🏀 The Suns are Scorching

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Chris Paul finally won a game that Scott Foster refereed! If he can snap that streak after thirteen straight losses, you can do anything.

Today’s Lineup

Raining Fire🔥 : The Suns Big 3 destroyed the midrange to even up the series…

A knight’s vengeance⚔️ : The Cavaliers absolutely dominated New York…

Dreary Draymond🦶: Green is suspended for Game 3…

But before some playoff analysis, here’s some playoff trivia:

Jarritos

In case you missed it, Jarritos produces the most delectable sodas on the market. Jarritos uses only natural fruit essences that are sweetened with cane sugar (absolutely no high fructose corn syrup) which allows you to enjoy the refreshing taste of soda without any artificial sweeteners.

Their glass bottles keep your drink as COLD as De’Aaron Fox in the clutch 🥶 

Try their range of flavors, including Guava, Strawberry, and Pineapple! Pair with tacos and indulge in the most authentic soda experience. Head over to your local Walmart (or nearest device) to try Jarritos’ Fiesta Pack. Your taste buds will be grateful.

Torrential Tuesday

There were three crucial playoff matchups last night—read all about them below! Check out the box scores here.

Suns sink Clippers 123-109 and tie series 1-1

After the Clippers walked into the Suns’ arena and took Game 1, Phoenix rose from the ashes last night like… well, like a phoenix. Old heads must’ve loved the offense tonight, because Chris Paul, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard were downright surgical in the midrange.

Speaking of Kawhi, the poor dude was getting doubled every time he touched the ball. Russell Westbrook was effective, with an efficient 28 points, but LA’s offense lacked a certain dynamism…or maybe it just lacks multiple All-NBA guys. The Clippers tried to double team, but letting KD or DBook attack closeouts is a recipe for disaster. Devin Booker was ultimately the MVP tonight, with 38 points including some massive threes to catapult the sizzling Suns to victory.

And best of all, the Scott Foster curse is finally over. Before tonight, CP3 had lost 13 consecutive playoff games when officiated by Foster. Anything is possible!!!

Cavaliers crush Knicks 107-90 to even series 1-1

Cleveland simply bulldozed the Knicks last night. After a quiet second half in Game 1, Darius Garland came out swinging with 26 in the first half of this game, the highest scoring half of his career. Meanwhile, the Knicks were absolute turnover machines—the Cavs had 16 points off turnovers compared to NY’s zero in the second quarter 🤯. Keep in mind, this isn’t a team that turns it over often—they ranked third-best in turnovers this year. And perhaps most shocking of all, the +/- god Josh Hart was somehow a -29 in this Spike Lee dystopian nightmare.

The only explanation? Darius Garland (32 points) and Caris Levert (24 points) linked up with the Space Jam Monstars to steal the powers of Jalen Brunson (5-17 FG) and Julius Randle (6 TO). Or, if you want to actually analyze the game, Jarrett Allen aggressively trapping Brunson on screens worked to perfection. But we think Knicks fans should blame the aliens.

Celtics handle Hawks 119-106 for 2-0 lead

Atlanta surged to a first-quarter lead behind a great Dejounte Murray performance, but the talent, depth, and poise of the Celtics stabilized the ship in the Boston Harbor. Outside of Murray and Bojan Bogdonovic, the Hawks shot 18% from three. That won’t cut it against the reigning Eastern Conference champs in the Garden, especially when Jayson Tatum (29 points) gets in his bag. 

Also, Derrick White (26 points, 3 blocks) legitimately looks like the Celtics’ third best player. Is that crazy to say? He originally played college ball at a culinary school, and now he’s cooking NBA defenses. Bon appetit, Boston!👨‍🍳

Monday’s Matchups

Kings *stomp* to a 2-0 advantage with 114-106 win against Warriors

Domantas Sabonis got elbowed, pushed, and Draymond-stomped, but kept getting back up on the way to a 24-point performance and a 114-106 Sacramento victory.

We won’t be like the negative media pundits getting caught up about who was at fault. You’ve seen the clip. Instead, we’re staying positive by (a) laughing at Draymond Green’s hilarious beef with the Kings crowd and (b) admiring Sabonis’ grit.

