Casual Diehard

The other night, Nikola Jokić had 53 points and 11 assists for the Nuggets in Game 3 against the Suns… and Denver lost, 129-124.

Would you believe that’s nothing new?

The last time someone had a 50-point, 10-assist game in the playoffs was 2021, when Damian Lillard went for 55 and 10 in the Trail Blazers’ 147-140 loss to the Nuggets, in a two-overtime affair. Jokić’s line in that one was 38 points, nine assists, and 11 rebounds, for what it’s worth.

Before Lillard, it was Russell Westbrook, who had the only 50-point triple-double in NBA playoff history — 51 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds — in a 115-111 Thunder loss to the Rockets in 2017.

Westbrook’s legendary all-for-naught performance came 30 years after the previous 50-10 playoff game, Sleepy Floyd putting 51 and 10 on the Lakers for Golden State in the only game the Warriors won in the 1987 Western semifinals. Aside from that, it’s happened only once, in another victorious effort, by Jerry West for the Lakers in Game 1 of the 1969 Finals against the Celtics, a 120-118 Los Angeles win.

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The Devils scored eight goals yesterday to get back into their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Hurricanes, the most goals scored by a team so far in this year’s playoffs. Last year’s high was nine goals, by the Flames against the Oilers… while the Oilers also scored eight against the Kings and gave up eight to the Avalanche.

Big goal totals do happen in the playoffs, but the Devils became the first team in 11 years to put a snowman on the scoreboard when they were behind in a playoff series? Last time, I (Jesse) was actually there, at the absolutely bonkers 10-3 Penguins rout of the Flyers, which avoided a sweep but didn’t stop Philly from advancing in six games. That was the third straight game with eight-plus goals in that series, as the Flyers scored eight apiece in Games 2 and 3.

Two years earlier was the last time a team got down in a series, scored eight in a game, and went on to win the series. I was at that one too — Game 3 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, when the Bruins, after a pair of one-goal losses in Vancouver, destroyed the Canucks, 8-1, in Game 3.

For the Devils? Their last — and only previous — eight-goal playoff game was a 10-4 pounding of the Washington Capitals in the 1988 Patrick Division Finals, including hat tricks for Patrik Sundstrom and Mark Johnson.

Beating the Capitals got the Devils a date with the Bruins in the Wales Conference finals, and that was the series that gave us “have another donut,” from Jim Schoenefeld to Don Koharski, 35 years ago this past weekend.

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Been a long and difficult week, so just the pod today. There’s a decent chance that the accompanying notes here become less timely in nature, which is fine, because like the topic of We Can Pod It Out, there’s plenty, plenty, of material to discuss already on the record.

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After yesterday’s post featuring birthday wishes for Dave Ball, and a subsequent TikTok, We Can Pod It Out co-host Andrew Lowden asked on our Discord where “Tainted Love” ranks on the Josie Scale.

In response, a question: what if Josie is the narrator of “Tainted Love?” What then?

Ah, dang it. Here’s another TikTok, featuring Wander Franco and various video clips of the same play from last night.

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Turning 64 today is Soft Cell instrumentalist Dave Ball. So, here’s Tainted Love.

Also, today is a happy 64th birthday for Tony Arnold, who made 38 relief appearances for the Orioles between 1986 and 1987. Today’s only other 64th birthday among the four major sports is former Arizona State running back Alvin Moore, which is not to slight Moore because he played five seasons in the NFL, it’s just that those five seasons were split between three franchises in four cities: the Baltimore and Indianapolis Colts, the Detroit Lions, and the Seattle Seahawks.

So, those who remember Moore, likely do so for his time with the Sun Devils, not necessarily the six carries for 15 yards, plus an eight-yard reception, against the Jets on Thanksgiving in 1985. Same for Arnold and Texas Longhorns baseball, but he had the single MLB team, also in Baltimore, albeit not at the same time as Moore. Have they ever had a birthday party together? Maybe they can get in touch today.

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Honestly didn’t realize it until right now because there’s hockey and basketball playoffs — and because the Yankees have a .500 record at 15-15 — that the Yankees are now last in the American League East. Aaron Hicks is now 7-for-45 with a .380 OPS. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, referred to on this episode as not being able to hit his way out of a paper bag, has a .421 OPS. Neither one of them has an extra-base hit. As of today. May 2. Even Willie Calhoun has a double. Yikes.

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James Harden tied for seventh all-time last night, scoring 45 points on the road against the Celtics in the playoffs, and without a lot of ado, here’s the list (asterisk indicates the Celtics beat them anyway)…

63: Michael Jordan (1986 - 2OT)*

61: Elgin Baylor (1962)

50: Wilt Chamberlain (1960)

49: Jordan (1986)*

47: Jimmy Butler (2022), Dominique Wilkins (1988)*

45: Harden (2023), Paul Millsap (2016 - OT)* LeBron James (2012), James (2008)*, Jerry West (1965)*

Harden scored 41 points for the Nets at Boston in the playoffs two years ago, so in addition to landing in a tie for seventh on the single-game Boston Garden (and successor) visiting scoring list, he’s also in amazing company with multiple 40-point playoff games in Boston.

Bahlor and West did it four times apiece, James and Jordan each three times. At two, Harden joins Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson.

Shoutout to everyone who’s done it even once — the rest of the Stathead-assembled list: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Carmelo Anthony, Butler, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Ben Gordon, Hal Greer, Cliff Hagan, Bob McAdoo, Millsap, John Wall, and Wilkins.

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Pardon that Brent Musburger stinks forever, but he’s necessary here for the clip of Greg Kite, 57 seconds in.

The important part, really, is that the NBA on CBS theme from the 1980s slaps, and if not for John Tesh and Roundball Rock, it would be remembered a lot more fondly by a lot more people. This is, in fact, one of the things that Bill Simmons said in the early 2000s that actually holds up.

Kite got rings with the 1984 and 1986 Celtics, and after 1987 only ever played in the playoffs again with the 1995 Pacers, and then only a few minutes against a Knicks team that had waived him earlier that season.

By win shares, Kite was the 27th-most valuable player in the 1983 draft, which was headlined by Clyde Drexler (14-Portland) and four guys who were among some of the top guards in the business for years: Derek Harper (11-Dallas), Dale Ellis (9-Dallas), Byron Scott (4-San Diego), and Doc Rivers (31-Atlanta). Cool late-round picks that wouldn’t get made today included Sedale Threatt (139-Philadelphia) and Manute Bol (97-San Diego).

The top pick, Ralph Sampson, wound up 18th in win shares for his draft class, actually behind Steve Stipanovich, the No. 2 overall pick out of Missouri, whom I’d never heard of before right now. Stitpanovich was all-rookie in 1983-84 and his career comparables through five years are Joakim Noah, Tree Rollins, and Mychal Thompson. But he was forced to retire after those first five seasons with a degenerative knee condition.

Wonder what those Pacers teams earlier in Reggie Miller’s career might have been like had Stipanovich been able to stay healhty. Oh well, we’ll never know, and Miller once went 3-for-18 in an elimination game at Madison Square Garden.

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Editor’s note: Congratulations to Andrew and Roger on 100 episodes! Not attaching any silliness to this today, just sincere thanks to We Can Pod It Out for becoming the unexpected beating heart of Willets Pen for the last few months. We’re so glad to be able to give the show a home, and can’t wait for the next hundred (and more after that)!

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The Knicks did the thing. Not only winning that game, but getting their first road Game 5 closeout in a best-of-seven series since the 1973 Finals.

As we travel here with The Beatles, still 1967.

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