That and more in Thursday's packed NBA newsletter.
Good morning. Let's assess the damage.
Here are the first-round matchups and seedings. We'll explain how this all happened momentarily. If you prefer graphics, we have that too.
Hawks (1) vs. Nets (8)
Cavaliers (2) vs. Celtics (7)
Bulls (3) vs. Bucks (6)
Raptors (4) vs. Wizards (5)
Warriors (1) vs. Pelicans (8)
Rockets (2) vs. Mavericks (7)
Clippers (3) vs. Spurs (6) (oh dear god)
Blazers (4) vs. Grizzlies(5)
Here's the full first-round schedule. Games begin Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
THE WEST! The Pelicans had a gutsy win over the Spurs to earn a playoff berth and knock out the Thunder. Russell Westbrook had dropped 34 in the first half of OKC's game vs. Minnesota to ensure his team would do its part, but New Orleans (with a raucous crowd and Anthony Davis playing possessed) had other ideas. (To wit, Westbrook was not exactly consoled by learning he'd won the scoring title.)
The Spurs loss meant Houston could claim No. 2 with a win, which they did. It also made the idle Clippers No. 3, and gave Memphis a chance to avoid L.A. in the first round and instead take on Portland. The Grizzlies thus really wanted to win their late game ... against Indiana. Memphis won, setting up that dastardly L.A.-S.A. series.
THE EAST! The Nets *almost* lost to the Magic in a must-win game! They were trailing in the fourth quarter. But they pulled out a victory, putting the pressure on Indiana. The Pacers just couldn't get over the hump, though, and so Brooklyn is in the playoffs. Can't win them all. (Paul George also suffered what appeared to be a painful calf injury in that game.)
This is where I note that the Jazz finished with the same record as the Nets, but were eliminated from their playoff race 30 days ago.
THE WORSTS: All of the teams that needed to lose to preserve lottery positioning did so. Here are your lottery odds and what we know about the first round draft order.
That Nets win made the Miami-Philly tankageddon moot, though the teams didn't know that for much of the night. That's how we ended up with multiple Sixers -- including Joel Embiid -- drawing up plays in the huddle (seriously) and why the Heat played Michael Beasley, Tyler Johnson, Henry Walker and James Ennis all 48 minutes.
Speaking of the worsts: you need to see the Knicks' "One Shining Moment" video.
THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT OF THE NIGHT: In order to appreciate fans, the Knicks gave away free food and drink at Madison Square Garden. All night. In order to wave a middle finger at James Dolan, our men-of-action Seth Rosenthal and Rodger Sherman ate as much as possible. They did an estimated $600 worth of damage in free sandwiches, froyo, popcorn, mini pecan pies and bottled water.
THE BEST: Allen Iverson took over the Sixers' official Twitter feed for a while. It was stupendous.
THE SPECIAL MAN: It's a really good time to reread Paul Flannery's big on-site feature on Anthony Davis' place and future in New Orleans lore.
WELPVILLE: Woj reports that the Thunder are considering Scott Brooks' future as coach.
AWARD PICKS: We made our award picks. You could call me a homer for putting DeMarcus Cousins on my first team All-NBA fake ballot, and you'd be right.
TO BE SPEIGHTS: Very nice Mirin Fader profile of Marreese Speights, who turned his career around in Year 2 in Golden State.
SOMEWHERE, TIM DUNCAN CHUCKLES: Joey Crawford fell right on his face. (He's fine.)
NICE WORK, LANCE: Lance Stephenson had the worst three-point shooting season of all-time. Of All-Time!
TIME TO CONSIDER CHANGES: Howard Beck says the Board of Governors will consider a few options to reform the broken conference imbalance.
HE THE NORTH: Really excellent DeMar DeRozan piece by James Herbert.
Playoffs on Saturday! We'll have lots of previews between now and then, and of course full coverage every day through the postseason. GMIB will also be going seven days a week through early July. Let's do this! Happy Thursday. See you next time.
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