I feel like they could have done a better job discussing where the teams were competing for point differential in the highlights. Like the Celtics doing hack-a-Drummond twice, the Nets needing to win by 19 and running out of time

Kings just need to lose by 11 or fewer and they can’t even do that

Am I crazy, or is this court Golden State-themed? This is in Sacramento?

Those people behind the Lakers bench had a whole meal

The Lakers finally realized Embiid is not going to risk a third foul to contest the paint before the half

Hell yeah, Embiid

The solution to the zone is not to have AD handle the ball outside the three point line

They’ll never catch Maxey

That was fun seeing AD and Embiid actually going after each other to start

I think the Sixers switched to this zone defense when Embiid got his 2nd foul and the Lakers just stopped feeding AD

Nurk’s brain turned off? The shotclock violation and then walking away from Brunson taking the shot

Say what you will about Book, but he’ll shoot himself out of a slump

If they overturn this, they just want the Bucks to win

If you’re Richaun Holmes and you miss the first free throw, do you try to miss the second? Or are you trying to send everyone home mad

The Suns traded Ayton for Nurkic, Grayson Allen, and Nassir Little (and Keon Johnson)

I’m not saying he has the answer, I’m just saying he’s better at that kind of thing than people think. I went back to look at Zion vs Harden matchups in the last 3 minutes of the game:

Zion fumbles the dribble, settles for a midrange that falls short

Early double by Powell above the break, Zion passes out

Ingram sets a screen, Harden knocks the ball out of Zion’s hand as he comes around the screen, Jonas recovers the ball and Zion resets. Zion drives to his right, Harden slows him up and Kawhi is filling the lane so Zion passes it to the corner

Zion drives to the rim, Paul George doubles and Zion misses the contested midrange shot. This is when he pulls down the rebound and scores.

One thing I’d point out about these possessions is that the Pelicans only scored on the last possession. Small sample size, but my point is just that Harden’s only skill is staying in front of big dudes. Remember when he was stopping Giannis in the 2021 playoffs on one leg?

Still matters if the Rockets win. Need the Rockets to win by less than 16

Post up, face up, Harden still does better stopping big guys from getting past him. You’ll notice down the stretch that Zion mostly settled for midrange shots over Harden

10 point win means the Suns are still safe in the wild card

The Pels announcers think the Zion vs Harden matchup is favorable for them 1 on 1. Post defense against strong guys is basically Harden’s only defensive skill. Zion won that rebound right there, but Harden’s pretty much shut him off down the stretch 1 on 1.