The return of Dame Time | Life is about to get much harder for the Nets
Dame #Dame
Hello avid newsletter readers, it’s Shanna McCarriston back and ready to give you all the sports news you need.
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OK, now back to sports. Today we are talking top about the absolutely crazy night we had in the NBA, NFL players heading into next season, Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul and much more.
Let’s jump right in.
📰 What you need to know 1. Damian Lillard goes off in 2OT-loss to Nuggets, Lakers get blown out 🏀
“Instant classic” is really the only way to describe what we witnessed last night. The Trail Blazers and Nuggets put on a show at the Pepsi Center, and Damian Lillard was the star. Dame put on an electric performance, finishing with 55 points — including an NBA postseason record 12 three-pointers, in the contest.
BUT … his historic effort was not enough in the double-overtime game, as Portland lost on the road, 147-140, to put the series at 3-2 in favor of Denver.
Lillard was the single reason the game went to double-OT, as he hit two unbelievable clutch three-pointers: one at the end of the fourth quarter to tie the game and another at the end of the first overtime to extend the game to that second OT session. His historic night ending in a loss speaks volumes about what is wrong in Portland. As our Brad Botkin explained, the team needs to get Dame help:
Over in Phoenix, there was a less exciting playoff game that took place. The Lakers, without Anthony Davis, got blown out by the Suns, 115-85, putting the Suns up 3-2 in the series. LeBron James doesn’t lose in the first round of the playoffs, but the Suns are looking to do the near impossible and send the defending champions home.
2. The top 100 NFL players of 2021 🏈
Who wants to hop in the time machine, see the future and take a look at who the top NFL players of 2021 will be? Everyone reading this? What luck! Because that is exactly what we are about to do.
CBS Sports’ NFL expert Pete Prisco was tasked with the difficult job of predicting which stars will be at the top of the league next season and it is no surprise the top of his list is very quarterback-heavy. Now, I don’t think it will come as a surprise that the No. 1 player on the list is Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He couldn’t get it done in Super Bowl LV against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, but that wasn’t totally on him.
Without further adieu, here’s a look at the entire top 5:
A good year to be named Aaron, huh? I love putting Donald at No. 2, because, while it can be easy to go offensive players down the line for the top spots, the defensive end is absolutely dominant. While doubting Rodgers can be a difficult game, I’m gonna do it — but only a little. Calm down Packers fans. I think putting him at No. 3 heading into this season is slightly generous, though I’d still put him in the top 5.
Lastly, I know everyone is waiting for Brady to fall off, and while he is turning 44 in just a few months, I agree with Pete here. He has the motivation to go back-to-back and the Bucs resigned more starters than any other team in the league, meaning he will have the help he needs.
For the full list of 100 top players, as well as commentary, click here.
3. Nets playoff run will get increasingly more difficult 🏀
It’s wasn’t all west coast action in the NBA last night. Out east, the Nets sent the Celtics packing, ending the C’s playoff hopes and advancing to the conference semifinals for the first time since 2014. Brooklyn breezed past Boston, beating them 4-1 in the series after coming up with a 123-109 Game 5 win in New York.
The Nets can celebrate for now, but as our NBA scribe Michael Kaskey-Blomain noted in his post-game column, things are about to get a bit more difficult forJames Harden, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and company. The No. 2 seeded Nets will now face the No. 3 seeded Bucks. That is going to present much more of a challenge than the injured and struggling Celtics did.
The Nets know it will be difficult in the next series, as noted in the following comment:
The Big 3 showed off against the Celtics, combining for 85.2 points per game, the most by a trio in a playoff series in NBA history. They will need more of that as they face a tougher opponent. Meanwhile, the Bucks have been able to rest after sweeping the Heat and have their own trio in Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton they can rely on. Their team also has spent more time together as a whole.
Get your popcorn ready, because this is shaping up to be a great series.
4. Biggest storylines ahead of Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul 🥊
On Sunday, Floyd Mayweather is making his return to the ring while YouTuber Logan Paul is looking to come away with a huge upset. Mayweather might be a lot older than Paul (the 50 year old is 18 years older, to be exact) but at the end of the day he is still 50-0 as a professional and one of the best to ever do it.
There are a lot of questions and storylines heading into the big night, including the major one on everyone’s mind: could Paul really do it? Let’s take a look at the answer to that question, and get a snapshot of other things to look out for when the exhibition takes place, courtesy of our boxing guru Brent Brookhouse:
📝 Odds & Ends 📺 What to watch tonight
🏀 Hawks vs. Knicks, 7:30 p.m. | NYK -125 | TV: TNT
🏒 Canadiens vs. Jets, 7:30 p.m. I WPG -135 I TV: NBCSN
🏀 Mavericks vs. Clippers, 10 p.m. I LAC -300 I TV: TNT
Best thing I saw on the internet 🏅
Damian. Lillard. Need I say more? I know we discussed it above and I know the Blazers didn’t win, but his performance last night was more than worthy of another mention. Despite the loss he had one of the most electric postseason games in recent memory.