Northwest Notes: Williams, Edwards, Gilgeous-Alexander, Defense On Jokic
One of the major questions surrounding the Thunder‘s attempt to repeat as champions revolves around Jalen Williams and whether he can fully be himself after missing so much time with injuries this season. In Game 1’s win over the Suns, he looked like he had returned to form, Rylan Stiles writes for Sports Illustrated.
Stiles was impressed with Williams’ activity in passing lanes and going after loose balls, as well as his overall defense and ability to drive downhill with force.
The 6’6″ wing tallied 22 points, seven rebounds, and six assists in 29 minutes while hitting two of his five threes. His presence and energy seemed to electrify the Oklahoma City crowd, according to Stiles.
We have more from around the Northwest Division:
- Anthony Edwards is questionable for the Timberwolves‘ Game 2 matchup against the Nuggets on Monday, the team announced (via Twitter). He had previously been listed as questionable for Game 1 as well, but ended up playing 38 minutes, scoring 22 points on 19 shots while adding nine rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks in the 11-point loss.
- Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault says that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t get enough credit for his work on the defensive end. “We’ve had a great defense for a while now, and he plays the most minutes,” he said, per Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman (Twitter video link). “We don’t have a great defense if we don’t have our highest-minute player being as good as he is and as impactful as he is.” In addition to his 25 points and seven assists in the win over the Suns, he also recorded two blocks.
- Defending Nikola Jokic is often a question of what you’re willing to give up, Vinny Benedetto writes for The Denver Gazette. In Game 1, the Wolves allowed him to shoot good looks from deep. Benedetto notes that Jokic’s first three shots were nearly wide-open threes. “If I’m open, I’m going to shoot it,” Jokic said after. “If I’m not open, I’m just going to play the game.” The three-time MVP finished the game hitting two of his seven looks from deep, which would indicate that the strategy paid off, but Nuggets head coach David Adelman was far from concerned. “He’s going to have a game this series where he makes five or six 3s, if that’s going to be the coverage,” he said.
Lakers Notes: Kennard, James, Bronny, Game 1
Luke Kennard was brought to the Lakers to be a shooting specialist, but in Game 1 of Los Angeles’ series against the Rockets, with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sidelined, he stepped up as the hero of the game, Benjamin Royer writes for the Southern California News Group.
Kennard scored 27 points, his career playoff high, while hitting all five of his three-pointers, including the dagger that put the game away. His previous postseason high was 21 points, which he recorded in the 2019 playoffs.
“It’s one of the greatest feelings for sure, to have that — to know they’re (cheering) for you and your team, and you know you did something special to help this team win,” Kennard said.
Kennard added that the play-making role he has taken on with Doncic and Reaves out isn’t entirely unprecedented for him, noting that he occasionally took on similar responsibilities earlier in his career.
“I’ve been in situations like this, maybe not at this level, but I have played in the playoffs where I’ve been a play-maker, and had the ball in my hands once, but it was a long time ago,” he said. “And I think now, everything kind of leading up to now – I’ve been prepared for moments like this, and I’m going to, you know, hopefully take advantage of it and and try to help as much as I can to lift everybody up.”
We have more from the Lakers:
- With L.A.’s two offensive engines sidelined, LeBron James opened Game 1 by handing out eight assists in the first quarter, the most he has registered in any playoff quarter during his 23-year career, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin writes. James finished the game with 19 points, 13 assists, and 8 rebounds. “I got to do a little bit of everything,” said James. “It’s what the job requires. So being a triple threat, being able to rebound, being able to pass, being able to shoot and also defend and put myself in position where I can bring value to this ball club, bring value to this team throughout this series.”
- Bronny James played just four minutes in the nine-point victory and didn’t record a positive stat, but his presence was still historic, making him and LeBron the first father-son duo to play together in a playoff game, Law Murray writes for The Athletic. Bronny wasn’t a rotation regular for most of the season, but with a thin backcourt, head coach JJ Redick turned to him briefly for his energy and defense.
