Knicks Notes: Brunson, Brown, Defense, Game 4, Robinson
Part of the pitch head coach Mike Brown brought when he was hired by the Knicks last summer was instituting an offensive scheme that would allow star Jalen Brunson to get easier looks and be less ball-dominant. Through three playoff games, that has not been the case, and Brunson’s effectiveness on offense has suffered because of it, Jared Schwartz writes for the New York Post.
Part of that is due to a roster construction flaw that was always present but has been particularly noticeable in this series: the Knicks lack a second ball-handler who can get into the defense and create opportunities for teammates. Josh Hart is better at attacking an already-tilted defense, while players like OG Anunoby, Miles McBride, Landry Shamet, and Mikal Bridges are limited by a shaky handle and a lack of explosiveness with the ball. Karl-Anthony Towns is a good passer from a standstill but struggles to make reads on the move.
The Hawks also have a group of strong perimeter defenders, led by Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who have hounded Brunson and made life difficult for him.
“We all have to be aggressive, not just to shoot the ball, but be aggressive to touch the paint [on drives],” Brown said. “And if you don’t have anything in the paint, you gotta spray it. We haven’t gone anywhere near our sprays that we’ve wanted to in these first three games.”
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- After 2.5 games of struggling to contain Hawks guard CJ McCollum, the Knicks seemed to find an answer by putting Hart on him in the second half of Game 3. Hart corralled the smaller McCollum, holding him to just 2-of-5 shooting, Schwartz writes. However, when they most needed to get a stop on the final play of the game, Brown went away from the strategy. Instead, he had the smaller McBride guard him one-on-one with 16.4 seconds to go while up one point, while Hart guarded the inbounds passer. McCollum was able to get free for a comfortable look that ultimately proved to be the game-winner. “I’m not happy with my contest,” McBride said. “He made the shot. I feel like if I maybe had bumped him earlier, but trying to get a feel for how the game was being called. I don’t want to put him at the free-throw line in a sense like that.”
- The Knicks are only down 2-1 in the series, but they’re approaching Game 4 like their backs are against the wall, Steve Popper writes for Newsday. “We’re playing for our lives,” McBride said. “I mean, it is a seven-game series and it’s the first to four, but it’s ticking away. We don’t want to leave it up to chance. We don’t want to say we wish we could have or we wish we would have done this different. We want to take every opportunity, every chance we can, and take advantage of it, be together as a team and figure it out.”
- Mitchell Robinson has been uncharacteristically absent for a team that relied on the backup big man to provide much of their identity and defensive backbone throughout the year. On Friday, Robinson’s trainer, Marcell Scott, took to Instagram to express frustration with Brown’s approach to the series, Schwartz writes in a separate piece. “Knicks Coach Mike Brown is SCARED to get mad!!!” Scott wrote on his post. “He’s to [sic] nice of a guy to coach the New York Knicks!!! He would rather play OG [Anunoby] at the 5, instead of [Karl-Anthony Towns] and Mitch at the 4 and 5. Nice guys finish last Coach!” Scott has been vocal about Robinson’s role on the team in the past, Schwartz notes, including a post in December urging Brown to get Robinson more involved in the offense. Brown has said throughout the series that he’s struggled to find the right matchups to unleash the defensive-minded big man, especially in lineups with Towns.
Pacific Notes: Kerr, Williams, Goodwin, James
One of the biggest questions that will shape the Warriors‘ offseason is what head coach Steve Kerr decides regarding his future.
For the man who has led Golden State for the last 12 seasons, that decision will be determined by several factors, but a crucial part of it is the star player he has spent his career in collaboration with, Nick Friedell writes for The Athletic.
“I don’t want to walk away from [Stephen Curry],” Kerr said after the Warriors’ season ended. “I’m definitely not going and coaching somewhere else next year in the NBA. I would never walk away from Steph, but all the stuff has to be aligned and right.”
Kerr said that much of the success he experienced while building the team’s culture over the years came from the fact that he and Curry share the same values, not just in basketball but in life.
The 60-year-old coach will not rush his decision, nor will the team push him on it, according to Anthony Slater at ESPN. Instead, Kerr will take a week or two to gauge what he’s looking for over the next few years.
