Quote of the day
“Shut up.” -- Dwight Howard on the fact cameras caught him kind of sort of hoping that James Harden wouldn’t hit a game-winning shot in Game 3 against the Warriors. Dwight has vacations to take and places to go that aren’t Houston, and doesn’t need to be bothered by your silly questions and video evidence. Also, he wants to win, he swears.
About last night . . .
Pistons hang tough, but Cavs go up 3-0
The Pistons are built in Stan Van Gundy’s image, which will probably be really good in the future, but for now is a loud, only kind of intimidating man who runs out of breath too many times to beat the best teams in the league. Detroit fell in an 0-3 hole with its loss to Cleveland Friday night, and could be eliminated from the playoffs as early as Sunday, meaning that April in the D will go out with quite a whimper.
Washington outshot Philadelphia 44-11 so we all know how that went . . .
Hockey is weird. Washington has a reputation for choking in the playoffs, and whether it’s deserved or not, this isn’t helping.
Isaiah Thomas is a grown man
It’s weird thinking of the Boston Celtics as a scrappy, fun underdog, but here we are. The fact that a guy named Isaiah Thomas is leading the way is just creepy. He was incredible Friday night, and he had to be, as the Celtics held off the Hawks in Game 3 of their first-round series. This feels like a series where home teams just win all of the games, but if I’m the Hawks, I’d be weary of Thomas and a Brad Stevens coached team in a Game 7.
Spurs continue to be good at basketball
Memphis’ collection of players who would survive The Purge (sign up for Shea Serrano’s newsletter, since you’re clearly fans of newsletters) had a 1-point lead after three quarters, but the Spurs kind of do whatever they want when they care, and that meant winning Game 3. Extra work is not a thing the Spurs do if they don’t have to, so expect them to finish this sweep on Sunday.
Isles close in on first playoff series win since 1993
The Islanders have never lost a Game 6 at home, which is great news for them after they defeated the Panthers 2-1 to take a 3-2 series lead. Of course, nearly all of their players were in grade school the last time it happened. The Islanders haven’t advanced past the first round of the playoffs since the last time a Clinton was starting its presidency.
Wild making people travel to Minnesota
Minnesota survived a crazy third period and won in overtime thanks to a pair of goals from Mikko Koivu. That sends the series back to Minnesota for Game 6 in yet another series that sat at 3-1 but has now become pretty damn exciting.
Sharks end Kings/Hawks cycle
One series many thought could be a long one ended last night, as the Sharks defeated the Kings 6-3 to finish off their rivals in five games. It’s an impressive start to the postseason for the Sharks, but it also assures the end of the Kings/Hawks Cup cycle, as it was Los Angeles’ turn to raise Lord Stanley. The two teams have won every other Cup since 2012, which is weird and super annoying. So thank you, Sharks!
What everyone will be watching
Don’t get eliminated!
Elimination playoff games are the best playoff games. Here’s a quick look at elimination games being played this weekend.
NHL
- Rangers at Penguins (3 p.m. today, NBC): Pittsburgh is on fire, New York looks lost, This probably ends today.
- St. Louis at Chicago (6 p.m. today, NBC): The Blackhawks stayed alive with a double overtime win in Game 5, and now get to play at home and force a Game 7. That noise you hear is the city of St. Louis collectively wetting itself.
- Washington at Philadelphia (noon Sunday, NBC): Could the Flyers do the unthinkable and come back from 3-0 down to force a Game 7? It is the Capitals, who specialize in allowing opponents to do the unthinkable in the postseason, so yes.
- Florida at NY Islanders (TBD, Sunday): Florida needs a win to force Game 7. A tough task on the road.
- Dallas at Minnesota (TBD, Sunday): Minnesota has life after forcing this one, and I imagine the crowd will be a tad loud.
NBA
- San Antonio at Memphis (1 p.m. Sunday, ABC): Sorry, Memphis.
GAME OF THRONES IS BACK
Not sports, but just as important, Game of Thrones returns for Season 6 on Sunday night. Is *SPOILER* really dead? Will *SPOILER* travel across *SPOILER*? *SPOILER*!!?!
SILICON VALLEY IS BACK
Seriously, this might be too much for Paul’s little heart to take.
The best of the rest
Prince Fielder plus base-running plus other teammates bad at base-running equals …
RIP Owen Hart
This was a theme in the NBA last night, apparently.
Like the Seventh Floor Crew but fatter. And less obscene. And who thought it was a good idea to put an entire offensive line in an elevator, anyway?
We get it . . . water bottles are tough to figure out.
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