Welcome to the Morning Shootaround, where every weekday you’ll get a fresh, topical column from one of SI.com’s NBA writers: Howard Beck on Mondays, Chris Mannix on Tuesdays, Michael Pina on Wednesdays, Chris Herring on Thursdays and Rohan Nadkarni on Fridays.
Thursday was an incredibly busy day in the Association both on and off the court, with three playoff games as well as continued conversation about fan behavior around the league. So let’s hop around a bit, starting with the Lakers taking a 2–1 lead over a Suns team that may not be long for the postseason…
At Least There’s Playoff Ayton
The Suns’ chances of pulling off an upset over the defending champion Lakers realistically went out the window once Chris Paul hurt his right shoulder in Game 1.