Garland: I ‘Got My Joy Back’ After Trade To Clippers
After being eliminated in the play-in tournament this spring, Clippers point guard Darius Garland had to watch his former team in Cleveland win a pair of playoff series and advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since he entered the NBA in 2019.
However, appearing on the Ball in the Family Podcast (YouTube link), Garland didn’t sound like a player wishing he was still playing for the Cavaliers. Asked about his adjustment to the Clippers during the second half of the season, the 26-year-old said it went “great” (hat tip to RealGM).
“Coming to a system where I can actually be me,” Garland said. “Have the ball in my hand for the majority of the game and actually have control of the pace of the game. Just be like a second coach out there, literally. It was really good. It was fun when I was out there playing, for sure. I got my joy back.”
While Garland continued to play well in Cleveland after the team acquired Donovan Mitchell in 2022, earning his second All-Star nod in 2025, he also ceded some ball-handling and play-making responsibilities to Mitchell during his last few years with the Cavaliers. Garland posted career highs in usage rate (27.8%), points per game (21.7 PPG), and assists per game (8.6) in 2021/22, his first All-Star season — and the year before Mitchell arrived in Cleveland.
After being traded in February for James Harden, Garland once again found himself in a lead guard role, with his usage rate climbing to 29.8% in his 19 regular season games with the Clippers. His comments about having the ball in his hands and controlling the pace of the game suggest he welcomed the adjustment.
Garland has two more guaranteed years on his contract and is just 26 years old, so all indications are that he’s very much part of the Clippers’ long-term plans. Still, there has been some speculation about his future and his role going forward since L.A. landed the No. 5 overall pick in last month’s draft lottery. The Clippers will likely have their pick of several intriguing young point guards at that spot, including Darius Acuff, Mikel Brown, Kingston Flemings, and Keaton Wagler.
It remains possible that the Clippers will trade down or go in another direction with their lottery pick, but if they select another lead guard, how would Garland feel about it, given his fondness for his new role in L.A.? He wasn’t asked about that directly, but he did speak a little later in the podcast about having played alongside Mitchell and dealing with the skepticism that the Cavs’ “smaller” backcourt faced from critics.
“I had the same thing when I got drafted with Collin Sexton,” Garland said. “Like, it was the same exact thing for the first two, three years. Then Don comes and it’s the whole thing all over again. So I was like, ‘They’re going to say whatever.’ We’ve got two guards over here that’s quote-unquote ‘smaller.’ So we’re just going to go with it, just go out there and hoop and try to win as many games as we can.”
Terry Rozier To Forfeit Most Of 2025/26 Salary
Former Heat guard Terry Rozier will be forced to forfeit most of the $26.6MM salary he was supposed to earn in 2025/26, per an arbitrator’s decision, as Mike Vorkunov writes for The Athletic.
Rozier was placed on unpaid leave by the NBA at the end of October, six days after he was arrested on federal charges related to a gambling investigation. The 31-year-old pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in December.
The players’ union challenged the league’s decision to withhold Rozier’s salary and won an arbitration case earlier in the year. At that time, an arbitrator ruled that the NBA was violating the rules of its Collective Bargaining Agreement by not allowing Rozier to be paid, determining that only players who are involved in cases of domestic or child abuse can be placed on unpaid leave.
However, that same arbitrator sided with the NBA this time around, as Vorkunov explains, upholding the league’s argument that the conditions of Rozier’s bond prevented him from fulfilling the terms of his contract. As part of his ongoing legal case, Rozier was prohibited from traveling across the country or being in contact with the Heat or his former team, the Hornets.
Rozier – who was charged last week with two new felonies, sports bribery and honest services fraud – has been accused of telling a friend he would remove himself early from a game in March 2023, when he was a member of the Hornets. That friend then sold the inside information to gamblers who were able to cash in by betting on several “under” props related to Rozier’s performance in that game. After recording five points, four rebounds and two assists in less than 10 minutes of action in the first quarter, Rozier exited the game during a timeout and didn’t return, citing a foot issue.
Rozier has pleaded not guilty to all charges and still hopes to return to the NBA after being waived by the Heat in April. According to Vorknov, his attorneys have asked the judge overseeing his case to remove the Hornets – and their current and former employees – from his no-contact list and to rule that the longtime guard is simply prohibited to discuss the case with them. Rozier’s attorneys are calling the current restrictions “unfairly punitive,” Vorkunov adds.
