Thousands of French citizens planning to poop in the River Seine had their plans flushed down the toilet after it was announced that president Emmanuel Macron and Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo would not swim in the river as they had previously announced, citing “political reasons.”
Officials didn’t expand on the decision, instead loosely saying the swim would happen “eventually.” Many suspect the decision was prompted by online plans to poop in the Siene with scientific precision, which would have ensured floaters hit the politicians right as they planned to dive into the river on Sunday at noon.
Citizens are irate at the astronomical amount of money which is being spent to clean up the Seine with plans to use the iconic river as the venue for open water swimming at the Olympics. The Seine, which has long been connected to the Paris sewerage system, has been too polluted to swim in for over 100 years.
Organizers of the Paris games wanted to showcase the river in 2024, and have since embarked on a cleanup campaign which has cost over 1 billion euros. However, scientific testing has shown that efforts have barely put a dent in the cleanliness of the river — which is still full of human excrement, garbage, and debris.
Protesters saw their chance when Macron and Hidalgo announced they would swim in the Siene to prove the water is safe for the games. Plans began circulating online for a mass-pooping event, complete with maps and water-flow measurements to pinpoint exactly where people would need to poop, and when to ensure their feces would make contact with the politicians at the time of their swim.
Those hopes were dashed Friday when officials called off the event. The Seine still contains dangerously high levels of bacteria, which are almost guaranteed to make athletes sick if they spend extended periods in the river. Now officials are in a race against time to ensure the water meets standards by July 30, which appears to be an impossibility based on the amount of pollution left to clean up.
That job only gets more difficult if people plan to poop in the river more.
Klay Thompson spent this past season fighting against father time as he played out the final year of his contract with the Golden State Warriors. Thompson still shot the ball well from three-point range (38.7 percent), but it was clear he lost a step in terms of his effectiveness at both ends of the floor.
As the Warriors missed the 2024 NBA Playoffs, speculation about Thompson’s future in free agency became even more intense. With the negotiating window now open between players and their incumbent teams, it’s looking more and more like Thompson and the Warriors are heading for a split.
The Warriors do not have an offer on the table to Thompson right now ahead of NBA free agency, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Talks between the Warriors and Thompson are being described as “frozen,” likely leading to the 34-year-old testing the open market for the first time in his career.
Thompson reportedly turned down a two-year, $48 million extension from the Warriors last summer, according to NBA insider Shams Charania. That deal is apparently no longer on the table from Golden State, and it’s possible Thompson won’t see that type of money from any other suitor given the lack of teams with cap space this summer.
Right now, only the Pistons, Magic, 76ers, Jazz, Spurs, and Thunder appear to have a pathway to substantial cap space. Thompson would be a good theoretical fit for a couple of those teams, but only if they decide he’s worth their investment over younger free agents. Orlando has been rumored to have interest in Thompson, but the club reportedly only wants to offer two-year deals to free agents, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports. That wasn’t good enough for Thompson a year ago, but at this point he may have no other choice.
The Magic could also choose to spend their money on Nuggets free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, according to Fischer. KCP is a few years younger than Thompson, shot the ball better from the outside the last few seasons, and has a superior defensive reputation at this point in his career.
Thompson has spend his entire career with the Warriors since being selected with the No. 11 overall pick by the franchise back in 2012. He has won four championships playing alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
It would feel so wrong to see Thompson in another uniform, but it sure looks like that’s the way it’s headed. NBA free agency opens up on June 30.
CROMWELL, Conn. — Tom Kim produced some magic on his last day as a 21-year-old.
He blistered TPC River Highlands, posting an 8-under 62 to take control of the Travelers Championship after round one. Kim leads Akshay Bhatia, Rickie Fowler, Kurt Kitayama, and Will Zalatoris by two strokes after day one.
“I hit the ball in the fairway a lot. Obviously, this course, if you start hitting the ball in the fairway, you can go at some pins and have some good opportunities,” Kim explained.
“Obviously, I putted well. When you shoot 62s or 64s, you have to putt well, and I took care of those opportunities.”
Kim made eight birdies to zero bogies, showing no blemishes in his game on day one. He ranked fourth in strokes gained putting and first in strokes gained overall.
The Seoul, South Korea native plotted his way around the course beautifully, easily picking and attacking his targets.
“I picked really good targets out there with my approach shots,” Kim added.
