Top Stories

• Heat send Bulls packing

• Pelicans bounce Kings

• PLAYOFFS START TODAY

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Games of the day

Last Night’s Top Games! (link to the box scores of every game from yesterday)

Miami, even with Jimmy Butler sidelined for several weeks with a sprained knee, is back in the playoffs. Tyler Herro scored 24 points and was an assist away from a triple-double, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 21 points and the Heat grabbed the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Kevin Love scored 16 and Bam Adebayo added 13 for Miami, who are now underdogs against a Celtics team that is the big favorite to win the NBA title. The Heat are the No. 8 seed again, just like last year when they survived the play-in and went all the way to the NBA Finals. Even without Butler, if any low seeded team can give Boston a run for their money, it’ll be Miami.

Brandon Ingram scored 24 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 19 points and 12 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans guaranteed a spot in the NBA playoffs with a 105-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings. The Pelicans won without Zion Williamson, who strained his left hamstring right in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. New Orleans used a balanced approach to improved to 8-5 this season without Williamson in the lineup. Six players scored 10 or more points, including reserves Larry Nance Jr. (13), Naji Marshall (11) and Jose Alvarado (10). Trey Murphy III, who started because of Williamson's absence, added 16 points for New Orleans. The Pelicans will now open the playoffs as an eighth seed on Sunday at #1 seed Oklahoma City.

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League News

Around the League

• Nikola Jokic and Jalen Brunson have been named Players of The Week for Week 25.

• With the NBA season officially over and the Playoffs starting today, here are Baseline to Baseline’s official NBA awards:

MVP: Luka Doncic - Averaged the most points/rebounds/assists since the NBA/ABA merger in 1976. Carried a Dallas team that most experts said would miss the playoffs to the 5th seed (a higher seed than Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook were when they won the award for the first time). Led the NBA in scoring while being second in assists per game, which is better than James Harden in his MVP season (Harden was 1st in scoring and 3rd in assists).

DPOY: Rudy Gobert - Although his BPG was down from other years, Gobert still anchored the best defense in the league. Despite a “down year”, he still averaged 2.1 blocks, good for 6th in the league. His Defensive Rating was the best in the league at 104.5.

ROTY: Victor Wembanyama - What has to be said here? Wemby broke so many records, and got better and better as the season went on. Even playing with a minutes restriction for most of the year, he was top 5 in all major statistical categories among rookies (1st in points, 1st in rebounds, 4th in assists, 2nd in steals, 1st in blocks). Wemby was a GENERATIONAL talent, and ran away with the ROTY race

COTY - Jamahl Mosley - After only 56 wins in his first 2 seasons coaching Orlando, they won 47 this year alone. Hanging their hats on the defensive end, they had the 3rd best defense in the entire league. Mosley unlocked Paolo Banchero, while utilizing a deep roster, letting each individual player shine. Even players who seemed to be “busts” like Jalen Suggs and Markelle Fultz. With the Magic being one of the youngest teams in the NBA, they’re primed to be playoff threats for the coming future.

• Injury Updates: Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) could miss 2-4 weeks. Jimmy Butler (knee) will undergo an MRI today. Zion Williamson (hamstring) will be re-evaluated in 2 weeks. Julius Randle (shoulder) is out for the season. Christian Wood (knee) underwent surgery and will be out multiple weeks. Benedict Mathurin (shoulder) underwent surgery and is out for the season. Josh Richardson (shoulder) had surgery and will be out for the season. Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) will miss at least 1 more week. We wish all these guys speedy and successful recoveries.

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NBA Playoff Bracket

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Overtime Thoughts

Hoopgrids

Hoopgrids is a daily basketball trivia game. You cross match each category to find a player that fits both. The rarer the player, the lower the score. The goal is to get the lowest rarity score possible.