“It’s April,” a team source said. “We don’t need to rush.”
We have more from around the Pacific Division:
- Mark Williams is out for the Suns‘ Game 3 against the Thunder on Saturday, Duane Rankin of AZ Central notes (via Twitter). Williams has missed the start of the series due to a stress reaction in his left foot that has kept him sidelined since April 10. Oso Ighodaro started Game 2 in his place, though rookie big man Khaman Maluach closed the game, playing the entire fourth quarter.
- After grinding his way from depth piece to a valuable part of the Suns‘ rotation, Jordan Goodwin‘s energy is needed now more than ever, Doug Haller writes for The Athletic. Goodwin ended up starting 10 games for Phoenix during the regular season, including his last three games, and started Game 1 before the calf injury sidelined him after just five minutes. Goodwin is a game-time decision, Rankin writes (via Twitter), as is Grayson Allen.
- LeBron James added yet another magical playoff moment to his impressive collection in the Lakers‘ Game 3 victory over the Rockets on Friday, The Athletic’s Dan Woike writes. James capped off a 30-second, six-point comeback by hitting a three-pointer in front of the Rockets’ bench, eventually sending the game to overtime when his attempted game-winner rimmed out. “In the moment right now, I don’t really think about it,” teammate Rui Hachimura said about playing alongside James. “But I think in the future, I’ll start thinking about how crazy this whole thing was. Almost like in a dream, you know.”
Rockets Notes: Late Collapse, Udoka, Durant, Sengun
The Rockets squandered a six-point regulation lead with less than 30 seconds remaining in Game 3 of their series with the Lakers on Friday night. Houston then lost in overtime to fall behind 3-0 in the first-round matchup.
Coach Ime Udoka let loose on his team afterward.
“Horrendous mistakes,” he said, per the Associated Press. “I don’t know if you want to say youth or scared of the moment or whatever the case.”
He wouldn’t blame the team’s relative postseason inexperience for the late collapse, when the Rockets committed two turnovers and fouled a 3-point shooter.
“Grow up,” he said. “You’re not that young anymore.”
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- Kevin Durant sat out for the second time in the series. The official reason for his latest absence was a left ankle sprain suffered in Game 2. “Obviously, it’s different when he’s not on the floor. He’s a tremendous scorer. He can draw so much attention to himself when he’s out there,” guard Reed Sheppard said, per Will Guillory of The Athletic. “It sucks not having him out there. But at the end of the day, it’s our job to go out there and fight and compete and win. That’s what we’ve got to do in the next four (games).” Durant’s status for Game 4 is undetermined. “Up in the air,” Udoka said. “I think we made some progress in the last few days, but we’ll see how that [goes] with only one day in between.”
- Alperen Sengun‘s monster performance was wasted. Sengun racked up 33 points and 16 rebounds. “It wasn’t enough,” he said, per Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle. “I guess I could do more with some defensive possessions, some missed shots still. I still did a good job, but it wasn’t enough, so I’ve got to come back better Sunday.”
- Durant would like to be a part-owner of an NBA or NBA Europe franchise upon retirement, according to Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “Sole owner? No. But you can definitely be a part of a group,” Durant said. “I wouldn’t say a player could have full control. ‘Bron, maybe. It has to be one of those types of players. Steph, ’Bron, myself. It takes players that have been in the league for a while, that have relationships, that are building businesses off the floor. You got to have a lot of capital to buy an NBA team. I’m not banking on it, but I’d love for it to happen.”
Pistons Notes: Defense, Green, Thompson, Jenkins, Sasser
The Pistons’ gameplan is generally the same for each game — play suffocating defense and take the starch out of the opposition. That’s what happened in Game 2 of their first-round series against No. 8 seed Orlando. The Pistons are now on the road for a pivotal Game 3 on Saturday afternoon.
“It was five guys out there, collectively flying around, playing with effort, making extra efforts, rebounding the basketball, creating turnovers, and that led to our offense,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said, per Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “It’s who we are and who we’ve been and that’s what our focus is. Again, give Orlando credit, they are a good basketball team. We have to make sure that we’re focused and doing the things that we’ve done and I thought that third quarter was an example of that and our ability to turn defense to offense.”