Tom Kim on the 17th green during the first round of the 2024 Travelers Championship.Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images
“When you have 8-irons in, sometimes you want to go for the pin a lot, but at the same time, you just go into this headspace where, okay, this is where I need to pick my target, I don’t feel like I need to push or anything and just sticking to that game plan.”
He played beautifully from tee to green, but the most remarkable aspect of Kim’s play Thursday is that this week marks his eighth straight event on the PGA Tour.
“I felt like my game was there, but it wasn’t really showing in tournaments. I feel like I’m playing well, but for some reason, I can’t show it off in golf tournaments,” Kim said.
“I think that’s why I’m playing a lot more than I normally ever would because if you keep getting reps in tournaments, you keep sharpening, sharpening, sharpening, and that’s what’s happening. So I’m glad to see it actually come out though.”
Kim’s eight-week stretch began at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, where he tied for 52nd despite shooting rounds in the 60s all four days.
In the six events since, his best finish came north of the border, where he tied for fourth at the RBC Canadian Open. He did not miss any cuts, but his average order of finish over the last seven weeks is 31.7—greatly exaggerated by that solid performance in Canada.
“It wasn’t like I was playing terribly; it was just a few things that didn’t go my way, and I couldn’t adapt to it and score well,” Kim added.
“It’s not like it was a bad week, but a bad round cost me that week. But at least it’s a 26th or 25th finish; it’s not like I’m finishing 50th or missing the cut. It shows me that my bad weeks are close, which gives me the confidence to go out and know that I actually am playing well and just trying to keep riding this momentum.”
Kim will celebrate his 22nd birthday riding a big wave of momentum, hoping to fend off the top players in the world, including Scottie Scheffler. Funny enough, Kim and Scheffler share the same birthday, and these two players have developed a friendly rapport and celebrate together each year.
So earlier this week, Kim and Scheffler went to Sally’s Apizza in New Haven, Connecticut, which has world-famous pies. Kim added that he would not indulge like that during a tournament, but it is his birthday, so he had to celebrate somehow.
But he also gets to celebrate his marvelous 62 as an early birthday present, which likely tastes better than Sally’s, something hard to do.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThroughfor more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
Bryson DeChambeau’s U.S. Open win is still the most talked-about golf news story despite LIV Golf Nashville and the PGA Tour’s final Signature Event this week.
In the 24 hours after DeChambeau’s win, Google searches about him went up by 250 percent, and he gained over 150,000 new followers across all his social media platforms.
The Bryson DeChambeau effect is in full force, but the professional golfer is taking it in stride.
“I’ve got to say I’m humbled by all of it,” DeChambeau said ahead of the LIV Nashville event. “I never would have thought that from a year and a half ago, things would be where they’re at right now. Gosh, I’m trying to hold it in right now. The support has been overwhelming. It’s with complete thanks and gratitude.”
His YouTube channel now has 750k subscribers. Two days ago, DeChambeau posted highlights from his historic win, which have already amassed 614,000 views, 26,000 likes, and 3,515 comments.
On Twitter, he has 410,240 followers. In the last few days, he posted photos with Grant Horvat and San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle with the trophy. Kittle even got to drink out of the trophy with DeChambeau.
His Instagram has also grown since his victory. It is the social channel that has the most followers at 1.4 million.
He also posted a reel of his favorite shots on there less than 24 hours after it went live, and it already has 1.5 million views, 117,434 likes, and 1,100 comments.
The video of him hitting that incredible bunker shot to three feet, which he dubbed “the best moment of my life,” has four million views, 285,330 likes, and almost 3,000 comments.
He is taking over golf through a different lens, and the fans appear to like it.
“It was a risk a year and a half ago, but I knew it was a way for me to get my voice out there and inspire a younger generation,” he said.
DeChambeau saw what enormous YouTube star Mr. Beast did with his channel and added his own spin. Mr. Beast now has over 200 million followers as an entertainer who does all kinds of things on YouTube.
“I said, why can’t an athlete do something like that? Why is that not possible? He’s inspiring millions of people,” DeChambeau said.
“It was in 2021 that we produced our first video. It was a week-on-tour video, and it got a million views. We went out there filming and then pumping it on YouTube. No paid ads, no media spins or anything like that. It just happened. Everybody loved it.”
After that first video, DeChambeau saw the potential and how much it could change golf. His goal is to grow the game, and he found his way.
