Cavs Notes: Mitchell, Thompson, Game 7, Harden
Donovan Mitchell failed to carry the Cavaliers into the conference finals in Game 6 against Detroit on Friday. Mitchell scored a series-low 18 points on 6-of-20 shooting and had as many turnovers (three) as assists in the 21-point loss.
“I can’t dwell on it,” Mitchell said. “I missed shots tonight. … I’ve been making them most every game of this series, and tonight I didn’t.”
Mitchell must get past this clunker and deliver in Game 7 at Detroit on Sunday, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic opines. The outcome of Game 7 will have major implications for Mitchell and the franchise.
Lloyd speculates that Mitchell might be hiding an injury, noting that he hasn’t looked like himself for most of this postseason.
Here’s more on the Cavaliers:
- A controversial ruling allowed the Pistons’ defensive ace, Ausar Thompson, to stay in the game. While fighting through a screen during the second quarter, Thompson threw Sam Merrill to the court with his arm around Merrill’s neck. However, the officials assessed Thompson with a Flagrant 1 foul, rather than ejecting him. Lead official Zach Zarba explained the decision. “The criteria for a flagrant foul 2 would be windup, impact and follow-through,” Zarba said, per The Athletic’s Joe Vardon. “On this particular play, there was impact and follow-through, but there was no windup. It was unnecessary contact but also not excessive, so that’s why it wasn’t upgraded to a Flagrant 2.”
- James Harden said the Cavs need to match Detroit’s defensive intensity to win Game 7, per Cleveland.com. “Not shooting the basketball well, I wouldn’t say it’s an excuse, but it’s not a reason. Our defense has to be the priority from the beginning of the game until the last buzzer,” he said. “That’s priority number one. And I don’t think we necessarily did that from the beginning of the game until the final buzzer, which is the reason why we didn’t play well. We feed off our defense, our energy comes from our defense, and we didn’t do that well enough like they did. So then our offense is a little bit more difficult just because you’re not getting stops. So we got to take the ball out, and it’s just a trickle effect. So in order to win this game, we gotta hang our hats on the defensive end, and we should be in a good position.”
- At least for this postseason, Harden has passed Stephen Curry on the all-time points list, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN notes. He moved into 10th place during the first quarter on a step-back 3-pointer from the right wing. That gave him 4,148 postseason points. Curry has scored 4,147 points.
Pistons Notes: Game 6 Win, Bench, Duren, Cunningham
The Pistons shook off their Game 5 collapse with a convincing road victory in Cleveland on Friday night, forcing a decisive Game 7 in Detroit on Sunday night. It’s the fourth time this postseason the Pistons have delivered in an elimination game.
“They just don’t quit,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said, per Jamal Collier of ESPN. “The resolve that they have, the belief that they have in one another. They just have the ability to bounce back mentally where they don’t hang on to things.”
The Pistons pulled away by holding the Cavaliers to 29% shooting in the second half and 39% overall.
“I just think you got to look at the backgrounds of this group,” guard Daniss Jenkins said. “I’m not supposed to be in this position according to everybody in the league. I just think we’re special. We just want to defy all the odds. We not taking [anything] from [anybody]. We know it’s us against the world.”
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Reserves Marcus Sasser, Paul Reed and Caris LeVert delivered in dynamite fashion in Game 6, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press notes. They combined for 34 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Sasser, who had been out of the rotation, played 18 minutes and Detroit outscored Cleveland by 27 points during his court time. “That was the plan,” Bickerstaff said. “We have so much depth. Obviously, foul trouble changed a couple of things for us, but we just trust these guys and trust the depth that we have and that they can go out and make an impact. Guys like Sass, in the two years we’ve been here, has proven that when his number’s called, he’s prepared and he goes out and can give us buckets, defend at a high level. I thought he was great tonight. Up and down the roster, I thought we had great production, great intensity.”
- All-Star center Jalen Duren, the subject of heavy criticism during this postseason, posted a double-double in Game 6 with 15 points and 11 rebounds. He added three blocks, equaling his total from the first five games. “My confidence never wavered in myself. I know what I can do. I know what I can be and try to keep it rolling,” Duren said, per Joe Reedy of the Associated Press. “I’m playing my best basketball when I’m being assertive and picking my spots. I think early on I was just getting a groove.”
