Knicks Notes: Starters, Towns, Robinson, Hart
The Knicks fell into an 0-2 deficit at home against the Pacers and now face an uphill battle to make the NBA Finals. In the view of James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, the main reason for New York’s struggles is the fact the starting lineup is a minus-29 through two games and isn’t meshing well overall.
This isn’t a new issue, as the starters were outscored by 21 points in their first two playoff series combined and were a net negative between Jan. 1 and the end of the regular season. The individual talent level of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns is significant, but it isn’t working on the court, Edwards writes.
“Obviously, we can finger-point and say this is wrong, that’s wrong,” Brunson said. “It’s this person’s fault, that person’s fault. But collectively, we have to get it together. That’s really it.”
Given the time crunch the Knicks are facing, making a starting lineup change sooner rather than later could be in the club’s best interest. New York has played its best when three or four starters are playing alongside one or both of Miles McBride or Mitchell Robinson.
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- The Knicks ended up sitting Towns for a near-seven-minute stretch in the fourth quarter, with Robinson taking his place during that time. Robinson finished the game as a +6 in 29 minutes while Towns was a -20 in 28 minutes. “Just, we got in a hole, and then the group that was in there gave us a chance,” coach Tom Thibodeau said about the decision to sit Towns for that stretch, per The Athletic’s Joe Vardon. “So we were just riding [that lineup]. We’re searching for a win.“
- Hart lobbied for Robinson to play more in Game 3 and beyond, per the New York Post’s Zach Braziller. “We have to figure out ways — I think he played [29] minutes — figure out ways if he can play more,” Hart said. “We’re great with him on [the floor]. We all got to be willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the team.” Robinson has totaled 17 rebounds and four blocks in the first two games of the series.
- Hart and Anunoby were among the Knicks’ worst performers in Game 2, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post opines in a subscriber-only story. Bondy said neither player had a particularly strong impact offensively or defensively, outside of a couple three-pointers from Anunoby. Hart spoke about his outing after the game. “Yeah, it was tough to find ways to [be me], ways to help the team,” he said, per the New York Post’s Peter Botte. “Obviously, that quick foul trouble kind of puts you in a position to not being as aggressive. So that was a tough one. Just one of those games. Shots will be there some games, some they won’t.”
Thunder/Wolves Notes: SGA, Nuggets Series, Randle, Edwards
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made sure to let his teammates know that his 2025 Most Valuable Player award belonged to them as much as it did him, Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman writes.. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged over 30 points per game for the third year in a row en route to his first career MVP as the Thunder went 68-14 this season.
“You guys are really like my brothers, and I really mean that,” Gilgeous-Alexander said to his teammates. “And without you guys, none of this would be possible, and I want you guys to know this award is your award, too.”
Gilgeous-Alexander lost last year’s MVP race in a landslide, but bested Denver’s Nikola Jokic this time around.
“All the moments I got cut, traded, slighted, overlooked, I had nights where I thought I wasn’t good at basketball, had nights where I thought I was the best player in the world before I was,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
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- The Thunder are back to their dominant ways after a challenging second-round series against the Nuggets, Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes. Neither of their first two games against Minnesota have been particularly close. “Our resolve in that series is what got sharpened,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “We had our backs against the wall and had to respond multiple times.”
- Julius Randle has been one of the major drivers for the Timberwolves‘ Western Conference Finals push, but he had his first tough game of the postseason in Game 2 against the Thunder, scoring just six points and making only two of his 11 field goal attempts. As Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes, Randle’s poor showing came at the worst time for the Wolves, who now face a 0-2 deficit. “We know what type of defense they are,” Randle said. “They’re going to swarm you. So I’ve got to get myself into actions, setting screens, on the move. I think I was just like standing and spectating a little too much today.”
- Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards refused to speak to reporters after Game 2 after he was fined $50K for dropping an f-bomb during his media session after Game 1, per Krawczynski (Twitter link).
Nuggets Notes: Fourth Quarter, Strawther, Murray, Gordon, Jokic
The Nuggets defeated the Thunder in Game 6 in Denver on Thursday, blowing the game open and keeping it out of reach in the fourth quarter. This comes one game after the Nuggets gave away a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter to lose on the road.