“How do I do it all the time and create great content that people want to see so people can not only be entertained but see who I truly am,” DeChambeau said.
“What’s nice is when I’m playing these challenges, it keeps me in that creative mindset. It keeps me focused on playing golf. Even though I’m filming, I’m still practicing and working. It’s a symbiotic relationship I have with YouTube that allows me to be the best and give my best to the fans.”
Growth like that on social media is not unheard of, but what DeChambeau has accomplished is huge for golf content creators. They see what he does, and it shows them how possible it is.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
On June 12, the New York Mets’ entire season took a shift.
Entering the day eight games under .500 despite having the payroll of a world superpower, the Mets were struggling and on the brink of digging themselves into a hole that they couldn’t get themselves out of.
Then a hero came along. A purple blob of a hero.
After Grimace threw out the first pitch, the Mets have simply been one of the best teams in baseball. New York has been on a seven game win streak, including a come-from-behind victory over the defending champion Texas Rangers. Baseball players can be superstitious sometimes, but the Grimace-led vibes are something even Mets players can get behind.
This also comes in conjunction with the Mets celebrating Pride Month, and since posting the Pride flag and hosting Grimace, the Mets have been the hottest team in baseball.
It’s gotten to the point now where even McDonalds is in on the Grimace Mets.
Mets fans are loving it:
Just tried to explain the gay Grimace Mets winning streak to my wife who said “I didn’t ask for any of this information” and “none of these were words I understood.”
Just tried to explain the gay Grimace Mets winning streak to my wife who said “I didn’t ask for any of this information” and “none of these were words I understood.”
The Kansas City Chiefs should already be considered a dynasty, as the only other teams in NFL history to win at least three Super Bowls in a five-year span or less are the 1974-1979 Steelers, the 1992-1995 Cowboys, the 2001-2004 Patriots, and the 2014-2018 Patriots.
Not only is that exclusive company; the Chiefs also reached the Super Bowl in 2020, losing to Tom Brady’s only “non-dynasty” team, and Patrick Mahomes has played in six straight AFC Championships for Andy Reid.
Now comes the crazy part: Is this only the beginning?
In part one of a two-part series ranking all 32 teams based on their chances of winning the Super Bowl in either of the next two seasons—2024 or 2025—the Chiefs come in first place by an absolute landslide. Who is the closest challenger to stop Kansas City from winning their fourth championship in a six or seven-year span?
First, you have to understand the 7 categories that all teams are being judged by:
The 7 categories
HC/Stability – Ranking not only the quality of the head coach, but also how STABLE is he in the job? Mike McCarthy could be a really good head coach, however he’s also on the hot seat.
Recent History – What have you done for me lately?
Non-QB Roster, 2024-2025: Accounting for all the non-QBs on the roster, how much talent is there and how likely is it that the good players will be good and on the team for each of the next two years?
QB/Passing Success – Ranking not only the quarterbacks, but also the passing game; so it’s not just “Geno Smith” in a bubble, it’s Geno plus DK Metcalf, plus the offensive line, plus the offensive coordinator, all culminating in answering “How good is the entire passing offense?”
DEF/Passing Un-Success – So the opposite of the QB/Passing Success question, looking at the defenses and defensive coordinators
Division Hierarchy Situation, also known as DHS – Teams were ranked on a combination of Overall Division Quality + Their place in the Hierarchy. So the Browns are a good team, but they’re fourth in the hierarchy of the toughest division in the NFL.
Dealer’s Choice – For all variables that didn’t get a category, like salary cap situation, and ownership, and probability of injury regression, etc., this is my own personal stamp on the rankings.
Every team was ranked 1-32 in each category and then we split it up into AFC and NFC. You get 1 point for being ranked 1st, 32 points for being ranked 32nd, and just like golf the lower your score, the better.
1. Kansas City Chiefs (Points: 17)
Overall ranking: 1 Best ranking: HC (1), Recent (1), QB (1), Dealer’s Choice (1) Worst ranking: Non-QB Roster (8)
It was practically a clean sweep for the Chiefs, as they had the top ranking in recent history (obviously), coaching/stability, quarterback/passing success, and dealer’s choice. That gave the Chiefs less than half the point total of the second place team, so if you’re betting on a team to win either of the next two Super Bowls, it has to be Kansas City. Andy Reid recently signed an extension, but even if he retired after 2024, there are several experienced veteran coaches already in place to carry the torch with a solid infrastructure built for Patrick Mahomes.