- There were two things Redick said the Lakers needed to do against the Rockets: not turn the ball over and rebound. They did neither of those things in Game 1, committing 20 turnovers and giving up 21 offensive rebounds, but still came away with the victory, The Athletic’s Dan Woike writes. Instead, they relied on keeping their composure and letting their lone star, James, organize the offense.
Knicks Notes: Anunoby, Towns, Robinson, Hart
Knicks wing OG Anunoby (left ankle sprain) is probable to play in Game 2 against the Hawks on Monday, New York Post’s Stefan Bondy reports (via Twitter). According to head coach Mike Brown, the two-way wing went through practice on Sunday.
Anunoby left Game 1 in the second half after aggravating a preexisting ankle injury but was able to return to play. He finished the game with 18 points and eight rebounds while playing 38 minutes in the win.
“He came over to the bench and asked me if I could do (the spiritual healing) for his ankle; then he sat over there for a second, came back in the game and finished the game,” said teammate Jordan Clarkson, according to SNY’s Ian Begley. “Like I said, we need him on the floor so whatever I gotta do to keep it going… sprinkle a little magic on him.”
Anunoby has proven himself worthy of the Knicks’ investment in him, and nights like Saturday illustrate why, according to Begley (Twitter video link).
We have more from the Knicks:
- Hawks head coach Quin Snyder called Karl-Anthony Towns a mismatch for his team’s big man rotation, Kristian Winfield writes for the New York Daily News. “It’s a little bit of pick your poison, you know,” Snyder said. “How do you handle him on the post with a mismatch? Do you just guard him? How do you handle pick and roll? How do you handle him and Brunson on pick a roll? I think for us to be prepared for all those situations, you can adjust every time down the court.” Onyeka Okongwu did a solid job of guarding Towns in the first half, despite giving up a good amount of size, but Towns eventually overwhelmed the team, which is thin at center after the loss of Jock Landale, finishing the game with 25 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks. Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post called it “the full KAT experience.”
- While Snyder struggled to figure out how to contain Towns, his approach to containing Mitchell Robinson by resorting to Hack-A-Mitch limited the crucial reserve to just 15 minutes, Peter Sblendorio writes for the Daily News. Robinson went 1-for-4 from the free throw line, and, crucially, didn’t record an offensive rebound. Robinson played 60 games this season and failed to get on the offensive glass just twice.
- Despite heavily investing in defensive-minded wings, the Knicks relied on 6’4″ Josh Hart to take the primary defensive assignment on Hawks star Jalen Johnson in Game 1. Hart limited Johnson as effectively in Saturday’s win as he did during their final regular season matchup, Steve Popper writes for Newsday (subscriber link). “One of the things Jalen is really good at is the pick-and-roll game and he does a great job rejecting screens and making it hard to anybody playing the pick-and-roll game,” Brown said. “So we just wanted to see if we can cause a little confusion. Just as much as putting Josh on Jalen, it’s OG on Okongwu … You’re not gonna stop those two guys, they’re gonna do what they do, but you hope to temper them a little bit or at least have a chance to control it a little bit.”
NBA Announces Finalists For 2025/26 Awards
The NBA has announced the finalists for this season’s major awards, including Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Most Improved Player, and Clutch Player of the Year.
The MVP, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year finalists were announced at halftime of the NBC broadcast of Game 1 between the Pistons and Magic, while the league’s official account tweeted the rest.
Most Valuable Player
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
- Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)
The leaders of the three top teams in the Western Conference all have strong arguments for MVP. Jokic became the first player to lead the league in rebounds and assists per game while also averaging 27.7 points. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31.1 PPG and led the Thunder to the league’s best record despite the fact that multiple starters missed substantial time this season. Wembanyama averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, and a league-best 3.1 blocks per game while emerging as a lock for Defensive Player of the Year.