Their defensive effort has held Desmond Bane, the Magic’s major offseason acquisition, in check. Bane is shooting 29 percent in the series.
“It’s a lot of guys, and a lot of bodies,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s no one-on-one situations for him, it’s always one-on-fives. Obviously, Ausar (Thompson) has taken on a lot of that responsibility, but a lot of guys have done a great job of executing what we’re trying to do from a game plan standpoint and not giving them anything easy.”
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Javonte Green appeared in all 82 regular-season games and he’s been a key component off the bench in the series. Green has only attempted one shot in each game but he’s been a defensive force. In Game 2, he blocked three shots and made a steal while guarding multiple positions. “Woo’s (Green) been that way all year for us,” Bickerstaff said, per Coty Davis of the Detroit News. “In that game, his effort on the defensive end of the floor, with the plays that he can make, is special. He has the ability to challenge shots and do hard things over and over again. He makes amazing plays with his athleticism, but he’s very thoughtful in the game, too. He is also very thorough and understands where the spots will be for him to make plays.” Green will be a free agent again after the season — he signed a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal in August.
- Ausar Thompson finished third in the Defensive Player of the Year balloting and has put his defensive prowess on display with his defense against Bane while contributing in other areas. “You don’t meet many players who can cover ground, and then if there’s a play that needs to be had at the rim, can also be a secondary rim protector for you as well,” assistant coach Jarrett Jack told Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. “Whether he’s hawking the ball, making it tough for guys, eating up clock coming up the basketball court or if he’s in space, (he’s unique).”
- Not only are Daniss Jenkins and Marcus Sasser the point guard backups to Cade Cunningham, they’re also childhood friends. They grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area but didn’t get a chance to play together until Jenkins joined the Pistons, as Jeff Zillgitt of NBA.com details. “It’s definitely a dream come true because we wanted to go to the same high school, but it did not end up happening,” Sasser said. “And then we wanted to go to the same college. He was going to transfer to Houston, but it couldn’t happen. Now it’s crazy that we were able to finally get it at the highest level where everyone could see it.”
- Jalen Duren finished second in the voting for the league’s Most Improved Player. Get the details here.
Potential Lottery Pick Aday Mara Declares For Draft, Maintains College Eligibility
University of Michigan center Aday Mara has decided to enter his name in this year’s draft but will keep his college eligibility, Tony Garcia of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Mara, a potential lottery pick, played a major role in the Wolverines’ national championship season as their starting big man after transferring from UCLA. Mara came off the bench in two seasons with the Bruins but started 39 of 40 games for Michigan, averaging 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 2.4 assists in 23.4 minutes per game. Mara ramped up his production in the tournament, averaging 14.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.3 blocks.
Mara, a 7’3”native in Spain, shot 66.8 percent from the field but just 56.4 percent from the free throw line. He is ranked No. 14 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list.
Mara joins college teammate Yaxel Lendeborg, a fifth-year senior this past season, as potential lottery selections. Wolverines forward Morez Johnson and point guard Elliot Cadeau have also declared for the draft while maintaining their college eligibility.
The early entry deadline to enter the draft has now expired. All reported early entrants into the draft can be found here. It’s possible that some unreported or unannounced entrants will be added once the NBA releases its official list, which is expected to occur sometime next week.
Joe Ingles Plans To Join Melbourne United Next Season
Timberwolves wing Joe Ingles is still in the NBA playoffs but he’s already made plans to play in his native Australia next season. Ingles is expected to finish his career there by signing with Melbourne United for the next NBL season, multiple sources told ESPN’s Olgun Uluc.
Ingles is playing on a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal with Minnesota.
Uluc reported earlier this month that Ingles was aiming to return to Australia. Ingles drew interest from both Melbourne-based teams — United and the South East Melbourne Phoenix. The Adelaide 36ers were also among his suitors. Ingles began his professional career in the NBL with the now-defunct South Dragons in 2006.
Ingles has represented his country for many years on the international stage, suiting up for the Australian Boomers in five Olympics, including Paris in 2024.
