A NEW WAY TO LOSE | TMK #21

Today, on TMK:

The Bills are bad again, the Kings are back again, and basketball is all we have left.

Catch Up

• 🏈 Football: Bills-Broncos, A New Way To Lose

• 🏀 NBA: Fox, Lillard Return and Win

• 🎾 Zverev def. Alcaraz, 6-7 6-3 6-4

The Main Events

• 🏀 NBA In-Season Tournament

• 🏀 Euroleague Week 8

Extra Time

• ❓ Sports Trivia

• 🗣️ Quote of the Day

• ⭐ Can’t Miss Moment

• 🧮 Stat of the Day

• 📽️ Video of the Day

🏈 Bills - Broncos, Can’t Make This Up

Some people watch bad movies ironically. I watch bad football. And oh boy, what a bad football game the Bills and Broncos provided us with yesterday.

Let’s start at the very beginning, the first play of the game. Bills’ QB Josh Allen throws to his running back…who fumbles the ball. One play, one turnover. Great start.

Let’s try the second drive of the game. The Bills play decent offense and get close to the Broncos’ end zone. Did they finally figure it out? Nope. Josh Allen throws an interception. Two drives, two turnovers. Josh Allen now leads the NFL in interceptions thrown, and the bad football party continues.

I could go on and on, but for brevity’s sake, let’s skip to the end. The score is somehow 22-21 for the Bills. There are 4 seconds on the clock. The Broncos just drove 57 yards in under two minutes to set up a field goal to win the game.

The Broncos’ kicker hits the ball but misses wide right. Game over, the Bills win. But wait. There is a penalty flag. What could this be?

THE BILLS DEFENDED THE KICK WITH AN EXTRA PLAYER ON THE FIELD.

American Football is played with 11 players. The Bills fielded 12 on this play. One of the Bills’ players counted the players on the field and gave a thumbs-up to the coach before the kick. He counted 11 players but FORGOT TO COUNT HIMSELF.

The kick is replayed. The Broncos’ kicker steps up…and makes it. Game over. Broncos win, 24-22.

Bad plays happen. Bad games happen. But this? This is on another level. Josh Allen couldn’t believe it. Sorry buddy. The Bills are bad again.

🏀 NBA Recap

Cleveland Cavaliers 120 - 132 Sacramento Kings

What a difference a player like DeAaron Fox makes. The Kings’ star point guard came back from an ankle injury but looked like he never left. Fox is a brilliant player who can play as the first scoring option or as the field general for the Kings. He scored 28 on his return and led all scorers. The Kings are playing fun basketball.

The Cavs gave it a good effort behind Mitchell’s 22 points, but the Kings looked like the better team throughout.

Milwaukee Bucks 118 - 109 Chicago Bulls

Damian Lillard also came back from injury but didn’t look nearly as sharp as Fox on his return. Lillard went 3 from 17 on field goal attempts, including 1 from 9 on three-pointers. Fortunately for the Bucks, Giannis did show up and scored 35.

Unfortunately for the Bulls, Demar DeRozan played almost as badly as Lillard and went 3 from 14 on field goal attempts. This Bulls team isn’t good enough to win when Demar DeRozan has an off night. They’re lacking in the Giannis department.

Boston Celtics 114 - 98 New York Knicks

Consider this: the Celtics shot 50-40-90 as a team while missing an impossible amount of open shots and layups. They won by 16 in a game they consider a bad shooting night. That should tell you something about the potential of this Celtics team. Tatum led with 35 points, followed by Brown with 22 and Porzingis with 21. The Celtics’ big 3 is real.

The Knicks played a good game - Brunson scored 26, Randall 25 - but the Celtics are too much to handle, even when they’re not at their best.

Toronto Raptors 111 - 107 Washington Wizards

The Wizards led this game for 47 minutes and 52 seconds. The only 8 seconds where they trailed are the ones that actually matter.

The Raptors came back down 23 points to steal the win just as time was running out. The Wizards were held scoreless for the final 5:47 of the fourth quarter. They went 0-7 and turned the ball over again and again. This was an anti-clutch performance from the Wizards as a team.

Siakam scored 39 for the Raptors, including the go-ahead bucket with 8 seconds to go. Kyle Kuzma scored 34 for the Wizards but couldn’t help his team as they crumbled.

🎾 Zverev def. Alcaraz, 6-7 6-3 6-4

Alexander Zverev is back in full form.

This was a sharp display from Zverev who simply outplayed Alcaraz for the majority of the match, while leaning heavily on his serve.

Both players attacked the other with a variety of shots, and Alcaraz did show he still had the spark. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the consistency. Too many unforced errors in the second set practically gave it away to Zverev, who seemed to be getting stronger as the match went on.

This was a good match and both players will find positive to take into their next game, but this makes it 3 losses in a row for Alcaraz.

🏀 NBA: 10 Tournament Games

Denver Nuggets - Los Angeles Clippers

Can the Clippers get their act together to avoid getting run out of the building by the reigning champs?

