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🏀 Good morning to all, however particularly to …

SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the favourite to win MVP, and if he retains placing up numbers like he did final evening, nobody goes to have the ability to catch him. The Thunder famous person scored 51 factors in a 137-128 win over the Rockets.

• It is Gilgeous-Alexander’s fourth 50-point sport this season, essentially the most within the NBA. He additionally leads the league in 40-point video games (9), 30-point video games (37) and 20-point video games (59).
• All 4 of Gilgeous-Alexander’s 50-point outings have are available in his final 19 video games.
• However it’s not simply the large explosions. It is the consistency: He has scored at the least 20 factors in 56 straight video games. The following-longest energetic streak within the NBA is Jalen Brunson with seven video games.
• Oh, and talking of 50s, the Thunder picked up their fiftieth win of the season. Oklahoma Metropolis has consecutive 50-win seasons for the primary time since 2012-14.

😃 Honorable mentions

🤕 And never such a very good morning for …

KYRIE IRVING AND THE DALLAS MAVERICKS

The Luka Dončić commerce stays indefensible from the Mavericks‘ facet, however should you needed to essentially attempt to reconcile with it and take Dallas GM Nico Harrison‘s viewpoint, possibly you could possibly see the Mavericks being significantly higher defensively with Anthony Davis whereas nonetheless having the backcourt scoring exploits of Kyrie Irving. Once more, I am making an attempt to be good right here.

However then Davis left his Dallas debut in on Feb. 8 with a groin harm and hasn’t logged a minute since, and Monday, Irving left with a scary-looking knee sprain and needed to be helped to the locker room, although not till after he hit two free throws.

It isn’t clear how way more pressure the 32-30 Mavericks, at present the ten seed (aka the ultimate play-in spot) within the West, can take.

• They had been already down their high three bigs — Davis, Dereck Energetic II (ankle) and Daniel Gafford (knee) — with important accidents.
• PJ Washington harm his ankle over the weekend and did not play final evening, and Caleb Martin (hip) hasn’t performed since being acquired close to the commerce deadline.
• Davis, Energetic and Gafford will probably be reevaluated Thursday. However, as Brad Botkin writes, “There’s hope that Davis could possibly be again quickly, but when he is returning simply as Irving goes out for his personal harm absence, it form of defeats the aim of the Dončić commerce … not that there was even a smidge of justification for that commerce to start with.”

Including insult to harm, the Mavericks introduced they’re growing ticket costs subsequent season. As if followers could not be mad/unhappy sufficient.

😟 Not so honorable mentions

🏈 Sam Darnold not anticipated to get franchise tag, Tee Higgins will get tagged

Tag, Tee Higgins is it (once more). Sam Darnold, apparently, won’t be “it” … in any respect. The Bengals franchise-tagged Higgins for the second straight 12 months, and the Vikings reportedly won’t use the tag on Darnold.

These are important strikes, however not the be-all, end-all.

• By tagging Higgins, the Bengals guarantee he would not hit free company — the negotiating interval begins Monday — and it provides them till July 15 to work on a long-term deal. If they cannot comply with a deal, he’ll make $26.2 million in 2025.
• It is disappointing for Higgins, who needed an extension final 12 months, too. He might have fetched greater than $26.2 million per 12 months if he had hit free company, and he would have gotten long-term safety, too.
• Bear in mind, the Bengals additionally need to pay Ja’Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson. They are not shut on the Chase deal. My recommendation? Simply pay the fellows. However the Bengals have a really conservative entrance workplace. They did lower Alex Cappa.
• Minnesota will try and re-sign Darnold, however he’ll have loads of suitors; two groups specifically are seen as frontrunners.
• The franchise tag deadline is at the moment at 4 p.m. Here is our tracker.

As for extra information concerning veterans …

🏈 NFL mock draft post-combine, plus newest on what Titans will do at No. 1

The NFL mix has come and gone. We lined a variety of it yesterday, however our glorious workforce simply retains pumping out draft content material, with Josh Edwards’ winners and losers and Chris Trapasso’s grades for the highest 25 prospects.

Ryan Wilson has digested every thing we have got and produced his first post-combine mock draft. Here is the highest 5:

1. Titans: QB Cam Ward, Miami
2. Browns: EDGE Abdul Carter, Penn State
3. Giants: CB/WR Travis Hunter
4. Patriots: OT Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas
5. Jaguars: DL Mason Graham, Michigan

Just a few issues soar out.

⚽ UEFA Champions League spherical of 16 predictions

UEFA Champions League motion is again with the spherical of 16 starting at the moment. Similar to the knockout spherical, every matchup consists of two legs (one house, one away), so whereas nobody will advance this week, groups can get one foot into the quarterfinals.

Listed here are at the moment’s video games:

• Membership Brugge vs. Aston Villa | 12:45 p.m. on Paramount+ | Preview
• Actual Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid | 3 p.m. on Paramount+ | Preview 
• PSV vs. Arsenal | 3 p.m. on Paramount+ | Preview
• Borussia Dortmund vs. Lille | 3 p.m. on CBS Sports activities Community, Paramount+ 

What a lineup! That Madrid derby must be tons of enjoyable, and Pardeep Cattry predicts …

• Cattry: “Actual Madrid 1, Atletico Madrid 1 — Actual Madrid have been unable to beat their crosstown rivals in two earlier conferences this season, and issues are trending in the proper path for an additional draw between these two. Each side boast spectacular aim scorers and even when the reigning champions haven’t precisely had the very best of seasons, they nonetheless have that uncanny potential to come back out of unhealthy video games largely unscathed.”

Listed here are all of our skilled picks, finest bets and way more. Our consultants additionally picked their brackets, now that these are set — there are three totally different champs among the many 5 predictions — and James Benge has daring predictions for the primary legs.

📺 What we’re watching Tuesday

⚽ We’re watching the UEFA Champions League. Here is how.
🏀 Warriors at Knicks, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
🏀 No. 1 Auburn at No. 22 Texas A&M (M), 9 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 No. 23 BYU at No. 10 Iowa State (M), 9 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 Clippers at Suns, 10 p.m. on TNT/truTV