How will the Suns play the Murray-Jokic two man game tonight?

Welcome to another issue of A Farewell to Takes, our quick trip around the NBA. Last week Tommy and I were joined by Trey Murphy for a great (and funny) conversation on The Old Man and the Three. It includes a mailbag focused on the Playoffs — thanks for all the interesting questions! Also, we're dropping this week's episode of The Old Man and the Three Things later today. Stay tuned for that.

In this week’s A Farewell to Takes we are giving you:

• Our Stat of the Week

• Tommy on Kevon Looney

• The Best Thing Tommy Ate This Week

• Our Wine of the Week

As always, thanks for reading! —JJ

The Stat of the Week is 1.79

The Denver Nuggets played a fantastic Game 1 against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night, winning 125-107. Murray had 34 points (28 of which came off of made jump shots) and his shot making and self-creation was on full display. BUT going forward, I’m most interested in how the Phoenix Suns play the Murray-Jokic two man game. According to Second Spectrum, Murray used 17 screens against drop coverage (14 of those screens were set by Jokic). The Nuggets scored 1.79 per direct pick when Murray was the ball handler against the drop coverage. What will the Suns do tonight in Game 2? Will they bring Ayton up to the level of the screen (which would allow Jokic to get behind the defense and act as a scorer and playmaker)? Do they switch and allow Jamal Murray to play one on one vs Ayton? Do they play more small-ball lineups and switch, which would create matchup issues vs Jokic? I’m excited to see the adjustments from Monty Williams but whatever it is — slowing down that Murray-Jokic two man should be priority number one for the Suns. —JJ

Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III joined the show last week to talk about playing against LeBron, Anthony Edwards, NBA agitators, Playoff Jimmy, and a lot more.

We agree with Argyropoulos.

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Featured Player of the Week: Kevon Looney

The Warriors story from yesterday's resounding Game 7 win is Steph Curry and deservedly so. The guy is from another planet, as JJ describes him, a true "sicko," and somebody whose performances, like yesterday's 50 piece, we should never take for granted because we may never see again.

With that being said, I thought Kevon Looney, especially in yesterday's 3rd quarter, was nearly as shockingly impressive. The Warriors as a team had 13 offensive rebounds in the 3rd quarter alone, seven of which came from Looney. Looney had three 20 rebound games in the series, averaging 15.1 rebounds per game over the seven game stretch. He had 37 offensive rebounds in the series, the most in a single playoff series over the last 20 years. (Elton Brand and Dwight Howard were the next closest with 35.) He tied for the most 20 plus rebound games in a playoff series since the NBA-ABA merger. Before yesterday, the most offensive rebounds by one player in a game 7 was Patrick Ewing with 11.

From a pure eye test yesterday, Steph's brilliance was a constant all afternoon, but Looney broke the Kings spirit. When the Warriors separated themselves in the 3rd quarter it was his constant barrage on the boards that became impossible to recover from. To me, it was the rebounding version of a Game 6 Klay Thompson performance. Something so dominant it shakes the the core of the opponent.

Looney will have a tougher matchup in this upcoming Lakers series with Anthony Davis, Jarred Vanderbilt, and a Laker front court that was 10th in defensive rebounding % on the season, but yesterday's performance was historic and I don't think we will ever forget it. —Tommy

Best Thing Tommy Ate This Week: Monster Açai Bowl at TAP NYC

Açai bowls are not for everybody. Some people think they taste like dirt, others think it's too sugary. I personally have never been the biggest fan, outside of certain West Coast spots. It's usually a stay-away for me. With that being said, Tap NYC, a Brazilian fast food eatery with three Manhattan locations has one of, if not the best, açai I have ever had. Smooth, the perfect level of sweet without being overwhelming, refreshing, surprisingly healthy. It's excellent. The Monster Bowl has cacao nibs, strawberries, granola, bananas, chia seeds, and blueberries in it, but I think any combination of different orders would be excellent here. If you see TAP on the Upper West or Midtown East sides, make sure to stop in and try their different concoctions. —Tommy

TAP NYC | Instagram | across NYC

Wine of the Week: 2017 Sylvie Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin

As of I’ve said before, Gevrey-Chambertin is my favorite village in Burgundy. Sylvie Esmonin makes a fantastic village level wine. The vines are old vines, so this wine almost always captures the essence of Gevrey. Masculine, robust, balanced, earthy. I love it. —JJ

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