Rookie of the Year
- Cooper Flagg (Mavericks)
- Kon Knueppel (Hornets)
- VJ Edgecombe (Sixers)
This race is expected to come down to the former Duke teammates. Knueppel played a key role for a resurgent Hornets squad, becoming the first rookie to lead the league in made three-pointers while averaging 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game in 81 appearances. Flagg’s Mavs finished well out of the postseason picture, but he showed massive star upside, averaging 21.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 4.5 APG while scoring at least 42 points in four separate games. Edgecombe averaged 35.0 minutes per game over 75 contests, posting a well-rounded 16.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 4.2 APG.
Coach of the Year
- Joe Mazzulla (Celtics)
- J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons)
- Mitch Johnson (Spurs)
Mazzulla and Bickerstaff each led massively overperforming teams that managed to dominate the Eastern Conference despite having players in and out of the lineup all year. Johnson helped navigate a tricky guard rotation and spacing issues as the Spurs posted the second-best record in the league.
Defensive Player of the Year
- Chet Holmgren (Thunder)
- Ausar Thompson (Pistons)
- Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)
Wembanyama is the overwhelming favorite to win this award, ranking first in total blocks, blocks per game, defensive rating, and defensive rebounding percentage this season. Holmgren was second in blocks per game for the league’s top defense, while Thompson proved himself to be arguably the best perimeter defender in the league with his combination of off-ball defensive play-making and point-of-attack dominance.
Most Improved Player
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Hawks)
- Deni Avdija (Trail Blazers)
- Jalen Duren (Pistons)
Both Avdija and Duren were first-time All-Stars this season, while Alexander-Walker earned a starting spot on his new team and raised his scoring from 9.4 points per game last season to 20.8 PPG this season on .459/.399/.902 shooting splits, all career high percentages.
Sixth Man of the Year
- Tim Hardaway Jr. (Nuggets)
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Heat)
- Keldon Johnson (Spurs)
Hardaway cracked 40% from three this season for the first time in his career while shooting 6.9 attempts in his 26.6 minutes per game. Most importantly for the injury-plagued Nuggets, he played 80 games, including six starts, and was the team’s fifth-highest scorer. Jaquez had an impressively well-rounded contribution off the bench, posting career-highs of 15.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists. Johnson was a crucial scoring hub for the Spurs bench units while adding offensive pop when the starters struggled to score.
Clutch Player of the Year
- Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
- Jamal Murray (Nuggets)
Gilgeous-Alexander and Edwards ranked first and second, respectively, in clutch scoring per game, while Murray was second in total clutch points behind the Thunder star and shot the most efficiently from three of the guards.
Brett Siegel of Clutch Points notes (via Twitter) that the awards will be announced in the coming days and weeks, starting with Defensive Player of the Year on Monday, April 20.
Spurs Notes: Vassell, Fox, Wembanyama, Johnson, Popovich
Devin Vassell‘s success with the Spurs has come in large part because of his willingness to accept a different role than the one he initially envisioned for himself, James Herbert writes for CBS Sports. Rather than being San Antonio’s secondary star, the 25-year-old wing has become one of its crucial role players.
Vassell has been asked to fill different needs for the team since being drafted in 2020 due to the transitional stage the Spurs were going through. In 2025/26, he posted his lowest scoring average since ’21/22, but he has figured out how to be exactly what the team needs from him.
“I know my game,” Vassell said. “And I know I can get to my spot whenever I want to, I know I can get a shot whenever I want to. But for the betterment of the team, sometimes that’s not what you need.”
His teammates have been impressed with Vassell’s adaptability and the way he’s rounded out his game. “[His impact] has more substantive value to it,” Julian Champagnie said.
We have more from the Spurs:
- De’Aaron Fox believes that this season offers him the next and last bucket-list accolade for his trophy shelf, Tom Orsborn writes for the Express-News. “I’ve been All-NBA. I’ve been an All-Star,” he said. “The last thing I think that there is, is to win a championship. And I think we have a good shot at it.” He breaks down for Orsborn some of the matchups he expects to see from the Blazers in the first round.
