What do the NBA playoffs even look like without Steph Curry and LeBron James?
What do poorly-made WNBA uniforms look like? We might find out both of those answers soon.
No Curry, No LeBron?
What Happened: When most fans hear about play-in tournament, they think of mediocre teams, afterthoughts in the NBA landscape.
Not this season.
Why It Matters: Tonight the battle for the final two playoff spots in the West begins, featuring players and teams we normally associate as legitimate title contenders.
Golden State had to win 10 of its last 12 games just to earn the #10 seed in the conference, but will be favored over the Kings tonight by 2.5 points. Is Steve Kerr’s team still capable of a deep playoff run, or has the core of Curry-Thompson-Green hoisted its final trophy together?
The other game of the night features the Pelicans and Lakers, a game most books have with a spread of 1.5 favoring the Pels. The winner here gets a date against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, but is that something either team should even want? (More on that later for our subscribers.)
How We’re Feeling Today
A mixture of excitement and dread about the latest twist in Caitlin Clark mania.
After being taken no.1 overall in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever, a run on Clark jerseys began. Which, awesome stuff, glad to see the buzz around women’s basketball continue, etc.
Buuuuut are we all familiar with who is producing and selling these jerseys? Yup, that’s right: Fanatics! The very same company that is currently outfitting MLB players with see-through pants and lettering you’d need a telescope to read from the stands.
It’s going to suck when some youngster gets a jersey with the wrong WNBA team or Clark’s number printed as a hieroglyphic by mistake. But it also makes for fantastic comedy, so let’s make the best of it when the inevitable happens.
The Look Ahead
Steph Curry three-pointers – You don’t think Curry is going to stand around watching with the Warriors’ season on the line, do you? It’s do-or-die for Golden State, so expect Curry to let er’ rip tonight. His line is 5.5 threes; he’s bettered that number in two of his last three games, and Curry hit 6+ threes against the Kings three times in last season’s playoff series. If Curry doesn’t shoot lights out, it could be season over.
CJ McCollum POINTS + ASSISTS – Zion Williamson is the wild card for the Pelicans, but McCollum has been the consistent performer they need. He upped his scoring average almost 10 points in April to help ensure New Orleans at least qualified for the play-in, scoring at a 28.3 PPG clip. His P+A line is 28.5, a line he’s crossed in seven straight, including against the Lakers (25 points, 7 assists) in the regular season finale.
Cam York SOG – The Capitals have a playoff berth on the line tonight, but that doesn’t mean they are gonna learn how to play defense all of a sudden. Washington has lost four of five, primarily because of a leaky defense (19 goals allowed over that span.) For Philly, York has recorded multiple shots on goal in 10 straight games, so his 1.5 line doesn’t scare us here.
