KSR Today: NBA Playoffs, job postings, Adam Sandler as an NBA scout

Good morning, friends, and congratulations on making it halfway through another week. It continues to be a slow one for UK sports news, but thankfully, it was a good night for former Cats in the NBA Playoffs.

In the night’s first game, the Miami Heat moved within one win of the Eastern Conference finals with a 120-85 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Bam Adebayo had 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks in the win, while NBA Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro came off the bench to contribute 10 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds. One of those assists was to Bam:

Tyler Herro ↗ Bam 💥#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel on TNT pic.twitter.com/gT1oeSuqqF

— NBA (@NBA) May 11, 2022

Speaking of Herro, who wore it better, the Bucket or Charles Barkley?

"You wore it better!"

Chuck really copied @raf_tyler's postgame outfit 🤣 pic.twitter.com/TRA4NjYBv6

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 10, 2022

On the other side of the ball, Tyrese Maxey had a relatively quiet night, finishing with only 9 points and 3 rebounds. Not a single 76er finished in the positive in plus/minus efficiency. The series now moves back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Thursday, which is win-or-go-home for the Sixers.

In the nightcap, Devin Booker led the Suns to a 110-80 win over the Mavericks to take a 3-2 lead in the West Semifinals. Booker finished with 28 points, including two big threes to extend the lead at the start of the second half. He had 12 points in the third quarter alone, just two fewer than all of the Mavericks combined. Booker is now one of only 18 players in NBA history to score at least 800 points in his first 30 postseason games. Anthony Davis is also on that list.

That’s impressive, but Booker’s impression of Luka Doncic after a foul is what’s making the rounds on the internet this morning.

“The Luka special.”

—Devin Booker after staying down on the floor after a fall.

(via ky_russell0/IG) pic.twitter.com/63EoZ8zyIL

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 11, 2022

Game 6 is Thursday night in Dallas. Here’s tonight’s schedule:

• 7:00 PM (TNT): Bucks vs. Celtics – Game 5, Series tied 2-2
• 9:30 PM (TNT): Warriors vs. Grizzlies – Game 5, GS leads series 3-1

Meanwhile, a little closer to home…

We’ll find out who Kentucky plays in the SEC Softball Tournament

The SEC Softball Tournament began Tuesday in Gainesville, Florida, but since Kentucky is the No. 4 seed, they don’t play until tomorrow. Today, we’ll find out who their opponent is. At 5 p.m. this evening, No. 12 Florida takes on No. 12 Texas A&M. The winner will advance to play Kentucky tomorrow at 5 p.m. Both games can be seen on the SEC Network.

Today is the deadline to apply for the assistant coach job

Do you want to fill the open seat on Kentucky’s bench? You better hurry because today is the deadline to apply for the third spot on John Calipari’s staff. With Jai Lucas off to Duke, Orlando Antigua and Chin Coleman are Kentucky’s two on-court assistants. Bruiser Flint, who was elevated to associate to the head coach in 2021, has been acting as the third assistant during Lucas’ absence. With the job posting expiring today, hopefully, we’ll get some news on who’s joining the staff soon.

Kellan Grady is working out for the Hawks

In NBA Draft news, Kellan Grady is among a group of prospects working out for the Atlanta Hawks today, per Chris Kirschner.

Hawks draft workouts tomorrow:

Anthony Duruji (Florida) – F – 6-7, 209
 
Tari Eason (LSU) – F – 6-8, 216
 
Collin Gillespie (Villanova) – G – 6-3, 195
 
Kellan Grady (Kentucky) – G – 6-5, 205
 
Kameron McGusty (Miami) – G – 6-5, 190
 
Andrew Nembhard (Gonzaga) – G – 6-5, 193

— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) May 10, 2022

Grady and Keion Brooks will show off their skills to G-League and NBA scouts, coaches, and executives next week at the G-League Elite Camp in Chicago. If they’re among the top performers, they’ll be invited to the NBA Draft Combine, which starts Wednesday in the same location. TyTy Washington and Shaedon Sharpe were invited to the Combine, along with 2022 prospect Leonard Miller, who has the Cats on his final list.

Mike Brey on NIL: “Everybody should shut up and adjust”

It feels like every coach in America has weighed in on name, image, and likeness (NIL) and the impact it’s having on college sports. Yesterday, Notre Dame coach Mike Brey had a refreshing take at the ACC annual spring meetings in Amelia Island, Georgia.

“[Coaches] have got to stop complaining,” Brey said. “This is the world we’re in, and last time I checked, we make pretty good money. So everybody should shut up and adjust.”

Can he get an amen? Amen.

Check out Tim Brando’s game notes from the Pitino Era

Legendary broadcaster Tim Brando took a trip down memory lane yesterday, sharing some of his old game notes on Twitter. That included this set from — spoiler — the 1994-95 season.

My friends in the Blue Grass will like seeing this one. C’mon ⁦@KentuckyMBB⁩ fans gimme the year? 🏀🎙📺🎧the “iron kind” to this group. pic.twitter.com/2Lze3P0BoG

— Tim Brando (@TimBrando) May 10, 2022

Of course, Oscar Combs was able to pin down the exact game, Kentucky’s 71-60 win at Vanderbilt on Feb. 25, 1995.

I cheated a bit. I noticed your prep notes on Pitino at bottom of “cheat sheet” and with the 19-4 record, realized it had to be a regular season game since the NCAA allowed 26 regular season games plus post season back then. So it must have been this SEC TV Game of Week at Vandy. pic.twitter.com/B2zbBhT1cU

— Oscar Combs (@wildcatnews) May 10, 2022

The trailer for Adam Sandler’s “Hustle” is out

Adam Sandler, NBA scout? For his latest role, Sandler plays Stanley Sugarman, a scout for the Philadelphia 76ers who travels the globe searching for the next superstar. The movie, which was produced by LeBron James, drops on Netflix on June 8.

That should be enough to get you rolling this morning. Tune in to 630 WLAP for the show an hour from now, or right now for the KSR Preshow. What gross special edition sodas will Shannon and Billy consume today?