The Best of the Day: May 9th, 2021
The ‘Best of the Day’ is a daily PSO original series showcasing the most significant stories, highlights, and facts going on in the land of the NFL, NBA, & MLB every day. Get a recap on EVERYTHING that happened on 5/9 .
Anthony Davis exploded for his best game of the season as the Los Angeles Lakers took down the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. This was a massive outcome for LA, who is trying to keep up with Portland and avoid the newly-implemented play-in tournament. With the NBA playoffs right around the corner, this postseason has the potential to have more upsets than usual due to injuries and limited home capacities. The Pelicans outlasted the Hornets in the game of the day, Jacob deGrom is off to the most historic start ever, and PSO ranked the top five safeties from the 2021 NFL draft.
Here is the best of the day from May 9, 2021:
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AD’s 42-pt performance led the LeBron-less Lakers past Phoenix for 3rd win in last 11 games
put up his best performance of the season when his team needed him the most, as the Lakers topped the Suns 123-110 in LA. Davis finished the contest with a season-high 42 points along with 12 rebounds and five assists. However, he made just as much of an impact on the defensive end, registering three blocks and three steals for the reigning champs.
AD. UNREAL.
— NBA TV (@NBATV)
Drummond lobs to AD for the SLAM
— NBA TV (@NBATV)
This was a much needed win for Los Angeles, who has struggled mightily with both Davis and missing large chunks of time this season due to injury. At 38-30, the Lakers are one game back of Portland (39-29) for the sixth seed and the final guaranteed playoff spot in the West.
LA will be looking to avoid the play-in tournament, especially since it is looking like they could find themselves matched up with the 8th seeded Warriors. While one would have to favor LA, any opponent led by would be a difficult matchup for any team considering Curry could explode for 50 on any given night. Whatever happens though, this postseason is set to be as exciting as ever with the new format.
Anthony Davis tonight:
— StatMuse (@statmuse)
42 PTS
12 REB
5 AST
3 STL
3 BLK
15-17 FT
He is the first Laker with a 40/10/5/3/3 game since Shaq in 2001.
Tonight marked the 7th time in his career Anthony Davis of the had at least 40 points, 3 blocks and 3 steals in a game.
— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS)
In the past 35 years, the only player to have more such games is Michael Jordan (14).
Anthony Davis is the 1st player with 35+ PTS/10+ REB/5+ AST during consecutive GP since Elgin Baylor in 1968
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports)
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THIS SEASON’S PLAYOFFS ARE POISED TO HAVE MORE UPSETS THAN USUAL
This season has been unlike any other in many different ways. There was the whole restructuring of the league format due to COVID issues, and teams have had many star players missing time. These injuries have caused the standings to look a lot different than anticipated. Plenty of squads who haven’t had recent postseason success are at the top, and those who have proven themselves in playoff settings won’t benefit from many (if any) home-court playoff series this year, but will that prevent all these potential upsets?
The six through eight seeds in the West are full of proven winners. Portland has missed this season, and is in sixth but made a run to the Conference Finals just two years ago. The reigning champions in LA have missed LeBron/AD and currently sit in a play-in position. Golden State hasn’t had at all, has played games without , and is the most likely team to finish eighth. This is happening in the East too, with the reigning conference champs, Miami, in sixth as (among others) has missed significant time this year.
Now, at the top, it is full of teams who haven’t proven to have the same playoff success. None of the current one or two seeds in either conference have been to a conference championship game in at least 10 years. Phoenix did it in 2010, but both of the top teams in the East date back to the early 2000s. All of Utah, Phoenix, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn are on upset alert this postseason due to likely matching up with proven teams early on. 2021 has been a unique season already and it could very well end up with the most playoff upsets ever considering the caliber of teams with the lower seeds.
COLORS | FULL
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AD with the reverse jam
AD. UNREAL.
— NBA TV (@NBATV)
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PF , LAL (W v.PHX): 42 PTS (13-27 FG | 1-5 3P), 5 AST, 12 REB, 3 BLK, 3 STL, 3 TO
(5/9/21): PF Anthony Davis, LAL
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports)
TOP FACTS:
- Trails only MJ for GP (7) with 40+ PTS/3+ BLK/3+ STL
- 1st LAL w/ 35p/10r/5a in 2 straight GP since Elgin '68
- 1st Laker w/ 40p/10r/5a/3s/3b since Shaq in 2001
KEY STATS:
42 PTS, 12 REB, 5 AST, 3 STL, 3 BLK, 13-27 FG
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New Orleans Pelicans (112) vs. Charlotte Hornets (110)
[] PELICANS (+153; $8.89) d. @HORNETS (-170; $15.47) 112-110 [NOP +4 | PUSH 222]
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Nobody in MLB history has had as good of a start to a season as 2021 has
- Only player with 65+ Ks & an ERA under 1.00 through his 1st 6 GS of a season in
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by Ricky Eisenbart
PSO ranked the top-5 Safeties from the 2021 NFL Draft and you can create your own rankings!
Ranking the top 5 Safeties in the 2021 NFL Draft:
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports)
1.
2.
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???
CREATE YOUR OWN DRAFT RANKINGS
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DATE: May 9, 2016
SIGNIFICANCE: Returning from a knee injury, scored the most OT PTS (17) in NBA playoff history during Game 4 vs. POR
May 9, 2016: Returning from a knee injury, Steph Curry had 1 of the best games of his HOF career in Game 4 of the 2nd Rd vs. POR; Curry began 0-9 on 3PA until catching fire in the 4th & scored an NBA record 17 PTS in OT for 40 PTS to take a 3-1 series lead
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports)
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