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The Best of the Day: March 4th, 2021
See the best of the day in sports from March 4, 2021 including the 2021 NBA All-Star draft, Roby's monster jam, Big Ben's return, and more!
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The ‘Best of the Day’ is a daily PSO original series showcasing the most significant stories, highlights, and facts going on in the land of the NFL, NBA, & MLB every day. Get a recap on EVERYTHING that happened on 3/4 here.
Team LeBron and Team Durant made their All-Star Roster selections Thursday night. Both rosters are extremely stacked, but LeBron’s team may have the overall advantage. Also, Jrue Holiday has added an element to the Bucks that they haven’t had the last few seasons, another standout performance from Damian Lillard, and Ben Roethlisberger will continue to be an all-time Steelers great after restructuring his deal with Pittsburgh.
Here is the best of the day from March 4, 2021:
Team LeBron vs. Team Durant’s 2021 NBA All-Star Draft
The 2021 NBA All-Star teams were officially revealed as LeBron James and Kevin Durant made their their roster selections. Both teams are stacked, but LeBron’s starting lineup has the edge, beginning with first overall pick Giannis Antetokounmpo, along with Steph Curry, Luka Doncic, and Nikola Jokic.
Any starting five with eight combined league MVP’s between them (LeBron 4x, Giannis and Steph 2x each) and two potential future MVP’s in Doncic and Jokic will be difficult to match. That doesn’t even include Damian Lillard, who many thought should be a starter, coming off the bench.
Meanwhile, KD used his first picks in each round on his Brooklyn teammates Kyrie Irving and James Harden (as a reserve). Joining KD and Kyrie as starters are current MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid, 2x DPOY Kawhi Leonard, NBA leading scorer Bradley Beal, and first time starter Jayson Tatum.
Both benches are pretty even, but Team Durant has slightly more offensive firepower with the likes of Harden, Devin Booker, Zach LaVine, and Donovan Mitchell. However, Team LeBron has the edge on defense thanks to Ben Simmons, Jaylen Brown, Paul George, and Rudy Gobert. But again, Lillard coming off the bench for LeBron could be the difference in a tightly contested game.
Perhaps the most interesting storyline from the draft was where the two best players from the NBA’s best team were selected. The Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell (22nd overall) and Rudy Gobert (23rd) wound up as the final two picks in the draft as they continuously get overlooked. Regardless, NBA fans will be excited to watch the league’s biggest stars go at it on Sunday, March 7th.
The picks are in for #TeamLeBron 🔥#NBAAllStar Draft presented by @Nike pic.twitter.com/a4hnVhuIRa
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 5, 2021
#TeamDurant is locked in 🔒#NBAAllStar Draft presented by @Nike pic.twitter.com/enNd0yUP2J
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 5, 2021
Related: Stories of the Day
JRUE HOLIDAY IS THE REASON MILWAUKEE IS AS DANGEROUS AS EVER
When Milwaukee gave up a lofty amount of picks for Jrue Holiday over the offseason, it served multiple purposes. The biggest one was to convince its all-world talent Giannis Antetokounmpo to sign with the Bucks long-term. Giving up Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, and those future assets have already paid off because the Greek Freak signed his max extension and ensured MIL will be contending for years to come as long as he stays healthy.
The other main purpose of trading for Jrue Holiday was to add a standout two-way player who is the perfect fit to play alongside Giannis and Khris Middleton as an All-NBA caliber defender with an offensive skillset that’s capable of basically anything on a basketball court.
What has prevented the Bucks from turning regular-season No.1 seeds into Eastern Conference championships has been the team’s inability to perform as well in close games during late situations. It almost took an insurmountable 3-0 series lead over Kawhi‘s Raptors in 2019 but failed to hold on to multiple leads in a 2OT classic that swung the entire series.
Then against Miami in 2020, Game 1 was a one-point game with five minutes left before Jimmy Butler put the team on his back and Giannis couldn’t do the same. Game 2 came down to the wire where Milwaukee came up short again. The Bucks held a one-point lead with 4:20 left in Game 3 before collapsing for the third straight time.
Milwaukee needs to improve in these critical situations that decide champions and Jrue Holiday proved on Thursday once again, he’s the perfect man for the job. He answered Ja Morant‘s go-ahead layup with a game-winner of his own that gave the Bucks some momentum entering the All-Star Break as they’ve won six of their last seven games. Holiday will be huge for the Bucks as he’s not only a proven scorer in crunch time like Middleton, but he can also prevent the other team’s best playmaker from rising to the occasion themselves.
The reigning 2x MVP will always be the face of the team, the most productive player throughout the game, and receive the majority of the credit/blame. However, the addition of Jrue Holiday can make the difference in those season-changing moments that have decided the Bucks’ fortune in recent years and showed he can be relied upon to get the job done when it matters most.
COLORS KEY | FULL BUCKS FUTURE OUTLOOK
Ja Morant and Jrue Holiday trade CLUTCH buckets in the final seconds as the @Bucks top Memphis in a thriller! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/LdzHB5BHHg
— NBA (@NBA) March 5, 2021
Middleton PINPOINT logo lob to Giannis! 🔭
— NBA (@NBA) March 5, 2021
📲💻: NBA LP pic.twitter.com/QLJbz10eB7
Related: NBA Takeaways of the Day
Roby turns on Airplane Mode
Isaiah Roby TO THE RACK 💥@okcthunder 81@spurs 84 pic.twitter.com/rGlPH7qzZ4
— NBA (@NBA) March 5, 2021
Related: NBA Highlights | Team Name Highlights
PG Damian Lillard, POR (W v.SAC): 44 PTS (13-26 FG | 8-15 3P), 7 AST, 1 REB, 1 BLK, 0 STL, 0 TO
#PlayerOfTheDay (3/4/21) - PG Damian Lillard, POR
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) March 5, 2021
TOP FACTS:
- 10-0 run by himself down the stretch to beat SAC
- 15/44 PTS in the 4th Qtr 1 day after hitting GW over GS
- T-3rd most career GP of 40+ PTS/0 TOV in NBA history
KEY STATS:
44 PTS, 7 AST, 0 TOV, 13-26 FG, 8-15 3P https://t.co/YMiD8p1NHa
Related: Players of the Day
Milwaukee Bucks (112) [GW-FG] vs. Memphis Grizzlies (111)
[Highlights] BUCKS (-234; $9.19) d. @GRIZZLIES (+234; $11.45) 112-111 (GW-FG) [MEM +6 | u227]
Related: Games of the Day
Related: Facts of the Day
FULL NBA Review From March 4, 2021 by Rob Mason
Team LeBron and Team KD All-Star rosters selected, Dame taking over down the stretch, and Isaiah Roby’s monster jam vs. SAS highlighted Thursday’s NBA action
Jrue & Ja exchanging clutch buckets, Dame's big game, Roby's monster jam, and more from the last day of NBA games before the 2021 All-Star Break https://t.co/bu0QN7Z9vd
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) March 5, 2021
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