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Traina Thoughts: Don't Let Damian Lillard's Heroics Take Away From Jusuf Nurkic's Big Night
1. Yes, Tuesday night was all about Damian Lillard, but please don't overlook the performance by Jusuf Nurkic.
Sure, the Blazers center is sidelined after suffering a season-ending leg injury on March 26, but he still managed to make his presence known during Portland's clinching 118-115 win against Oklahoma City.
Nurkic attended the game wearing a "Got Bricks? Next Question" T-shirt, which took direct aim at Russell Westbrook's poor shooting and feud with a Thunder beat writer.
After Lillard won the game with his absurd three-pointer at the buzzer, Nurkic was interviewed by the Blazers' local network and casually dropped the f-word.
You have to love the fact that Nurkic thought because he said, "excuse my French," it was totally cool to say f-ck on live TV.
As for Lillard's shot heard 'round the world, here are the calls from local Portland TV and radio, which were both outstanding.
2. Nurkic wasn't the only one who needed his mouth washed out with soap Tuesday night. NBC Sports' Mike Milbury must have thought his mic was off at one people because he also unleashed the f-word during the Bruins-Maple Leafs game. The best part of Milbury's slip up was hearing Doc Emrick work around it like nothing happened.
3. If your team drafts Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins Thursday night, beware. His father is one of those sports parents who seems like he's going to be a huge pain in the ass. NJ.com writer Ryan Dunleavy tried to interview Haskins's dad and it did not go well thanks to Haskins's bizarre stance on how to deal with the media.
4. Remember when Reds outfielder Yasiel Puig tried to fight the entire Pirates team last week and we were treated to this image?
He showed up to yesterday's game wearing a T-shirt to honor the occasion.
5. I'm fully aware that the reality show Miz and Mrs, starring WWE superstar The Miz, is scripted and set up. But even with that, so many of us can relate to The Miz trying to draft a fantasy football team while having to do some shopping at Costco.
6. If you're an SI Media Podcast listener or follow me on Twitter, you know that I recently canceled DirecTV after being a customer for 20 years (you can hear the full story beginning at the 27-minute mark here). It seems many others are just as frustrated with the company. They better do anything and everything they can to keep their exclusive deal with the NFL's Sunday Ticket, because if they lose that, they're going to be finished.
7. RANDOM YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE DAY: SiriusXM announced Tuesday that Chris "Mad Dog" Russo has signed a four-year contract extension to continue his daily show that airs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. Here's some vintage Russo to celebrate the news.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on iTunes, Spotify or Google Play. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.
IN CLOSING: I know it's a little bizarre to make this statement after Lillard's shot, but, holy cow, the first round of the NBA playoffs have been so awful.
