This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
Goooood morning, folks! Welcome to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for reading today. We appreciate you giving us a bit of your time here.
There are obviously at least two games left in the NBA Finals between the Mavericks and Celtics. But, man. I’m sorry, Dallas fans. This one feels over.
I’m confident the Mavericks haven’t given their best punch in this series yet, but I’m just as confident that the Celtics gave their worst punch on Sunday. Boston shot 10 of 39 from 3-point range and Jayson Tatum shot 6 of 22 from the field. That’s not a game you’re supposed to win in today’s NBA.
RELATED: Hoops fans ripped ESPN for its lackluster NBA Finals coverage
Yet, not only did Boston win, but it also managed to do it pretty convincingly despite how close Dallas came to pulling it off. The result never felt in doubt.
A large part of why the Mavs couldn’t crack the Celtics is that excellent defensive backcourt. Jrue Holiday and Derrick White are nuts, man.
During the broadcast, someone on ESPN’s team called them one of the greatest defensive backcourts ever. I can’t remember who it was because I recoiled so hard when I initially heard it.
I mean, one season together and we’re already showering these two with hyperbolic praise? Come on. What’s going on here? Do we always have to take things this far?
As it turns out, yes we do. Because, with the way those two have been shutting things down, they probably are one of the best defensive backcourt we’ve ever seen.
Kyrie Irving has been in a seatbelt through two games so far. Luka Doncic has made shots, but none of them have been easy. He also seems frustrated beyond belief. These two combined for so many game-changing plays. The near-backcourt violation resulted in a Celtics’ three. That ridiculous block by Derrick White (that was honestly a foul on Jaylen Brown) in the game’s waning moments. The list goes on and on.
I don’t know if there can ever be a co-Finals MVP. But if there was ever a circumstance where it was possible, I think this should be the one. Those dudes have been unreal. They deserve it.
There’s still plenty of time left in the series and the Celtics just did what they were supposed to do at home. As over as this thing feels, it’s not done yet. Dallas protecting their own homecourt makes this interesting again.
But the thing about defense is that it always travels. That’s why Boston is so good on the road (27-14 during the regular season). Dallas is going to be in for a couple of tough games. We’ll see how they respond.
Why is Caitlin Clark the only one being normal about Caitlin Clark?
Whenever you think #TheDiscourse about Caitlin Clark is finally starting to die down, her fan base finds a way to rile things back up. And then everyone else pushes back so hard on her fanbase hyping things up. It creates so much chaos every single time.
That happened again over the weekend because Clark was, uh, “snubbed” from Team USA.
People debated whether she should’ve been added to a list the entire weekend. It was ridiculous. The roster is chock full of star players — excluding Clark was not a crime. It was a normal occurrence blown up into something it should never have become.
You know who knows that? Caitlin Clark. She wasn’t disappointed. She’s motivated to make the next team.
“Honestly, no disappointment. It just gives me something to work for,” She told reporters when asked about it. “It’s a dream. Hopefully, one day I’ll be there. I think it’s just a little more motivation. You remember that and hopefully in four years, I can be there.”
You know what that is? A reasonable response to a reasonable situation. Shoutout to Clark for doing what nobody else seems able to do these days — give a normal, measured response to something involving her.
Hopefully, everybody can learn from her example here.
Carlos Alcaraz’s road to greatness
Carlos Alcaraz has a long, long way to go before he is ever considered in conversations with all-timers like Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic.
But he’s already done something those dudes couldn’t do at just 21 years old.
Alcaraz beat Germany’s Alexander Zverev to win his first French Open title on Sunday, which is already an impressive feat. But it’s even more impressive when you consider it in the scope of his career.
Alcaraz has now won at the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. He’s the youngest player to win a Grand Slam on each surface (hard court, clay and grass). He’s also just one Australian Open win away from having his first career Grand Slam and, again, the dude is only 21 years old.
I have no idea how his career turns out from here or where things go. But he’s already reached such enormous heights at a young age. It should only get better from here.
Quick hits: Coco Gauff wins doubles on a whim … The Mystics are down bad … and more
— Coco Gauff revealed she’d decided to play doubles at the French Open just two days prior to the tournament’s start. And now look: She’s a champion. Meg Hall has more.
— Here’s Meg again on the winless Washington Mystics that you should feel terrible for.
— This petty ejection in Clemson’s Super Regional postseason game was completely ridiculous. Prince Grimes has more.
— Let’s just play every MLB game in London from now on if these are the sort of calls we’ll get. Robert Zeglinski has more.
— Here’s Robert with the six best games from the Xbox Showcase over the weekend.
— Andrew Joseph found the greatest tackle in the history of baseball this weekend.
That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading. We appreciate y’all. Check back in with us tomorrow for more. Peace.
-Sykes ✌️