[BessLineberger]

"Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler went off for 40 points in 36 minutes of play on Monday against the Milwaukee Bucks, securing his team a Game 1 victory in the second round of the NBA playoffs.

He became only the third-ever member of the Heat to drop 40 in a playoff game, putting him in excellent company amidst former Heatles LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, and made headlines after disclosing he didn’t invite any family to the NBA bubble, calling it strictly a “business trip.”

(Virgos will Virgo.)

But despite Butler’s dominating offense and strong work ethic both being a thing of beauty, they aren’t the sole reason that Miami came out on top.

New best friend Goran Dragic scored 27 flashy points of his own, shooting a whopping 60 percent from the field (including 40 percent from downtown) and knocking down all seven of his free throws. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists, hitting everyone with a friendly reminder of what it truly means to be a well-rounded point guard.

Bam Adebayo also carried his weight (all 250-plus lbs of it and then some), collecting an impressive 17 rebounds, alongside 12 points, six assists and two steals. And perhaps even more importantly, he held Giannis Antetokounmpo to 18 points and 10 rebounds – a modest statline for the former MVP."Golden State Warriors Face Masks

"For a rivalry to last 70 years, everything needs to be perfect. The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers have that. Location, pride, superstars, surprises, game games, and of course violence, have all been apart of the two teams’ history. From the era of Bill Russell against Wilt Chamberlain to Larry Bird facing Julius Erving, and now two young Celtics and Sixers teams filled with potential stars which are both emerging to be powerhouses for a long time, the rivarly has stayed strong.

The two teams have played each other 410 times since 1950 when the Sixers became part of the NBA. This includes 21 playoff series–13 won by Boston and seven won by Philadephia–as well as six rubber match games, and the victory of these matchups and ten times the winner has gone on to win the championship.

On Sunday, August 23rd, the Boston Celtics beat the 76ers by four points to win the series in a fashionable sweep. Even though the series was short and seemingly one-sided, the rivalry seems to only be increasing in intensity as the two young teams continue to grow.

Ever since Red Auerbach started lighting cigars in Spectrum there has been bad blood between the two teams. Throughout the eras of the rivalry, dozens of fights occurred, some of which involved Red.Washington Wizards Face Masks

"Almost one calendar year after the 2019-20 NBA season began, the NBA Finals are about to begin between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat. It’s been a long, grinding, tumultuous season with the deaths of Kobe Bryant and former commissioner David Stern, and an all-time footnote in the form of a four-and-a-half month hiatus brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

The NBA had to get creative to even consider resuming its season, and it did indeed think outside the box in order to do so. As we know now, the league created a bubble environment in Walt Disney World’s Wide World of Sports, and thanks to vigorous testing and quarantining had a perfect record with no positive tests on campus.

The league pulled off something that seemed impossible back in the middle of March when they suspended the season, and along the way provided some incredible basketball. The Phoenix Suns were the seeding game champions with a perfect 8-0 record but were eliminated from playoff contention in the final game of the round.

Performances by Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell in a seven-game first-round battle between the Denver Nuggets and the Utah Jazz were nothing short of spectacular, and the Miami Heat’s stifling zone defense clamped down on the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics en route to the Finals, while Anthony Davis had a fantastic scoring run for the Lakers.

Not to be left unmentioned, LeBron James had a vintage Game 5 against the Denver Nuggets to clinch things, reminding us that there’s still nobody like LeBron when he has a team on the ropes in the NBA playoffs.

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat are not the matchup we expected when the season began, or even when the seeding games or the playoffs began. The Lakers were never worse than the second-most likely team from the Western Conference to get here, but the Heat astonished everybody to get to the Finals."

"Winning is done when a team sacrifices to reach a common goal. The LA Clippers have sacrificed from roster spots 1-through-15.

Coming to Orlando to win the franchise’s first championship ever was a decision made by the whole team. Winning a title would mean a new era for a team with a ruffled past.

Great players have suited up for the Clippers. Players have made the All-Star team. Also, they have received great honors. The team though has always been known for losing.

Los Angeles is legendary. Some of the greatest talents in the world have made a name for themselves in this town. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are homegrown talents and need no introduction to the glamour and glitz of LA.

In this first-round matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, both players knew they had to be great. Both players needed each other to be great. Eventually, that was accomplished. The result?

The LA Clippers finally ending their first-round drought."Los Angeles Clippers Face Masks

Enes Kanter traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in three-team trade with Memphis Grizzlies
"The Boston Celtics finally completed their draft night trade with the Memphis Grizzlies, but with a twist. Boston will send Enes Kanter, who recently opted in for just over $5 million for the 2020-21 season, to the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-team deal.

The deal will also see Boston send the draft rights to Desmond Bane to Memphis. Bane was drafted with the 30th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

The Celtics will reportedly receive two future second round picks from Memphis. The Grizzlies will also acquire Mario Hezonja from Portland.

Kanter played one season in Boston and averaged 8.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. He played 16.9 minutes per game, mostly as a backup to Daniel Theis.

For his part, Kanter seems excited to be headed back to Portland:

In 23 games with the Trail Blazers at the end of the 2018-19 season, Kanter averaged 13.1 points and 8.6 rebounds. He then started for Portland during the 2019 playoffs after Jusuf Nurkic was injured.

Boston will create a trade exception of $4.767 million in this deal, as they are taking no salary back for Kanter.

This deal, combined with the recent opt out decision by Gordon Hayward, has Boston well below the luxury tax. That gives Boston plenty of wiggle room to use the full Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception of $9.258 million, as well as possibly the Bi-Annual Exception of $3.623 million.

In addition, the increased flexibility creates room for a potential sign and trade involving Gordon Hayward. That would allow the Celtics to take back additional salary in a deal. Or if Hayward re-signs in Boston, the Celtics could still have the ability to use the full MLE without worry of crossing over the hard cap.

Because this transaction between Boston, Memphis and Portland is taking place at the tail end of the 2019-20 league year, it is now official. Free agent negotiations open at 6:00 PM ET on Friday evening, and then the league year changes over on Sunday, November 21 at 12:01 PM ET."