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I’ll pick the winners of both NCAA Tournaments! Give me South Carolina for the women’s side. I’ll take the Gamecocks over JuJu Watkins and USC. For the men’s tourney, I’ll take Houston over Memphis. I’ve given this almost no thought, which gives me my best chance!
How Was Your Weekend?
Magic end Cavs’ 16-game winning streak
I couldn’t believe what I saw in the second half of yesterday’s showdown between the Cavaliers (56-11) and Magic (32-37). Jamahl Mosley’s team wasn’t just pressuring full-court. The Magic were borderline running a full-court press against the NBA’s best offense. It worked! Orlando turned a seven-point deficit into a tie game in 26 seconds.
Anthony Black stole the ball from Ty Jerome in the backcourt and got Franz Wagner a layup. Then, the Magic forced Jerome to lose the ball out of bounds just past half court. Wagner hit a 3-pointer on the next possession. Then, Gary Harris stole the ball from Donovan Mitchell right after an inbound under Orlando’s bucket and laid it in.
Orlando has been struggling a lot, even with Paolo Banchero and Wagner back in the lineup following extended absences. Cleveland has been blitzing the league at a historic level. But we also remember the Magic taking the Cavs to the brink of a Game 7 in the first round before bowing out back in early May. Orlando didn’t seem impressed by the Cavs’ newfound dominance this weekend. The Magic bodied Cleveland. They were physical. And they forced the Cavs to rush an offense that usually demoralizes opponents.
I don’t know if it’s a blueprint for other squads, but maybe Cleveland doesn’t want Orlando to end up as the No. 8 seed following the Play-In?
Wizards own the Nuggets
No, I’m not drunk. Let me bring you back to Dec. 7, when Nikola Jokić dropped a career-high 56 points against the Wizards, and the Denver Nuggets lost 122-113 because Jordan Poole lit them up for 39. Saturday night, Jokić had a chance for some revenge. The Nuggets are in a much better place, and their best player is battling Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the MVP. Unfortunately for Denver, that better place doesn’t exist in front of the Wizards.
With the game tied and about five seconds left, Poole took the inbound pass, dribbled once and launched a 37-footer in Denver. He coldly knocked it down.
Fourteen of Poole’s 19 points happened in the fourth quarter, and they were all via ridiculous shots. Alex Sarr had 34 points against the three-time MVP. As for Jokić? In two games against the Wizards, he has 96 points, 29 rebounds and 16 assists. He’s 0-2. Jordan Poole is the Bill Russell to Nikola Jokić’s Wilt Chamberlain.
Murray still torturing the Lakers
It wasn’t all bad this weekend for Jamal Murray and the Nuggets! Although they did nearly lose a game at home to a Lakers team that was missing LeBron James, Luka Dončić, Jaxson Hayes and Slava Medvedenko (technically true). They were so desperate for bodies that Markieff Morris played nearly 24 minutes. But the close game gave Murray one more opportunity to ruin the night for Lakers fans.
This was essentially the game winner with six seconds left. The Lakers turned it over on the final possession for a Russell Westbrook exclamation-point dunk.
Celtics reserve made some history
Payton Pritchard, Boston’s soon-to-be Sixth Man of the Year, set an NBA record this weekend. In a win Saturday night over the Nets, Pritchard knocked down his 219th 3-pointer this year — the most in a season from a player coming off the bench. The previous record holder? Wayne Ellington with 218 for Miami in the 2017-18 season.
The story of the greatest players in NBA history. In 100 riveting profiles, top basketball writers justify their selections and uncover the history of the NBA in the process.
The story of the greatest players in NBA history.
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The Last 24
Is this the closest MVP race ever?
👀 Tight competition! The “No Dunks” crew discusses the five most dramatic MVP duels in NBA history. Where does Jokić-SGA rank?
🏀 Revisionist history. The Knicks reveal where they almost went to college. Brunson at Michigan State?
😡 Furious. J.B. Bickerstaff let the refs have it after losing to the Thunder. Was he right?
🌞 Uh-oh. Are Suns fans going to have to go through another bad breakup? Could they trade Devin Booker?
👀 Wearing thin. The Mavericks are “sick and tired” of fans chanting, “Fire Nico.”
📺 Don’t miss this game tonight. Nuggets (43-25) at Warriors (39-28), 10 p.m. ET on ESPN or Fubo (try it free!). This could be an epic playoff series preview!
📺 League Pass gem. Pacers (37-29) at Timberwolves (40-29), 8 p.m. ET on League Pass (get it here!). The Wolves are one of the hottest teams in the league and Indiana is dangerous.
