NBA Game 7 | Nuggets-Lakers Series Preview | Riff ‘Round The Bases | You Gotta Be
Celts & 6ers - Game 7
Mother’s Day | Sunday, May 14 | 3:30 PM ET | ABC
Boston Celtics
When the series was on the line for the Celtics in Game 6, Jayson Tatum stepped up in the 4th Quarter with 16 points after putting up a donut in the first half. Jaylen Brown was named to the All-NBA 2nd Team and if the Celtics plan on keeping both him & Tatum around they will reportedly have to dish out a combined $613 million based on how NBA contracts. Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown are tied for the best records in Game 7s, as they’ve both been a part of 6 of them and have won 5. Malcolm Brogdon leads the NBA playoffs in points and assists off the bench. Derrick White was the NBA’s leading shot blocker from the Guard position and was selected 2nd Team All-NBA Defense. Robert Williams returned to the starting lineup in Game 6 and was a menace on the glass. Al Horford holds the most playoff made 3’s at the Center position in NBA history.
Philadelphia 76ers
Philly Coach, Doc Rivers, owns a record of 6-9 in Game 7s. He has the most Game 7 losses of any coach in NBA history and he has never won a Game 7 on the road. When the NBA MVP of ‘23 was asked about Game 7 in Boston, Joel Embiid responded, “I have to finish the damn job.” James Harden has been sporadic in this series and is coming off a Game 6 where he shot 4 of 16 from the field to the tune of 13 points. Harden has a reputation for not showing up in big games but it should be Noted he was the driving force behind Philly’s Game 1 and 4 victories. Tyrese Maxey already dropped 30 points in Game 5 at Boston, he is for sure the Sixers X-Factor in terms of scoring. I could be way off base but with this Game 7 in Boston, I doubt you’ll see Tobias Harris make one memorable play and he’ll end up with like 11 points. De’Anthony Melton and Paul Reed might be more invisible than Harris. P.J. Tucker has made a career out of being a part of a big play or two in Game 7s.
Rivalry History
Since 1965, these two teams have faced off 13 times in a Playoff Series. The Celtics have advanced over the Sixers 9 times out of the 13. In series where these two teams have gone the distance of Game 7, the Celtics are 3-2. In 1981 and 1982, Larry Bird and Doctor J led teams that played each other in back-to-back Game 7 Eastern Conference Finals - with the C’s winning in 1981 and the 6ers in 1982. One of the most famous NBA brawls happened to take place between Boston and Philly where Doctor J took a swing at Larry Bird as Charles Barkley held Bird in a chokehold. No suspensions were given out, only fines worth a few thousand dollars.
Nuggets vs Lakers
Western Conference Preview
Denver Nuggets
Only 3 players in NBA history have averaged a 30+ point triple-double in a Playoff series. That would be LeBron James in the ‘17 NBA Finals, Russell Westbrook in the ‘17 Western Conference 1st Round the year he set the Triple Double Record, and Nikola Jokic last series against the Suns. It is absurd how in a league where the average NBA player has never been more athletic, this giant lumbering guy who looks like the bouncer at the pub down the street is dominating the NBA. I don’t care what Jamal Murray does in these playoffs, he will always be Bubble Boy to me. Joker and Murray are going to get there, Michael Porter Jr. will be the deciding factor if Denver will reach their first-ever NBA Finals. Nuggets head coach Michael Malone on Aaron Gordon, "Aaron is a definition of selfless... quietly goes under the radar, but the impact he is having is so profound, both on offense and defense, taking the other team’s best player.” It’ll be interesting to see if Gordon spends more time on LeBron or AD. Bruce Brown is a joy to watch, have to like watching little guys play big. KCP or KGB? Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is a Rich Paul client of Klutch Sports. Rich Paul, Adele’s boyfriend, is LeBron’s best friend. Did Rich Paul plant KCP on the Denver Nuggets this past offseason knowing that Denver would be playing the Lakers?!?!? Jeff Green is still doing it? Huh, nice!
Los Angeles Lakers
LeBron James has won 41 Playoff series in his career, the most of all time. Anthony Davis (not related if you’re wondering) responded to the wheelchair jokes with 17 points, 20 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks performance in Game 6 against the Warriors. D’Angelo Russell tried sneaking in his own sponsor drink, Coco5 drink, into the postgame press conference again and it again got snatched away from an NBA PR official. Austin Reaves’ half-court halftime buzzer-beater was a thing of beauty. Laker fans on Twitter are questioning why Dennis Schroder is getting more minutes than Rui Hachimura. The Lonnie Walker Game will go down in Lakers history if they can pull off another title chase.
Prediction: Lakers in 6.
Rivalry History
Going back to 1979, the Nuggets and Lakers have faced off 7 times in an NBA Playoff Series. LA has beaten Denver all 7 times. While these two teams did last meet in the ‘20 Western Conference Finals, I’d prefer to GIF the ‘09 Kobe vs Melo Western Conference Finals that went 6 games. Melo averaged 27.5 points per game and Kobe averaged a clean 34, a fun one to watch.
