Last week I said, “The hoops. They be f------ good, man.”
And they were!
But a whole lot has happened since then.
Going into Sunday, three teams had clinched their place in their respective Conference Finals, but that left one spot up for grabs. And that’s where we will start this weekend's roundup because holy crap was that something.
They’re the two best words in sports: Game Seven.
It’s appointment television. Doesn’t matter who (or what) you’re rooting for, or even if you’re not picking sides whatsoever and want to be a neutral observer. Just tuning in is special.
Somehow the game always grabs your attention no matter the situation. That’s the special nature of a Game 7. That’s why we love sports. The intrigue. The story. The heartbreak. The success. And sometimes we’re left standing in awe of sheer brilliance as an athlete does some berserk shit.
GAME 7: SIXERS at CELTICS
Two weeks ago we watched Stephen Curry lead the Golden State Warriors to a Game 7 win on the road against the Sacramento Kings.
That night, Curry broke Kevin Durant’s record for points in a Game 7 by dropping 50. Durant had poured in 48. But before Durant broke it, that record had stood for nearly 60 years, set by Sam Jones back in 1963 when he scored 47. Dominique Wilkins equaled that same 47-point record in 1988, but no one had surpassed it until Durant in 2021.
With Curry surpassing what Durant was able to do, it meant the record was broken twice in just three years. Considering how long the record had stood before Durant, it’s quite remarkable.
And then Sunday happened.
Jayson Tatum, who shot a dreadful 1-for-13 through the first three quarters of Boston’s Game 6 victory in Philadelphia before scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter that night to deliver the win, is your new Game 7 king.
51 points. 17-for-28 from the field. Also added 13 rebounds and 5 assists.
It made Tatum only the fourth player in NBA history to finish with at least 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists in a Game 7, joining Jerry West, Tim Duncan, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. He and West are the only two to have ever done it without the aid of overtime.
Tatum is also the second player in NBA history to have at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists in a Game 7 while finishing with 0 turnovers. Kobe Bryant is the only other player to do it, and Tatum still outscored Bryant by 21 points.
But rather than trying to only contextualize what Tatum did, let’s show some of it:
Even with his first basket of the game, it seemed like Tatum had understood the leverage he possessed by simply having the ball in his hands. There was an unwavering belief that it didn’t matter what the Philadelphia defense threw at him, it just wasn’t going to deter him. And he was right.
The first basket Tatum scores is a beautiful driving dunk. But the way Boston and coach Joe Mazzulla were able to get him involved early and against less-than-ideal defensive structures was very key, as was Tatum knowing exactly how to bend them to his will.
As Tatum comes off the early ball screen set by Robert Williams III, we see that the entire side of the court that Tatum is operating on is emptied out. This is what initially creates problems for the 76ers defensively, as Joel Embiid is now required to come up into the action rather than hang back further at the rim.
By spacing the floor as such, it allows Tatum more room to operate and attack seams than he would otherwise be afforded. It was a nice change for the Celtics and also shows why getting into early-clock offense is a major boon to offensive efficiency as defenses have to scramble on the fly rather than get set.
Tatum then leverages his ability to drill stepback threes at a high rate — more on this later! — by going with a hesi crossover right as Embiid commits to contesting what the big man thinks is an upcoming three-point attempt.
Instead, Tatum attacks against the grain and drives into a wide-open painted area as Marcus Smart drags Tyrese Maxey across the court. Even if Maxey had stayed at the rim after Smart cut through, Maxey is not a viable rim protector or even rim deterrent. This was just Phase One of Tatum’s excellence and Boston’s understanding of how to get him free.
Early offense is always key for teams, especially in postseason settings. But even when you’re not scoring within the first six or so seconds of a shot clock, you can still get the matchups you want because of how quickly you advance the ball and get into your actions. That was evident here.
Jaylen Brown pushes the ball up the floor, forcing Philadelphia to have to matchup defensively in ways they didn’t want to. Embiid is required to sprint back to cover Al Horford in the corner, which is part of why this is so important.