New Podcast Launching
Zena Keita talks podcasting, women’s hoops
It’s a great time for women’s hoops. We have a full schedule from now through the summer and fall. Here’s all the stuff to follow just in the next two months:
- Tonight is the Unrivaled championship between Chelsea Gray’s Rose team and Rhyne Howard’s Vinyl (7:30 p.m. ET on TNT).
- Women’s NCAA Tournament starts Wednesday.
- The WNBA Draft is April 14.
- The WNBA season begins May 16.
Oh, I forgot maybe the biggest detail — one that’ll help guide you through this action: It’s “No Offseason,” The Athletic’s revamped women’s basketball podcast! Zena Keita, Sabreena Merchant, Chantel Jennings and Ben Pickman do a phenomenal job taking us through everything you could possibly know. They’ve got a big episode dropping today, so I stole some time with Zena in a little Q&A.
What’s your favorite conversation/debate when it comes to “No Offseason”?
Zena: “When our debates allow us to contextualize today’s game with the past. Just like the NBA’s GOAT debate is never-ending and messy because of its historical layers, women’s basketball has its own complex history that can make evaluating the greatness of today’s landscape difficult. For example, Juju Watkins is a bucket at USC, but how will her college career stack up against Cheryl Miller’s? If the Minnesota Lynx win the ‘25 WNBA title (their fifth in 15 years and the most for any WNBA franchise), are they a better dynasty than the Houston Comets, who won four chips … in a row?
There are rumors that authors of certain newsletters are begging to be a guest. Aside from them, who is a bucket-list guest for you on the pod and why?
Zena: “To that ‘certain’ author, please know they’re always welcome to flex their women’s hoops knowledge. 🙂 But aside from them? Candace Parker. Her knowledge and experience in the game is unmatched — on all levels. She’s a future HOFer who has lived many lives through her basketball journey. I know she has stories.”
What’s your favorite part about the growth of women’s basketball right now?
Zena: “Seeing the respect for the league and its athletes grow in real time. The respect shows up in increased viewership numbers, WNBA expansion teams, the launch of new leagues like Unrivaled and Athletes Unlimited and in the commercialization of the players. And especially in the growing amount of dedicated spaces to engage with it — like this “No Offseason” pod. The ecosystem around the sport has grown tremendously — a direct result of the sport and its players finally receiving respect they deserve.”
We’re very excited here for this first episode!
NBA Stock Report
Are the Wolves back? Like really back?
With the Cavs losing, we have three teams out West now pushing to be the hottest team in the NBA. And shockingly, none of them are Oklahoma City. We have the latest trends you need to know in this week’s NBA Stock Report, and the market is going wild.
📈 The Timberwolves (40-29) are officially the hottest team in basketball. They’ve run off eight wins in a row and are battling the Warriors to get out of the Play-In Tournament. The Wolves are lighting teams up with an offensive rating over 125 and a true shooting that has been flirting with 65 percent the entire time. Julius Randle and Jaden McDaniels are playing the best basketball of their season.
📉 The Heat (29-38) are in a bad place right now. They’ve lost seven straight games, and they’re falling down the Play-In standings in the East. They’re now just a game ahead of the Bulls, and the post-Jimmy Butler Heat can’t score the ball at all. During the last two weeks, they have a 105.0 offensive rating. That’s by far the worst offensive rating.
📈 Rockets (43-25): Houston is once again one of the hottest teams in basketball! The Rockets are on a six-game win streak and have vaulted up the West standings to the current No. 2 seed. Granted, the schedule has been pretty light for them during this streak, but you can only play the teams in front of you. They have a chance of pushing this pretty far, though. The Rockets’ defense is suffocating with an excellent offense.
📉 Jazz (15-53): I wouldn’t say the Jazz are playing great basketball. Seven of those nine losses have been by single digits. They lost to Toronto twice, Washington and whatever’s left of Philadelphia … so Quentin Grimes. The Jazz are trying to develop the young guys and they’re getting good minutes, but this team can’t win.
📈 The Warriors (39-28) are the second-hottest team in basketball, having won seven straight games. The Jimmy Butler trade has been entirely transformative for them. The Warriors are 14-1 with Butler in the lineup, and he’s not even scoring lately. He has 32 total points in the last three games combined. The Warriors look like they’re back.
📉 Southwest Defense: I know what you’re thinking. “But Zach! Houston and Memphis are in the Southwest Division!” You’re correct, but so are the three worst defensive teams in the NBA over the last two weeks. The Pelicans have the third-worst defense with a 124.6 defensive rating. The Mavs have the 29th-ranked defensive rating at 126.4 the last two weeks. The Spurs are giving up a league-worst 128.8 defensive rating over their last seven games.
(Top photo: David Richard / Imagn Images )