The start of the Harden era in LA has been atrocious. They’ve lost three in a row with Harden and the Clippers’ big 4 is embarrassingly bad. We may be learning that 4 star players are simply too much on any given team. In every Clippers game, one of the big four is inevitably scoring in the single digits, and that can’t feel good.

The Nuggets aren’t expected to do anything different. Coach Malone reportedly signed a contract extension and will rightfully get paid. As long as Jokic is on the floor, the Nuggets are a menace.

Philadelphia 76ers - Indiana Pacers

The Pacers are back for more in Philly after 76ers’ PG Tyrese Maxey dropped 50 points on their heads two days ago. The 76ers will be weakened by Oubre’s off-court injury, as he was hit by a car and is out with broken ribs. Maxey, Harris, and Co. will have to step up in his absence.

Meanwhile, the Pacers get another shot at the 76ers. The previous game was competitive, and we know PG Haliburton has what it takes to lead this team. This could very well be a second-round matchup of this year’s playoff, so both teams will look to learn their opponents as much as possible.

Golden State Warriors - Minnesota Timberwolves

Can Steph Curry finally get some help? Curry has been otherworldly since the beginning of the season; the rest of his squad has been way below par. No Warriors player has scored 20 this season besides Curry.

The Wolves won this game two days ago and will be looking for a repeat performance. They bullied Golden State in the paint and will surely be looking to do it again. The Warriors don't have the tools to fight the Wolves in the paint. They must out-shoot them to win.

Other Games

Charlotte Hornets - Miami Heat

Detroit Pistons - Atlanta Hawks

Brooklyn Nets - Orlando Magic

Oklahoma City Thunder - San Antonio Spurs

New Orleans Pelicans - Dallas Mavericks

Utah Jazz - Portland Trail Blazers

Los Angeles Lakers - Memphis Grizzlies

🏀 Euroleague

Valencia Basket - Real Madrid

Valencia Basket is up against an undefeated Real Madrid, and they're aiming to pull off what no team has done since last season: beat them. Both teams are in the top six coming into this week.

With Jared Harper out injured, all eyes are on Valencia's guard Chris Jones to step up against Real's star Facundo Campazzo. Real is averaging a league-high 88 points per game, led by Guerschon Yabusele. Valencia is banking on their strong rebounding to hold their own against Real's big men, including former Barcelona player Brandon Davies.

AS Monaco - Anadolu Efes

AS Monaco is riding a hot streak with five wins in a row. Anadolu Efes Istanbul has had a poor start to the season despite last week’s win over Zalgiris. The matchup is loaded with star power in the backcourt: Mike James and Elie Okobo for Monaco, Shane Larkin and Darius Thompson for Efes. Monaco has been deadly from beyond the arc, hitting threes at 39%, and they'll look to Alpha Diallo, who nailed 6 threes in their last game. Efes is counting on Derek Willis who coming off a strong double-double performance in Round 7.

Maccabi Tel Aviv - Olympiacos

Maccabi Tel Aviv had a gritty win against Bayern last time around. Now, they're looking to cement their place in the top six by facing Olympiacos. Wade Baldwin's return from injury gives a boost to Maccabi’s lineup, teaming up with Lorenzo Brown for a strong offensive combo.

Olympiacos is known for their solid defense, holding opponents to just 75 points per game. However, their struggle lies in scoring; they're averaging a mere 76.1 points themselves. Isaiah Canaan's sharpshooting from beyond the arc at an impressive 50% hasn't fully translated into boosting their overall scoring. It sets up an interesting clash—Maccabi's offensive prowess against Olympiacos' staunch defense.

Other Games

Virtus Bologna - EA7 Milan

Red Star Belgrade - Fenerbahce

❓Sports Trivia

The Minnesota Timberwolves have the NBA’s best defense and are allowing only 103.1 points to their opponents per game. Which legendary NBA team holds the record for the least points allowed to opponents in a full NBA season?

The answer is in the wrap-up.

🗣️ Quote Of The Day

“A lot of my hoops knowledge comes from video games”

Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers

We’ve officially reached the point in history where star players grew up playing 2K like the rest of us.

⭐ Can’t Miss Moment

Pascal Siakam Scores Game Winner

Siakam scored 39 but most importantly, he showed up when it mattered.

🧮 Stat Of The Day

Sam Howell, CJ Stroud, and Tua Tagovailoa lead the NFL in Passing Yards

This wasn’t on any bingo card, but it’s true. Jared Goff is fourth. This has quietly been a wild season for relatively unknown quarterbacks.

📽️ Video of the Day

Kuzma Leaves His Team 4 vs 5

Pure comedy as Kuzma leaves his defensive duties to go ask the coach for a challenge and allows an easy basket for the Raptors.

Click HERE to watch on Youtube.

Wrap Up

Basketball purists rejoice: today is your day. Tomorrow might also be your day. It’s that kind of week. See you tomorrow.

❗Trivia answer: The 2003-2004 Detroit Pistons allowed only 84.2 points per game over a full 82-game NBA season on their way to a historic NBA Championship.