Lakers Notes: Reaves, Offseason, Centers, Streit, Draft
There has been speculation that the Lakers might look to trade Austin Reaves this summer to address the team’s needs on the wing and/or frontcourt. He struggled in the Lakers’ first-round loss to Minnesota after a strong regular season and is on a below-market-value contract, which could make it tricky to extend him prior to 2026 free agency — he’s considered likely to decline his $14.9MM player option for 2026/27, per Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group.
However, president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka made it clear that the Lakers highly value the shooting guard when he referred to Reaves as one of the team’s three pillars, alongside Luka Doncic and LeBron James, Price writes.
“When your foundation for those three players is that they’re players of high character and a highly competitive nature, that’s the perfect starting point, to have three players like that,” Pelinka responded when asked about the benefit of having training camp ahead of the 2025/26 season.
“LeBron (is) a selfless player, high character. All he cares about is winning. Luka Doncic, the same. Austin Reaves, the same. When you get those three pillars in a training camp environment and you’re starting to build an ethos around them, that’s a great starting point.”
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- In a subscriber-only column for The Los Angeles Times, Bill Plaschke explains why he believes it’s in the team’s best interest to trade Reaves for a center, despite the impressive strides he’s made over the years. Plaschke is a big fan of Reaves’ game, toughness and story, but says his skill set isn’t an ideal complement for Doncic and argues he’s the team’s best remaining trade chip outside of Doncic and James, who aren’t going anywhere. If they want to make a major upgrade in the middle, moving Reaves is the Lakers’ best option to do so, Plaschke contends.
- The Lakers were at the center of attention last spring and summer amid a coaching change, but there hasn’t been much buzz about them this offseason, writes Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times (subscriber link). According to Woike, the Lakers have shown “no interest” in trading Reaves unless they receive a “top-tier” big man in return, and there aren’t any centers like that on the market right now. Nic Claxton of the Nets and Daniel Gafford of the Mavericks have been linked to the Lakers, Woike notes, but neither is an elite center or a lock to be heading to L.A., for various reasons.
- The Lakers parted ways with strength coach Ed Streit last week, people with knowledge of the situation tell Woike. Streit, whom Woike describes as a “well-liked” member of the franchise, was initially hired as an assistant strength coach in 2019 before being promoted in 2021.
- Los Angeles controls the 55th pick in next month’s draft. LZ Granderson of The Los Angeles Times would like to see the Lakers draft a mature, experienced center prospect with their lone selection.
Celtics Rumors: Holiday, Porzingis, Tatum, Brown, More
Even before Jayson Tatum suffered a torn Achilles tendon, the Celtics were contemplating “significant offseason changes” due to a payroll (including luxury tax) that is projected to surpass $500MM in 2025/26, confirms Jay King of The Athletic. But with Tatum likely to miss most — if not all — of next season, a more “drastic shakeup” could be in the works.
Although Jrue Holiday battled injuries and saw his offensive numbers decline in ’24/25, he’s still expected to draw interest from contending teams if the Celtics make him available on the trade market, league sources tell King. Holiday turns 35 years old next month and is owed $104.4MM through ’27/28, but he’s highly regarded around the league due to his championship pedigree and reputation as a strong defensive player, King writes.
Kristaps Porzingis is another clear trade candidate due to his expiring contract. But don’t expect the Celtics to simply shed his salary in a straightforward salary dump, King adds.
Here are a few more rumors and notes on the 2024 champions:
- According to King, Tatum’s heavy workload was an “occasional topic of contention” within the organization prior to the injury. Including the playoffs, Tatum has played more minutes than any player in the league since Boston selected him No. 3 overall in 2017, King notes, and he also won a pair of gold medals with Team USA in 2021 and 2024, so he hasn’t many rest opportunities in recent years. Tatum admitted in March that “a lot of headbutting” occurred prior to games when the team wanted to him rest but he wanted to play.
- Prior to the Game 6 elimination, Chris Mannix and Rachel Nichols of Sports Illustrated speculated about what moves the Celtics might make this summer (YouTube link). “The question is what do you do here? Because I think there’s a pretty decent chance that this team gets dismantled in a major way,” Mannix said. Nichols followed up by asking if Jaylen Brown could be on the move. Mannix doesn’t think so, but said, “I think two or more rotation players in the top seven could be gone next year, and they could use next year as a gap year.” Holiday and Porzingis were two more players brought up in the discussion.