As for Mahomes’ increasing salary, with a cap hit of $66 million in 2025, the Chiefs can restructure or re-negotiate the deal to bring that down and they probably will in order to keep free agents like Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith. Keeping players or surviving without them hasn’t proven to be an issue for Reid yet, and the Chiefs remain the last team anybody wants to see in a playoff situation.
The biggest loss, defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, had a rising star waiting in the wings behind him named Zach Orr, so perhaps we will find out that the Ravens aren’t much worse off on that side of the ball. The one thing holding back the Ravens on this list was their DHS (Division Hierarchy Situation). Though Baltimore sits atop the AFC North, it still appears to be the toughest division in the NFL, and look what happened to the Bengals last year, as they went from AFC Championship game losers in 2022 to out of the playoffs.
Say what you want about the receivers room: I don’t think it matters as much when you have Josh Allen, the second-to-last QB I’d want to see in the playoffs. The Bills have won four straight division titles, and parting ways with Stefon Diggs and Tre’Davious White might end up making the Bills a stronger team overall because it increases the odds that the team will spend the offseason, the season, and the 2025 season with the same players.
This seems early for the Texans, but look at this way: Which teams have the best odds of winning their division in EACH of the next two seasons? The Texans seem to have the all-important triumvirate of a successful NFL team: DeMeco Ryans, C.J. Stroud, and a really good defense. But they also have a top-10 offensive line, a deep group of supporting skill players, and they just put Danielle Hunter opposite of Will Anderson. The AFC South could be the best division in a couple of years depending on the development of the four quarterbacks, but right now it belongs to Houston. Look at this way: Would you rather be the second-best team in the AFC North or the best team in the AFC South? I’d rather have that guaranteed playoff home game.
5. Cincinnati Bengals (Points: 74)
Overall ranking: 8 Best ranking: HC (6), Recent (6), Dealer’s Choice (6) Worst ranking: Def/Pass (24)
If we were only ranking quarterback/passing offense and recent success, the Bengals would be in the top 3. There are numerous obstacles to overcome in the next two years, however, including how competitive it is in the AFC North, Joe Burrow’s health, the contract situation for Tee Higgins, and a defense that couldn’t get the job done last season, ranking 32nd in yards per pass attempt and 30th in yards per carry allowed. But they do score high in those other things.
Have you tried ranking the quarterbacks lately? It gets very hard to do outside of the top 10, if not the top 5. Try it. I put Deshaun Watson and company 19th, which seems high given how bad he’s been the past two seasons in Cleveland, but there aren’t a lot of attractive options behind him either and there is a strong supporting cast of coaches, offensive linemen, and skill players around him. By the way, the strongest correlation of any two categories is between “recent success” and “QB/passing play” so take that as you will. I don’t think saying that better quarterbacks win more games than average or bad quarterbacks will make your head explode.
In his previous stint as an NFL head coach, Jim Harbaugh took over a 6-10 team from Mike Singletary and went 13-3 in his first season. These Chargers are more talented than those 49ers, but Harbaugh didn’t have to worry about Patrick Mahomes back then. Still, look at the talent around Justin Herbert after adding Joe Alt, Ladd McConkey, Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, Will Dissly, D.J. Chark, and Hayden Hurst to an offense that wasn’t lacking in talent and you can see how L.A. might be a legitimate Super Bowl contender in 2025.
t7. Jacksonville Jaguars (Points: 97)
Overall ranking: t13 Best ranking: QB/Pass (8), DHS (8) Worst ranking: HC (19), Non-QB Roster (19)
The Jaguars are in a division they can win, with a head coach who has won a Super Bowl, and a defense that has two under-27 pass rushers who posted double-digit sacks in 2023. Can you believe the Jaguars have been to an AFC Championship game more recently than the Steelers?
The Dolphins are definitely more talented than some teams ranked ahead of them here, and Mike McDaniel is one of, if not the best, offensive play callers in the NFL. But Miami has to figure out how they can pay Tua Tagovailoa while keeping everyone else happy, as well as whether they even should pay Tua, plus many of their stars are either over 30 or will be soon. Are Tyreek Hill and Jalen Ramsey going to be playing at the same high level next year, and can players like Terron Armstead, Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, and Tua stay healthy? They have as much talent as they do uncertainty.
