Klay Thompson joins Stephen Curry and James Harden as only players to make 300-plus three-pointers in a season

Yossi Gozlan: There’s probably going to be some easing into that before they go dollar for dollar. I think this is pretty notable because of how teams are going to have to plan ahead if they’re planning on spending and becoming a second apron team. This could really dictate how certain teams operate this offseason. This might be their last chance to do an uneven trade. The Kevin Durant trade to the Suns and the James Harden trade to the Nets are recent examples of trades that wouldn’t have been legal under if the second apron had already been implemented. When those teams did those trades, they took full advantage of the 125 percent amount rule and they basically sent out the minimum salary requirements. -via HoopsHype / April 9, 2023

Keith Pompey: #Sixers’ Joel Embiid, James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, PJ Tucker and De’Anthony Melton will miss tomorrow’s game against the Brooklyn Nets. Georges Niang is listed as questionable. -via Twitter @PompeyOnSixers / April 8, 2023

Simmons will be in street clothes when the Nets host the 76ers on Sunday in the low-stakes finale, and when they travel to Philadelphia next week for the games that count. Forget the fact they’ve lost three straight to the Sixers. The Harden-Simmons subplot will add spice to what has the potential to be a rivalry. “Definitely,” Dinwiddie said. “I think we need a little more long-standing success as a rivalry to call Philly a true rival, but we have had some iconic meetings when I was there. They had a little beef; Nic [Claxton] and Embiid got into it, and Embiid had elbowed Jarrett, stuff like that. I’d say it’s too early.” -via New York Post / April 8, 2023

Kerith Burke: Kerr said he pulled Klay aside pregame and said, I know you’re five threes away, just let it happen. Klay said, “Okay, no problem coach.” Then Klay hit five threes in the first five mins. -via Twitter @KerithBurke / April 9, 2023

Kerith Burke: Kerr on Klay chasing 300 threes: “I am definitely concerned,” said Kerr with a laugh. “My message will be you’re much more likely to get it if you don’t try to get it and that’s the truth.” Klay comes into the final game with 295 threes, the league leader. -via Twitter @KerithBurke / April 9, 2023

The Golden State Warriors will have to wait until Sunday to determine if they will make finish the season with a top-six seed in the Western Conference or if they’ll have to go through the play-in tournament. But either way, the team is confident it is finally hitting its stride. “I don’t see a team who can beat us in a seven-game series when we’re healthy,” Klay Thompson said. -via ESPN / April 8, 2023

“Defense, for me, is kinda like second nature,” Jaden McDaniels told Yahoo Sports. “I just need to watch film, for real.” He scanned footage of Bridges with Wolves assistant coach Joe Boylan just after his pregame warmup, sitting on Minnesota’s bench with a laptop, pointing out his tendencies and cramming for that imminent test. He is frequently studying tape with Boylan or Timberwolves player development staffer Chris Hines, preparing to pester each rival’s leading scorer, from interminable wings like Durant and Bridges, to smaller speedsters like Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard. “You can see their frustration in people when they can’t go around you,” McDaniels said. “I like to ruin their night.” -via Yahoo! Sports / April 9, 2023

Clutch Points: Bob Myers: “How come we’ve been able to maintain [success] for 9 years?” Steve Kerr: “Because of Steph Curry… I think Steph has kept this thing afloat because of the power of his own humanity and who he is on top of how great of a player he is.” pic.twitter.com/NJWwwRHZqO -via Twitter @ClutchPointsApp / April 7, 2023

According to ESPN Stats & Information, the last time scoring went up from the regular season to the playoffs was 1984-85. Last season, playoff teams’ scoring average dropped by six points from the regular season to the playoffs. Meanwhile, All-Stars who made the playoffs last season saw their usage rate drop by 1.83% from the regular season to the postseason, per ESPN Stats & Information, the second-largest drop-off since playoff seeding began in 1984. But Curry, whose playoff scoring average of 26.6 eclipses his regular-season average of 24.6, thinks the game’s best will have no problem keeping the record point totals going well into the postseason. “You try to take away their bread and butter, but they’re still going to find a way to score, [because of] how skilled we all are,” Curry said. -via ESPN / April 6, 2023