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Good morning everyone but especially…
Denver granules
All long postseason, file heat The defense frustrated the opponents. the Nuggetsalthough there is an offensive cheat code in Nikola Jokic And a supportive crew around it who can exploit vulnerabilities.
This deadly combination was clearly demonstrated in Denver’s 104-93 victory in Game 1.
- Nikola Jokic scored 27 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists. join Jason Kidd (in 2002) as the only player to have a triple-double in his Finals debut, W.J His 14 assists were the most ever by a position in a Finals game.
- Jamal Murray scored 26 points and 10 assists. This makes Jokic and Murray Second pair of teammates to have 25+ points and 10+ assists in the same Finals gamejoin Magic Johnson And James Worthywho did so in 1987.
- Nuggets led as many as 24. Miami cut that to nine in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late.
- Denver is 9-0 at home this postseason.
The binary star deserves the most credit, however It was Denver’s size and skill across the board that buried Miami early onSam Quinn writes for us.
there Some silver linings for Miami, thoughOur Bill Reiter writes.
- Bam Adebayo was outstanding with 26 points – at his best this postseason – and looking more comfortable on offense after a tough finals in the Eastern Conference.
- Jimmy Butler He only had 13 points—his fewest this postseason—and should be better going forward.
- Miami gone 13-39 (33.3%) of 3 Despite a lot of cool looks. Caleb Martin, Max Strauss And Duncan Robinson Combined to just go 2-23 (8.7%) from the floor and 2-16 (12.5%) from the depths. It probably won’t happen again.
Still, This is the first time Miami has lost Game 1. The second game is on Sunday.
Little honor
Not to mention the honorable
Preview the Stanley Cup Final with expert picks 🏒
The Stanley Cup Final starts tomorrow night with leopards collide with Golden Knights. like NBA Finals, it’s a great match between the smarts It is based in South Florida No. 8 seed from the east and explosive No. 1 seed from the west.
The Golden Knights are a slight favorite in Caesars Sportsbookbut the Panthers have shown throughout the playoffs that they don’t care about being underdogs (and apparently They don’t care about superstition either). Our Austin Nevison says The Florida Stars must shine to get rid of the upset.
- Nevison: “Matthew Tkachuk The Panthers have wanted to win this season, and that has only been magnified in the playoffs. … Tkachuk is a unique player, doing something special in 2023 NHL qualifiers. The Golden Knights have no player equal to Tkachuk… Sergey Bobrovsky He stole several games for the Panthers, and if he can maintain that level of play, the Golden Knights will be hard pressed to win four games.”
Chris Bengal, on the other hand, has Reasons why Vegas wins.
So, who do we pick? This is Chris’ opinion:
- sticks: The Golden Knights’ pool of talented forwards is likely to be the X-factor in this series. Vegas has a top-six line-up of forwards that includes the likes of Jack Eichel, Jonathan Marquessault, Mark Stone And Chandler Stephenson, For example but not limited to. This is the team that averaged 3.65 goals per game during the Stanley Cup playoffs, which ranks third among playoff teams. … I think the Golden Knights scoring depth will be the difference and lead them to their first Stanley Cup. Pick – Golden Knights defeat Panthers, 4-3“
Here are more players to watchAnd Here is the series schedule.
Winners, losers who NBA Draft Deadline Day, plus the Top 25 and 1 🏀
Another NBA draft deadline has come and gone, and we have Lots of winners and losers From a hectic few days in which surprises arose in both directions. in Yesterday’s newsletterwe mentioned Kentucky As a team he has tons to replace, and Wildcats find themselves among losers by David Cobb.
But what about some of the winners? Two teams that have made record-breaking NCAA Tournament returns have returned key pieces:
- cup: “FAU returns all five starters from the Final Four team On Wednesday, the Owls crossed another hurdle as top scorer Alija Martin And Jonelle Davis They announced their withdrawal from the project. … Creighton welcomes back the key players – This week’s news that Trey Alexander And Ryan Kalkbrenner On the way back means the coach Greg McDermott It will have three starters again. He’s also added a powerful move class to help atone for the departed. This team will compete for the Big East title.”
naturally, No team has a greater return – in the literal and figurative sense – who Bordeaux with Zack Eddy. That jumped the Boilermakers up to No. 2 in Top 25 and 1 for Gary Parish. Here are the top five:
- 1. Kansas
- 2. Bordeaux
- 3. Duke
- 4. FAU
- 5. Michigan
MLBPitch clock works wonders on multiple levels ⚾
Like it or not (and you should!) The stadium clock works the way MLB intended it. We have Matt Snyder The numbers behind it.
until the end of may, Game time for nine-inning competitions is very low – even with goals scored.
- 2019: Three hours and 10 minutes
- 2020: Three hours and six minutes
- 2021: Three hours, 11 minutes
- 2022: Three hours and six minutes
- 2023: two hours and thirty-nine minutes
Perhaps just as important, Attendance is also high. It’s more evidence that the watch is good for the gameeven if not everyone likes the accelerated pace.
- to cheat: “The die-hard fans who stand against the stadium clock still watch the game, and they do so along with new fans. Attendances at every game are high this season, if modest, and there hasn’t been an increase in the front – with full crowds allowed – since 2015. … Independent polls show the pitch clock is garnering more attention just as MLB says all its own internal polls say it’s very popular.“
I’ve been to a few MLB games this year. The court clock takes some getting used to, and you’re likely to miss an event if you get on concessions, A defect Matt addresses in his article. but I totally agree with Matt that pitch hour is a good thing.
Ask yourself: Would you rather miss a bat or two or wait a half hour with nothing happening? If losing a batter was the price to pay for more fans and more excitement, I’d gladly pay it.
Where will Lionel Messi arrive once he leaves Paris Saint-Germain? ⚽
Lionel Messi He spent last fall leading his country to World Cup glory. He will spend this fall in a new uniform.
The end of tomorrow’s season will be Messi’s last match with Paris Saint-Germain , As the all-time greats will see his contract expire this summer. Messi scored a goal last weekend in the name of Paris Saint-Germain clinched the French League title For the eleventh time, a record. But with the Parisians struggling in international competitions and Messi expected to turn 36 this summer, they decided to move in a new direction.
Messi now has a great decision to make. Roger Gonzalez Five possible options for Messiand number 1…
- Gonzalez: “Barcelona – The reason for Messi’s departure is that Barcelona put themselves in such a financial predicament that they were unable to re-sign him. Over the past couple of years, they’ve somehow invested heavily in the team despite those financial hurdles, pulling their so-called “levers” to make money. How many levers they have now is not exactly known and how in the world they make this work out of me, but it has been clear for months that they, including the chief John LaportaThey will do their best at all.”
What we’re watching this weekend 📺
Saturday
⚾ Yankees at Dodgersat 7:15 p.m. on FOX
🏒 Panthers in Golden Knights8 p.m. on TNT
🏀 Storm in Sparks10 p.m. on CBS Sports
⚾ Cubs in the Padresat 10:10 p.m. on FOX
Sunday
🏀 Heaven in freedom2 p.m. on CBS Sports
🏀 Reheat in nuggets8 p.m. on ABC