Yes, they have made the playoffs in three of the last four years and went 10-7 last season. They also haven’t won a playoff game since 2016 and they haven’t had a “really good” playoff win since beating the Ravens in the Divisional Round in 2010. Unless Russell Wilson is to the Steelers what Kurt Warner was to the Cardinals, Pittsburgh could have their first losing season since 2003 and they’re a fourth place team if Deshaun Watson is halfway decent for the Browns. But they got top-10 grades in coaching, non-QB roster, and defense.
If Aaron Rodgers is healthy and not on vacation during the regular season, the Jets roster is as good as it’s ever going to get. The offense gets four new offensive linemen (Tyron Smith, Olu Fashanu, Morgan Moses, John Simpson), two recent early draft picks to round the line out (Alijah Vera-Tucker, Joe Tippmann at center), plus the addition of Mike Williams as the No. 2 receiver.
That’s for 2024. So are they all-in? No, because even if Rodgers is slowing down next year, the Jets are projected to be sixth in cap space in 2025 and owner Woody Johnson has proven that he’s willing to overspend whatever it takes. Keep in mind, the Jets are only tied for 17th so this isn’t like predicting they’ll make it to the Super Bowl, they’re just higher on the list than Baker Mayfield and Kirk Cousins.
Between the Colts and the Saints, two teams I’ve got ranked third in their respective weak South divisions, I prefer head coach Shane Steichen to Dennis Allen. And though I’m far from sold on Anthony Richardson, he’s got plenty of upside while Derek Carr has none. I also wouldn’t be shocked if first-round edge rusher Laiatu Latu wastes no time in having an impact.
If firing Mike Vrabel was a bad decision, then why do I feel more optimistic about the Titans because of Brian Callahan? Probably because head coaches who call offensive plays are more in style than those who don’t. Is that fair or unfair? I’m not here to judge. The Titans might have the most room between their QB’s head and the ceiling though: Will Levis was too inconsistent as a rookie to be a starter, so Tennessee brought in Callahan to call the offense and signed Calvin Ridley, Tyler Boyd to catch passes, and also drafted a new tackle in J.C. Latham in the top 10.
The Broncos had the second-highest ranked head coach situation of any team in the bottom half of the list (I have Kevin O’Connell one spot ahead of Sean Payton), which tells you just how bad Denver looks on paper. I’m not going to criticize drafting Bo Nix, because it’s not that uncommon for a quarterback picked outside of the top 5 at the position to have success, but it would seem that a lot does hinge on that decision. However, the Broncos’ ranking isn’t really low because of Nix. They have a lot of projected starters “with something to prove” because they failed to gain or retain starting jobs on their previous teams, and it’s hard to imagine Denver finishing higher than third in either of the next two seasons.
After the Broncos fired Josh McDaniels in 2010, they reached five straight Divisional Round playoff games and two Super Bowls. Could Antonio Pierce provide a similar rebound in Las Vegas? Maybe only if Peyton Manning comes out of retirement and brings a time machine. (Those Broncos did win a playoff game with Tim Tebow, but this isn’t the 2011 AFC West.) It seems like the Raiders want to do as well as they can this season, then wait to see if Dak Prescott or Tua Tagovailoa becomes available next year. Teams won’t be going the draft route this time, tanking has no endgame, and I think the Raiders anticipate being the most aggressive team on the market in 2025 and that it’s highly probable that a big-name quarterback will change teams.
Left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor will be protecting quarterback Jacoby Brissett (pre-Drake Maye), throwing to Kendrick Bourne and Ja’Lynn Polk, with plays called by Alex Van Pelt, who was fired by the Browns in January. Even giving Maye a chance to prove he’s good in 2025, New England could be the worst offense in the NFL right now. Even if the Jets and Dolphins both collapse, will the Patriots beat the Bills or win an AFC Wild Card? Not likely before 2026.
It’s going to be another trip around the sun before Kyrie Irving gets a chance at his second NBA championship, and he only has himself to blame. This was his opportunity, his moment to cement a legacy that exists outside of LeBron James. Now after a horrific NBA Finals series against the Celtics, it’s difficult to argue for much beyond Kyrie being in the “Hall of Very Good.”
There was only one game in these NBA Finals where Irving played like himself at all, and that was Game 4 — which the Celtics treated like a rest day so they could close out the series in Boston. In the games that mattered Irving was such a non-factor that he was rarely the 3rd, or even 4th best option on the Mavericks. His stats outside of that Game 4 speak for themselves.