- They’re looking forward to having a raucous crowd for Game 7 at Little Caesars Arena, Cade Cunningham told Bob Wojnarowski of the Detroit News. “It’s gonna be a madhouse in there, the crowd’s gonna come to play as well,” Cunningham said. “They want to insert themselves in the game, so it’s gonna be a fun environment.”
NBA To Announce MVP Award Sunday; SGA, Jokic, Wembanyama Named Finalists
The NBA will announce the winner of the Most Valuable Player award on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime, just before the start of Game 7 of the Cavaliers–Pistons series, the league office tweets.
Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama are the three finalists for the award.
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.1 points, 6.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 68 regular-season games while leading the Thunder to a league-high 64 victories. He shot a career-best 55.3 percent from the field.
Jokic is seeking his fourth career MVP. The Nuggets center averaged a triple-double for the second consecutive season with 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and a career-high 10.7 assists in 70 games. Wembanyama averaged 25.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.1 blocks in 64 games. He was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year last month. The Spurs center would be the first French player to claim the MVP trophy.
The Spurs will face the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, beginning on Monday, and the scheduling announcement hints that SGA could be the winner, the Associated Press notes. Last season, Gilgeous-Alexander was announced as the winner on May 21, and he was formally presented with the trophy before Game 2 of the conference finals in Oklahoma City the following day.
Former First-Rounder Sam Dekker Transitioning To Coaching
Former NBA first-round pick Sam Dekker has been named an assistant men’s basketball coach at the University of South Carolina, the school announced in a press release. The 32-year-old will work under head coach Lamont Harris, who was an assistant at Wisconsin during Dekker’s time with the Badgers.
While Dekker will be involved in all aspects of coaching for the Gamecocks, his focus will be on-court player development.
“I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of Gamecock basketball,” said Dekker. “I’m so grateful to Coach Paris for trusting me with this role, and I take it very seriously. The decision to transition from player to coach is not one I took lightly, but joining Coach Paris and this program was a dream opportunity.
“I am thrilled to return to the college game and compete at such a high level in the SEC. My 11 years as a pro have provided so many experiences with amazing players, coaches and styles. Some of my best memories as a player were competing in two Final Fours with Coach Paris, and I look forward to doing that with him again. My goal is to win in March and give our players the best opportunity for success on and off the court.”
The 18th overall pick in the 2015 draft, Dekker spent his entire rookie scale contract (four years) in the NBA but didn’t find a ton of success. He was traded multiple times in those four seasons and spent a couple years in Russia and Turkey before catching on with the Raptors in the 2021 offseason.
The 6’9″ forward only spent a few months with Toronto, having been waived at the start of the 2021/22 campaign after making one brief appearance with the team. He has spent the past five seasons playing professionally in Turkey, England and — most recently — Spain.
Dekker was a productive international player as recently as 2024/25, but his numbers fell off considerably last season the Spanish club Joventut. The former Badgers star averaged 5.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 15.4 minutes per game across 201 NBA appearances.
Knicks Notes: Robinson, Anunoby, Towns, Brown
Re-signing Mitchell Robinson should be a top priority for the Knicks this summer on the heels of another strong playoff run, argues Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required).
“It feels like every year Mitch just continues to get better. He’s so important to our team,” Miles McBride said. “And when it’s time for him to show up, he shows up. … It’s huge for us creating opportunities at the offensive end. And obviously being at the rim and helping us in so many ways is huge.”
Whether or not Robinson returns in unrestricted free agency may hinge on the Knicks achieving their stated goal of advancing to the NBA Finals, according to Bondy, since re-signing him would likely push New York over the second tax apron in 2026/27.
The Kings would have to shed a significant amount of payroll to make a competitive contract offer to Robinson, but Bondy hears from league sources that they could be interested in doing just that. Kings GM Scott Perry drafted Robinson in 2018 when he was a member of the Knicks’ front office, Bondy notes.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Forward OG Anunoby went through a full practice on Friday for the first time since he injured his hamstring in Game 2 of the Knicks’ second-round sweep of Philadelphia, per The Associated Press. That bodes well for Anunoby’s availability for the Eastern Conference finals, which will begin on Tuesday after the Pistons defeated the Cavaliers in Friday’s Game 6 at Cleveland.