- With the Spurs ready to take on the Blazers in Game 1 on Sunday, Victor Wembanyama is as ready as could be for his first taste of NBA playoff basketball, knowing full well the championship expectations that rest on his shoulders, Weiss writes. “This moment, it’s really what you work on all year, but also your whole career,” the Defensive Player of the Year favorite said. “We’re dreaming of the playoffs as kids before coming here.” Wembanyama called this the first truly high-stakes basketball he has played since the 2024 Olympics.
- Mitch Johnson‘s path from star high school point guard in Washington to Stanford floor general to coaching in the NBA set the stage for his debut as the first San Antonio head coach not named Gregg Popovich since 1996, Jeff McDonald writes in a profile on Johnson for the San Antonio Express-News.
- While Popovich has remained mostly out of the public eye since retiring, he has been monitoring the season and his former players closely, according to Keldon Johnson. “He stays in touch. He texts me or calls me from time to time, probably every other day,” Johnson said, per Jared Weiss at The Athletic, adding that he still gets tips on what he could be doing better from his former coach. “But at the same time, he’s very encouraging, telling me that he’s proud of me and things like that. I mean, he’s definitely still himself. He’s still sharp. He’s still very much Pop. He has not skipped a beat at all.”
Southwest Notes: Durant, Rockets, Harper, Grizzlies, Pelicans
The Rockets were playing without Kevin Durant, who’s dealing with a right knee contusion, in Saturday’s loss at the Lakers. “Several people” who watched the 37-year-old forward work out a couple hours before Saturday’s game said Durant wasn’t moving well and appeared to be in a good deal of pain, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.
Whether or not Durant is active for the second game of the series on Tuesday, the Rockets need a much better performance from Alperen Sengun, writes William Guillory of The Athletic. The All-Star center finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists, but shot just 6-of-19 from the field and made several “uncharacteristic mistakes” which negatively impacted the team’s offense, per Guillory.
“I missed a lot of shots, the shots I was making (in the past),” Sengun said. “It happens. It’s the first game — the first away game. It’s going to come back. I’m not upset about it. Of course, I’m upset about the loss, but I’m going to bounce back next game and come stronger. I’m going to have a different mentality.”
Second-year guard Reed Sheppard (17 points on 6-of-20 shooting) is another player who needs to step up for Houston in Game 2, Guillory adds.
Here’s more from the Southwest:
- Spurs guard Dylan Harper jammed his left thumb in last Sunday’s regular season finale, but he’s confident the injury to his shooting hand won’t be an issue as the playoffs get underway, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Last year’s No. 2 overall pick isn’t on the injury report and was a full participant in all three of San Antonio’s practices over the last week. “Rested it for a little bit, got back, felt fine,” Harper said at shootaround. “Felt like myself, so it’s all good. … The wrap shouldn’t affect me. I think that it’s more of a mental game, a mind game and just not trying to feed into that.”
- Deciding whether to trade or keep Ja Morant, drafting the best players available, and adding future assets are among the priorities for the Grizzlies this offseason, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (subscriber link).
- While head of basketball operations Joe Dumars expressed optimism about the Pelicans‘ future at his exit interview, the team’s fans are frustrated with being a “bottom feeder” and Dumars needs to improve the roster and hire the right head coach ahead of 2026/27, says Rod Walker of NOLA.com. “For the most part, we have some pretty good contracts set up with those guys,” Dumars said. “Between the age (of our roster) and the contracts, it gives us flexibility to do what you need to do going forward. If there is something you need to do going forward, you’re in a pretty position to improve your team.”
Houston’s Kingston Flemings Declares For 2026 NBA Draft
Houston guard Kingston Flemings announced Sunday that he’s declaring for the 2026 NBA draft, per Joseph Duarte of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter video link).