Interim coach David Adelman shouldered the blame for the fourth quarter woes in Game 5, per The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando. That game saw Nikola Jokic play the entire second half. This time around, the Nuggets were able to give Jokic some rest — for nearly four minutes of game time — and he was able to come back into the game with a larger lead than when he left.
Part of the reason for Denver’s impressive fourth quarter was the stellar play of Julian Strawther, who scored seven of his 15 points in the final frame.
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- Jamal Murray was listed as questionable to play in Thursday’s game due to an illness, as we relayed earlier today. However, Murray pushed through and recorded 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 42 minutes of play. After the game, Adelman credited the medical staff for getting him to a point where he could play, per the Denver Gazette’s Vinny Benedetto (Twitter link). “That’s Jamal Murray,” Adelman said. “It’s almost like the worse it is, the better he’s going to be. What a tough-minded man.“
- Aaron Gordon appeared to injure his left hamstring late in the game. According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link), concern about Gordon’s hamstring is “high,” per Adelman, but the team is fortunate to have two days between games to maximize any potential recovery time.
- Jokic couldn’t care less about his shooting percentages or protecting his counting stats, as MacMahon writes. “Nobody should care about that at this time of the year,” Jokic said. The MVP candidate is putting up half-court heaves at a high rate this series after making a habit of doing so all season. “Most great shooters care about their stats. Bottom line,” Adelman said. “We’ve seen a lot of examples of guys taking shots just as the clock goes off or making that late pass to not take a bad shot. For Nikola to shoot the percentage he shoots and still shoot those shots — because, hey, there’s a chance it goes in and a chance it wins you the game — just shows how unselfish he is in all ways.“
Pacific Notes: Curry, Warriors, Suns, Durant, Lakers
Stephen Curry is excited about the prospect of running it back with Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green next season after that tandem played playoff-level basketball over the final portion of the season, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk writes.
The Warriors took Game 1 of the second round of the playoffs against the Timberwolves, but Curry was injured in that game and did not return for the rest of the series.
“Our contracts — me, Draymond, Steve, Jimmy — are all two years [more],” Curry said. “And we want this ride to last as long as possible. But it’s just about what does this team need for next year, answering those questions over the summer, everybody preparing themselves individually to get through another 82-game season hopefully with a little bit more of a comfort room down the stretch where we don’t have to have a two-month gauntlet just to make the playoffs.”
Regardless of what direction the team takes this offseason, Green believes Golden State got the hardest part of the team-building process over by acquiring Butler
“It’s harder to get guys like that through trades, through free agency,” Green said. “It just doesn’t come up often. That part is done. It puts us in a much better situation going into this offseason than last year where we were kind of looking for that.”
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- This offseason is a pivotal one for the Suns. After they hire their next head coach, it seems likely they’ll explore the trade market for Kevin Durant, Keith Smith of Spotrac writes in his offseason preview. Smith opines that the team should at least look into fully resetting but is more likely to try to retool around Devin Booker. Any Durant trade should return multiple rotation players on smaller salaries, and potentially draft assets to replenish a depleted collection of future picks. A smaller decision worth monitoring is what the team does with Vasilije Micic‘s $8.1MM team option. Exercising that would give the team another decent salary to include in trades, Smith notes, but declining it could create significant tax savings.
- Durant won the Professional Basketball Writers Association’s Magic Johnson Award for 2024/25, per a press release. The award honors a player who best combines on-court skill with grace in dealing with media and fans. Durant also won the award in 2010/11. “We’re really pleased to honor KD again,” said PBWA president Howard Beck. “Kevin has long been one of the NBA’s most thoughtful and accessible stars. He always makes time for reporters, whether for on-the-record interviews or just informal chit-chat, and he never shies away from any topic.“
- The Lakers‘ priority this offseason — outside of keeping LeBron James and extending Luka Doncic — will be to add size and athleticism around their two superstars. Jovan Buha of The Athletic explores how Los Angeles could improve its roster. If Dorian Finney-Smith opts into his $15.4MM player option, the Lakers would have four sizable expiring deals that they could potentially use in trades, in Finney-Smith, Rui Hachimura‘s ($18.3MM), Maxi Kleber ($11.0MM) and Gabe Vincent ($11.5MM).
