Twenty Questions 🤨
So, I’ve been sick. You’ve probably been sick. It’s been that kind of winter.
But Smallball’s back, and we’ve got a ton to cover today! So let’s get right to the…
NBA 🏀
The All-Star Game was a fun distraction.
But the REAL action starts now.
Take a look at the standings:
Here’s a reminder of what happens after 82 regular season games:
The top 6 teams in each conference make the playoffs automatically.
Teams that finish 7th through 10th go to the Play-In Tournament where they battle it out for the last two playoff spots.
Once all 8 teams per conference are set, the best-of-7 series begin.
It’s a bracket, and in the first round #1 plays #8, #2 plays #7, #3 plays #6, #4 plays #5.
That means finishing higher in the standings gets you an easier first-round matchup.
And that means every single game from here on out matters!
So, with under 30 games left, here’s one big question for each team chasing a playoff spot.
Western Conference
Oklahoma City Thunder — When will Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams return from injury? The defending champs need their stars healthy to hold the #1 seed.
San Antonio Spurs — Can they catch OKC for the #1 seed? They’re only 2.5 games back and riding the league’s longest win streak (nine).
Denver Nuggets — Can they get everyone healthy in time for the playoffs? Denver’s starting five has only played a few games together this season… and Aaron Gordon’s still out.
Houston Rockets — Can they get back to their early-season form? They opened the year 10-3, their best start since 1993, but have cooled off recently.
LA Lakers — Is this Luka’s team… or does it only work when the Big Three (Luka, LeBron, Austin Reaves) play together?
Minnesota Timberwolves — Is a third straight Western Conference Finals run realistic? You’d better believe Anthony Edwards thinks so.
Phoenix Suns — Dillon Brooks broke his hand and is out 4-6 weeks. Devin Booker’s hurt too. Can Jalen Green step up and carry the offense until they’re back?
Golden State Warriors — When is Steph coming back… and how far can he carry this team without Jimmy Butler?
Portland Trail Blazers — Will Deni Avdija lead the rebuilding Blazers all the way to the playoffs? He’s averaging over 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists per game and has Portland playing better than anyone expected.
LA Clippers — They traded James Harden to Cleveland and Ivica Zubac to Indiana, but they still have Kawhi Leonard. Are the Clippers going for the playoffs or giving up on the year?
Eastern Conference
Detroit Pistons — What will it take for Cade Cunningham to win MVP? Detroit has the best record in the East… and all the West’s biggest stars have missed games due to injury.
Boston Celtics — Will Jayson Tatum return from his Achilles injury before the playoffs? He’s been practicing recently, but the Celtics are humming without him thanks to Jaylen Brown.
New York Knicks — Can the Knicks finally find consistency? They went 7-8 in January but are 7-3 so far in February.
Cleveland Cavaliers — Does adding James Harden give the Cavs enough firepower to challenge Detroit down the stretch? Harden’s 5-1 with the team so far.
Toronto Raptors — Can the young core of Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley keep this surprising run going? They’re one of the youngest teams in the league and have exceeded every preseason expectation.
Philadelphia 76ers — Can Joel Embiid stay healthy enough to play alongside the epic Tyrese Maxey–VJ Edgecombe backcourt? When all three are on the court, this team is scary. The question is how often that actually happens.
Orlando Magic — Can the Magic live up to the hype? They went all-in this offseason trading for Desmond Bane, and the talent is there with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Seventh isn’t good enough.
Miami Heat — Can the Heat avoid the Play-In Tournament? They’re right on the bubble. Tyler Herro has dealt with ankle, toe, and rib injuries this season, and his health the rest of the way could be the difference.
Atlanta Hawks — How much higher is Jalen Johnson’s ceiling? He’s averaging over 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists… and he’s only 24.
Charlotte Hornets — Can this young team actually make the playoffs? They just ripped off a 9-game win streak (their longest since 1999).