- Karl-Anthony Towns is thrilled head coach Mike Brown made the adjustment to make him more of a play-maker than a scorer during the first-round matchup vs. Atlanta, a trend that carried over to round two, writes Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News. “I’ve always loved this role,” Towns said. “I’ve always wanted this role, so happy we got to this point.” Towns’ fit in Brown’s offense was scrutinized throughout the season, but getting him more involved — as a passer rather than a scorer — has the Knicks playing their best basketball at the perfect time. “He’s done a great job of adjusting our team to give us the best chance to win,” Towns said of Brown. “The spot we’re in now is because of his courage and trust to change what we were doing and putting us in a better position.”
- The Knicks wanted a new voice when they fired Tom Thibodeau last offseason after making their first conference final in 25 years, and now Brown has led them back to that round with seven consecutive playoff victories, according to Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press. While Brown has final say on any coaching-related decisions, he has embraced a collaborative approach with both the front office and the players, Mahoney writes. “He’s always wanted to have open dialogue since day one,” captain Jalen Brunson said. “And obviously he’s still the coach and he’s going to make the decisions and everything. But I mean, we give our opinions, and whether they’re good or bad opinions, they’re talked about and they’re decided on later.”
Blazers Notes: Holiday, Camara, Thybulle, Hansen, Murray
After the Trail Blazers were eliminated from the playoffs by San Antonio, guard Jrue Holiday made it clear he wants to back in Portland again for 2026/27, according to Joe Freeman of The Oregonian.
“I hope so. I don’t like being traded and moved and stuff,” Holiday said. “I like being a part of something and building with the team and seeing the progress and going through the progress with them. So I hope so. I’d love to be here.
“Honestly, just kind of how we ended the season, fighting and clawing, knowing that we have a team that has proven ourselves to some extent to be a playoff team. We have a good mix of older gentlemen and then young guys that are still hungry. You hear them. They’re still in the gym now and it’s been two days (since) we lost in the playoffs. So I’m really excited for that.”
Freeman reviews Holiday’s season, writing that the veteran guard provided much of what the team wanted when it traded for him last June, though injuries and “inexplicable” turnovers were an issue in the 35-year-old’s first season in Portland. Freeman also spoke to a couple of NBA scouts to get their opinion on Holiday — both praised his professionalism, but one said he’s overpaid while acknowledging he could be an invaluable mentor to Scoot Henderson.
Here’s more on the Blazers:
- Freeman’s season review series continues with third-year forward Toumani Camara, who played all 82 regular season games and finished fourth in the NBA in total minutes. Camara was critical of his performance in 2025/26, calling it “up and down,” but he was still pleased with some of the strides he made. “I think he’s a solid player and a piece that you keep for the future and just keep developing him,” a scout told Freeman. “He’s 26, so he’s an older third-year guy. He’s probably not developing a new skillset. But he keeps getting better with his shooting and he defends. His IQ and rebounding are good; he’s a good offensive and defensive rebounder for his position and he’s a smart player who plays within himself, doesn’t try to do stuff he doesn’t do. This is a piece you keep and grow with. He would be great if you put better players around him.”
- Veteran wing Matisse Thybulle says he has “no expectations” ahead of unrestricted free agency, according to Freeman, but added that he’d “love” to return to the Blazers. Injuries were a major issue for Thybulle over the past two seasons, as he appeared in just 45 regular season games over the span, but he was playing a rotation role at the end of 2025/26. Both scouts Freeman spoke to praised Thybulle’s anticipation skills as a defensive roamer, but said he’s not nearly as good at on-ball defense. One scout said the Blazers should let Thybulle walk in free agency due to availability concerns. “All I’ve heard about him is he doesn’t want to play basketball,” one scout said. “So are you really going to count on him to produce for you when you’re trying to win games?“
- Freeman also reviews the seasons (subscriber links) of Yang Hansen, the 2025 first-round pick who just finished his rookie campaign, and third-year forward Kris Murray, who’s entering the final year of his rookie scale contract. To put it kindly, neither scout Freeman talked to was high on Murray’s game. “I just don’t understand what they’re doing with him,” one scout told the Oregonian. “I think this is a kid they just missed on. Is he a power forward? Is he a small forward? He probably needs to be a small forward, but he can’t do that. I would just try to move on from this kid, to be honest.”