Latest On Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum‘s injury will have a ripple effect on the rest of the league and it will send a seismic wave down the Celtics organization, Jared Weiss of The Athletic writes. While Achilles injuries aren’t entirely uncommon in the NBA, it’s not typical that a player of Tatum’s caliber suffers an injury this catastrophic at this point in the league’s calendar year.
Unless the Celtics complete the 3-1 comeback against the Knicks, the NBA is looking at its seventh different champion in as many years. Reports were already circulating that Boston was looking to make some changes this offseason as the team continued to get more expensive. Now their superstar is out until likely, at earliest, late into next regular season.
There is somewhat of a precedent to follow in that Kevin Durant tore his Achilles in the 2019 Finals, but the Warriors were still able to build around Stephen Curry in his wake.
In a similar article, Kevin Pelton of ESPN explores what paths Boston could explore with Tatum likely sidelined all of next year. Making trades to trim salary and add depth seems likely, but it’s unclear who could be on the block. Jrue Holiday is still a valuable piece for a contender, so he could be an option if Boston opts for that route. While Jaylen Brown would be an appealing trade target for almost every team in the league, the Celtics will need to rely on him to stay competitive next year, Pelton writes.
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- Outside of Holiday, the Celtics could also look to move one or both of Derrick White or Kristaps Porzingis, Jay King of The Athletic suggests. Al Horford will also be an unrestricted free agent, as will Luke Kornet, and bringing both back could be challenging given the Celtics’ financial position.
- Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck addressed Tatum’s injury this week, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link). “Jayson has a warrior mentality like the rest of his teammates,” Grousbeck said. “He will work very hard to get back, and in the meantime the Celtics will fight hard for every game.“
- Brown and Horford spoke to Celtics players in a meeting prior to Game 5’s big win over the Knicks, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on a SportsCenter appearance (YouTube link). On Wednesday, the team got a message from Tatum while he was recovering from his surgery. According to Windhorst, Tatum told the team that he would be back and encouraged them to play hard in the wake of his injury.
Southwest Notes: Mavs, Flagg, Spurs, Harper, Pelicans
The Mavericks realize how fortunate they are to have won Monday’s draft lottery that all but guaranteed Cooper Flagg will land in Dallas. According to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (subscriber link), CEO Rick Welts said the business staff received an overwhelming number of ticket and sponsor requests shortly after winning the lottery.
“In the past 24 hours alone,” Welts said earlier in the week, “we’ve had 28 times more inbound calls for season tickets and 35 times more daily additions to the season-ticket waitlist. Also, six times more inbound sponsorship communications from brands and prospective clients.”
According to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, Flagg also understands how great a situation Dallas can be for him and is excited about the prospect of joining a playoff-caliber roster and getting the chance to be a significant part of the offensive scheme.
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- After the shocking Luka Doncic trade in February sent uproars throughout the Mavericks fanbase, winning the lottery gives those same fans a reason to be hopeful, Christian Clark of The Athletic writes. In a similar story, Mark Medina of Athlon Sports writes that Flagg can help the Mavericks jump back into contention in year one.
- After landing the second overall pick in the lottery, the Spurs appear primed to select Rutgers guard Dylan Harper. He spoke about the chance of playing alongside ball-dominant players like De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle, according to San Antonio Express-News’ Tom Orsborn (Twitter link). “The NBA is really positionless basketball, so I mean you could play with a bunch of ball-handlers and a bunch of people that could get opportunities for themselves, but let other people get opportunities for them,” Harper said.
- After finishing with the fourth-worst record in the league, the Pelicans fell three spots in the draft lottery to No. 7. Rod Walker of NOLA.com analyzes seven prospects who could make sense for New Orleans after the lottery didn’t go their way. Walker writes that Duke’s Kon Knueppel would be his pick at No. 7 if he had to choose a favorite, given the spacing that he would add. Another intriguing pick could be South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles, whom new basketball operations head Joe Dumars might favor due to his toughness.
Draft Notes: Combine Standouts, Raynaud, Yang, Luis, Watkins
The scrimmages at this year’s draft combine are seemingly more cohesive than in year’s past, with several prospects standing out due to their selfless play, according to a team of ESPN’s NBA insiders. Stanford forward Maxime Raynaud was the most impactful standout of day two of the combine in ESPN’s view, showing impressive ball-handling, three-point shooting and facilitating at 7’0″.