The teams we DIDN’T list above?
No question at all. They’re tanking.
So what is tanking? And why do teams do it?
Tanking is when a team loses on purpose (or at least doesn’t try very hard to win). The goal is simple: finish with a worse record and get a higher draft pick.
Experts say the next draft class is loaded with college stars who could become NBA superstars.
When the prize at the end is that good, some teams would rather lose more now in order to win later.
The problem? Boring games!
So the NBA isn’t happy about it.
The Utah Jazz were fined $500,000 for pulling their best players out of games they were winning. The Indiana Pacers were fined $100,000 for sitting their stars unnecessarily.
Commissioner Adam Silver said tanking is “worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory,” and new anti-tanking rules are coming next season.
What do you think?
Oh, and we almost forgot…
Last night two of the top three teams in the NBA played: Spurs at Pistons.
San Antonio led at the half, 57-55.
🎥 Want to see who won?
Now, let’s move on to the…
Winter Olympics ⛷️🏔️
Everything just finished in Italy!
Here’s the final medal count:
🥇 Norway — 41 medals (18 gold)
🥈 USA — 33 medals (12 gold)
🥉 Italy — 30 medals (10 gold)
By the way, athletes from Colorado won five medals for Team USA including three golds!
Finished singing?
Great, let’s talk highlights…
Team USA won both men’s and women’s hockey golds. And both games went to overtime against Canada.
🎥 On the women’s side, Megan Keller buried the golden goal.
🎥 Then, Jack Hughes scored the winner for the men’s team, giving the US its first men’s hockey gold since 1980.
The US is only the second country ever to sweep both hockey golds at the same Olympics.
Staying on the ice…
🎥 Want to see Alysa Liu win the gold in figure skating and end a 24-year drought for American women in the event?
And on the snow…
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (LOO-kahs pin-YAIR-oh BRAHT-en) became the first Brazilian and South American EVER to win a Winter Olympic medal.
And it wasn’t a bronze. It wasn’t a silver. It was gold in giant slalom.
🎥 And Breezy Johnson won gold in the women’s downhill.
Oh, and her boyfriend proposed to her a few days later race and they’re getting married! Not a bad trip to Italy.
One last thing before we leave the Olympics…
Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (say it with me: Yo-HAH-nes HURSE-flot KLAH-boh).
Yeah, he won SIX gold medals.
He swept every single men’s cross-country skiing event: the 10km, the skiathlon, the sprint, the team sprint, the relay, and the 50km marathon.
That’s the most golds ever by one athlete at a single Winter Olympics. He now has 11 career Olympic golds.
The only person with more? Retired swimmer Michael Phelps with 23.
The next big global competition starts in less than two weeks. And this time, it’s on a diamond.
Baseball ⚾️
The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is basically the World Cup of baseball.
The best players in the world, including many MLB stars, go back and represent their home countries.
Twenty countries are competing this year, with games in Miami, Houston, San Juan, and Tokyo.
If you didn’t watch the last one in 2023…
It came down to Japan vs. Team USA in the final.
Bottom of the 9th.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani pitching against Team USA’s Mike Trout. At the time, they were TEAMMATES on the Angels.
🎥 Want to see what happened?
Yep, Ohtani struck him out to win it all.
Expect more 🎆🎇🧨 this year, because the teams are absolutely stacked.
Aaron Judge is captaining Team USA and is joined by Bryce Harper, Paul Skenes, and Cal Raleigh.
Japan has Ohtani back.
The Dominican Republic is rolling out a great lineup including Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
It’s going to be awesome when it starts on March 5!
And right after the WBC championship on March 17? MLB Opening Day is March 26.
Baseball season is (almost) here.
Have a great week and we’ll see you Friday!
P.S. Can you figure out the current NBA player whose dad is #20 shown at the top of the story?
Pay attention to this clue, Warriors fans!
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Yay! Glad you’re feeling better and back on the ball again!