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Sports
Chris Paul’s First Finals
BEAUTY UNLIMITED
ALYSSA
This week’s Beauty Unlimited feature is the lovely Alyssa, and She describes herself as being young and determined, and has many goals in mind for her life, with modeling leading the way. She also understands the need to market yourself to the right people, and be patient until the right opportunity comes along. Congratu- lations to Alyssa as this week’s Beauty Unlimited feature.
Appearance Couldn’t Have
Come In A More Perfect Way
Here is a list of prominent Phoenix Suns players with a common trait: Deandre Ayton. Devin Booker. Mikal Bridges. Cameron Johnson. Cameron Payne. Dario Saric.
What’s that trait? None of them were born the last time the Suns reached the NBA Fi- nals.
That is, the last time the Suns reached the Finals be- fore last Wednesday—because now the Suns are back in the championship round, after 10 seasons away from the play-
Lakers' Dennis Schroder Expecting $100M-Plus After Magic Johnson Insult
DENNIS SCHRODER AND MAGIC JOHNSON
Los Angeles Lakers point guard Dennis Schroder wants to get paid handsomely when he hits free agency this summer.
Teams may not agree to his
fee.
“Dennis Schroder has
communicated this clearly: he wants $100-$120M – which he will probably also get – and this sum insured cannot be insured on the normal market at the mo- ment,” vice president of the Ger- man Basketball Federation Armin Andres said.
Toward the end of this sea- son, the Lakers originally of- fered Schroder an $84M deal that would keep him in Los An- geles for four years, however, he rejected it.
It is clear that Schroder thinks he is worth more than that — though some in the Lak- ers camp disagree.
“I don’t think he’s a Laker,” franchise legend Magic John- son said after L.A. was elimi- nated from the playoffs. “That’s just my opinion. I don’t know if they’re gonna sign him back or not. I don’t think he brings the winning mentality and attitude that we need.
Chris Paul scored 41 points in arguably his best game of the Western Conference Finals.
offs.
Now, they’ll search for
their first title, following a 130-103 win in Game 6 in Los Angeles to clinch their spot. No other team in NBA history has made the Finals after such a rotten recent run of results.
Chris Paul’s laborious trip to the Finals rivals the franchise’s own, counting 16 seasons, five teams, and just as many playoff collapses. There was no more fitting cap- stone to that journey than his Game 6 outburst, against the very franchise with which he’d suffered so many painful de- feats, in front of the fans who once called him their own.
Paul baited Patrick Bev- erley into an early ejection; he silenced the crowd, again and again as the Clippers’ lat-
est comeback effort sputtered; he tormented DeMarcus Cousins in the pick-and-roll and nailed layups and 3s and midrange jumpers without a single turnover to his name.
Afterward, he left his postgame ESPN interview early to celebrate with his team. Paul paid them back by just about reaching into the collective Staples Center’s chest and yanking out their heart. He has waited his entire career to play in his first Fi- nals, and he wasn’t going to wait any longer: He scored 41 points on 16-for-24 shooting (7-for-8 from distance), tying a career playoff high and nearly outscoring the Clippers by himself in an electric fourth quarter, when he notched 19 points to the Clippers’ 20.
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