Flemings comes in at No. 7 on ESPN’s best available players list, making him a probable mid-lottery pick. He earned numerous accolades for his stellar freshman campaign with the Cougars, whose season ended after losing to Illinois in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
The San Antonio native averaged 16.1 points, 5.2 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 37 games (31.7 minutes per contest) for the Cougars in 2025/26. His shooting slash line was .476/.387/.845.
ESPN’s Jeremy Woo praises Flemings’ “size, pace and upside” and calls him a “winning player” who’s also an “explosive play-maker.” There are some question marks about the 19-year-old’s outside shot (he only attempted 2.9 threes per game), but Flemings largely had excellent season on team that went 30-7, Woo writes.
This coming Friday, April 24, is the deadline for early entrants to declare for this year’s draft.
Raptors Notes: Inexperience, Adjustments, Ingram, CMB
The Raptors‘ “limitations and inexperience” were significant factors in Saturday’s Game 1 loss in Cleveland, per Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Toronto had the fifth-best defensive rating in the NBA during the regular season largely because the team was so good at forcing turnovers. Those takeaways led to fast-break opportunities, with the Raptors leading the league in transition points.
However, the Raptors were unable to get enough stops on Saturday in a loss that was more lopsided than the final score (126-113) suggests. They also only had three transition points, Koreen writes.
“I feel like they were getting back,” Scottie Barnes said. “Just trying to wait for us, other than them top-locking (Brandon Ingram). But everyone else was just trying to stay compact, stopping us from running.”
“I think you could see it was a focus for them to get back in transition,” added RJ Barrett, one of the biggest beneficiaries when the Raptors are able to score on the move. “We ran against them a lot during the year. I think that was a focus. But also, we’ve got to get stops.”
While some players pointed to improved effort as a necessity heading into Game 2, Koreen believes the larger issue is the Cavs are the more experienced and talented team, which makes them more adept at making in-game adjustments.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- Head coach Darko Rajakovic is mulling lineup changes ahead of Monday’s game, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. “Every scenario is on the table,” said Rajakovic, who pointed to turnovers, defensive rebounding and overall defense as improvement areas for Game 2.
- Another adjustment Rajakovic was focused on was getting Brandon Ingram more involved offensively, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca relays (Twitter links). The All-Star forward had 17 points on Saturday but attempted just one field goal in the second half. “We had a long day yesterday watching film, long meetings this morning, great conversations today,” Rajakovic said Sunday. “So, we’re going to have some solutions and try to adjust. But, definitely, we’ve gotta involve Brandon much more in our offense and we have a plan to do so.” For his part, Ingram said he needs to up his aggression and find ways to score on and off the ball, Lewenberg adds.
- In an interesting interview with Forbes contributor Mark Medina, lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles discusses his growth over his rookie season, prioritizing team success over individual accolades, and his nagging left thumb injury, which he admits will likely continue to bother him for the rest of 2025/26. “I know the team needs me,” Murray-Boyles said. “I know I’m a big part of what Darko needs with the energy that I bring, the defensive intensity and being a play-maker in our offense. I’m trying to get back into the flow of our game and how we play. I’m just trying to impact it.”
Nuggets/Wolves Notes: Jokic, Gobert, Murray, Edwards, Braun
The fact that Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets weren’t at their best on Saturday yet still managed to pull out a series-opening victory should scare both the Timberwolves and the rest of the NBA’s playoff field, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic.
While Jokic finished with 25 points (on 12-of-19 shooting), 13 rebounds and 11 assists (five turnovers) in 40 minutes, his performance was just OK by his lofty standards. Rudy Gobert, who had 17 points (on 8-of-9 shooting) and 10 rebounds, deserves a lot of credit for slowing Jokic down, especially in the first half, according to Thompson.
