Happy Wednesday, all. Hope you’re well.
Let’s get right to it.
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Good morning to everyone but especially to…
THE BROOKLYN NETS…
The Nets are into the playoffs, and they’re ready to make some noise. Brooklyn took care of business in the play-in tournament last night, beating the Cavaliers, 115-108, to earn the 7 seed and a first-round matchup with the Celtics.
- Kyrie Irving made his first 12 field goals en route to a team-high 34 points to go along with 12 assists.
- Kevin Durant had 25 points and 11 assists.
- Irving and Durant became the first pair of Nets teammates with 25 points and 10 assists in a game since Derrick Coleman and Rumeal Robinson in 1993.
While the offense came and went — especially when either Durant or Irving wasn’t on the court — the defense was encouraging, writes our NBA expert Brad Botkin.
- Botkin: “It wasn’t just Durant defending the rim; Nic Claxton was in there with five blocks. Everyone was committed to rotating and recovering and contesting shots all over the court; even non-shot blockers were making shots difficult in the paint. The Cavs are a limited team offensively, and they had success in transition and early offense, but when Brooklyn got back and set, it put forth a relatively good defensive effort.”
… AND ALSO A GOOD MORNING TO THE MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
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The Timberwolves also secured their spot in the playoffs with an impressive, come-from-behind 109-104 win over the Clippers. Minnesota finished the game on a 26-11 run, including 23-11 after star big man Karl-Anthony Towns fouled out.
This will be the Timberwolves’ second playoff appearance in the last 18 seasons, and their first-round matchup with the Grizzlies should be a great one. Both teams boast awesome young cores, scrappy supporting casts and really fun offensive stars, and they split the regular-season series 2-2. I can’t wait.
Honorable mentions
Not so honorable mentions
Previewing tonight’s final first round NBA play-in games ?
usatsi
Tonight we finish the first round of the play-in tournament with the Hornets visiting the Hawks in the East and the Spurs visiting the Pelicans in the West.
Charlotte and Atlanta split the season series 2-2, and all eyes will be on the battle between star guards Trae Young and LaMelo Ball, writes NBA reporter Michael Kaskey-Blomain.
- Kaskey-Blomain: “Young became just the second player ever to lead the league in both points and assists in the same season. … Ball isn’t quite as deadly as Young, yet, but he is similarly important to Charlotte’s offensive attack. A whole lot of what the Hornets try to do on that end stems from Ball’s ability to break down defenders and then find his teammates for open opportunities.”
That game should feature plenty of points and, if recent play is any indication, so should the nightcap. The Pelicans have been on fire offensively, notes NBA scribe Sam Quinn.
- Quinn: “The Pelicans have had the NBA’s No. 9 ranked offense since the trade deadline, but that doesn’t quite do justice to how good they’ve been considering the injuries they’ve dealt with. When C.J. McCollum and Brandon Ingram have been on the floor together, the Pelicans are scoring over 119 points per 100 possessions.”
The winners of tonight’s games will play the losers of last night’s games (Cavaliers in the East, Clippers in the West) on Friday for the 8th seed in their respective conferences. Here’s the full schedule.
Champions League: Real Madrid and Villarreal advance in dramatic fashion; two more matches today ⚽
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The Champions League always promises drama. Yesterday, it delivered… and then some. Real Madrid blew a 3-1 first-leg advantage before coming back with two late goals to advance past Chelsea, 5-4 on aggregate. Villarreal also used a late goal to stun Bayern Munich, 2-1 on aggregate.
We’ll start in Spain, where Mason Mount, Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner all scored to put Chelsea ahead 3-0 in the match and 4-3 on aggregate. But Rodrygo scored off a world-class assist from Luka Modric to force extra time, and Karim Benzema (who else?) headed the hosts into the semifinal.
It capped what was a truly memorable match, writes soccer expert James Benge.
- Benge: “Thomas Tuchel had challenged his Chelsea side to deliver ‘nothing else than a fantastic script.’ He could not argue that they failed to deliver. … In the end, Chelsea had put just too much energy into giving Tuchel the fairytale he wanted. They did their job and managed the comeback. The problem was that there were a few more pages left in the script thereafter.”
Meanwhile, Villarreal provided their own late drama, with Samuel Chukwueze‘s 88th-minute goal sending them through to the semifinal. After Villarreal had won the first leg 1-0, Bayern star Robert Lewandowski leveled the aggregate 1-1 early in the second half, but the German giants could not make it hold up.
Today we get two more second legs: Liverpool leads Benfica 3-1 and Manchester City leads Atlético Madrid 1-0. You can stream both matches on Paramount+. As for all you need to get ready…
How Gonzaga men’s basketball could try to emulate Notre Dame football ?
USATSI
Gonzaga men’s basketball has been one of the best programs of late no matter how you dice it.
- 23 straight NCAA Tournament trips
- 1 seed in five of the last nine NCAA Tournaments (and three straight)
- Seven straight Sweet 16s
The one thing missing, obviously, is a national championship. But, as our college basketball reporter Matt Norlander notes, they are also missing a better schedule. The ‘Zags play in the West Coast Conference, which, even after a very good 2021-22 season, rarely provides much competition for Mark Few‘s bunch (they’re 76-3 in conference play over the past five seasons). Plus, BYU — one of the top teams in the conference — is leaving for the Big 12 in 2023.
Gonzaga doesn’t really have the option to simply change conferences like BYU did, though. The school doesn’t have a football team and is relatively remote in terms of location compared to most power conferences. The one it’s nearby, the Pac-12, wouldn’t consider adding it.
So, how could Gonzaga address this issue? Form alliances, similar to Notre Dame football and the ACC.
- Norlander: “For Gonzaga, it doesn’t even have to always be against the very best Big East/Big 12 teams — just good programs. Cycle them in and have contracts that stipulate Gonzaga would play two of the five or six best teams from the previous season’s standings. … It would be great for college basketball if the Zags were able to spice up the TV slate in a given year with January games at home vs. Villanova, then at BYU. In February, a pair of tilts, say: on the road to play Marquette, then welcome in Baylor for a Gonzaga home game around Valentine’s Day.”
This was a really thought-provoking piece, and I’d love to see the idea happen. College basketball could always use more big-time games right after the football season ends, and this would be one way to deliver that.
What we’re watching Wednesday ?
⚽ Atlético Madrid vs Manchester City, 3 p.m. on CBS and Paramount+
⚽ Liverpool vs Benfica, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
? NBA play-in tournament: (10) Hornets at (9) Hawks, 7 p.m. on ESPN
? NBA play-in tournament: (10) Spurs at (9) Pelicans, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN