We ❤️ Basketball
The World Baseball Classic will be underway by Friday.
But today we’re going all NBA.
Ready for best game, wildest play, and biggest news?
Best Game 🙌
The word “tanking” can mean a few different things in the NBA.
For example, as we read last week, the Utah Jazz are tanking: trying to lose (or at least not trying very hard to win) so they get a better draft pick.
The Denver Nuggets are doing a different kind of tanking: they’re 5-5 in their last 10 games.
And they’ve dropped to fifth in the Western Conference standings.
Last night, these two very different tankers battled in Salt Lake City.
🎥 Want to see who won?
An ugly win!
But Denver will tank it. Oops, I mean take it. (Sorry! 😬)
Now, grab the time machine. Because we’re going back to Sunday for the…
Wildest Play 🤯
76ers at Celtics.
No Joel Embiid for Philly (he’s out for a few games with a strained oblique).
No Jayson Tatum for Boston (he’s been out all season with a torn achilles tendon).
Celtics up by six with less than three minutes left.
🎥 Watch what happened!
Yes, that was Philly’s star rookie, VJ Edgecombe, diving for a loose ball and… accidentally kicking a fan in the face.
You have questions. We have answers:
Was everyone okay?
Yes, both VJ and the fan stayed in (or at) the game.
Who got the ball?
After replay review, Philly got the ball.
Who won the game?
Boston went on an 11-1 run after this and won, 114-98.
Did VJ call the fan after the game?
Wow, that is a very specific question.
🎥 But, yes, he did!
Here’s what else VJ said after the game:
Just making a hustle play... I’m trying to win, doing whatever it takes to win.
I see the rebound. I tried to take it out of his hand and tapped it out, and then I just dove.
To be honest, I don’t care. Like, if there’s a loose ball and I have to go dive for the ball, I’m gonna dive for the ball. I don’t care.
I mean, I’m gonna put my body on the line every time.
That’s how much I love the game.
Love that!
And speaking of games…
Imagine you’re playing in an NBA game. You dive for a loose ball. You crash into the seats.
Hungry? Good.
Let’s move on to…
Biggest News 📰
You know Jayson Tatum got hurt in the playoffs last year.
You know he hasn’t played yet this season.
But did you know he might be coming back very soon?
Some experts are saying he could play as soon as Friday, when the Celtics play the Mavericks.
It’ll be a huge accomplishment when he returns. The result of months of hard work to get his body ready to play again.
The neat part for us is that he filmed his recovery journey.
🎥 And we get to watch these behind-the-scenes videos!
Very impressive. Very interesting.
And it got us thinking…
What do NBA players actually do all day?
We watch the games. We know the 48 minutes.
But what about the part we can’t see?
When do they wake up? What do they eat? Do they really all take naps? (Spoiler: most of them do.)
And why does every player do something completely different in pregame warmups?
I started reading everything I could find. And honestly? It’s really fun.
Now, I’m taking notes for a story. 👀
In the meantime… got questions? Things you wonder about when the cameras aren’t on?
Drop them in the comments so we can find answers! 🧠💭
See you Friday, Smallballers!
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