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Good Morning 👋
The middle of April is an underrated part of the sports calendar. Everyone goes crazy over March because of March Madness, but April? This month has the beginning of baseball season as well as the NBA and Stanley Cup Playoffs. We are just a few days away from constant, intense, win-or-go-home action! But right now we still have the Play-In Tournament and Champions League. Letter Rip! |
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Heat Try to Repeat Last Year's Script |
Photo: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images |
Miami is Facing Elimination After Dropping Play-In Game to 76ers
Heat Culture is going to be tested once again, and so will Playoff Jimmy Butler. Miami lost to the 76ers 105-104 on Wednesday night, which means just like last year, Erik Spoelstra's team is faced with a do-or-die Play-In game. Heat fans are probably expecting this to play out like it did before with Miami upsetting the top seed in the Eastern Conference on the way to a miraculous NBA Finals run. The problem is that even if the Heat plays its way into the bracket on Friday night, the juggernaut Boston Celtics will be waiting in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. They won 64 games, which is 14 more than anyone else in the East and seven more than anyone else in the league.
That massive separation between Boston and everyone else is what made the game between Philadelphia and Miami so crucial. Instead of having to win to play Boston, the 76ers get a much more favorable matchup vs. the Knicks, who finished just three games ahead of Philly even though Joel Embiid missed 43 games. The big man made his presence felt against Miami with a team-high 23 points and a game-high 15 rebounds to go with five assists. Embiid showed off his range with a three-point shot that put the 76ers ahead 93-91 with two and a half minutes to play, and he followed that up with a offensive rebound and putback that resulted in a three-point play to cancel out Tyler Herro's clutch three-point shot for Miami.
Miami tied the score with a Haywood Highsmith floater with 90 seconds left, but then Embiid beat a double team and found Kelly Oubre Jr. wide open under the bucket for a layup plus the foul. Herro tried to answer with an equalizing three, but Nicolas Batum blocked the attempt, which allowed the 76ers to close out the game with free throws. Highlights: 76ers def. Heat 105-104
Read More: 76ers overcome sluggish 1st half, rally past Heat (Yahoo)
The team trying to keep the Heat out of the NBA Playoffs will be the Chicago Bulls. They ran past Atlanta 131-116 in the night cap thanks to a career-high 42 points from Coby White. Chicago shot a scintillating 57 percent from the floor, including a 15-for-21 performance from White.
Dejounte Murray had 30 points and six assists for Atlanta, but it wasn't enough to keep up with the Bulls, who jumped out to a 40-22 lead after one quarter. The Hawks battled back with a 45-point second quarter and drew within three points, but Chicago pulled away late in the third with a 22-7 run to end the period.
Highlights: Bulls def. Hawks 131-116 Read More: Coby White leads Bulls' offensive explosion (Yahoo)
Battle for the Eight Seeds Friday, April 19 Bulls at Heat, 7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN Kings at Pelicans, 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT and truTV
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Jontay Porter Banned by NBA for Betting on Basketball |
Photo: Alika Jenner / Getty Images |
Porter is the First Person to be Banned by the NBA Since Donald Sterling in 2014
Quick question: Which man has been worse for the NBA's public relations? Porter or Sterling? Never mind, please don't answer that. The main takeaway is that it's bad to be in the same category as the disgraced former governor (owner) of the Clippers.
There's a good reason for that, though. Porter is the nightmare that the NBA and other major sports leagues have been hoping would never come up ever since legalized sports betting began sweeping the nation. The leagues knew that making deals with sportsbooks would lead to increased revenue and fan engagement, but the cost was an increased risk that the integrity of the games would come into question.
After reading about what Porter did, it's hard not to be skeptical about the relationship between sports and gambling. On March 20, Porter told an NBA bettor information about his health status that was confidential. After the bettor placed an $80,000 wager on some of Porter's under props, Porter left the game due to illness with just three minutes played. Not only did he give insider information away to a bettor, but he also "limited his own participation to influence the outcome of one or more bets," according to an NBA press release.
Additionally, the NBA found Porter guilty of making at least 13 bets on NBA games for a total of $54,094. Three of the 13 wagers were parlays in which Porter bet that the Raptors would lose. That's right, Porter couldn't even be like Pete Rose and bet on his team to win. Although, it's not like the Raptors were very good this season.
Was the juice worth the squeeze for Porter? He is on a two-way contract that allows him to split time between the Raptors and the G League, but he is still making over $400,000 this year and is only 24 years old. Porter could have made over $2 million next season if Toronto signed him to a standard NBA contract. How much could have been offered to Porter to make him throw away an NBA career? Are there other players at the bottom of NBA rosters sneakily manipulating NBA games to serve gamblers? Many questions remain.
Read More NBA: Press Release
AP: NBA bans Jontay Porter after gambling probe shows he bet on games |
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Bayern and Real Madrid Eliminate Premier Competition |
Photo: Alex Livesey-Danehouse / Getty Images |
Man City's Repeat Campaign is Over as No English Clubs Make the Semis
The Champions League semifinals are set with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich advancing on Wednesday to join Tuesday's winners Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain in the final four of international soccer. Unlike with Tuesday's matches, Wednesday featured two pairs of squads who came in tied in aggregate scoring.
In a clash of soccer titans, Real Madrid squeezed by Manchester City in a penalty shootout after both teams scored a goal in the first 90 minutes. City dominated in possession, shots, and corner kicks, but it played from behind for most of the match following Rodrygo's 12th-minute goal for Real Madrid. City finally broke through with Kevin De Bruyne scoring in the 76th minute, but it wasn't enough to avoid the dreaded shootout, where Real Madrid keeper Andriy Lunin stopped a pair of penalties to push his side through.
Highlights: Real Madrid def. Manchester City
Read More: Real Madrid teach Man City a lesson (ESPN)
In Wednesday's other quarterfinal, Joshua Kimmich of Bayern scored the match's only goal on a header in the 63rd minute while keeper Manuel Neuer stopped three Arsenal shots to keep the Gunners off the board. Bayern has disappointed this year with its failure to win the Bundesliga, but a Champions League title would make a lot of people forget all of that.
Highlights: Bayern Munich def. Arsenal Read More: Kimmich heads Bayern Munich past Arsenal (AP) Champions League Semifinals Tuesday, April 30: Bayern vs. Real Madrid First Leg, 3:00 p.m. ET Wednesday, May 1: Dortmund vs. PSG First Leg, 3:00 p.m. ET |
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Tonight's Must-Watch List |
⚾️ MLB Rangers at Tigers (1:10 p.m. ET, MLBTV) Diamondbacks at Giants (9:45 p.m. ET, FS1) |
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