“With forced inactivity, Mr. Rozier is facing a potential second season of non-participation despite being entitled to a presumption of innocence,” his attorneys wrote in their argument. “With the NBA’s free agency process officially beginning June 30, maintaining the Hornets on the no-contact list would likely prevent him from having any opportunity to play in the NBA.
“Under the current ruling of the arbitrator, an inability to play for or against the Charlotte Hornets would constitute a ‘failure to perform services’ by Mr. Rozier and substantially diminish or eliminate any chance of being contracted by an NBA team.”
Regardless of whether or not the judge upholds his attorneys’ request, it’s pretty difficult to imagine Rozier signing another NBA contract unless he’s fully cleared and exonerated of all charges. If he’s found guilty, he’s likely facing a lifetime ban from the league like the one Jontay Porter received after disclosing confidential information to sports bettors.
Mitchell Robinson Expected To Play In Game 1
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson fully participated in Tuesday’s practice and is expected to be available for Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday in San Antonio, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
While it remains unclear how exactly he sustained the injury, which didn’t occur didn’t a game or practice, Robinson fractured the fifth metacarpal bone in his right hand following the team’s Eastern Conference finals win over Cleveland and underwent surgery last week to repair the break.
Similar injuries typically require recovery periods of at least two weeks and sometimes much more than that, but Robinson has been repeatedly described as determined to suit up for the Knicks when the series gets underway. Videos from the practice court on Tuesday showed the big man shooting, passing, and dribbling the ball with his affected hand while wearing a protective wrap.
Robinson was listed on Tuesday as questionable to play in Game 1 and that designation has yet to be officially updated, but Charania’s reporting suggests he’s on track to be upgraded to available later in the day.
A member of the Knicks since 2018, Robinson is no longer the team’s starting center and averaged just 19.6 minutes per game during the regular season. However, he remains very valuable as a situation role player who can impact the game with his rebounding and rim protection, so it would be a boon to New York if he’s able to give the team some productive minutes against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.
In 13 playoff appearances, Robinson has averaged 5.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per game. Head coach Mike Brown has had to be extra careful about how he uses the 28-year-old to limit the extent to which opponents can exploit his poor free throw shooting. Robinson has made just 13-of-43 shots (30.2%) from the foul line during the postseason.
Fischer’s Latest: Brown, Pelicans, Murphy, Kyrie, Sixers
The Pelicans have been “mentioned by various league executives” as one of the teams with interest in Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, NBA insider Jake Fischer said in his latest live stream for Bleacher Report (video link).
Fischer’s colleague Marc Stein previously named Atlanta, Houston, and Portland as teams to watch for Brown, though as Fischer points out, there have been no real indications yet that the Celtics will seriously consider the idea of trading the All-NBA second-teamer this offseason.
With Brown’s salary set to rise to $57MM in 2026/27, any Pelicans package for Brown would have to start with at least one of Zion Williamson, Jordan Poole, Dejounte Murray, or Trey Murphy III for matching purposes. Of those players, the versatile sharpshooter Murphy would almost certainly draw the most interest from the Celtics or other potential trade partners (in multi-team scenarios).
According to Fischer, San Antonio had been one of the teams most interested in Murphy over the past year or two, but the Spurs‘ run to the NBA Finals this spring makes them less likely to do anything drastic with their roster this summer.
Here are a few more highlights from Fischer’s live stream:
- While the Mavericks‘ new front office executives have expressed enthusiasm about seeing Cooper Flagg play alongside a healthy Kyrie Irving, Fischer doesn’t “necessarily believe” that Irving will still be on Dallas’ roster by the start of the 2026/27 season, noting that plenty of teams will inquire on the star point guard in the coming weeks. Irving missed all of ’25/26 while recovering from a torn ACL but should be ready to go for opening night in the fall.
- Although Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe look like the Sixers‘ top long-term building blocks, there’s no reason to believe Joel Embiid or Paul George will be going anywhere at this point, according to Fischer, who suggests that Philadelphia is “almost certain” to bring both players back. Embiid and George would be difficult to move for any real value due to their multiyear, maximum-salary contracts.