31-of-81 from the field (.382), 7-of-23 from three (.304), 4.75 assists per game, 8 turnovers.
Even if we include back in Game 4, the only contest where he was even a shadow of himself, Irving still finished the 2024 NBA Finals by scoring 99 points on 99 field goal attempts. A mediocre performance for a middling point guard, let alone someone who is often hailed as one of the best players in the NBA.
To be fair, Irving’s talent speaks for itself. He’s one of the best iso scorers not just in the modern NBA, but that the game’s ever seen. Kyrie’s blend of jaw-dropping handles paired with an ability to score anywhere on the floor is the reason that night-in-night-out he could go off for 50 at any given moment if a team doesn’t have a way to stop him. The problem is that while Irving might be one of the best improvisational ball handlers in basketball, if he’s met with so much as a stiff breeze he’s rendered unable to adjust and change his game to compensate for how opponents try to stop him.
Entering the NBA Finals here was no doubt this was going to be a tough series for Dallas on paper. They didn’t match up great against the Celtics’ defensive-focused backcourt of Jrue Holliday and Derrick White, while simultaneously not having great options to handle Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown. Still, there was the ever-present hope that the Mavericks could actually do this, because we’d been conditioned to overlook the defensive deficiencies of Kyrie and Luka Doncic, instead focusing on their scoring prowess.
This season for the Mavericks was defined by Luka and Kyrie, and neither really rose to the occasion in the finals. There’s no question Doncic struggled at times against the Boston backcourt, but he wasn’t a liability on the court the same was Irving was.
Dallas is Irving’s fourth stop in his career, and the third where he was brought in as “the missing piece,” only to fall apart in the Finals. Only twice in his career has Irving managed to play with the same level of regular season success in the postseason, and both came with LeBron James in Cleveland when they won a ring in 2015-16, and returned to the finals in 2016-17.
It’s unclear what’s next for Kyrie Irving, because he remains one of the most mercurial players in the NBA. There is a path forward for Dallas, but it requires work. They have to find a reliable scoring option in the front court, and need to get tougher defensively — both of which are possible. However, these NBA Finals showed once more that a team can’t count on Irving to be the man to get them over the hump. There’s also a pattern of behavior here that when the work gets to be too much, Irving is just as likely to demand a trade than stick around for any retooling.
At this point that’s Kyrie Irving’s legacy: One of the best regular season players to ever step on the court.
The Boston Celtics returned to their home floor in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals with the chance to clinch the series and secure the 18th championship in franchise history. The Dallas Mavericks couldn’t even make it to halftime before Boston turned the game into a blowout.
The Celtics took a 67-46 lead into halftime against Dallas in Game 5 on Monday night. Boston’s offense led a cascade of shot-making, rim attacking, and ferocious defense. The Celtics saved their most devastating bucket of the first half for last.
Payton Pritchard didn’t play in Game 5 until Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla checked him in as Dallas went to the free throw line with four seconds left in the half. Pritchard had already hit a halfcourt in NBA Finals, beating the third quarter buzzer back in Game 2. He out-did himself in Game 5, delivering a buzzer-beating dagger to Dallas just before halftime. Watch the play here:
Pritchard checked in just to take a halfcourt heave, and he drained it. Mazzulla remains a mad genius.
It’s the longest shot made in the NBA Finals in the last 20 years, according to ESPN.
Pritchard has been the Celtics’ first guard off the bench all season long. He doesn’t play big minutes for the team, but like any role player on a championship team, he’ll soon be beloved in Boston forever. These halfcourt shots in the NBA Finals will be replayed for the rest of his life. Celtics fans are already loving this one:
The Celtics were the best team in the NBA all season. For the first time in the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown era, they end the season on top of the league.
The Boston Celtics have a chance Monday night to capture their 18th NBA Finals title. And they are putting it all on the line in pursuit of that championship.
Literally.
With the minutes ticking down in the first half, Boston held a 52-39 lead over the visiting Dallas Mavericks in Game 5, and were locked in on the defensive end. Dallas forward P.J. Washington stumbled off the dribble and tried to shove a pass in the direction of Dereck Lively, but the ball was knocked loose by Jayson Tatum.