Kings spark plug Malik Monk added 18 of his own, including a nasty spin move into a stepback three, and received the prestigious beam-lighting honors. Steph Curry (28 points) was great for Golden State as usual, but Jordan Poole was getting drowned on defense and the Kings were simply better down the stretch—no surprise when you have the 2023 Clutch Player of the Year on your team (read about that below!).

Sixers snatch 2-0 lead over Brooklyn in 96-84 win

This one started out a little iffy for Philly—Cam Johnson had himself a game and even put Joel Embiid on a poster. The Nets even led by five at half, and it felt like it should’ve been more! However, Johnson only scored 6 in the second half and Brooklyn mustered just 35 points.

Then Philly switched into overdrive. Let’s be clear: the Nets aren’t playing bad defense on Embiid and the Sixers. The Process has simply matured his playmaking game to calmly handle double teams and make the D pay. With the ball out of his hands, the potential MVP wreaked havoc with 19 boards, 7 assists and 3 blocks including a vicious volleyball spike. With James Harden feeling a little cold, the likes of Tyrese Maxey (33 points) and Tobias Harris (20 points) came up big offensively.

Latest News

Late last night, it was announced that Draymond Green would be suspended for Game 3 of the Warriors v. Kings series after he stepped on Domantas Sabonis’s chest during the fourth quarter of Game 2. It’s a massive blow for Golden State, who is down 0-2 for the first time in a playoff series since the dawn of the Steph Curry era and is now without its 4X All-Star defensive anchor. Will the San Francisco sky glow purple tomorrow night? 🤔 

Award Season!

De’Aaron Fox swipes inaugural Clutch Player of the Year

Studies show that humanity’s only hope to curb global warming is De’Aaron Fox, ‘cuz that man is COLD!! Fox was rewarded for his year-long heroics in clutch time with the NBA’s first-ever Clutch Player of the Year award, and we couldn't be happier for him. Swipa was the obvious choice, as he scored 194 points in clutch time (a.k.a. when the score is within 5 points with 5 minutes or less remaining). For context, the award’s runner-up DeMar DeRozan had 159 and third-place Jimmy Butler had 151. This man is more clutch than a handbag store!

Not long ago people were wondering if Fox would ever make an All-Star Game. Now, he’s a crunch-time killer and likely All-NBA player, all while being cemented in NBA history as the inaugural CPOY!

Jaren Jackson Jr. takes home DPOY

Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr has won the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year! In just 28 minutes a game, Jackson Jr. averaged a monstrous 3 blocks per game and allowed a league-lowest 47% of shots at the rim to go in. Our man was a human eraser in the paint… even if the Memphis score keeper penciled in an extra block or two. 😆

Before the 2018 draft, optimistic scouts claimed the Michigan State product had a DPOY-caliber ceiling. But let’s just appreciate how quickly JJJ smashed those lofty expectations. At 23 years old, he joins 2015 Kawhi Leonard, 2009 Dwight Howard, and 1986 Alvin Robinson as the youngest players to win DPOY. That’s elite company, folks!

Here’s 30 minutes of defensive highlights for your viewing pleasure—yes, defensive highlights can be fun too!

Frozen Moments

• In an event that would’ve broken the Internet in 2017, Russell Westbrook swatted Kevin Durant.

• Charles Barkley made a heinous comparison for Stephen A. Smith.

• When being interviewed after his DPOY win, Jaren Jackson Jr. got a special visitor.

What We’re Enjoying

The NFL Draft is next week, so The Ringer’s Ben Solak took a look at which quarterbacks are musts and which are busts: Charting the 2023 NFL Draft’s Big Four QBs.

Plus, we didn’t know that Bad Bunny’s reggaeton would mix with the acoustic guitar-based music of Mexico, but it totally works. Watch the world’s #1 artist vibe out with talented guys in cowboy hats:

Signing Off

We’ll leave you here! Remember to text a friend or a loved one today. Positive vibes >>>

-Conor Geelan

Trivia Answer: Excluding LeBron James, Derek Fisher has faced the most NBA franchises in the playoffs with 23!