SI:AM | The Suns Get Back on Track With a Win in Game 2
Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I feel a little sorry for Maple Leafs fans, but their playoff struggles are also quite funny.
In today’s SI:AM:
???? NBA overreacts and suspends Draymond
???? The Cavs’ lockdown defense
⚾ Tatis speaks ahead of return
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Home teams salvage splits
Suns fans were sweating yesterday when the officiating crew for Game 2 against the Clippers was announced. The crew chief for the game was Scott Foster, an experienced official who, for one reason or another, is terrible luck for Chris Paul. Entering last night’s game, Paul had lost his past 13 playoff games reffed by Foster.
But the streak was broken last night as Phoenix cruised past the Clippers, 123–109, to tie the series at a game apiece. Losing Game 2 and heading to Los Angeles down 0–2 would have been a dire situation for the Suns, but they can breathe a little easier with the series even.
A trend has emerged in the first two games of the series that could be troublesome for the Suns if they advance, though. Phoenix is getting no help from its bench (nonstarters have scored a total of 23 points in the first two games). That’s not the biggest problem when you have a starting five as good as the Suns do, but Phoenix is asking a lot of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Durant played 45 minutes in Game 1 and 44 last night, while Booker played 43 minutes in Game 1 and 45 last night. It’s unlikely that both players will be able to keep that up for very long, especially the oft-injured Durant.
The other home team that tied up its series last night was the Cavs. They smothered the Knicks defensively en route to a 107–90 victory before the series heads to New York on Friday. Cleveland had the best defense in the league this season and proved it last night, Chris Herring writes, by “setting effective traps and double teams while also making multiple efforts to get around high screens.” At one point in the first half, the Knicks went almost seven minutes without making a basket.
The Cavs would have been in big trouble if they were going to Madison Square Garden trailing 0–2. Fans in New York are so desperate for the Knicks to be relevant again and, if their 2021 playoff appearance was any indication, the crowd at MSG will be out of control when the series shifts there. After last night’s game, though, it’s entirely possible this series goes the full seven games.
Next up
Two more underdogs have a chance to go up 2–0 tonight before their series shift to their home courts. The Lakers will face the Grizzlies at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT and with Ja Morant dealing with a hand injury a repeat of Game 1’s blowout loss wouldn’t be a surprise.
The Bucks have their own injury concerns as they prepare to face the Heat at 9 p.m. ET on NBA TV. Giannis Antetokounmpo is listed as doubtful with a back injury. The Heat won Game 1 relatively easily after Antetokounmpo was forced to exit the game after playing just 11 minutes. If he’s not able to go tonight, it’ll be an uphill battle for the Bucks to even the series.
Meanwhile in the NHL
It would be silly to declare a seven-game series over after one game, but Maple Leafs fans have already had enough of their team. Toronto, which has not won a playoff series since 2004, got thumped by the Lightning in Game 1 last night, 7–3. The Leafs stunk right from the beginning, going down 3–0 in the first period, prompting the fans to boo them off the ice as the period ended.
Also last night, the Kraken won in their playoff debut, defeating the defending champion Avalanche, 3–1. How funny would it be if the NHL’s newest team won a playoff series before Toronto?
The best of Sports Illustrated
Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated
- Today’s Daily Cover is Tom Verducci’s conversation with Fernando Tatis Jr., who’s set to return tomorrow from an 80-game PED suspension and believes that, despite the layoff, he’s better than ever.
- Chris Mannix argues the NBA’s decision to suspend Draymond Green for stomping on Domantas Sabonis is a major overreaction.
- Stephanie Apstein spoke with Juan Soto about the difficulty of being traded and how he’s having fun again in San Diego.
- Gilberto Manzano tried to predict which 2023 quarterback prospects will pan out and which will be busts.
- Kevin Sweeney graded the biggest moves of this offseason’s college basketball coaching carousel.
- Damar Hamlin has been cleared to resume his football career.
- Purdue big man Zach Edey has declared for the NBA draft but will maintain his college eligibility.
- Jets forward Morgan Barron was sliced on the face by an opponent’s skate, received 75 stitches and returned to the game.
The top five...
… things I saw last night:
5. Darius Garland’s 26-point first half against the Knicks.
4. Angels prospect Trey Cabbage’s 487-foot home run.
3. Donovan Mitchell’s fake dunk, leading to an assist in the corner.
2. Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren’s goal from a tight angle against the Devils.
1. Nick Ahmed’s double off of a pitch that bounced.
SIQ
On this day in 1997, the Padres and Cardinals played the first MLB game in which city?
- Honolulu
- Tijuana
- San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Las Vegas
Yesterday’s SIQ: When the NBA’s owners voted on this day in 2008 to allow the Seattle SuperSonics to move to Oklahoma City, which teams’ owners were the only two to vote against the move?
Answer: Mavericks and Trail Blazers. Dallas owner Mark Cuban had been open about his opposition to the move as the vote neared. Cuban said he thought the franchise would be better off in a bigger market but also shot down speculation that he was opposed to the move because Oklahoma City was closer to Dallas than any other existing NBA market. He didn’t want the NBA creating a “Dust Bowl Division.”
“I think that’s bad for the league,” Cuban said. “Because there’s not enough TV weight. There’s not enough demand from a TV perspective from outside that little area. It’s nice, but when you’ve got San Antonio versus Dallas, which you’d think is a great marquee matchup, no one outside our area [cares]. That’s bad. You don’t expand the market at all.”
Commissioner David Stern told reporters Portland owner Paul Allen didn’t say why he had voted against the move.