- Based on his conversations with sources around the NBA, Fischer wouldn’t be surprised if “most favorable” terms become more common on traded first-round picks, since that’s a way for teams stockpiling draft assets to hedge against the randomness of the new draft lottery format.
Finals Notes: Wemby, Castle, Brunson, Kornet, More
While their playing styles and physiques bear little resemblance, Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is providing the rest of the NBA’s teams with the same sort of unique challenges they faced three decades ago when Shaquille O’Neal emerged as a superstar in Orlando, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Like Wembanyama, O’Neal led his team to the NBA Finals in just his third year in the league.
“He’s Shaq,” one veteran NBA head coach said of Wembanyama, per Windhorst. “He eats clean, worries about how his water is filtered and doesn’t break backboards like Shaq did, but he presents the same problem. None of us know what the hell we’re going to do to stop him.”
“Of course people are going to compare him to Shaq but he’s actually Shaq 2.0,” a rival general manager added. “Because he takes care of his body and plays a modern game, shoots the three and can make free throws. Yeah, he’s our nightmare.”
While O’Neal eventually won four NBA championships, he didn’t earn his first one until 2000, well after he had left Orlando for Los Angeles. In 1995, he and a young Magic team entered the Finals as favorites, but were swept by Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets, who were defending their ’94 title. As Windhorst writes, the Spurs and Wembanyama will also enter the Finals without the edge in playoff experience, but they’re determined to avoid the same fate as O’Neal’s Magic.
“The lack of experience is a strength for us,” Wembanyama told ESPN’s Malika Andrews. “Because we could do impossible stuff … because we don’t know it’s impossible.”
Here’s more on the NBA Finals, which will get underway in a matter of hours:
- Stephon Castle‘s ability to slow down Knicks star Jalen Brunson will be one of the key factors of the Finals, according to Vincent Goodwill of ESPN, who notes that Brunson expressed nothing but respect for Castle at media day on Tuesday. “He’s great. I think his intensity and tenacity is special,” Brunson said. “He plays with a chip on his shoulder. He’s had that since I’ve seen him at UConn. The way he’s played over these first couple years of his career, he’s going to be a great player, great defender.” While the sample size is small, Castle has defended Brunson well in the past, holding him to 27.3% shooting (3-of-11), per Goodwill.
- Kurt Helin of NBC Sports passes along some of the notable quotes from Knicks and Spurs players at Tuesday’s media day, while Ben Golliver of ESPN ranks all 30 players involved in the series, from Wembanyama at No. 1 to Bismack Biyombo at No. 30.
- Facing the Knicks in the Finals represents a “full-circle” moment for reserve Spurs center Luke Kornet, as Howie Kussoy of The New York Post relays. Kornet spent the first two years of his NBA career with New York, playing on a two-way contract as a rookie. “I had a great time in my first two years, especially in Westchester,” Kornet said on Tuesday. “I feel like the group that we had, it was some really fun basketball that we played. That’s what I remember the most. We had a lot of talent and young guys and it felt like an extension of college. I felt like I was growing my game a lot at that time. A lot of guys always talk about the G League like you can’t wait to get out of it, but I really enjoyed my time.”
- Whichever team claims this year’s championship, it will be a win for the Philippines, according to Miguel Alfonso Caramoan of ESPN. As Caramoan observes, either Spurs guard Dylan Harper or Knicks guard Jordan Clarkson will become the first Filipino-descended NBA player to win a title.
- In a pair of stories for The New York Post, Andrew Crane digs into how the Knicks and Spurs acquired each of the 15 players on their current standard rosters.
Heat Remain At Forefront Of Giannis Antetokounmpo Sweepstakes
As the Bucks continue to weigh possible trade options involving Giannis Antetokounmpo, the chatter about the Heat “remains louder than all the rest,” according to Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
As Amick and Nehm explain, many agents, executives, and other sources around the league believe the star forward will ultimately end up in Miami after the Heat seemingly came closer than any rival suitor to acquiring Antetokounmpo at February’s trade deadline. Those deadline discussions were so advanced, league sources tell The Athletic, that Heat officials believed a deal would get done before Milwaukee ultimately opted to stand pat.
NBA insider Jake Fischer also stated in his latest rumor round-up for Bleacher Report (video link) that he views the Heat as the top team to watch in the Giannis sweepstakes.