Having stood out during the first set of scrimmages that took place on day two, Raynaud elected to shut down scrimmaging for the third day of the combine, per Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman (Twitter link). After scoring 20 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes, Raynaud’s team must feel his draft stock is secure. He’s listed at No. 34 on ESPN’s best available list.
The ESPN crew identifies a long list of standouts, including UAB’s Yaxel Lendeborg and Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford. It’s worth monitoring the status of Lendeborg, who looked strong on the defensive end, given that he has indicated he would need a firm promise to stay in the class. Pettiford, meanwhile, ended up as the leading scorer for the day with 23 points to go along with eight assists.
A pair of players from Australia’s NBL made their mark in scrimmages too, as Alex Toohey and Lachlan Olbrich held their own. Olbrich was a call-up from the G League Elite camp and scored 15 points while making all but one of his eight shot attempts.
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- Chinese center Hansen Yang came into the draft process a relative unknown by outsiders, but he’s making his mark at the combine. According to ESPN, Yang was also one of the top performers from day two, matching up and holding his own against Michigan big man Vladislav Goldin. Yang is taking in the draft process and expressed excitement about the opportunity he has in front of him, according to the AP’s Tim Reynolds. “He really feels happiness here,” Chris Liu, Yang’s interpreter, said. “And then, he’s really willing to compete with everyone and against everyone. He really enjoyed that.” Yang currently sits at No. 67 on ESPN’s board.
- St. John’s guard RJ Luis said he’s “all-in” on the NBA draft, according to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello (Twitter link). Luis is technically still in the transfer portal but said he hasn’t spoken to any college coaches yet and isn’t thinking about that at the time. Luis averaged 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds last year as a junior. Luis ranks 62nd on ESPN’s board.
- Florida State’s Jamir Watkins made a big impact on the third day of the combine, according to ESPN’s Jon Chepkevich (Twitter link). In the first scrimmage of the day, Watkins recorded 23 points, four rebounds, four assists and five steals, helping himself showcase his two-way ability. He’s currently ranked No. 65 on ESPN’s big board.
Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Sixers Arena, Lottery, Knicks
The Celtics squandered 20-point leads in each of their first two playoff games, both of which came at home against the Knicks. Boston star Jayson Tatum took full accountability for the two losses, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
“I take full ownership of the way that I’ve played in this series and can’t sugarcoat anything,” Tatum said. “I need to be better, and I expect to be a lot better.”
Tatum has missed 30 shots across the first two games of the series, shooting 28.6% from the floor in those outings. The Celtics as a whole have missed 75 three-pointers in their two games.
“Guys work really hard on their game and their craft and prepare to be in those moments to hit open shots, and it just hasn’t happened the last two games,” Tatum said. “But you can’t lose your confidence.”
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- The Sixers‘ arena will be known going forward as the Xfinity Mobile Arena, effective in September and running through the 2030/31 season, according to The Associated Press. Wells Fargo announced last year it would not renew its naming rights agreement for the building.
- No NBA team has had better lottery luck over the years than the Sixers, who have moved up in eight of 18 lottery appearances, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. As Pompey details, no other franchise during that time has matched Philadelphia’s success in terms of spots improved. Ahead of Monday’s lottery, the Sixers are hoping their lottery luck holds, at least enough for them to keep their top-six protected first-rounder.
- The Knicks‘ experience has helped them build on a 2-0 lead over the Celtics in the playoffs, Steve Popper of Newsday writes. The team has now won a playoff series in three consecutive seasons and is getting more comfortable playing on this stage in the spring. “I don’t think we even know what we’re capable of,” Josh Hart said after Game 2. “We have to continue to build. We have to continue to put together a full game. I think that’s something that we haven’t done during the course of these playoffs. We get leads. We surrender leads. We come back from big leads. We’ve got to figure out a complete game and that can answer some of those questions.“
Southeast Notes: Jaquez, Hawks, Murray, Hunter, Joseph
Heat second-year wing Jaime Jaquez Jr. had a strong debut season in 2023/24, finishing fourth in Rookie of the Year voting, but he followed up that successful campaign with a quieter year. He finished the ’24/25 campaign averaging 8.6 points per game (down from 11.9 last season) and was out of the rotation at times.