- It’s clear the Celtics won’t be running things back for a second straight summer, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports, who is “pretty confident” that next year’s roster will feature Tatum, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Baylor Scheierman, and Jordan Walsh. However, Forsberg is less certain about the rest of the roster, including Brown, who is entering the second season of his five-year, super-max contract. Sharpshooter Sam Hauser is another trade candidate if the team is unable to cut costs elsewhere, Forsberg writes.
- In his Celtics offseason preview for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks lays out some of the options Boston could consider this summer, noting that the punitive restrictions of the second tax apron will likely be the main reason the team decides to make changes. Marks also released a video version of his offseason guide via YouTube.
Kristaps Porzingis Discusses Mysterious Illness
Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis, who is under contract for $30.7MM next season before hitting free agency in 2026, struggled mightily in the playoffs due to the lingering effects of a mysterious illness he contracted in February.
It seemed like Porzingis was mostly recovered late in the regular season, but he was particularly ineffective in Boston’s second-round loss to New York, averaging just 4.2 points and 3.7 rebounds on .240/.222/.647 shooting in 15.5 minutes per game. Those numbers are a precipitous drop compared to what he posted in the regular season: 19.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.1 APG and 1.5 BPG on .483/.412/.809 shooting in 45 contests (28.8 MPG).
After the Celtics were eliminated on Friday night, Porzingis admitted he still doesn’t have any solid answers about what has been causing the “energy zaps” and stamina “ebbs and flows” over the past two-plus months.
“I’m not sure,” Porzingis said, per Brian Robb of MassLive. “I mean, doctors are trying to help as much as possible. It was just some lingering fatigue, some effects.
“It was just extremely weird, and many symptoms that were kind of super weird. So I think nobody has a clear answer. I’ll see how I go from here. Maybe I do some extra testing and some extra stuff and see if we find something. If not, maybe just a reset. Reset for my whole system and that will give my energy levels hopefully back up.”
Porzingis, who played 11 minutes on Friday, said he would have fallen asleep immediately if he had laid down in the locker room after the game, according to Adam Himmselbach of The Boston Globe.
“(It was) super, super frustrating. As frustrating as you can imagine. Just to not be able to help this team more, especially with (Jayson Tatum) going out,” Porzingis said (story via ESPN’s Brian Windhorst). “Not being too much of a help just hurts deep inside.”
“… I tried to give what I had. It wasn’t much, as you could see,” he added, per Himmelsbach.
According to Robb, Porzingis never considered sitting out after he was medically cleared by doctors, who tested his heart, among other organs. He also still plans to play for Latvia at this summer’s EuroBasket.
“The main thing for me now is just to let my system get into a normal state,” Porzingis said. “Get my energy back up and then I’ll start to look into some things maybe outside of basketball at first, and then the European Championships later in the summer, so I’m excited about that.
“So this summer I expect a nice bounce-back for myself and then heading into the next season.”
Celtics’ Jaylen Brown On Loss To Knicks: ‘Feels Like Death’
The defending champion Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs on Friday, having been blown out by the Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
“Finishing in May feels weird, it’s definitely not something we were prepared for,” said Celtics star Jaylen Brown, who fouled out before the end of the third quarter after scoring 20 points but with seven turnovers. “Things didn’t go our way this year, and it’s unfortunate.
“But we hold our head up regardless. Losing to the Knicks feels like death. But I was always taught that there’s life after death, so we’ll get ready for whatever’s next in the journey.”
Boston had an unexpectedly poor start to the second-round series, losing the first two games at home after holding 20-point second-half leads in each contest. Things went from bad to worse in Game 4, when the Celtics blew another double-digit second-half lead and perennial All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum sustained a torn Achilles tendon.
While the Celtics had their chances, especially early on in the series, they were thoroughly outplayed in Game 6. Head coach Joe Mazzulla made sure to credit the Knicks for their dominant performance, Windhorst notes.
“We ran into a great team. You have to tip your hat off to the Knicks,” Mazzulla said. “They outplayed us. They played better.”
As Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe writes, the Celtics now face a summer of uncertainty due to Tatum’s injury, their extremely expensive roster, and the restrictions of the NBA’s tax aprons.
Center Kristaps Porzingis, who battled “extreme fatigue” — one of the lingering effects of a mysterious February illness that was never identified — throughout the playoffs, could be on the trading block this offseason, according to Himmselbach. Veteran guard Jrue Holiday could be in the same boat.