As the ball finds a sprinting Williams, we see the 76ers have to scramble defensively. Now, there are mismatches. PJ Tucker is on Williams, Maxey is on Brown, and Tobias Harris is having to guard Tatum.
Tatum instantly recognizes the mismatch, but he takes his time to allow teammates to get into position. Harden is already stunting at the nail to double should Tatum go middle, and Embiid is positioned to provide some help off of Horford but he can’t do it too much, or else it’ll leave Horford open in the corner.
The big thing about Boston pushing the ball up the floor early is that it forces Tucker to have to guard Williams down low, which puts Tucker as the last line of rim defense. That’s a victory in and of itself for the Celtics.
Lastly, just notice the placement of Tatum’s right foot in relation to Harris’ left foot. In MMA and boxing, there’s the sentiment that whoever controls the outside foot is leading the dance, so to speak. The reason being it’s easier to pivot and burst when your foot is in a wider position than your opponent’s. It’s all about leverage. And that’s what Tatum maximizes here.
As Tatum drives, he spots Harden dig at the nail and then spins away from the double. It’s a great move because it also spins him away from any help that Embiid might be able to provide had he kept driving in that direction, and it puts Tucker back into the play as the lone rim protector.
Tatum gets the beautiful left-handed layup to drop, and it’s very evident even near the midway point of the second quarter that the 76ers are searching for answers in the defending Tatum department. But you can also credit Boston for making it easier for Tatum to exploit the seams he’s being given.
The final play we look at is the coup de grâce. It ends in Tatum’s patented sidestep three-pointer that also nets Boston a two-for-one situation at the end of the first half.
Once again, Boston pushes the ball up the floor before running a pitch from Williams to Tatum that sees Williams set a high ball screen.
Remember earlier when Embiid was positioned higher up on the screen and Tatum used that to his advantage by getting Embiid to overreact to the threat of a three and then beat Embiid off the dribble for a layup? Well, Embiid is in a deeper drop.
Playing drop coverage isn’t inherently bad, but you also have to understand your assignment and what the player with the ball is capable of. When the screen is set this high up the floor, the dropping big has to also be higher up. The downside to that is it can also lead to them getting blown by a lot easier because of the greater distance they’ll be required to cover.
Embiid is clearly cognizant of this. He knows what happened earlier in the first half. Tatum got it going by getting downhill quite a bit, and Embiid doesn’t want a repeat of that to happen. Hence, he’s dropped back a tad deeper to shut off the driving lane that he thinks Tatum wants.
But that’s not what Tatum wants at all.
With the way that Harris is positioned coming off the screen, and with the way Embiid is squared up without the ability to jump out to contest, it allows Tatum a ton of space to get into the sidestep three that he loves so much.
Tatum covers a ton of ground, and it does border on what’s allowed legally as far as travels go. But it’s an incredible shot, and Tatum gets it off before Harris can navigate back across to deter it.
This shot gave Jayson Tatum 25 first-half points.
He then scored another 26 after this.
Yeah, the hoops. They were f------ good, man.
NHL PLAYOFFS
There were only two NHL games this weekend, but they obviously were very important due to it being, ya know, the playoffs.
Seattle Kraken 6-3 Dallas Stars (series tied, 3-3)
Edmonton Oilers 2-5 Vegas Golden Knights (Vegas wins, 4-2)
As much as Game 7s are awesome in basketball, they’re even better in hockey because of the sheer unpredictable nature of the sport. That’s what we’re getting thanks to Seattle’s 6-3 home victory over Dallas on Saturday night.
Last year, in their inaugural season, Seattle finished with the third-worst record in the NHL. This season, they’re on the verge of a Conference Finals appearance. That’s the way the cookie can crumble in hockey. It’s beautiful.
In their opening-round series, Seattle came back from down 2-1 against the defending champion Colorado Avalanche to beat them in six games. They then trailed Dallas 3-2 and have now forced a Game 7. Seattle winning on Monday night would be a special story, especially since it can deliver the unlikeliest Conference Finals maybe ever.
Vegas was an expansion team that came into the league for the 2017-18 season, and in their first year in existence, they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals before losing to the Washington Capitals in five games.
