The NBA Finals hasn’t delivered much excitement…
can Netflix help fix that too?
Luka Lets Dallas Down
What Happened: The only scenario in which Luka Doncic should be watching the final four minutes and 12 seconds of an NBA Finals Game 3 in which his team entered trailing 2-0 in the series would be if it was putting the finishing touches on a blowout win.
Reader, that’s not what happened last night.
Doncic fouled out with his team down by just three points, dooming any chance of erasing a 21-point deficit and getting Dallas on the board in the series. He ended the game with 27 points without recording a double-double for the first time in these Finals.
The Mavs superstar pouting on the floor after committing his sixth foul summed up Game 3 pretty tidily.
Why It Matters: Well, the series effectively ended last night. Now, the only question is where the Celtics are crowned champs — do they pull off the sweep, or allow the series to get back to Boston to celebrate with the home crowd? (FanDuel’s odds say a sweep is likely at -105, with five games decided it at +160.)
Long the favorite to win Finals MVP, Jayson Tatum’s 31 points to lead the C’s probably locked up that individual award, even if Jaylen Brown was arguably better all-around last night.
Otherwise, is it too early for 2024-25 NBA futures?
How We’re Feeling Today
Up tremendously after being down so, so bad.
Yesterday we brought you the news that Joey Chestnut was disgracefully being banned from the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4th due to his signing an endorsement deal with a (maybe) rival company. A travesty, all around.
But now! Netflix has announced that not only will we get our fill of Chestnut this year, but it will also mark the return of his fiercest rival, Takeru Kobayashi, in a glizzy-gobbling competition on Labor Day.
The Michael Jordan and LeBron James (we’ll let you decide who is whom) of competitive eating haven’t squared off in over two decades. But after Nathan’s and Major League Eating dropped the ball and banished Chestnut from their July 4th event, Netflix was waiting in the wings to give America the showdown its been craving.
Chestnut opens as a huge betting favorite, but we aren’t sure we have the stomach to bet against Kobayashi and his six mustard belts. Either way, we’ll be tuning in..speaking of, anyone got a Netflix account we can borrow?
The Look Ahead
Alec Marsh STRIKEOUTS – Marsh goes up against the Yankees in his start today, certainly no easy task. While the Bronx Bombers might get their fair share of runs on the Royals starter, we also think Marsh’s 4.5 strikeout line is an interesting one. The righty has generated at least five strikeouts in five of his last six outings, and he’s coming off an 8-K gem against the Mariners. As a team, the Yanks are tied for the fifth-most whiffs of any team in baseball over the last two weeks, so Marsh has a good chance to pad his stat line a bit today.