He will be 39 by the time the 2026/27 NBL season begins but with his NBA experience, elite three-point shooting, positional size, and ability as a creator, he could still have an impact in the Australian league. Ingles has been at the end of the Timberwolves’ bench for the last two seasons.
He has appeared in 19 games last season and 27 this season. He never played more than nine minutes in his first 25 appearances this season before an April 8 stint against Orlando in which he contributed seven points, four rebounds and four assists. He got a chance to play 32 minutes against New Orleans in the regular season finale and racked up 15 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.
Ingles made a cameo in Minnesota’s Game 3 victory over Denver on Thursday that gave the Timberwolves a 2-1 in the first-round series.
in 750 career regular-season contests, Ingles has averaged 7.7 points, 3.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 23.5 minutes. He’s a career 40.9 percent 3-point shooter who had his best seasons with Utah during his first eight years in the league.
Brayden Burries, Tyler Tanner, Others Testing Draft Process
Arizona shooting guard Brayden Burries has declared for the 2026 NBA draft, he announced via Instagram.
The 6’4″ freshman averaged 16.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.5 steals per game for the Wildcats this season while shooting 39.1% from deep. He was named to the All-Big 12 First Team.
The talented shooter comes in at No. 10 on ESPN’s big board, with Jeremy Woo noting he has a well-rounded game can can function either on- or off-ball, while Jonathan Wasserman’s mock draft for Bleacher Report has him at No. 9.
Burries is good at attacking off closeouts, and while he’s a solid defensive play-maker, he still needs to clean up some of his defensive fundamentals and improve as a play-maker in order to reach his ceiling.
We have more notes surrounding 2026 draft declarations:
- Vanderbilt point guard Tyler Tanner will test the draft waters, Jeff Goodman writes (via Twitter). The undersized sophomore guard exploded this season, averaging 19.5 points, 5.1 assists, and 2.4 steals per contest while hitting 36.8% of his threes and being named to both the All-SEC and SEC All-Defense. An explosive athlete and forceful driver, Tanner is 33rd on ESPN’s board. However, Goodman notes that due to the point guard depth in this class and the potential NIL money waiting for him, he’s a strong candidate to return to school.
- Elliot Cadeau, the floor general for Michigan, is declaring for the draft while maintaining his college eligibility, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress reports (via Twitter). Cadeau was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player after helping lead Michigan to a national title in 2026. Over his full junior season, he averaged 10.5 points and 5.9 assists to 2.4 turnovers, while converting a career-high 37.6% of his threes. Only 6’1″ and with a history of struggling to score the ball, Cadeau is focused on continuing his growth into next season, Givony writes.
- Billy Richmond, out of Arkansas, is declaring for the draft while maintaining his eligibility, Jon Rothstein of CBS notes (Twitter link). The 6’5″ sophomore wing averaged 11.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in 2025/26, but has struggled with his outside shot at just 23.0% from beyond the arc for his college career.
- Spanish guard Sergio de Larrea has declared for the draft, Givony reports (Twitter link). A point guard with good positional size, De Larrea played for Valencia this season, averaging 9.3 points and 3.6 assists per contest while hitting 42.9% of his threes in Liga ACB games. He is currently in the midst of the EuroLeague playoffs, where Valencia is the No. 2 seed, Givony notes. De Larrea is 48th on ESPN’s big board and 36th in Bleacher Report’s mock draft.
Raptors Notes: Barnes, Barrett, Murray-Boyles, Battle
The Raptors’ Game 3 victory over the Cavaliers was powered by a masterpiece from Scottie Barnes, Eric Koreen writes for The Athletic. Barnes scored 33 points and added 11 assists with only one turnover as Toronto cruised to a 126-104 victory to prevent the Cavs from taking a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.
“What he does is just so special,” said teammate Jamison Battle. “We have to play to that level every single night just because our leader is doing it. That’s what you want from your leader.”
The performance was even more impressive given the absence of Immanuel Quickley, who has since been ruled out for the remainder of the series with a hamstring injury, and the ongoing struggles of Brandon Ingram, who scored just 12 points on Thursday.