Well, for the third time in their six seasons, the Golden Knights are headed to the Conference Finals, thanks to defeating the Edmonton Oilers in six games.
Jonathan Marchessault, who was taken by the Golden Knights in their 2017 expansion draft, scored a natural hat trick to turn a 2-1 second-period deficit into a 4-2 lead that Vegas would never relinquish.
It now sets up the possibility for Vegas and Seattle to face each other should Seattle vanquish Dallas. What a cool storyline that would be, huh?
PREMIER LEAGUE
Results:
Leeds 2-2 Newcastle
Aston Villa 2-1 Tottenham
Chelsea 2-2 Nottingham Forest
Crystal Palace 2-0 Bournemouth
Manchester United 2-0 Wolves
Southampton 0-2 Fulham
Brentford 2-0 West Ham
Everton 0-3 Manchester City
Arsenal 0-3 Brighton
The first big note from this weekend is that the Premier League title is now basically sewn up for Manchester City after their 3-0 win at Everton was then followed by Arsenal’s dreadful 3-0 loss at home to Brighton.
Arsenal are four points behind City with only two matches left for Arsenal. City, meanwhile, have three matches to play. A win by City in their next Premier League match will clinch the title, or they could get it through a myriad of combinations. Either way, Arsenal’s magical season is going to fall short, but there’s no shame in that considering who they were up against.
The other big note is that due to Southampton’s 2-0 loss at home against Fulham, the Saints have sadly clinched relegation into the Championship. It ends an 11-year run in the top flight for Southampton, but considering their talent development and youth program, one would expect them to be heavy favorites to get right back up.
Lastly, a very subtle (but yet potentially important) thing happened in Aston Villa’s 2-1 home win against Tottenham.
In the 90th minute, Harry Kane knabbed a penalty goal to claw Tottenham back within a single tally of Villa. While it ultimately didn’t impact the final result, it could have lasting ramifications for the league and the fight between both Villa and Tottenham for a Europa Conference League spot.
Before Kane’s penalty strike, Villa and Tottenham were level on 57 points and both sat with a plus-5 goal differential. The next tiebreaker after goal differential is goals scored, which Tottenham led Villa in, 64-48. But Kane’s goal put Tottenham on a plus-6 goal differential and dropped Villa to plus-4.
This now means Villa has to make up an extra goal while playing against both Liverpool and Brighton to finish the season. Tottenham finish against Brentford and Leeds.
It was already a tough road for Villa, and making up an extra goal is tough enough. To do it against both Liverpool and Brighton, two teams competing for higher European spots than Villa, is doubly tough. Good luck to them.
BOXING
I’m not going to spend too much time on this as I didn’t watch the full fight, but I saw highlights that made me wonder what the hell I watched:
Referee Tony Weeks, who has done this for 30 years, made a bad call in stopping this fight between Rolly Romero and Ismael Barroso. It was ruled a TKO victory for Romero after Weeks stopped it late in the ninth round.
Some quick backstory: Barroso is 40 years old while Romero is a potential rising star whose only loss is to superstar Gervonta Davis. Earlier in the ninth round, Romero did knock Barroso down, but it also involved a slight push that could have essentially ruled the knockdown null and void had Weeks not arguably messed that up, as well.
At the time of the stoppage, Barroso was up on all three scorecards — 76-75, 77-74, and 78-73. Had the stoppage not happened, the 10-8 ninth round for Romero would have essentially tossed the fight into a coin flip going into the final three rounds, but this decision by Weeks robbed them of that opportunity.
Just another bad day for boxing.
UFC on ABC: ROZENSTRUIK vs. ALMEIDA
My only takeaway from this event is that heavyweight Jailton Almeida looks legit.
Will be interesting to see who Almeida gets next. Maybe a fight against Alexander Volkov?
LEFTOVER TIDBITS
NASCAR held a race at Darlington: William Byron won.
Doyle Brunson passed away Sunday. The poker legend was 89.
Ja Morant has been suspended again.
The NBA coaching scuttlebutt is reaching ridiculous levels.
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