Welcome to Layup Lines, our daily NBA newsletter where we’ll prep you for a tip-off of tonight’s action, from what to watch to bets to make. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every afternoon. Your host today: Charles Curtis.
Happy Monday and start to the semifinals in the NBA postseason. We got our first semi-big controversy of the playoffs on Sunday after Draymond Green got ejected for an extremely lame Flagrant 2 in Game 1 against the Memphis Grizzlies, although it did give us Green pulling an Antonio Brown.
Then, while everyone was waiting for Green to give us his reaction on Twitter … he hit us with a podcast episode. That he taped. RIGHT AFTER!
As my colleague Andy Nesbitt — who writes our morning newsletter, Morning Win, subscribe! — rightfully pointed out, we need more of this. I know NBA players are busy and probably very tired after games, and I respect that. But a postgame podcast — 15 minutes, that’s all! — is gold, Jerry, gold. We got Green taking us inside his head about why he was bouncing around gleefully after the Flagrant 2 call.
If no one else is going to do it, I can’t wait for more of this from Dray.
On to tonight’s action!
The Tip-Off
It wasn’t only the Draymond Green call that was bad in the Grizzlies and Warriors Game 1, as our Prince Grimes wrote. There was this play late in the Dubs’ win:
Just when it seemed the Warriors had overcome the ejection and were wrapping up the win, the refs botched another call. After Klay Thompson missed the second of two clutch important free throws, the loose ball went out of bounds off of Memphis with six seconds left.
But the refs somehow didn’t see the play, and instead of going to replay, they ruled a jump ball. …
Next time, the refs need to be better or it won’t matter how good the game is because all anyone will want to talk about is how they ruined the series. And nobody wants that.
Indeed!
One to Watch
(All odds via Tipico.)
Mavericks (+190) at Suns (-5.5, -240), O/U 214.5, 10 PM ET
Luka! Book! CP3! This is going to be a fun one, even if the Suns are absolutely the favorites and may take care of business quicker than we’d like. I’ll take the under on the points just because it’s first-game jitters and such.
Who’s in and out?
— Celtics: Marcus Smart is questionable for Game 2 against the Bucks after he suffered a quad contusion on Sunday.
— Suns: Devin Booker and his hamstring look good to go for Monday’s contest.
Shootaround
— How can the shorthanded Sixers beat the Heat? James Harden has some ideas.
— Steph Curry had a great reaction after that crucial steal against Ja Morant on Sunday.
— Maybe you’ve seen it, but you should watch the Greek Freak’s self-alley-oop again.
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