Friday, April 30th, 2021

  The Opening Tip

• Are we idealistic enough to think the Clips could win the title?

• A brief history of Andrew Yang’s toxic relationship with the Knicks.

• A lefty Rockets player was fined $50,000 for frequenting a strip club, then scored 50 points. Sound familiar?

Tonight's best matchups

 1. Utah and Phoenix are one and two in the West. Who thinks they can win it all, though? 

In a twist that would’ve been laughable last December, the Jazz and Suns play tonight for the No. 1 seed in the West. (The game isn’t on national TV. We got your stream right here.)Both teams have been dynamite all season, have the two best records in the league, and yet … no one takes them seriously as title contenders, let alone Las Vegas.Here are the title odds as of this Friday morning:

• Nets +225 

• Lakers +350

• Clippers +600

• Bucks +700

• Jazz +700

• 76ers +1200

• Suns +2000

• Nuggets +3300

• Heat +3300

The No. 1 seed in the West usually means a silver spoon en route to a title. Seven of the last eight West No. 1 seeds have made the Finals and four of the last seven have won it all.In 2020-21, if the Suns win tonight, the No. 1 seed in the West entering the final two weeks of the season will have +2000 longshot odds at the title.Our bet to win the West (and the Finals)? Why not the Clippers at +600?Yeah, yeah: Asking why not the Clippers? is like asking Can Texas turn blue? but we’re old enough to remember when Kawhi Leonard Jordan’d all over the NBA (it was two years ago). Plus, they’ve had a completely under-the-radar, down-to-business season (they’re three games back of the No. 1 seed), their net-rating is elite, and they swapped Lou Williams for Rajon Rondo at the deadline. In playoff terms, that’s like switching Peyton Manning for Tom Brady.

 2. Daily GIF: Houston’s Kevin Porter Jr. scores one point for every $1,000 his fine cost him   

Houston’s Kevin Porter Jr., no relation to Michael Porter Jr., scored 50 points last night with 11 assists and nine made 3s in a 143-136 win over Milwaukee.Porter Jr.’s quick bio:

• He’s 20 years old (for four more days). 

• He got traded by the Cavaliers in January to the Rockets for a top 55 protected pick after getting in an argument with team officials. 

• On Wednesday, he was fined $50,000 for going to a strip club, so there’s a new James Harden in town.

He was also ranked 28th in his 2018 recruiting class, and showed why last night.And, now, here is the updated list of 20-or-younger players who have scored 50-plus: 

• LeBron James, twice 

• Brandon Jennings

• Devin Booker

• Kevin Porter Jr. 

Even if KPJ flames out and never becomes much in the league, he’ll always be a part of that random, exclusive club.

 3. Trivia time  

Devin Booker is the last player to score 70 in a game. Five other players have reached the 70-point plateau.How many can you name?Answer at the bottom.

 4. 04/30/2009: Ray Allen scores 51 against the Bulls  

On this day 12 years ago, Ray Allen scored 51 points in an eventual triple-overtime Game 6 loss to the Bulls, who were led by 35 from John Salmons(!) and 28 from rookie Derrick Rose.This series, which Boston eventually won in seven, featured seven overtimes and five games decided by three or less points. It’s been lost to time, but it’s on the short list of best first-round series ever.

 5. Andrew Yang's history with the Knicks, explained 

Andrew Yang, the New York native and NYC mayoral candidate who once wanted to give all of us $1,000 a month, has a complicated relationship with the Knicks, which has resurfaced over the last few weeks because the Knicks are good again, and because he might be trying to offer a peace gesture.Here’s a quick breakdown.1. It started in the '90s. Here's what Yang, who grew up in Westchester County, said on Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley's podcast last year:

"The Knicks led by Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley and those guys ... they were competitive throughout my entire teenage experience. Did they win a title? No. Did they lose to Michael every year? Yes. But we were good, hard-nosed, a great team to root for."

2. He broke things off in 2012. Letting go of Jeremy Lin was the end of it:

"I ended up kind of breaking up with the Knicks," he said on the same podcast. "It was just one bridge too far, but when they dumped Jeremy Lin, it was just too much. It was over money of all things. ... This is the franchise that paid Jerome ("Big Snacks") James like $30 million for, like, one good game."

3. How big a fan was he, really? Anyone dropping Big Snacks references must have been plugged in at some point. (We covered Big Snacks’ story in a 2020 newsletter)4. He's been rubbing it in on Twitter ever since his breakup. 

• Here is the famous one Knicks fans dug up recently. ("Breaking up with the Knicks was one of the best decisions of my life. I feel freer.")

• Here's the one about the Kristaps Porzingis trade. A pretty good jab, TBPH.

• Here was his promise in 2020 if elected mayor.

• Here he is celebrating Phil Jackson's departure. 

5. He might come crawling back.

The Knicks absolutely matter enough to New York that people wouldn’t vote for him solely because he’s been mean to their favorite team. Yang surely knows this, which is why he might be planning a soft return, evidenced by

tweet, and this ESPN radio quote from earlier this week:

“I just see the Knicks like an ex-girlfriend that you root for, you know what I mean? Like, you wish her well."

Sounds like a man who is starting to entertain the idea that he’s made a terrible mistake. 

 6.  Quick hits 

• The Warriors lost to the Timberwolves yesterday, but Steph Curry did more ridiculous stuff.

• Kyle Lowry played his 600th game as a Raptor last night. Here’s the side-by-side from game one to game 600.

• Kevin Durant dropped an easy 42 last night in a win over the Pacers. Highlights. 

• If only Anthony Edwardscould talk all of America through its vaccination appointments. 

• Austin Riversclearly has his dad’s public speaking skills.

 7.  Reads and podcast pick 

• The unstoppable, charming, incredibly telegenic Wizards are truly basketball’s feel-good story, no matter what the haters and losers say [Defector]

• Inside the day the Timberwolves learned of the Chauvin verdict [The Undefeated]

• Checking in on the Grizzlies [The Lowe Post]