Warriors Notes: Kerr, Dunleavy, Lottery Pick, Roster
Steve Kerr wasn’t happy with the job he did as head coach of the Warriors last season, writes Anthony Slater of ESPN.com. Kerr spoke to the media on Friday for the first time since he decided to return to the organization on a new two-year contract.
“I know I have to be better,” Kerr said. “I didn’t have a great coaching year.”
Still, Kerr made it clear he was excited to be back in role he’s held for the past 12 years, according to Josh Dubow of The Associated Press.
“I still love what I do,” Kerr said Friday. “If I were tired and burned out, then I would not be doing this. But I love my job, I love coaching the Warriors, being in this city, being in the Bay.”
Mike Dunleavy Jr. also took questions on Friday, calling Golden State’s 2025/26 season “pretty underwhelming” after the team went just 37-45 and missed the playoffs, Slater writes. Both Dunleavy and Kerr highlighted cutting down on turnovers as a key improvement area for next season.
“We got a little too loose,” Kerr said. “Literally loose with the ball. But because of our age, because of our injuries, we spent a lot of time resting. So I’ve got to tighten the ship up next year.”
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Dunleavy said the Warriors will consider every option at their disposal with the 11th overall pick in June’s draft, but barring an unexpected blockbuster trade, Slater hears from team sources that Golden State would prefer to add a young player with that selection to bolster an aging roster. Slater’s colleague Marc J. Spears reported similarly this week on NBA Today (Twitter video link). “Totally,” Kerr said when asked if he’d be committed to playing a rookie. “I’ve talked to Mike. I don’t know the draft, but he feels really strongly we’re going to get a good player. It could be a 19-year-old and it could be someone older. … That guy has to play. He’s got to earn it. But we’re committed to the development of our young players.”
- Kerr discussed why he decided to return as coach and what led to the decision, citing a conversation with his wife Margot as playing a critical role. He also talked about his conversations with Dunleavy and owner Joe Lacob regarding the state of the roster and the desire to be competitive while acknowledging the current team isn’t capable of competing for championships. “The idea is let’s see how good we can be next year,” Kerr said, per Dubow. “We think we can still be good. We have to get some guys back from injury. We have to make some moves. I have to do some things. Let’s run it back and see how good we can be. I think we’re all excited about that.”
- Although Kerr suggested the roster needed some tweaks, particularly adding “younger legs” and players who can suit up for both ends of back-to-backs, Dunleavy didn’t sound as though he plans to make major changes this summer, according to Slater. “This isn’t about the roster frankly,” Dunleavy said. “This year, I don’t think we came up short because of the talent on the roster. It was injuries and things we can control. Do we need to get better roster-wise? I think so. But we didn’t get to a point where we played a team that the roster was better than ours.”
Jalen Williams Says He’s ‘Healthy’ Ahead Of Western Finals
Thunder star Jalen Williams provided an update on his return from a left hamstring strain on Friday via his YouTube channel, as Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman relays.
Williams, who suffered the injury a few weeks ago in first-round series against Phoenix, said the second-round sweep of the Lakers gave him extra time to recover. The 25-year-old was spotted at Friday’s practice then released the vlog update later in the day, Martinez notes.
“I haven’t had to rush back from my hamstring stuff at all,” Williams said. “I’m actually taking extra days now then what was even originally planned because we were up 3-0 (on the Lakers), so there was no point in going into this series and possibly hurting myself before we have to play the Timberwolves or the Spurs. I’m about to go into another series healthy.”
The fourth-year wing was limited to a career-low 33 regular season appearances in 2025/26 due to offseason wrist surgery and a pair of right hamstring strains. He last played on April 22, when he injured his opposite hamstring in Game 2 vs. the Suns.
Williams, whose rookie scale max extension begins in 2026/27, averaged 17.1 points, 5.5 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 28.4 minutes per game during the regular season. He was excellent in the first two games against the Suns, averaging 20.5 PPG, 5.0 APG, 4.0 RPG and 1.0 SPG while shooting 61.5% from the field in 26.0 MPG.
