QUARANTITLE - 8/8

1. Clippers (122) vs Trail Blazers (117)

• Portland Can't Beat Subs - All of Portland's undeserved hype came to a screeching halt today as they failed to defeat LA's bench lineup led by Landry Shamet. Prior to this defeat, some talking heads went as far to say that they could potentially upset the Lakers and make a Conference Finals run. That was and always has been insane. If a full strength Portland with red hot Gary Trent can't beat the Clipper bench squad without the help of Kawhi or Pat Bev earlier in the game, they're not beating any playoff starting 5 in the west. Sorry to ruin the fun.

• Dame Beef - Damian Lillard must have the record for the most individual beefs with players in NBA history. Disregarding his well documented feud with Russell Westbrook, Lillard choked in front of two other foes in Paul George and Patrick Beverley. Dame missed two crucial free throws with seconds left on the clock, ultimately costing Portland the game. PG and Bev wasted no time in ridiculing his error both on the court and on social media. I love this type of mentality in the league and it's sorely missed throughout it. Beverley waving goodbye to Dame after not even playing in the game is the peak of his existence as a player and a personality. I can't wait to see more of his heel antics come alive in the playoffs, hopefully against Houston.

2. Nuggets (134) vs Jazz (132)

• Game of the Year - Forget Blazers vs Grizzlies, this was the best game of 2020 and maybe even of the decade. I had at least five moments throughout the course of the game where I assumed it was over. In four of those occasions, I was wrong. The most amazing part of that was that both teams were fantastic. The game wasn't kept close because of an error or defensive breakdowns, it was close because everyone executed and played with a competitive playoff intensity. Denver ended up with the win, but I weirdly see this as more of a victory for Utah. They lost their defensive cornerstone Rudy Gobert late in the 4th quarter and managed to keep themselves afloat with Tony Bradley on Jokic. That speaks volumes to their overall system proficiency rather than an over-reliance on Gobert to anchor the defense. While Jokic was still spectacular, he wasn't able to totally takeover the game like I expected him to after Gobert went out. Credit should also be given to Denver's closing trio of Jokic, Murray, and Jerami Grant. Yes, Jerami Grant. He played the most minutes out of anyone in this game and made all the right decisions when he was forced to. They ran through him over MPJ who might've been the assumed third member of the trio. This team will reach new levels of dangerous once they return to full strength with Will Barton and Gary Harris being implemented into the gameplan again.

• Unstoppable Donovan Mitchell - The most obvious takeaway from this game was the unstoppable quality to Donovan Mitchell's gameplay. His 35 points don't do it justice, he was transcendent. If you asked me how many points it seemed like he had, I would've said close to 50. It seemed like he was always there to deliver when Utah needed a bucket. He's a special talent.

• Jokic-Murray Combo is Top 5 Duo - I've officially decided, Jokic-Murray is among the league's best duos. In the modern NBA Jam-esque division of talent in 2020, the league is ruled by superstar duos. Here's my ranking as of the seedin games.

1. LeBron-AD

2. Kawhi-PG

3. Giannis-Middleton

4. Jokic-Murray

5. Harden-Westbrook

3. Pacers (116) vs Lakers (111)

• TJ Warren RUNS Orlando - I would like to sincerely apologize to Mr. Anthony Warren Jr for claiming that his scoring streak was over in his last game. I should've known better than to underestimate the Mayor of Orlando like that. He dropped am effortless 39 points including 7 in the clutch to close out the best team in the league. His game-sealing three over LeBron couldn't have been a better encapsulation of his sudden emergence as a top tier scorer and defender. The world waits in anticipation before the rematch with his rival, Jimmy Butler, on Monday at 8/7c. For the love of James Naismith himself, please tune in to this game.

4. Suns (119) vs Heat (112)

• I Have No Words - I contemplated just leaving this section blank after stating that I have no words, but I won't. Phoenix might actually go 8-0 in the bubble. They're the only remaining undefeated team with OKC, Philly, and Dallas left on their schedule. It's a tough group no doubt, but they've already beaten Dallas in Orlando after taking out Milwaukee and the Clippers just before. This team is legit, start treating them that way. Definitely not trying to jinx them after that statement.

5. Mavericks (136) vs Bucks (132)

• How Far Can Luka Carry Dallas? - Luka's bid for the top 5 players in the NBA doesn't seem debatable at this point. He's notched his career high in assists and rebounds just since being in the bubble and doesn't look to be slowing down his production any time soon. His usage rate is ridiculous and he makes good production out of it. Dallas has built a solid foundation around him, but I don't trust any other player on the team besides him in the playoffs. KP and Tim Hardaway Jr have their moments, but everything depends on Luka at this point. Dallas will go as far as he can take them.

• Bucks Playing in Crunch Time - This was a baffling development to me. Why were Giannis and Khris Middleton on the floor in crunch time and OT? Milwaukee has the #1 seed locked up for the entirety of the playoffs and Dallas is a team they won't face for the rest of the year. Why play Giannis in a game that's essentially meaningless? Not only did he play, he was playing like it was Game 7 of the Finals, throwing his body into people on fastbreaks and defending the rim like there's no tomorrow. I'll always respect that level of effort, but it seemed odd to see it given the context.

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IMAGE CREDIT: Kevin C Cox