In the ensuing melee for the loose ball, Derrick White of the Celtics absolutely laid out trying to corral the ball, before catching an entire face full of the parquet floor at T.D. Garden:
If you dare, you can watch the close-up replay of White’s effort:
In the moment, it looked as if Boston would lose the player that has been the “oomph” of their roster since he was acquired via trade during the 2022 season. White made his way to the Celtics bench after staying down on the floor for a moment, and was looked at by Celtics trainers:
He returned to the game immediately after.
And buried a three moments later to give Boston a 60-42 lead.
Look at this guy:
Between that and another heave at the buzzer from Payton Prichard, Boston has had one heck of a first half.
And they are 24 minutes away from their 18th banner.
When running back Derrick Henry signed with the Baltimore Ravens, it was immediately lauded as an extremely good choice. The powerful back is moving on from a storied career in Tennessee in hopes of finally winning a title with a Ravens team that is consistently on the brink of a breakthrough.
It’s fairly simple on the surface why this signing will work out for Baltimore: QB Lamar Jackson plus Henry in the run game equals instant success, right? However, there’s even more to it that I think makes this signing have the potential to elevate the Ravens’ offense to a new level.
***
In the offseason, the Ravens lost RB Gus Edwards to free agency. Edwards was the hammer of the Raven’s run game, taking most of the carries between the tackles with Jackson and Keaton Mitchell (pre-injury) provided the lightning and explosion in the offense. According to Sports Information Solutions, Edwards led all ballcarriers on runs in between the tackles, and was second on the team in Positive Play Rate. Edwards ability to simply always fall forward kept the offense humming and allowed the Ravens to singles and doubles, as well as home runs.
Now that Edwards is on the Chargers, the Ravens needed someone who could keep the run game on track while keeping hits off of Jackson. Enter Henry, one of the better between the tackles runners in the entire NFL. Henry’s ability to get downhill and make life difficult for second level defenders is going to play perfectly with Jackson and Mitchell’s big play ability in the backfield.
Although when Henry takes snaps in the backfield for Baltimore, they’ll probably see even more loaded boxes than they did in the previous season. Last year, Baltimore finished second in the NFL in rushing attempts into a box with seven or more defenders and finished fifth in Positive Play Rate. Gus Edwards took most of those carries with him to Los Angeles, but in 2023 Henry had the most carries in the league into loaded boxes behind a Tennessee offensive line that was poor for most of the season, but behind a much better line in Baltimore, he should be able to be more effective than he was in 2023.
Where the rubber really hits the road for the Ravens and Henry is with their use of the pistol offense in 2023. With more offenses wanting to run traditional under center run game stuff like duo and counter, but still wanting to have RPOs built into the offense with a mobile QB like Jackson. I believe NFL offenses are going to start leaning more into the pistol offense in 2024, and that’s going to really benefit the Ravens and Henry. Henry led the NFL in under center rushing attempts, and while that’s something the Ravens don’t exactly major in (28th in the NFL in total under center rushing attempts), Henry and Edwards both were near the top of the NFL in snaps from the pistol, which is a great blend of both their skills.
The Ravens ran a lot of power and counter out of the pistol, a great way to get backs downhill in a hurry without sacrificing the RPO or shotgun diet of most offenses today. Edwards was really good at getting downhill out of pistol, not wasting any time and getting right into the gaps to keep the offense humming.
While both the Titans and the Ravens ran a lot of the pistol offense on the ground, what they ran out of this formation was a bit different. The Titans were big on running duo out of pistol, a staple of that part of their offense. It really worked with Henry because when you give Henry a runway, he can build up that speed and power and become more of a force. Tennessee did run counter out of pistol as a changeup, though, and you can see where Henry fits within the meshing of this part of the Raven’s offensive game.
What Henry brings to this offense is essentially a super version of what Gus Edwards brought to Baltimore: tough inside running and the ability to win in the red zone. Among all players with 20 or more carries in the red area, Henry was ninth in the NFL in Positive Play Rate. Combining his physicality with Jackson’s ability as a runner will make the Ravens more dangerous there, a scary thought for opposing defenses.
What Baltimore will have to do is continue to monitor Henry’s carries to keep him fresh for those early down and red zone opportunities. This is where Justice Hill and hopefully a healthy Keaton Mitchell comes into play. While Henry isn’t a guy who will carry a team to victory anymore, where Baltimore can really use him as the thunder to everyone else’s lightning.
And that’s some thunder I wouldn’t want to get in front of.
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