The Opening Tip

• Draymond did something we’ve never seen before. 
• Teams with the most All-NBA First-Teamers over the last decade. 
• More mind-blowing Luka stats. 

Tonight's must-watch playoff game

1. The blowouts are plentiful

Game 4 of Miami-Boston on Monday night felt over eight minutes in, when the Celtics had 18 points and the Heat had one.

The score was gaudy and weird but the outcome was common: This Conference Finals (and most of the postseason) has been strange and non-competitive.

• There have been 22 20-plus-point wins this postseason. The record is 24. There were 15 all of last year. 
• More than half of the games this postseason have been decided by 10-plus points. 
• The craziest one: The last time there was a one-possession game this postseason with less than one minute left was Game 5 of the Celtics-Bucks ECSF. That’s a stretch of 15 games without a final minute that mattered. 

What gives? The theories are cranking: 

• The uptick in 3-point attempts means more variance in game-to-game scoring. 
• Nagging injuries (ex: Celtics-Heat) make it more justifiable to pack in a game you likely won’t win. 
• The lack of time between games. 

That last one has picked up some momentum, with the play-in format as the eventual scapegoat. The NBA has a hard-stop date for its season to end, the addition of the play-in game has eaten into potential playoff off-days, which has led to the Conference Finals being played on a one-day-off interval.

Mark Cuban threw weight behind this theory on Twitter:
 

(Wait until he hears about Adam Silver’s plan for an in-season tournament.)

The league has surely taken note of the lopsided-ness, and will probably make an adjustment for next year.

In the meantime, we can only try and manifest a close Game 5 tonight 🙏

2. Daily GIF: Unique 🧱

Two oddities happened last night during Warriors-Mavericks Game 4: 

1. Draymond Green shot a free-throw which perfectly settled on the back of the rim. It counted as a miss. 
2. The second half was delayed because of a roof leak.

There was also a moment of silence beforehand to acknowledge the latest mass shooting in Uvalde, Tx.

3. Trivia time

Jayson Tatum is only the third All-NBA First-Team player for the Celtics in the last 34 years. Who are the other two?

Answer at the bottom.

4. Most All-NBA First-Teamers in the last 10 years by team

Reminder: James Harden, current NBA playoff meme, was the best shooting guard in the NBA for six of the last 10 seasons.

Oh, also: All-NBA teams were released last night. Here are all three.

5. By the numbers

27 or younger

Great stat from @NBAPR: The All-NBA First-Team is made of players exclusively 27 or younger for the first time since the 1954-55 season.

8 40-point games

Luka Doncic now has eight 40-point playoff games in his 27-game postseason career. That’s more than Dirk had in his 145-game postseason career.

37 playoff wins

In the last 15 years, the 76ers have 37 playoff wins. In Jayson Tatum’s career, he has 37 playoff wins.

9 series wins, 1 series win

Jaylen Brown so far has nine playoff series wins in his six years in the NBA. The Knicks have one series win in their last 20 seasons. (Sorry.)

6.  Quick Hits

• Steve Kerr went on an impassioned plea for gun control last night. Feels like the 100th time he’s done that. 
• Chuck on the rain delay: “It ain't raining in San Francisco to clean up them dirty ass streets”
• Inside the NBA also roasted Chuck for wearing a suit that looked like a couch. 
• Some psycho harassed Norman Powell claiming he’s ‘not American’ on Tuesday.
• The only team to get swept this postseason was the preseason Finals favorite.

7.  Reads

• Five questions that will decide the rest of Heat-Celtics [The Ringer]
• How Jayson Tatum has leveled up his game [ESPN]
• Warriors appreciation + Heat-Celtics talk [The Lowe Post]

Trivia answer:  Kevin Garnett (2008), Larry Bird (1988)