Both Fischer and The Athletic’s duo note that Antetokounmpo has long been intrigued by the Heat, with Fischer suggesting that interest dates back at least five or six years, while Amick and Nehm say the two-time MVP is “impressed” by the team culture in Miami.
As Amick and Nehm outline, the Heat’s offer would likely include 2025 All-Star Tyler Herro, young center Kel’el Ware, and Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Jaime Jaquez Jr., along with this year’s No. 13 overall pick and two future first-rounders.
Given that Milwaukee has been on the lookout for a package that features either a “blue-chip” young star or a ton of valuable first-round picks, it remains possible that the Heat could be outbid by another team with interest in Antetokounmpo.
However, some of those clubs may not be prepared to part with the player necessary to get a deal done – the Cavaliers, for instance, appear unwilling to give up Evan Mobley for Antetokounmpo – while others may be reluctant to give up a massive package for a player who only has one year left on his guaranteed contract. The Trail Blazers, for example, are said to have interest in Giannis, but the belief, as Amick and Nehm confirm, is that he prefers to remain in the Eastern Conference, so it’s unclear whether he’d sign an extension with a team like the Blazers. That makes Portland a less likely landing spot, per The Athletic.
Fischer also expressed skepticism about teams like the Thunder, Timberwolves, Warriors, and Rockets being serious threats for Antetokounmpo at this time.
In their story for The Athletic, Amick and Nehm also explore the Celtics and Magic as potential landing spots for Giannis. While there are no concrete indications that either team is in active pursuit of the 10-time All-Star, Antetokounmpo is believed to be “very intrigued” by the idea of ending up in Boston, per Amick and Nehm, and Orlando’s new head coach Sean Sweeney is very familiar with Giannis, having previously spent four seasons as an assistant coach in Milwaukee.
A Celtics offer for Antetokounmpo would likely have to include Jaylen Brown, who might need to be rerouted to a third team. Paolo Banchero, meanwhile, would probably have to be the centerpiece of a Magic offer.
If the Heat do manage to land Antetokounmpo, there will be questions about the club’s depth, as well as Giannis’ fit alongside Bam Adebayo, Amick and Nehm point out. As good as an Antetokounmpo/Adebayo duo would be defensively, neither player really stretches the floor on offense, so playing them alongside one another create spacing issues. However, the Heat don’t seem overly concerned about that potential issue as they attempt to land a star player for the first time since acquiring Jimmy Butler in 2019.
Magic’s Jeff Weltman Discusses Sean Sweeney Hire
The Magic‘s recent decision to bring in Sean Sweeney as their next head coach marks the third coaching hire of president Jeff Weltman‘s nine-year tenure. This hiring process looked very different from previous ones due to the fact that Sweeney is currently in the midst of a playoff run as the lead assistant coach for the Finals-bound Spurs, Jason Beede writes for the Orlando Sentinel.
“I have to say, a huge thanks to the San Antonio organization because they really wanted to let Sean have every opportunity that he could to pursue a job that he really wanted,” Weltman said. “And so, they were really amenable. We had to work on off days and just make it work the best way that we could. It wasn’t optimum but we made it work. They were very cooperative cause they didn’t want to hold Sean back.”
According to Weltman, following the initial interview with the 41-year-old coach, the team moved quickly in pursuing next steps to bring him into the fold.
“The first thing that you notice with Sean is he has like a natural intensity about him,” Weltman said. “It’s not something that he has to try to put on or impress you with. It’s just there. He’s very locked in. His focus and his intensity I think underlies a lot of the way he delivers information (and) receives information.”
The Magic rose above the level of a bottom-10 offense for the first time in a decade this season under Jamahl Mosley, but still ranked just 18th while battling numerous injuries to key players throughout the season. Unfortunately, the defense also took a hit, falling to 13th after finishing in the top three in back-to-back years. Sweeney will be tasked with unlocking a more efficient offense while trying to get the defense back to an elite level.
Weltman emphasized that while expectations were raised this season, due in part to the offseason blockbuster trade for Desmond Bane, the team is still very young on the whole. The Magic are led by Paolo Banchero (23 years old), Franz Wagner (24), Jalen Suggs (24), and Bane, who represents the aged veteran at 27. They also have Tristan Da Silva (24), Anthony Black (22), and a trio of young, unproven players in Noah Penda (21), Jase Richardson (20), and Jett Howard (22).
Because of that, Weltman is still taking a long view on the team and its potential.
