the Bucks last night. With Deni Avdija on a tear recently, the future is looking a little brighter in our nation’s capital. ✨

• A Pelican must have stolen Devin Booker’s sandwich at the beach last summer because he seems to have made it his mission to absolutely annihilate them on the court this season. DBook dropped 52 with a career-high 9 threes as the Suns walked out of New Orleans with a cajun-filet dub. That’s three straight 50+ point games against the Pels, the only player to drop 50 three straight times on one team besides, you guessed it, Wilt.

• One of our 2022-23 breakout candidates, Dalano Banton has been quietly balling in Portland. 🏀 The former Raptors guard looked like the best player on the court for long stretches in the Blazer’s close loss to the Magic, slamming his way to 26 points to go along with 5 stocks.

College Corner

• Every once in a while, a player comes around that you can just tell is writing hoops mythology in real-time. Caitlin Clark is undoubtedly, one of those few. Against an LSU squad that beat her in the title game last season, Iowa’s finest pulled out one of the best performances you’ll see at any level, 30-foot sidestepping and pinpoint passing her way to 41, 7, and 12. Final Four ticket: BOOKED. 🎟️

• And Clark’s opponent? How about the one iconic women’s basketball program that didn’t give her an offer? In the midst of their longest title drought in three decades, the UConn Huskies are hungry to cut down the nets in Cleveland led by a weapon of their own. Paige Bueckers has overcome multiple major injuries in her career and still put up 28-10-6 to take down freshman phenom JuJu Watkins and USC. Friday can’t come soon enough.

Play-In Preview: Los Angeles Lakers

The Western Conference is stacked, there’s no other way to put it. Seriously, the fact that we’re discussing a team with an all-time great and another future hall-of-famer surrounded by great shooters in a play-in preview is just insane.

But don’t be fooled by their place in the standings, because this Lake Show squad might be even better than their Western Conference Finals team from a year ago. 👀

The main reason we’re feeling another deep playoff run in LA (besides the whole having LeBron and Anthony Davis thing) is 100% their shooting. Last season’s Lakers team's fatal flaw was their inability to keep opponents honest beyond the arc, finishing 24th in 3PM per game and 25th in percentage. This came back to bite them big time against the Nuggets in the playoffs, when they made 21 fewer threes than Denver across the four-game sweep.

While this year's Lakers still prefer to pound the rock inside for the majority of their points, other teams have been paying dearly for selling out on drives. Over their last 15 games LA is shooting a scorching 42.4% on catch-and-shoot threes, the best mark in the league. 🔥

If they can maintain this blistering form from long range, teams will have to pick their poison come playoff time, either allowing LeBron James and Anthony Davis free-reign to attack the paint with impunity or risking D’Angelo Russell _,Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura raining threes all night long.

Outside of AD, does this team have the defense to go and win the whole thing? Probably not. But if we’ve learned anything from watching the NBA over the years, it’s to never underestimate the King. 👑

Three in the Key

Signing Off

Time to bounce y’all! Remember, life is a team sport. If you gas up those around you when they’re succeeding and help them out when they’re down, they’ll do the same for you. 🙏

Talk soon,

-Spencer Poole