Ajay Mitchell was Oklahoma City’s secondary ball-handler and attacker with Williams out, but he should still receive plenty of playing time in the conference finals even if Williams is back, according to Martinez. The Thunder are still waiting to learn their opponent; San Antonio currently holds a 3-2 lead over Minnesota ahead of Friday’s Game 6.
Wolves Upgrade Terrence Shannon Jr. To Available For Game 6
7:10 pm: Shannon will be active tonight, the team announced (via Twitter).
12:54 pm: Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon Jr. has been added to the injury report for Game 6 on Friday. According to the team (Twitter link), Shannon is considered questionable to suit up in Minnesota tonight due to a head contusion.
It’s unclear when Shannon sustained the injury, but it rarely bodes well for a player’s availability when he’s a late addition to the injury report just hours before tip-off, as Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets.
Shannon played a modest role for Minnesota during the regular season, averaging 12.5 minutes per game across 43 appearances, and received multiple DNP-CDs to open the playoffs. But he has emerged as a key part of Chris Finch‘s rotation since scoring 24 points in nearly 35 minutes of action in the team’s close-out game vs. Denver in the first round.
In five games (two starts) against San Antonio in the conference semifinals, Shannon has averaged 8.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 25.0 minutes per contest. He has struggled with his shot against the league’s third-best defense, making just 14-of-48 shots from the floor (29.2%), including 3-of-17 from three-point range (17.6%).
If Shannon doesn’t play on Friday, it would likely result in increased minutes for guards Ayo Dosunmu and Mike Conley, with Bones Hyland perhaps getting a chance to return to the rotation.
The Timberwolves trail the Spurs 3-2 in the series and will have to win at home on Friday in order to force a Game 7 on Sunday.
Combine Notes: Top Four, Flemings, Carr, Winners
Although BYU’s AJ Dybantsa appears to be the frontrunner to be selected first overall in next month’s draft, John Hollinger of The Athletic says the consensus among NBA executives he spoke to at the combine was that there’s a clear top four this year — Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson — but not a slam-dunk No. 1 amongst that group.
Wilson in particular seems to have been overlooked in that conversation, according to Hollinger, who writes that the front office members he spoke to this week had Dybantsa as the favorite to go No. 1, but none of them viewed that outcome as a lock.
Some of the executives compared the eye-of-the-beholder situation to the 2017 draft, when the Celtics moved down from No. 1 to No. 3 and selected Jayson Tatum, Hollinger writes. The Sixers picked Markelle Fultz first overall that year, with the Lakers taking Lonzo Ball at No. 2.
Another topic of speculation was the Jazz‘s potential interest in Dybantsa after team owner Ryan Smith spent millions to help bring the forward to his alma mater (BYU) last year. Utah controls the No. 2 pick and a recent report said the Jazz touched base with the Wizards about potentially moving up to No. 1.
Here’s more from this week’s combine:
- His measurements were somewhat lackluster, but Houston guard Kingston Flemings was one of the standouts in athletic testing drills and received plenty of praise from his college teammates at the combine, Hollinger writes. “He is really unselfish,” Emanuel Sharp said of Flemings. “He’s very humble, that’s probably my favorite part about him. He’s not an airhead; he’s a great kid. He’s a better person than he is player. You know a lot of teams value that, so you know, whatever team can get him is getting a star.”
- Baylor shooting guard Cameron Carr was one of the biggest winners of the combine, according to Hollinger and Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports. In addition to possessing a massive 7’0.75″ wingspan, the 6’4.5″ wing had a 43-inch maximum vertical leap and the fastest time in the pro lane agility drill. Carr, who was already a projected first-round pick, followed that up by being the best player on the court in the first scrimmage. “I’m a competitor — basketball’s basketball,” Carr said of his decision to scrimmage, per Hollinger. “It’s supposed to be fun, and I don’t know, in my head I feel like I’ve been overlooked, especially for some of these spots. Of course, I’m not paying attention to the draft stock and all that stuff, but when I hear someone’s better than me, I feel I’ve got to go in and show them who’s really the best. So that’s all I can do. I can just step on the court and give y’all my best, and that’s what I did today.”
- Trevon Brazile (Arkansas), Morez Johnson (Michigan), Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Tennessee), Baba Miller (Cincinnati), Luigi Suigo (Italy), and Aaron Nkrumah (Tennessee State) are among the other combine winners highlighted by Hollinger and/or O’Connor.