While Sweeney may be considered more of a defensive-minded coach, Weltman was clear in his belief that his new hire will be well-rounded and up for the task of streamlining the team’s offense.
“Sean’s been an offensive coach, too, so I don’t know how those tags get slapped on people,” Weltman said. “But a lot of it comes down to basic principles and teaching the game in a way that the players have to adhere to. And I think he’s had success doing that in the places that he’s been. Obviously, he’s never done it from the No. 1 seat. That’ll be a new experience for him. But again, when you put together the ingredients of those things that we talked about, plus his natural intensity, his integrity, his character and his work ethic — he is relentless — those ingredients are kind of what you hope for (that) could lead to being a real special coach.”
Atlantic Notes: Brunson, Celtics, Stevens, Oubre
The legendary status that would come with leading the Knicks to their first championship since 1973 has been a potential selling point for New York’s trade or free agent targets over the years, and Jalen Brunson has a chance to put a bow on a historic run by doing just that.
However, when it comes to Greatest Knick of All Time conversations, Brunson still has more work to do, in the view of franchise legend Walt Frazier.
“I always say it’s Willis (Reed), and Willis said it’s Patrick (Ewing), and Patrick says it’s Patrick,” says Frazier, who is in the conversation for Greatest Knick himself, per Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press. “So he would definitely be on Mount Rushmore. We’ll put him up there if he can bring this title.”
Frazier spoke on what it’s like to be one of the few Knicks legends to win a ring and the treatment he gets in New York, where he still works as a broadcaster for MSG.
“I can’t walk the street, it’s like I’m in a parade. Anywhere I go people are like, ‘Oh, there he is, there’s Clyde! There’s Clyde!‘” Frazier said. “So if these guys win another title — man, I can’t spend money now in New York. I’ll never have to spend money again in this city. And that’s what I want to show the players. Hey man, I’ve been doing this for 50 years. Fifty years just for winning two titles! So you guys can have it if you just win one title.”
We have more from around the Atlantic Division:
- The Celtics overachieved this season, winning 56 games and reaching the second round of the playoffs even though they were missing Jayson Tatum for much of the year. Despite their sustained high-quality play, their overreliance on three-pointers has increasingly become an issue over the last two years, according to Jay King of The Athletic. It’s a problem that Brad Stevens is aware of and would like to rectify. “I will say that I look at more each shot individually, and my general feeling watching us play in really each of the last two playoffs — the second round against New York, even against Orlando in the first round — was we had a hard time generating really good looks on that first shot,” Stevens said earlier this spring during his end-of-season presser. “So, we’ve got to figure out a way to do better in that, and I think that one of the things that we’ve got to figure out is how to have more of an impact at the rim. And I think we do need to add to our team to do that.”
- Like the offensive approach, the Celtics‘ roster doesn’t need an overhaul, but it could use some tweaks around the margins, Chris Forsberg writes for NBC Sports Boston. One key will be identifying the young players who need more developmental reps. Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, and Ron Harper Jr. all had stretches of strong play this season and could be due for a bump in playing time. Forsberg also looks at Robert Williams III as a potential free agent option and Wendell Carter Jr. (Magic) and Isaiah Stewart (Pistons) as possible trade targets.
- Kelly Oubre Jr. has had a productive three seasons in Philadelphia, having proven to be a durable and energetic wing. His shooting has been inconsistent though, and the Sixers will need the 2025/26 version of Oubre, who shot 36.0% from three, if they bring him back next season, Adam Aaronson writes for the Philly Voice. There’s also the question of whether the veteran forward is looking for a long-term deal or a high annual average deal. The Sixers’ roster is already expensive, so there could be a sweet spot in which Oubre earns a lesser average annual salart over a longer period, Aaronson notes. Still, it’s unclear if Philadelphia’s new leadership would want to add more long-term money for another 30-plus-year-old player.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Warriors, Curry, Kings
The Lakers enter the offseason with Luka Doncic under contract, as well as a whole lot of questions outside of the Slovenian star.
One of the key inflection points is what comes next for LeBron James. He could re-sign with the team, leave in free agency, or retire. If he does re-sign with the Lakers, how much does he command on his next contract?