We have more on the Raptors:
- Also critical in the Game 3 victory was Canadian native RJ Barrett, who was thrilled to be playing his first playoff game in his home country, Michael Grange writes for Sportsnet. Like Barnes, Barrett had 33 points along with five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and six made threes on eight attempts. “He’s destroying that narrative that people think about him,” Barnes said after the game. “He’s helping our team out so much. He’s unbelievable, doing a great job scoring, playing defense, talking, being a leader on the floor. RJ is amazing.”
- Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles saved one of his best performances of the season for when it was most needed, contributing 22 points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench. In doing so, he showed how important he is to the franchise in both the short- and long-term, Josh Lewenberg writes for TSN. The Raptors needed to nail their lottery pick in the 2025 draft, and it increasingly seems that they did just that.
- There were plenty of Game 3 heroes for the Raptors, both likely and unlikely. Battle is an example of the latter after he had played little more than garbage time in Games 1 and 2 heading into the must-win contest, Kai Gammage writes for Sportsnet. Battle finished the night with 14 points on 4-for-4 shooting from three. He put Toronto ahead early in the fourth quarter with a trio of triples that helped create the momentum the team would ride all the way to the victory.
Victor Wembanyama Out For Game 3
Spurs star big man Victor Wembanyama has been ruled out for Game 3 of the team’s series against the Trail Blazers on Friday, Shams Charania of ESPN reports (via Twitter).
Wembanyama went through shootaround in the hopes of returning from the concussion that he suffered when he took a hard fall in Game 2, but he has not yet cleared the NBA’s protocol and been given the green light to play.
“Obviously, there’s a lot that goes into that, but he’s doing well and progressing,” head coach Mitch Johnson said, per Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter video link).
When pressed, Johnson declined to provide more details on his outlook, other than repeating that Wembanyama is making progress.
Backup center Luke Kornet got the start in place of Wembanyama.
Thunder Notes: Williams, Mitchell, Joe, 2007 Trade
The news that Jalen Williams suffered a left hamstring strain and will be evaluated on a weekly basis was a discouraging development for the Thunder forward after he got off to such a strong start in the playoffs. However, head coach Mark Daigneault actually considers the diagnosis a “relatively positive development,” Joe Mussatto writes for The Oklahoman.
Daigneault believes that the injury – described as a Grade 1 (mild) strain) – could’ve been much worse and said that Williams will travel with the team to Phoenix on Friday instead of staying in Oklahoma City and rehabbing.
Williams missed considerable time this season with hamstring injuries in his right leg, but he looked like his old self in the first two games of the first-round series against the Suns, averaging 20.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in just 26.0 minutes per game.
It remains to be seen if he’ll be available in the second round, assuming Oklahoma City advances.
We have more from the Thunder:
- With Williams out, second-year guard Ajay Mitchell will likely step into a larger role for the Thunder, Mussatto writes. Mitchell had 14 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals in Game 2, and has proven all season that his game is mature beyond its years, especially considering he missed much of his rookie year due to injury. “He was on track to be a rotation player for us last season in the playoffs before the injury,” Daigneault said. “He’s obviously a very talented player, but he’s also a very high-execution player.” While Mitchell is the only player outside of Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Chet Holmgren to average more than 25 minutes per game so far this series, Mussatto expects Cason Wallace to step into the starting lineup while Mitchell plays a significant role off the bench.
- Isaiah Joe is listed as out for Game 3 due to personal reasons, Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman notes (Twitter link). Joe had a career-best year for the Thunder this season, averaging 11.1 points per game and hitting 42.3% of his threes, both personal bests. Through two playoff contests, he is averaging 7.5 points in 17.5 minutes per night and has hit 5-of-15 (33.3%) three-point attempts. He has yet to attempt a two-pointer or free throw in the series.
- A trade 19 years ago is still paying dividends for the Thunder as they attempt to repeat as champions, Baxter Holmes writes for ESPN. Holmes details how a 2007 sign-and-trade of Rashard Lewis from the SuperSonics to the Magic created a trade exception that the Thunder used to add Kurt Thomas, along with two first-round picks, one of which became Serge Ibaka. Ibaka was sent out in a deal for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, who were later flipped for Paul George, whose move to the Clippers sent Gilgeous-Alexander and several first-rounders (including one that became Williams) to OKC.