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Santiago Leon and Ray Sherrod discuss the latest picture of the 2024 #NBA Playoffs and Playin.
Contributors
Santiago Leon – @sleon
Ray Sherrod – @ray3473
Pelicans, Suns secure play-in as Dubs put Rockets on brink
The New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns guaranteed postseason basketball Thursday thanks to the Golden State Warriors’ 133-110 win over the Houston Rockets.
The Dallas Mavericks also locked up a spot by defeating the Atlanta Hawks earlier Thursday. However, they, too, would’ve been safe courtesy of the Warriors’ victory.
New Orleans and Phoenix will compete in at least the play-in tournament this year, leaving just three postseason spots up for grabs in the West. Coincidentally, the Warriors and Rockets are two of the four remaining sides in the conference yet to clinch a play-in berth at minimum. The Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings require one more win, or another Rockets loss, to qualify.
Julius Randle to have season-ending shoulder surgery
New York Knicks forward Julius Randle will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery and be re-evaluated in five months, the team announced Thursday.
Doctors warned Randle that his shoulder’s continued instability made it unsafe for him to resume playing, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The three-time All-Star dislocated it in January and has been sidelined since.
Randle originally opted not to have surgery, but the procedure became an inevitability after two specialists warned him of further injury and potential permanent damage to the shoulder if he returned before surgery, sources told Wojnarowski.
Celtics clinch best record in NBA for the first time since their last championship season in 2008
Eagles, Mailata agree to 3-year $66M extension
The Philadelphia Eagles and left tackle Jordan Mailata have agreed to a three-year extension through the 2028 season, the team announced Thursday.
Financial details of the pact weren’t disclosed, but the three-year deal is worth $66 million and contains $48 million in guarantees and a $20-million signing bonus, sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Mailata’s $22-million average salary is the fourth-highest among offensive tackles, adds Schefter.
Bills trading Stefon Diggs to Texans
The Buffalo Bills are finalizing a blockbuster trade to send four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The Bills will receive a 2025 second-round pick (via the Minnesota Vikings), while the Texans get Diggs, a 2024 sixth-round pick, and a 2025 fifth-rounder, adds Schefter.
The move for Diggs caps an aggressive offseason for Houston after Offensive Rookie of the Year winner C.J. Stroud helped the Texans to a shocking last-to-first turnaround in the AFC South in 2023.
A’s moving to Sacramento
Predictions
NC State vs (3) Purdue
RS: Purdue
No. 19 Alabama vs No. 1 Connecticut
RS: UCONN