The Opening Tip

Must watch games

You gotta give.

1. This can’t be much fun for Luka

ESPN had a segment Monday vaguely hinting that rookie Victor Wembanyama might ask out sooner than later if the Spurs don’t start winning, which is insane/embarrassing/why small market fans hate NBA media, etc.

A more reasonable topic in the same vein, though: How long will Luka Doncic, now in Year 6, put up with playing on mediocre teams?

Here’s what he’s done in the seven games since the All-Star break in PTS/RBD/AST format … 

… which equals 37.6-9.9-11.3 on .522/.400/.849 shooting splits.

Meanwhile, Dallas is 2-5 with a 126 defensive rating, which is good for DFL, 3.5 points behind the Wizards, who haven’t won a game since Jan. 29.

The Mavs are currently an 8-seed, one season after missing the play-in. 

Luka, conversely, has only two guaranteed years left on his deal. It doesn’t make sense for a projected all-time great to burn this many prime years, and it doesn’t make sense for Dallas to let him walk in 2026 for no return, which is why the Luka trade whispers might start soon.

2. Daily GIF: Wemby vs. Sengun = new Robinson vs. Olajuwon

Slight hyperbole, but, look at the GIF then look at this.

3. Trivia

4. Look at this fucking play-in race

Best-case scenario, A: The Kings overtake the Suns, which creates a play-in race of at least nine future Hall of Famers.

Best-case scenario, B: The Warriors and Lakers stay at 9 and 10, which guarantees one of them won’t make the playoffs, rendering months and months of talk show segments completely useless.

Quick hits

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