“It’s all Rudy,” Jaden McDaniels said. “Rudy did a good job the whole game just guarding and taking the challenge. That’s what we need every time we play against Jokic, just Rudy coming to compete. That’s the best game we’ve had from Rudy this year.
“He keep doing that,” McDaniels continued, “we’re going to win.”
The problem what that statement is the Wolves dropped a winnable Game 1, Thompson observes, even with Gobert playing near his peak and Jokic being merely good. If Denver’s depth can continue to deliver, Jokic will have more energy left in the tank as the Nuggets look to make a deep playoff run.
Here’s more on the first-round series between the two Northwest Division rivals:
- Another troubling takeaway for Minnesota from Game 1? Denver shot just 1-of-17 from three point range in the second half, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link), and 10-for-36 overall (27.8%). The Nuggets, who converted a league-high 39.6% from deep as a team, went just 1-7 during the regular season when they shot under 28% from deep, but still came away with a win on Saturday, notes Wolf Wise Statistics (via Twitter).
- Jamal Murray also wasn’t at his best in Game 1, shooting just 7-of-22 from the field, including 0-of-8 from long distance. However, the Canadian star still finished with a game-high 30 points as he went 16-for-16 at the foul line, notes Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. While several members of the Timberwolves took digs at the overall free throw discrepancy (33 to 19), they said that wasn’t the main reason they lost the game, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “Just key mistakes. Just little things, we put them on the free-throw line. A bunch of little things at certain moments,” said Julius Randle, who scored 16 points and was 7-for-16 from the field. “We’d get it to five, and they’d go on a 4-0 run, 6-0 run, stuff like that. We just gotta limit our mistakes down the stretch and try not to put ourselves in that position.”
- Although Anthony Edwards‘ overall stats (22 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in 38 minutes) were solid, he didn’t look completely healthy as he continues to battle a nagging right knee injury and the Wolves definitely need more from him to win the series, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Head coach Chris Finch said Edwards wasn’t physically compromised, and Edwards agreed. “I felt good,” Edwards said. “I mean, a little fatigued. I haven’t played in like a month, month-and-a-half, so a little fatigued. But that was expected. Other than that, I felt good.”
- Nuggets coach David Adelman said Christian Braun did a “great” job limiting Edwards to an off shooting night (he was 7-of-19 from the field), according to Jason Quick of The Athletic, who says Braun looks forward to the challenge of slowing down the best players in the league. “I’m gonna learn what Ant does throughout the series … and it’s a series for a reason,” Braun said. “But I love the challenge. I love being able to guard the best players every night. I take pride … and obviously, it’s my job. So I gotta do it.“
2026 NBA Awards Finalists To Be Announced Sunday Evening
The finalists for seven major regular season awards will be revealed on NBC starting at 6 pm ET on Sunday, the NBA announced (via Twitter).
During the pregame show of tonight’s first-round series between Orlando and Detroit, the league will reveal the finalists for the following awards:
- Clutch Player of the Year
- Defensive Player of the Year
- Most Improved Player
- Sixth Man of the Year
At halftime of the Magic-Pistons game, the finalists for three more awards will be unveiled:
- Most Valuable Player
- Rookie of the Year
- Coach of the Year
There are typically three finalists for each award. While we don’t know for sure who will win the individual honors, Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the favorite to win his second straight MVP award and seems to be the runaway frontrunner for Clutch Player of the Year. Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, a potential MVP finalist, could be the unanimous choice for Defensive Player of the Year.
The other awards are more up in the air, with former Duke teammates Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel in a neck-and-neck race for Rookie of the Year. Pistons center Jalen Duren and Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker are among the candidates for Most Improved Player, while Joe Mazzulla (Celtics) and J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons) are likely on the short list for Coach of the Year.
As for Sixth Man of the Year, Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. appears likely to be a finalist, with Spurs forward Keldon Johnson, Nuggets wing Tim Hardaway Jr., and Timberwolves big man Naz Reid among the other candidates. Reid won the award in 2024.