Pacers, Mavericks even series with clutch road wins; What’s wrong with the Suns?

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🏀 Good morning to everyone but especially …

THE DALLAS MAVERICKS AND THE INDIANA PACERS

At long last, a road team has won an NBA playoff game. Two, in fact. After the visiting Pacers evened their series at one game apiece with a 125-108 win over the Bucks, the Mavericks did the same against the Clippers in Los Angeles, 96-93.

For Dallas, it was the Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving show: they combined for 55 points in what was generally a defensive slugfest. In the key moments, it was the visitors’ defense that slugged hardest. In the fourth quarter, L.A. went 4:26 without a point while Dallas went on a 14-0 run. Kawhi Leonard returned for the Clippers but scored just 15 points.

That was in stark juxtaposition to the Pacers’ offensive explosion. Indiana scored 30+ in all four quarters behind a Pascal Siakam masterpiece (37 points, 11 rebounds, six assists). All five starters scored in double figures, and Indiana made 16 3-pointers.

You can see all of our takeaways here.

👍 Honorable mentions

😐 And not such a good morning for …

THE PHOENIX SUNS

On the final day of the regular season, the Suns scorched the Timberwolves by 19 to secure themselves a matchup with Minnesota in the first round. It was widely viewed as a big-time win for Phoenix, which won all three regular-season meetings convincingly and at long last was fully healthy entering the postseason.

Since then, however, the Timberwolves have been the tougher and much, much better team. That was on display once again Tuesday as Minnesota took a 2-0 series lead with a 105-93 win.

Phoenix was seen as a difficult matchup for Minnesota thanks to its plethora of shooters, but those shooters have to actually, you know, make shots. Through two games …

• Devin Booker is 11 for 29 (38%), and Phoenix has been outscored by 39 with him on the court.
• Bradley Beal is 12 for 27 (44%), and Phoenix has been outscored by 20 with him on the court.
• Kevin Durant is actually holding up his end of the bargain, shooting 17 for 32 (53%), but Phoenix has been outscored by 44 with him on the court.
• With all three on the court, Phoenix has been outscored by 27 points. For reference, in two regular-season games with all three stars on the court against Minnesota, it was Phoenix that did the outscoring, by 31.

Making matters worse, Phoenix’s best shooter, Grayson Allen, hurt his ankle.

Minnesota didn’t have the league’s best defense by accident. Jaden McDaniels is making life hell for Phoenix’s big three (he also
scored 25 points Tuesday), Rudy Gobert has been excellent, and Anthony Edwards is as competitive of a star on both ends as there is. The Suns had 19 turnovers and never looked comfortable.

More than that, they haven’t looked inspired or excited or, frankly, tough — all things teams need in the playoffs.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

🏈 NFL Draft Insider notebook: Top-five trade rumors, plus a fast-rising defender

One of the best things about the NFL is that it is truly a 24/7/365 business. Every day, there’s something new.

One day before the NFL Draft, the rumor mill is as busy as ever. There’s been a clear No. 1 — Caleb Williams to the Bears — for a while, and recently, Jayden Daniels emerged as the favorite to go second to the Commanders. Then … who knows? Luckily, CBS senior NFL Insider Jonathan Jones emptied everything he’s hearing into his insider notebook, including at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5.

• “North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye could be the third quarterback — and third player — selected Thursday night. He has the tools, but one quarterback coach called him ‘raw as shit’ and said he needs to clean up his footwork. … I have yet to speak to someone in the league who believes strongly Maye will be the Patriots‘ pick. More than anything, most seem to be assuming he’s the pick.”
• “The Cardinals are at the trade table presenting a strong hand. They seem comfortable taking Marvin Harrison Jr. at No. 4 overall, but they could very well trade back. Sources say GM Monti Ossenfort has at least two trade-back offers in hand …”
  
• “The Chargers are also a prime trade-down candidate, and they become even more so if the Cardinals sit at No. 4. In my mock, I had Los Angeles trading down with Minnesota to pick up picks No. 11 and 23.”
  

Speaking of Jonathan’s mock — he only does one — there’s one major change he wishes he could make.

• Jones: “My biggest regret from last week’s mock draft was having Byron Murphy II being picked so late. He could be the first defensive player off the board. Murphy has gotten a lot of love around the league, and I mocked him to the Rams because the narrative of him replacing Aaron Donald was too good. I don’t believe he’ll be available at No. 19.”

Jonathan’s notebook is chock full of outstanding insight, and we have plenty more, including …

🏈 Winners, losers from first week of spring portal window

Standout running back Dylan Edwards is among the latest players transferring from Colorado, a team whose comings and goings have become so busy we’ve dedicated an entire transfer portal tracker just to the Buffaloes. The sheer quantity and quality of players leaving would be alarming at any other program (and, frankly, is still alarming at Colorado), but the names coming in are undeniably impressive. 

As such, Colorado ends up in both groups of Will Backus’ spring transfer portal first-week winners and losers.

• Backus: “Pittsburgh edge transfer Dayon Hayes, one of the best pass-rushers on the market, and Ohio defensive line transfer Rayyan Buell will add some much-needed disruption along Colorado’s defensive front. … Former Ohio State running back Dallan Hayden … will have an opportunity to shine … Whether those that have left are worthy of a starting role or not, as Sanders has called into question, established and consistent depth is important for a team that’s trying to build off of three straight losing seasons. And some of those departures have almost certainly been more than depth pieces.”

Unsurprisingly, Deion Sanders is among the college coaches under the most pressure to win this year, Shehan Jeyarajah writes.

There’s always pressure at Alabama, and especially so when you’re replacing the GOAT. Will says Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide are winners so far this spring, too.

As always, make sure to keep our spring transfer portal tracker handy.

🏀 Transfer portal needs for every major team

The wild college basketball coaching carousel has left plenty of big-name teams and coaches scrambling to build rosters. The biggest program in the SEC — Kentucky — and arguably the biggest-name coach in the sport — John Calipari, now at Arkansas — both have their work cut out for them, and we’ve been tracking the Razorbacks‘ and the Wildcats’ ever-changing rosters.

There’s far less to be determined for the top team in Gary Parrish’s Top 25 And 1: Bill Self‘s Kansas has done a remarkable job in the portal to earn the top spot, but it has more to do. Isaac Trotter has transfer portal needs for every major team, including the Jayhawks.

• Trotter: “Priority: Shooting — Kansas has added a ton of self-creating bucket-getters to its rotation. AJ Storr, Riley Kugel and Zeke Mayo can all go get one. With Johnny Furphy going through the NBA Draft process, KU could use another play-finishing guard who can stretch the floor and run-and-gun in transition. … Alabama transfer Rylan Griffen could help change that, and KU is in the driver’s seat in that recruitment.”

If your favorite team is looking to round out its roster — and which team isn’t? — Isaac’s story is a great resource.

📺 What we’re watching Wednesday

🏀 Game 2: Heat at Celtics, 7 p.m. on TNT
🏒 Game 3: Bruins at Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Game 2: Pelicans at Thunder, 9:30 p.m. on TNT
🏒 Game 2: Golden Knights at Stars, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Game 2: Kings at Oilers, 10 p.m. on TBS