Riff ‘Round The Bases
The Rays are the most annoying franchise in baseball. Why doesn’t Hal Steinbrenner save some of his own money for Brian Cashman to light on fire and just buy out the whole Rays front office? The Orioles are fun, I guess. After every hit, their dugout now shoots water out their mouth in sprinkler-like form. The Blue Jays’ Matt Chapman is in the midst of his best offensive season while still playing gold-glove defense at the hot corner. The Red Sox CF Jarren Duran went on Sports Center this week and dropped 2 F-Bombs. Great job setting an example for the kids Jarren. When asked "Is there something special about Yankee Stadium for you?" Anthony Rizzo responded last night with, "It's the whole City of New York." No wonder Mike Francesa gave him his Pinstripes last night.
Carlos Correa is hitting .193 for the Minnesota Twins. You love to see it. Eduardo Rodriquez is pitching to a beautiful 1.57 ERA with 5 quality starts in 8 games pitched, he is an early CY Young candidate. Speaking of Quality Starts (when a pitcher goes more than 6 innings and gives up 3 or fewer runs), Cleveland’s Shane Bieber is tied for 1st in that stat with 7. The White Sox are brutal, this was supposed to be the Golden Era in South Side Baseball and it has fallen apart with a ton of can’t-miss prospects who have busted in the bigs. I feel like the Royals will never be good again at baseball until another 30 years when they will somehow randomly win a World Series playing small ball.
Nathan Eovaldi is in the middle of a 28.2 scoreless innings pitched streak, the longest current one in the MLB this season. He has stepped up in Jacob deGrom’s absence. Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani have almost identical stats at the plate. Each has 8 homers. Trout is hitting .287 to Ohtani’s .289, but the main difference between the two is that Ohtani has a 2.74 ERA while Trout has a 0.00 ERA. Jose Abreu still has yet to hit a home run as a Houston Astro. The Jarred Kelenic and Edwin Diaz-Robinson Cano trade between Seattle and the Mets keeps going back and forth year by year. After a year where Diaz was MLB’s best closer and Jarred Kelenic struggled, now Kelenic is hitting .290 with 7 homers in the heart of the Mariner lineup. The Oakland A’s fanbase now holds traditional "8th inning sell the team marches” every game at the Oakland Coliseum.
After a mediocre comeback season last year, Ronald Acuna Jr. seems to be back to his old self hitting 470-foot dingers while batting .345. Speaking of comebacks, Bryce Harper since returning to the Philadelphia lineup is hitting .340 and getting on base at a .417 clip in 8 games played. Luis Arraez puts all these guys to shame as he leads all of baseball in batting average while hitting .386 for Miami. Kate Upton’s husband got his first career victory as a New York Met. Congratulations! After getting off to a brutal start to the season, the Nats’ Patrick Corbin has thrown 4 Quality Starts in his last 5 games pitched.
The top of the Brewers’ rotation of Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, and Wade Miley gives Milwaukee nothing to write home about mid-3 ERAs that get the job done. Mitch Keller for the Pirates has seemed to have figured this pitching thing out. The former top prospect threw his first complete-game shutout last week and currently has a 2.70 ERA. The Cubs called up their top first base prospect, Matt Mervis. Mervis has some big pop in his bat so be on the lookout for his first career home run to come soon. Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene, the 2nd Overall Pick of the ‘17 MLB Draft, has shown flashes of elite talent that should give Reds fans some hope. I would never expect to see the Cardinals be this abysmal and I don’t understand why they sent down Jordan Walker. The St. Louis front office and management also threw Wilson Contreras under the bus for their bad start, as he will no longer be the team’s starting catcher.
It looks like we’re in the middle of another year, another dominant Clayton Kershaw season as the 35-year-old is now pitching to a 2.35 ERA. Zack Gallan’s 2.36 ERA in the dry heat of Arizona should also be Noted. The Padres despite all their big names, are 1 game under .500. The Giants have a fun rookie named Casey Schmitt who since making his Major League debut on Tuesday is hitting 8-for-12 (.667) with two home runs and four RBIs. This ties Schmitt with Hall of Famer Willie McCovey for the most hits by a Giants player through his first three games since 1901. I wonder if they’ll name the parking lot in LF after Schmitt like they gave McCovey the Bay? The Rockies’ Kris Bryant got his 1,000 career hit last week.
Alright @YouTheReader, I was very close to going with Stacy’s Mom by Fountains of Wayne as a homage to Mother’s Day this weekend. Very big of me to have not to, I can’t make any promises that I won’t use it the Saturday before Mother’s Day next year - just warning you a year in advance. You Gotta Be came out in 1994, which many people say was a great year and I concur.
I could make this song all about Week to Week Notes, but let’s be real @YouTheReader the lyrics can be used for just about anything it is you’re striving for too.
Happy Mother’s Day Eve to all the moms who give the greatest advice! My dad’s not a big book guy, but he has been falling asleep on the couch with the History Channel on in the background for as long as I can remember so that could have got me interested in the past. From Mock Draft Monday to Stumblin’ Along Sunday feels like a puzzle for me to try to solve. Comparing yourself to others financially never ends well, worry about making your own bread. Last but not least, being open to different perspectives is important. I’ve met quite a few great people from all walks of life along the way of drinking pints. No two people I’ve met have been the same, but we’re also not entirely different. It’s been by far one of the best parts I’ve taken Note of throughout all of this.
@YouTheReader I don’t give a shrimp what anybody says, this is a wholesome throwback song with a positive message. Not to mention, the hook perfectly fits the 15-Second Reel….