Whether there is a right price to be found between the team and the 41-year-old star, who projects to be the third option offensively, is a topic of debate in the recent Los Angeles Times roundtable, with columnist Bill Plaschke believing that the two sides will be at odds in terms of what they’d want in a potential deal, though others disagree.
The panel found consensus in the desire to bring back free agent Austin Reaves and in the need to upgrade the center spot, regardless of whether or not Deandre Ayton picks up his $8.1MM player option for next season.
We have more news and notes from the Pacific Division:
- The Warriors hosted six players in pre-draft workouts on Tuesday, the team announced (via Twitter): Donovan Atwell (Texas Tech), Quadir Copeland (NC State), Josh Dix (Creighton), RJ Godfrey (Clemson), Ugonna Onyenso (Virginia), and Oziyah Sellers (St. John’s). Golden State has the 11th and 54th overall picks in the 2026 draft. Onyenso is the highest-rated player on this list, coming in at 43 on Jeremy Woo’s big board for ESPN due to his impressive shot-blocking ability.
- Stephen Curry‘s new deal with the Chinese shoe company Li-Ning is worth over $400MM over 10 years, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (via Twitter), who notes that the Warriors‘ star had other companies making competitive offers. Charania previously reported that the deal would allow Curry to sign other athletes to his brand and expand beyond sneakers (Twitter link).
- While the Spurs and Knicks prepare to face off in the Finals, the Kings are stuck with reminders of where they’ve been and where they’re going. The year after Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers to the Finals, the Kings now prepare to watch the coach they fired, Mike Brown, face off against the other point guard they traded, De’Aaron Fox, while they’re stuck trying to navigate the same type of dysfunction that defined the franchise for 20 years, writes Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee (subscriber link).
Knicks Notes: Anunoby, Game Plan, Clarkson, Robinson
OG Anunoby missed the first NBA Finals run of his career when the Raptors won the title in 2019, as he was sidelined for the playoffs due to an emergency appendectomy. But this upcoming series is exactly why the Knicks traded two homegrown fan favorites for him in 2023, Peter Sblendorio writes for the New York Daily News.
Anunoby has been one of the most impactful players in the 2026 playoffs. While a hamstring injury in the second round represented a temporary setback, it only cost him two games. In the other 12, he has averaged 19.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while hitting 48.3% of his three-pointers in addition to making high-level defensive contributions.
He is also coming off being named to the second All-Defense team of his career, but he has yet to face a matchup like the one the Spurs will present. He says he’s ready for the task, though.
“I was younger back then, so I didn’t realize how hard it is to get back,” Anunoby said of the Toronto run. “Getting back is amazing. It takes a lot, and I’m really excited.”
We have more from the Knicks:
- Many have noted how important Anunoby will be when it comes to guarding Victor Wembanyama, but they’ll also need to figure out how to attack the Defensive Player of the Year on the other end. “The Spurs are going to try to keep Wembanyama out of pick-and-rolls,” a Western Conference coach told Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “They’re going to try to keep him as the lowest man on the weak side so that he can always be at the rim. The Knicks will try to fight that and counter that. And because they have so many people who can help Brunson as a screener, they need to involve Wembanyama. Get him out of the basket area and get him into the play.” Another coach notes the importance of Jalen Brunson attacking in transition and getting into looks before Wembanyama can get set on defense. On defense, the team will have to trust its own strengths, Sblendorio writes. “I don’t know if you can really prepare for [everything Wembanyama does], because there’s not a situation that’s similar,” Josh Hart said. “For us, I think if we focus on ourselves and focus on the habits that we’re building, we’ll put ourselves in good situations to be successful.”
- Jordan Clarkson is a San Antonio native who grew up watching the Tim Duncan-led Spurs win championships. He’s looking forward to coming back home and preventing the Wembanyama-led Spurs from doing the same, writes Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “Definitely feels amazing, kind of unreal, honestly, just growing up in this city, having a teammate (second-year forward Kevin McCullar Jr.) that went to the same high school as me,” Clarkson said. “Playing the state championship games, just a lot of growth fan here as a kid. So this definitely feels great and seeing my family members, them being able to come to a finals game. It’s just amazing.”
- In case you missed it, Mitchell Robinson has been designated as questionable for Wednesday’s Game 1 after going through practice on Tuesday. He remains a game-time decision. His presence, or lack thereof, will be a key aspect of the Knicks’ approach to the series, both on defense and on the offensive glass.