Himmelsbach also suggests that big man Al Horford could opt to retire. Windhorst recently reported the impending free agent hopes to re-sign with the Celtics, but that was before Tatum’s injury. Horford will turn 39 years old in early June.
But the team wasn’t thinking about the future in the immediate aftermath of the loss.
“It sucks,” guard Derrick White said. “You’ll never get this season back. You’re never going to have the exact same team again.”
New York, which entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed in the East, will now face No. 4 Indiana in the team’s first conference final appearance in 25 years.
Warriors’ Dunleavy, Kerr Discuss Kuminga’s Free Agency
The Warriors are heading into a pivotal offseason as they look to put together a roster that can help stars Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler compete at the highest level possible.
On Friday, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. spoke about one of the biggest questions facing the team in that effort: what to do with the talented but inconsistent wing, Jonathan Kuminga, who will be a restricted free agent this summer.
“As far as bringing him back next season, I think it’s something we’re very interested in doing because, when I look at the things JK does well, in terms of getting to the rim, finishing, getting fouled, these are things we greatly need,” Dunleavy said, as reported by ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk.
Team owner Joe Lacob‘s well-chronicled appreciation for Kuminga works in favor of the 22-year-old from the Congo remaining with the Warriors. However, Dunleavy was far from definitive when he discussed Kuminga’s future in the Bay.
“I know how we can work with him better,” Dunleavy said. “But in terms of guessing how it’s all going to play out or what the contract might look like or sign-and-trades and things like that, honestly, I’d be totally guessing at this point to conjecture on anything.”
Assuming they tender him an $8MM qualifying offer as expected, the Warriors could negotiate a new multiyear deal with Kuminga, let him seek an offer sheet with another team, or work out a sign-and-trade deal to send him elsewhere. He could also choose to accept his QO, which would put him in track for unrestricted free agency in 2026.
Kuminga’s role fluctuated throughout the season, as well as in the playoffs, but Curry’s injury in the first round opened the door for him to receive major minutes and he made the most of the opportunity, despite the Warriors falling to the Timberwolves in five games. In his final four outings, he averaged 31 minutes per night and put up 24.3 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 38.9% from three and racking up 6.3 free throw attempts per game.
Head coach Steve Kerr admitted earlier this spring that he had trouble using Kuminga alongside Butler and Draymond Green, but indicated on Friday that he’ll exercise more patience exploring lineup fits for the 6’8″ forward should he remain on the roster.
“If JK comes back, we will, for sure, spend the early part of the season playing him with Jimmy, Draymond, Steph,” Kerr said. “To me, that would be a no-brainer. We didn’t have that luxury this year.”
Kerr and Dunleavy ended their press conference by reiterating that they believe the roster has championship potential while acknowledging that changes will likely have to be made. The Warriors’ GM didn’t close the door on the idea of giving up young players and draft picks to pursue another impact player after adding Butler in February, but suggested the front office would be wary of moves that could hurt the team in the long run.
“We’re good giving up whatever it takes,” Dunleavy said. “It just depends how good we think that will make our team. I think the only issue with mortgaging the future is you just don’t want to get caught. I don’t want to get caught in a situation where we give up a ton, put all our chips in, and then 10 games into the season, we have a catastrophic injury, there’s nowhere to go, and then we’re stuck for four or five years.”
Poll: Who Will Win Thunder/Nuggets Game 7?
The Thunder and Nuggets have played a dramatic, hard-fought series, with neither team able to take a commanding lead. After winning Games 4 and 5, Oklahoma City looked poised to put the series away, but Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Denver’s role players responded in Game 6, forcing a decisive Game 7, which will be played on Sunday at Oklahoma City.
The battle of the MVP candidates has been all anyone could have hoped for through six games. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 28.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game, while Jokic has responded with 29.8 PPG and 14.7 RPG.
Both teams have five players averaging at least 10 points per night, with Denver’s Murray (22.0 PPG) the lone player outside of the top two stars to crack the 20 PPG threshold. While the Thunder have gotten well-rounded contributions, Jalen Williams has struggled as the team’s second option, averaging 16.5 PPG on 33.7% from the field.
Even more concerning for the Thunder are the shooting woes of its top three players. None of Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, or Chet Holmgren are hitting over 27% from three, though their offense has been bolstered by Alex Caruso knocking down 43.8% of his threes in addition to his typical disruptive defense.
One of the most important factors coming into the game will be the health of Denver’s do-it-all forward Aaron Gordon. Gordon was in and out of the final two minutes of Game 6 after injuring his hamstring trying to save a ball tipped away by Holmgren, an injury that has been diagnosed as a left hamstring strain, leaving his status very much in doubt.
