The Warriors ascend again, plus the Maple Leafs's splashy debut

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Good morning! I made Easter lunch yesterday (Mississippi roast, honey mustard potato salad and glazed carrots). Please clap.

Playoff Hoops: Hey, remember those guys who did a dynasty?

A thought was lost in the flurry of the NBA trade deadline and the season’s ensuing madness: Someone allowed the Warriors to get Jimmy Butler. On its face, the deal meant an aging star joining a core of other aging stars. Fun, but not the surest bet, or even the best fit. 

Bzzt. Extremely wrong, as has been proven over and over since Butler arrived at Golden State. It was never more apparent than last night, as the seventh-seeded Warriors, led by Butler, Steph Curry and Draymond Green, went into Houston and snatched the souls of the No. 2-seeded Rockets in a 95-85 win. 

Two quick thoughts: 

  • The only thing stopping the Warriors from being a bona fide title contender is health. If that aforementioned trio can stay healthy for an entire playoff run, they can win any series, bar none. Combining two catalysts of the NBA’s latest dynasty with one of its most accomplished postseason titans feels unfair now.
  • “Hey Chris, let’s not overreact to one game.” Fine. Fair. But this was vintage Warriors stuff, on the road, against a Rockets team born to make offensive players’ lives difficult. It was just three weeks ago when Houston authored a statement win against the Warriors. It feels different in the postseason, though. 

Our friends at BetMGM have Golden State as the fourth-highest favorite. Sounds about right. 

Elsewhere in the NBA playoffs, we had chalk:

  • Both No. 1 seeds, Oklahoma City and Cleveland, romped. The Thunder lambasted the Grizzlies by a staggering 51 points, and looked extremely ready for the playoffs. The Cavs, meanwhile, scuffled with Miami for three quarters before pulling away late to win 121-100. Both passed the vibe check early.
  • Oh, and the other victor last night? The defending champion Boston Celtics, whose only legitimate worry was Jayson Tatum’s health after he fell on his wrist, though he stayed in the game — a 103-86 win. The Magic’s defense could win a game or two in this one, though. 

We have more takeaways from yesterday’s action here. Let’s check in on news before getting to hockey:

News to Know

Tomfoolery in Tampa
The situation in Tampa, Fla., yesterday was weird to start with: The Rays, without a home ballpark due to Hurricane Milton, hosted the Yankees for a game at the Yankees’ spring training facility. Then the game started, wherein New York pitcher Max Fried lost a no-hitter on a changed hit call two innings after it happened, and then Aaron Judge lost a home run due to a controversial foul ball call. Baseball is so weird. Read the full dossier here.

Thomas ends drought
Justin Thomas is one of the most interesting golfers of this era: supremely talented, pleasantly cocky and prone to extreme streaks in play. He ended an incredible three-year PGA Tour win drought yesterday by claiming victory in a playoff at the RBC Heritage. He was clearly relieved afterward, which is warranted considering he won 15 tournaments in his first seven years on tour. Good for JT.

More news

  • New UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava made his first comments since leaving Tennessee, calling his decision “incredibly difficult.” See his full statement here.
  • Padres star Luis Arraez left yesterday’s game on a cart after colliding with Astros second baseman Mauricio DubĂłn. San Diego said Arraez is stable. More here.
  • Light drama in Atlanta, where Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. said if he made the same mistake Jarred Kelenic made Saturday, he’d have been pulled from the game. See the entire back-and-forth.
  • Team USA won a wild IIHF Women’s World Championship final yesterday against Canada, 4-3 in overtime. Hailey Salvian has more from all the way in Czechia.
  • The NBA announced finalists for all major awards, including MVP. See the list.

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Stanley Cupdate: The Leafs are so back*

The Toronto Maple Leafs are eternally the NHL’s most morbidly fascinating team. In the last nine years, this team has averaged nearly 100 points a season and made it out of the first round just once so far. Elite team crashes out every year — more at 11. 

That could theoretically happen to this group, a 108-point behemoth. But if yesterday was any indication, things could be looking up: 

  • Toronto blasted Ottawa in Game 1 of this year’s Battle of Ontario, 6-2, and the scene inside Scotiabank Arena looked electric. It was the third time in 10 tries that this Leafs core has won Game 1 of a series, a stat that floored me from our main story.
  • The Leafs do not enter this postseason copacetically, either, as the team is on thin ice (sorry) with its homegrown star, Mitch Marner. There is a palpable weight around Marner in these playoffs, though it sure didn’t look like it here:

It might be a quick series, but I hope we get more than four games with this atmosphere. Quick check around the rest of the playoff rink: 

  • Carolina scored its own decisive rout in Game 1, a 4-1 drubbing over New Jersey. Logan Stankoven, who came to the Hurricanes in the Mikko Rantanen trade, scored two goals. The Devils looked overwhelmed.
  • In last night’s late game, Las Vegas took a tense Game 1 victory over the visiting Wild, 4-2, a matchup that was closer than the final score indicates. Read our recap. 

Almost done:

What to Watch

đŸ“ș NHL: Canadiens at Capitals
7 p.m. ET on ESPN
Did anything interesting happen with the Caps this year? Washington actually hit a skid after Alex Ovechkin became the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, but as our preview details, this matchup has plenty of oomph behind it. I’m pumped.  

đŸ“ș NBA: Clippers at Nuggets
10 p.m. ET on TNT/Max
These two played the best game of the NBA postseason thus far and it would be delightful if Game 2 could deliver a similar experience. Denver is a talented mess, L.A. is one of the season’s quietest surprises and there are three NBA MVPs in this series. It’s a yes for me. 

Get tickets to games like these here.

Pulse Picks

It’s officially NFL Draft Week. Celebrate by reading Dane Brugler’s final ranking of the top 300 players in this year’s pool. We’ll come back to this tomorrow. Dane also helped with today’s Connections: Sports edition!

I very much recommend reading Jen McCaffrey’s story on Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks, who made his first MLB appearance in 681 days. It’s incredible he’s here at all. 

Things aren’t so amicable between Kevin De Bruyne and Manchester City, where he is a living legend. Maybe he should be a part of City’s rebuild after all. 

I really enjoyed this story on Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky, a true outsider who is changing what it means to be an NHL GM. 

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story on how UCLA could afford to reel in Nico Iamaleava. 

Most-read on the website yesterday: Nick Baumgardner’s list of the best-drafting NFL teams of the past five years.

Ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

(Top photo: Troy Taormina / Imagn Images)





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