- The Grip
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- We won’t say I told you so
The Opening Tip
Lakers-Nuggets is playing out predictably
Joel Embiid probably should have been ejected
Kelly Oubre vs. cars, part 2
Tonight’s playoff games
1. Life comes at you fast
We won’t go full I told you so because you can’t really tell a bunch of hyper-competitive athletes to tank a postseason game, but here’s what we wrote about the Lakers-Pelicans play-in 10 days ago:
You can argue it’s risky to tank tomorrow because the second play-in becomes a win-or-go-home endeavor, but you can also argue the Lakers’ season is over if they have to play the Nuggets.
And here we are.
The Lakers have now lost 11 straight vs. Denver; the front office is leaking how annoyed they are with AD; D’Angelo Russell is sulking; and LeBron has arrived at the annual ‘it’s just basketball’ point of his playoff run.
Also: There’s a non-small chance Nuggets-Lakers tomorrow is LeBron’s last in LA.
2. Daily GIF: Was this eject-able?
Probably, right?
3. Trivia
4. Numbers we found interested but had no higher use for
50 points, 19 shots
When he wasn’t grabbing, elbowing, butt-screening and flopping last night, Joel Embiid was filling it up. He dropped 50 points on only 19 shots, the fewest attempts in NBA playoff history to reach 50.
2 car incidents
Kelly Oubre totaled his Lamborghini after the 76ers’ Game 2 loss, which, relatable. But this, if you recall, is his second weird car story this season. In November, he claimed to have been hit by a car; Philly police did their due diligence and essentially said, ‘no you didn’t.’
121-83
You aren’t aware of this, but the Magic and Cavs played a basketball game last night. The Magic won by 38 points. We’re boring ourselves just writing this.
Quick hits
Reggie Jackson limped off in pain last night but still managed to execute his handshake with DeAndre Jordan.
Chuck roasting ESPN for spending all season obsessing over the Warriors and Lakers is the best.
Props to Knicks players for not coach-speaking around Joel Embiid’s dirty plays last night.
Woj reported last night that Embiid has been dealing with Bell’s palsy for the last week, after which he added Embiid ‘has wanted to keep it private.’
This tweet was simply a month early.
Aaron Gordon speaking the truth about Nikola Jokic.
Reads + Pods
Underestimate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder at your peril [Defector]
A Celtics therapy session [Ringer NBA Show]
The NBA’s media rights renewal talks: Here’s what we know [FOS]
That's the buzzer.
Thanks for reading the 378th edition of The Grip.