Losing Gordon would be a massive blow to the Nuggets’ chances. In addition to his always-excellent defense, the veteran forward has come up clutch all series. He hit the game-winning shot in Game 1 and had multiple clutch baskets in Game 3, including a three-pointer to send the game to overtime with 28 seconds left in regulation and a mid-range jumper with a minute left in overtime to push the lead to nine points.
Depth has generally favored Oklahoma City, which has gotten positive minutes from Caruso, Cason Wallace, Jaylin Williams, and Aaron Wiggins. However, the Nuggets have found some answers in Christian Braun and, in Game 6, Julian Strawther, whose 15 second-half points were critical to earning the Nuggets some much-needed momentum.
The two teams have managed to play to their strengths for the most part, with the Thunder forcing a 14.3% turnover rate from the Nuggets while Denver maintains a 4% edge in offensive rebounding rate.
The Thunder are the second-youngest team in the league and occasionally that lack of experience has reared its head, with the most glaring example being in Game 1, when they intentionally fouled the Nuggets while up three with Jokic on the bench and no timeouts to get him back in the game. The Nuggets, on the other hand, have the most Game 7 experience over the last 10 years of any team outside of the Celtics.
The Thunder finished 18 games ahead of Denver in the regular season standings and the oddsmakers favor them trying to win at home. According to BetOnline.ag, the Thunder are currently 8.5-point favorites.
We want to know what you think. Will the Thunder be able to hold off the former champion Nuggets, or will Denver’s experience prove too much for the Thunder to overcome?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to make your predictions and share your thoughts!
Who will win Sunday's Game 7?
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Oklahoma City Thunder 57% (546)
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Denver Nuggets 43% (412)
Total votes: 958
Nuggets Notes: Murray, Strawther, Adelman
Jamal Murray wasn’t only dealing with the normal adversity of his Nuggets facing an elimination game as he headed into Game 6 at home, writes Bennett Durando of the Denver Post. Murray woke up on game day feeling sick enough that his status was listed as questionable heading into the pivotal face-off against the higher-seeded Thunder.
The severity of the illness required him to receive fluids via an IV drip, according to interim head coach David Adelman.
“There was a high likelihood he may not play,” Adelman said. “And you get the IV in you. You get the meds in you. … I kind of was watching the first six minutes like, ‘Is this real? Can he do it?’ And I thought he had good energy, good juice. There were a couple times he really didn’t want to go back to get the ball because he was so gassed, having a hard time breathing.”
Despite Adelman’s worries, Murray said he was always confident he was going to play, according to Vinny Benedetto of the Denver Gazette. In the end, Denver’s point guard ended up compiling 25 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists as the team won 119-107 to force Game 7 in Oklahoma City.
“Everything was kind of bothering me, but kind of once the game starts and the team needs you and adrenaline kicks in, a couple of shots go in or whatever, you just kind of suck it up and get through it,” Murray said, matter-of-factly.
Adelman doesn’t take such things for granted, though. “… That’s Jamal Murray,” the Nuggets coach marveled. “It’s almost like the worse it is, the better off it’s gonna be.”
The star point guard will now have two full days to recover before the winner-takes-all matchup on Sunday.
Here’s more from the Nuggets:
- Thursday’s must-win victory proved a measure of vindication for recently fired general manager Calvin Booth, writes The Denver Post’s Sean Keeler. Keeler points to the pivotal contributions from two of Booth’s draft picks: Christian Braun, who was taken 21st in the 2022 draft, and Julian Strawther, the 29th pick in 2023. Booth’s insistence on playing the young prospects he drafted, as well as his struggles to retain veteran talent, have been cited as reasons he clashed with former head coach Michael Malone preceding their dismissals — in Game 6, the kids repaid Booth’s faith.
- Coming into the postseason, Strawther wasn’t sure he’d be part of the Nuggets’ playoff rotation, writes Durando. “The staff was transparent with me: ‘We may or may not need you to stay ready,'” he said, and stay ready he did. His heroics in Game 6, scoring 15 points over 10 minutes in the second half, were critical to the team extending the series. It was his first time scoring in double digits since February. Just as importantly to his coach, he didn’t get exploited on defense. “You want to keep an offensive player out there, but they have to be able to handle their own on the other end. And he did. We didn’t have to change schematically, defensively, because he sat down, moved his feet and guarded,” Adelman said.
