The Opening Tip

NBA Finals Game 1

You gotta give.

1. Shout out to the Brooklyn Nets

The Mavericks are going to the NBA Finals. Many people are saying they are the shadow favorites to beat the Celtics. One person is putting down the biggest emotional hedge of his life on the Mavericks to avoid being a completely broken and sad man by mid-June. Some people are even saying that person is who’s writing this newsletter, right now.

ANYWAYS, one immediately interesting thing about this NBA Finals is that it simply would not be possible without the liaising of the Brooklyn Nets.

This entire Celtics run was fueled by that draft night trade in 2013. Refresher:

July 12, 2013: 

And the Mavs wouldn’t be here without last year’s pre-deadline deal, which was mocked at the time but has since blossomed into a few spare parts for a prime superstar.

February 6, 2023:

This all seems pretty simple: If you want to be a contender, call up Nets GM Sean Marks and tell him how brilliant he is for landing Kyrie and Kevin Durant in free agency (he really likes that), then start talking shop.

It’s what the Mavs and Celtics did (although with a different front office), and it’s what the Rockets -- who are picking No. 3 in this draft thanks to Brooklyn -- did, too.

2. Daily GIF: Logo 3

Luka outscored the Wolves, 20-19, in the first quarter of last night’s Game 5. It was over from there.

3. Trivia

4. Is ESPN OK?

It’s been a particularly shameless week for the talking dickheads at ESPN. To recap:

But nothing beats this pea-brained segment on ‘Get Up,’ which featured Mike Greenberg wondering why Jayson Tatum wasn’t happy for Jaylen Brown after winning ECF MVP. The panel nodded along while a clip of Tatum smiling and clapping for Brown played.

[READ: How ESPN ditched journalism and followed Skip Bayless to the bottom: A Tim Tebow story]

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