“It was an extremely humbling experience,” Jaquez said during his exit interview, per Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel. “Sometimes things don’t go your way, and sometimes only after do you realize why that had happened to you.”
Jaquez’s efficiency took a slight hit in his second season and he wound up playing a reduced role, even falling out of the rotation during the second half.
“Clearly has to work on some things, which he will,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’ll work on defending in open space, defending situationally in our system, outside shooting will be key again, but he was working on that last summer. I think a full summer again, I think you’ll see big progress. He was coming out of training camp shooting the ball great. So I think we can fast track that.
“And, then, ultimately the hardest one is decision making. Schemes have changed against him. He has to be aggressive, but now there’s going to be different schemes and you graduate to different levels to this. And when there’s a second defender, making the right read and finding open guys, when he’s in a crowd.”
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- The Hawks are already seeing the rewards of the deal that sent Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans, Lauren L. Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Dyson Daniels came away with the NBA’s Most Improved Player award after establishing himself as one of the league’s premier defenders. In addition to acquiring a new long-term building block, they added a veteran leader in Larry Nance Jr. in that same trade, along with two first-round picks.
- Atlanta sending De’Andre Hunter to Cleveland at the deadline looks like a win-win for the Hawks and Cavaliers, Williams writes in another story. Although he’s dealing with an injury now, Hunter quickly established himself as a crucial bench piece for the Cavs, while the Hawks obtained cap flexibility by acquiring an expiring contract in Caris LeVert and moving off the $48.2MM in guaranteed money that Hunter is due over the next two years.
- Cory Joseph said during his exit interview that this past season with Orlando was his favorite of his career, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel writes. The 33-year-old was brought in to primarily serve as a veteran mentor, but ended up becoming the Magic‘s starting point guard by the end of the year after the team dealt with injuries. “Being able to come here and feel like it was a perfect fit for me, in terms of where the team was and where I was … I really enjoyed my time this season being here,” Joseph said. The Magic hold a team option worth $3.4MM on Joseph for 2025/26. He expressed interest in returning to Orlando for his 15th season, per Beede.
Knicks Notes: Bridges, Robinson, Brunson, Towns, More
Mikal Bridges came away with the game-sealing steal against the Celtics on Wednesday. And in Game 1 on Monday, his late three-pointer helped the Knicks secure victory in overtime. James L. Edwards III of The Athletic writes that while Bridges’ tenure in New York started off on the wrong foot, no one is thinking about the draft picks the Knicks gave up to acquire the defensive-minded wing with the Celtics on the ropes.
“Get your damn apology forms out,” teammate Josh Hart said. “I’ll be collecting them next game.”
As Edwards writes, Bridges’ performance reflects his ability to overcome adversity.
“Going back to our days in college, the way we practiced and prepared for games, it was more mental than anything,” Bridges’ Villanova and Knicks teammate Jalen Brunson said. “Then, when you get to the game situations, you’ve practiced it and been prepared for it. When you do that at a young age and have that in your repertoire going into a professional career, you have that in your back pocket. He has the ability to block out the noise.”
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- Mitchell Robinson proved to be a major force for the Knicks in their Game 2 win, Zach Braziller of the New York Post observes. The Knicks outscored the Celtics by 19 points with Robinson on the court and he recorded six points, eight rebounds and three steals in the win.
- Brunson opened Game 2 on a rough note, shooting just 23.1% from the field through three quarters. However, in crunch time, the 2024/25 Clutch Player of the Year showed up, Jared Schwartz of the New York Post writes. He wound up scoring nine points in the fourth quarter to help lift New York over Boston. “That’s Jalen,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “It doesn’t matter what’s going on in the game, he’s going to be at his best when his best is needed.”
- Add Karl-Anthony Towns and Hart to the list of players who stood out when their numbers were called, Schwartz and the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy write in separate stories. “KAT, the way he started off the game was great for us,” Brunson said. “The way he’s been throughout the entire season, he’s been one of the best teammates we have. The way he gives us energy and the way he goes and gets rebounds and what he does, it doesn’t go unnoticed. It’s just the way he’s been.“