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Happy Friday, everyone! Hope you have some fun weekend plans lined up. Let’s get right to it.
🏀 Good morning to all, but especially to …
THE MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
The Timberwolves are right back in the thick of things, and best of all, their injury scare to Anthony Edwards was just that — only a scare. Minnesota knotted up its series with Golden State at one game apiece with a 117-93 win over the Stephen Curry-less Warriors.
Julius Randle was outstanding with 24 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and Edwards returned after a second-quarter ankle sprain to finish with 20 points. Nickeil Alexander-Walker also had 20 off the bench.Jaden McDaniels is simply awesome on both ends, and he finished with 16 points, three steals and three blocks. He joined Kevin Garnett as the only Timberwolves players to hit those latter two numbers in a playoff game.After shooting 5 for 29 (17%) from 3 in Game 1, Minnesota was 16 of 37 (43%) in Game 2.
With Curry (hamstring strain) sidelined, the Timberwolves feasted on Golden State’s offense, turning 20 turnovers into 22 points and holding Golden State to 9 for 32 (28%) shooting from 3. In a have-to-have-it game, Minnesota took care of business in impressive fashion.
Honorable mentions
🏀 And not such a good morning for …
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THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
Well, that was ugly. It took the Warriors nearly five minutes to score their first points of the game, and for the most part, it didn’t get a whole lot better. Going in, one would have expected a big — or at least aggressive — Jimmy Butler performance. Instead, he took just 13 shots and finished with 17 points. Simply put, the Warriors need more from him, Brad Botkin writes.
Botkin: “Butler has had an indisputably positive impact on the Warriors, who became an instantly different team the second he showed up from the Miami Heat at the trade deadline. But that big-picture fact, and all the praise that has been showered upon him as a result, has largely shielded him from having to answer questions about his jarring reluctance to shoot, and score in general, until all other options, even considerably less optimal ones, have been exhausted.”
Furthermore, Draymond Green got a technical foul and had some pointed thoughts on it afterward.
If there’s a silver lining, it’s Jonathan Kuminga’s team-high 18 points off the bench. In and out of the rotation all season, Kuminga is suddenly a key factor for Golden State’s chances without Curry, Sam Quinn writes.
😣 Not so honorable mentions
🏀 What’s wrong with the Celtics?
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No one expected the Celtics to be here. Not here as in the playoffs — everyone expected that — but here here: down 2-0 to the Knicks in the second round after becoming the first team in the play-by-play era (since 1996-97) to blow a 20-point lead in multiple playoff games.
These are the reigning champs who returned everyone. They went 61-21 and got past a physical Magic team in the first round in short order. Yes, the Knicks have clearly succeeded in their goal of building a team that can beat Boston, but still, this is a stunner.
So what’s going wrong? Jack Maloney examined four major issues, and it starts with ice-cold shooting.
In two games this season, the Celtics are shooting 25% from 3 overall, 25% on wide-open 3s and 25% on open 3s.In the regular season, the Celtics shot 37% from 3 overall, 41% on wide-open 3s and 35% on open 3s.The Celtics shot 35.1% on all field goals in Game 1 and 36.2% in Game 2. Those are their two worst shooting performances all season.
All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum has to improve, even if his perimeter struggles continue, Jack writes.
Maloney: “Thus far, he’s averaging 18 points, 15 rebounds and 5.5 assists on 12 of 42 (28.6%) from the field. … ‘I take full ownership on the way that I’ve played in this series,’ Tatum said. ‘Can’t sugarcoat anything. I need to be better, I expect to be a lot better.'”
Kristaps Porzingis said that losing the first two games “kinda takes all the pressure off” the Celtics, but considering they’re the reigning champs with a roster breakup looming this offseason, I’m not so sure about that.
🏀 NBA Draft Combine most intriguing participants
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While most of the NBA attention is rightly on the magnificent postseason, the league’s next wave has a big weekend, too. The NBA Draft Combine begins Sunday, and Kyle Boone has a new Big Board of the top 50 prospects. Here’s his top five:
Cooper Flagg, SF, Duke (scouting report)Dylan Harper, PG, Rutgers (scouting report)Ace Bailey, SF RutgersVJ Edgecombe, SG, BaylorTre Johnson, SG, Texas (scouting report)
Some of those guys may not do much — if anything — at the combine, but others certainly will. Among Kyle’s five players with the most to prove is …
Boone: “Egor Demin — Viewed as the best passer in the class but also seen to have plenty of flaws — namely his shooting and how that projects long-term — which makes this week especially important. Demin’s slipped from a surefire top-five pick early in the season to a range somewhere between 10-20 but he could help himself this week by showing off the other areas of his game beyond his passing. Oh, and showcasing the passing might not hurt, either.”
One of the most hyped and potentially most consequential draft lotteries ever is on Monday night, with 13 teams hoping the ping pong balls bounce in their favor to draft Flagg. Cameron Salerno assessed which teams would benefit most by adding Flagg, though I’m sure they’d all love him.
📺 What we’re watching this weekend
Friday
🏒 Maple Leafs at Panthers (Maple Leafs lead 2-0), 7 p.m. on TNT/truTV🏀 Cavaliers at Pacers (Pacers lead 2-0), 7:30 p.m. on ESPN🏒 Stars at Jets (Stars lead 1-0), 9:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV🏀 Thunder at Nuggets (Series tied 1-1), 10 p.m. on ESPN
Saturday
🏀 Celtics at Knicks (Knicks lead 2-0), 3:30 p.m. on ABC🏒 Capitals at Hurricanes Game 4, 6 p.m. on TNT/truTV⚾ Cubs at Mets or Giants at Twins, 7:15 p.m. on Fox🏀 Warriors at Timberwolves (Series tied 1-1), 8:30 p.m. on ABC🏒 Golden Knights at Oilers Game 3 (Oilers lead 2-0), 9 p.m. on TNT/truTV
Sunday
🏀 Thunder at Nuggets Game 4, 3:30 p.m. on ABC🏒 Jets at Stars Game 3, 4:30 p.m. on TBS/truTV⚾ Phillies at Guardians, 7 p.m. on ESPN🏒 Maple Leafs at Panthers Game 4, 7:30 p.m. on TBS/truTV🏀 Cavaliers at Pacers Game 4, 8 p.m. on TNT/truTV
