- With the race to get into the expanded playoff field being tighter than ever before, we find ourselves playing a game of chicken in the Pick One Challenge with teams we think either won't make it or won't stay very long in the NBA's second season.
- After three consecutive Last Man In hits, all at least joint-top score, Lou was back in the blank doldrums after failing to be eligible for either option from Lakers/Mavericks.
- It was a fourth straight day under 20 PRA for our game leader Matt who rolled the dice with Houston's Garrison Mathews. He had nearly as many personal fouls as he did points, finishing with 10 PRA in their loss to the Clippers.
- The Raptors are trying to pull themselves out of the play-in zone in the Eastern Conference. Al's pick Precious Achiuwa only had 11 PRA but played valuable minutes down the stretch to have his team hold off Brooklyn in a win.
- The two Lakers taken on the night combined to play the same amount of minutes as Malik Monk in Los Angeles' loss to Dallas. Only the rookie bonus helped Trevor's pick Austin Reaves (16 PRA) outperform Ryan's Last Man In Stanley Johnson (11) in the contest.
- So making it two Manns in a row in terms of top score was Colin's selection of Clippers' wing Terance Mann. He may have finished with the lowest regular season top score in the history of the Pick One, but his 23 PRA helped the Clippers win their fourth straight and keep themselves, like Toronto, pushing to get out of the 7-10 range in the playoff picture.
- Optimally, Cade Cunningham's block is still empty on Lou's scoresheet which on this night could have netted him a rookie-boosted 68 PRA. For bench bargains we had some more repeat customers with Bogdan Bogdanovic leading the way for the veterans with 32 PRA for the Hawks second unit while Alperen Sengun had 46 rookie-boosted PRA in 22 bench minutes for the Rockets.
Image Credits: Player Photos (ESPN), BLANK (Chikara Pro)