BBNBA: PJ Washington was good, but Drake-Kendrick stole the show
The Los Angeles Clippers should count themselves lucky that the two most popular rappers alive, Drake and Kendrick Lamar, are having a very publicized beef session on social media. If not, we’d have to talk about how the Clippers — once again — were knocked out of the NBA Playoffs earlier than expected despite having a slew of superstars.
For those unaware, Drake and Kendrick Lamar have been going back and forth with diss tracks over the last week or so. But it all came to a head last night when Drake dropped a third diss track that was immediately followed up by a fourth one from Kendrick. I’ll go ahead and link the tracks here (Drake) and here (Kendrick) if you’re interested in hearing how it played out (Kendrick REALLY hates Drake, to the point of hilarity).
Normally, when I wake up after a big NBA game and scroll through social media, I usually see tweets about what happened on the hardwood the night before. But when I whipped open the apps this morning, I would have had no idea that the Dallas Mavericks knocked the Clippers out of the Playoffs, winning the series 4-2 in Dallas.
Oh yeah, that’s right — I nearly forgot that’s what we’re here to discuss.
Fueled by 28 points and 13 assists from Luka Doncic plus 30 more points from Kyrie Irving (28 in the second half), the Mavericks beat the Clippers 114-101 in Game 6 to reach the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs. Also for Dallas, former Kentucky forward PJ Washington finished with 14 points (4-8 3PT), five rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 34 minutes.
After getting moved to Dallas ahead of the trade deadline, Washington has been the perfect addition alongside Doncic and Irving. He’s embraced the role of being the opposing team’s “villain”. The Mavericks even featured Washington on the posters for last night’s game. The entire city of Dallas is all in on Washington as the rough-em-up big man who can also knock down some important triples.
Despite acquiring All-Stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George ahead of the 2019 offseason (and later adding James Harden and Russell Westbrook), the Clippers have yet to reach the NBA Finals. L.A. failed to make the postseason in 2022 and suffered first-round exits in both 2023 and 2024. Poorly-timed injuries always seem to flare up.
But in this instance, that’s good news for PJ Washington. We’ll take it every time.
5/3/24 statistics
| Player | Score | PTS | FG (3PT) | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | +/- | MIN |
| PJ Washington (DAL) | 114-101 W vs. LAC | 14 | 4-9 (4-8) | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 34 |
| Brandon Boston Jr. (LAC) | 114-101 L @ DAL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Tonight in the NBA Playoffs
WC Round 2 | Game 1 | Tied 0-0
7:00 (TNT/truTV): [3] Timberwolves (Towns) @ [2] Nuggets (Murray)
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