- Nikola Jokic has demonstrated more on-court leadership in the wake of former coach Michael Malone‘s firing, but that doesn’t mean the MVP doesn’t trust the Nuggets’ new coach. “Even when I see something and just ask him a question, he thinks about it. I think we have great communication,” Jokic said when asked about his discussions with Adelman regarding strategy, reports Eurohoops’ Johnny Askounis. That collaboration has helped rejuvenate a Nuggets team that will enter Sunday night with a chance to go to the Western Conference Finals.
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Heat, Jovic, Harris
The Wizards fell to No. 6 on lottery night after finishing the season with the second-worst record in the league, taking them out of the Cooper Flagg conversation and forcing them to confront a draft picture that’s far less certain to deliver a star.
One option, according to Varun Shankar of the Washington Post is center Derik Queen, who, like last year’s 14th overall pick Bub Carrington, is a Baltimore native. The two even briefly played together in high school, Queen told Shankar (Instagram link). The 6’10” big man has some athletic limitations, but would make for an interesting fit with last year’s number two pick, Alex Sarr.
Egor Demin and Cedric Coward could also potentially be in play for the Wizards, Shankar writes. Demin, a 19-year-old 6’9″ point guard, met with the Wizards during a pre-draft process that has seemingly gone well for him. He struggled with his shot in his lone season at BYU but has impressed scouts with his shooting drills at the NBA combine.
Coward is one of the draft’s big potential risers after playing just six games for Washington State with a shoulder injury and could be under consideration at No. 18. The 6’6″ wing boasts a 7’2″ wingspan and shows promise as both a shooter and a defender, which would fit in with the team’s draft track record, according to Shankar.
Here’s more from around the Southwest division:
- Wizards owner Ted Leonsis rebukes the idea that his team was tanking this year. “We weren’t tanking. We were developing players. It’s a little different than maybe what some of the other teams’ strategy was,” he told Front Office Sports editor in chief Dan Roberts, as reported by Colin Salao. However, Salao notes that Jordan Poole‘s late-season minutes drop-off, as well as the moves to trade established players such as Deni Avdija last summer, point to a team intentionally limiting the minutes of its impactful veteran players.
- The Heat don’t have a specific type when it comes to drafting, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez, and Kel’el Ware all represent very different age and experience ranges. With the 20th pick in the 2025 draft, the Heat will have to figure out what they’re prioritizing. “We talk about looking for upside, but we’ve seen players that are four-year seniors that get drafted lower that turn out to be Hall of Famers, and you see guys that are drafted younger that have upside that don’t pan out,” Heat VP of basketball operations Adam Simon told Winderman. He went on to add that the goal would be to find a player who can contribute immediately, similar to Ware and Jaquez.
- Speaking of Jovic, the 21-year-old forward had an up-and-down third season in the NBA for the Heat, going from starter to out of the rotation to key reserve. A year out from restricted free agency, he’s looking forward to an offseason of work, according to Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. “I have a solid three months to work on something,” Jovic said. “What that something will be, I don’t know yet. I still have to connect with the coaches and think about it a little bit. But I feel like this might be the first summer that I actually have some time to improve my game.”
- Gary Harris is no stranger to adapting to changing roles for the Magic, writes Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel. Dealing with injuries throughout the year, Harris found himself as the veteran mentor of a young, up-and-coming Magic team. His contract has a 2025/26 team option for next season that Orlando must decide on by June 29. “… All I can do is control what I can, continue to put the work in [and] stay ready for whatever the future may hold,” Harris said. “But I definitely love my time here in Orlando, so we’ll see if it continues.”
Celtics Notes: Tatum, Hauser, Porzingis, Pritchard
After undergoing surgery on his ruptured Achilles earlier this week, Jayson Tatum was out of the hospital and met with his Celtics teammates on Thursday at the team’s hotel in New York, writes Kyle Hightower of The Associated Press.
“It sucks to see someone go down like that who doesn’t deserve it,” Celtics wing Sam Hauser told reporters on Friday. “But he wouldn’t want more than us to just keep winning. We saw him yesterday. He seems to be in good spirits. Definitely thinking about him and trying to get some wins for him.”
After losing both their star player and Game 4 on Monday to fall behind 3-1 in their second-round series vs. New York, the Celtics found themselves facing long odds to advance. But they took Game 5 on Wednesday and can force a Game 7 at home if they can pull off an upset on Friday at Madison Square Garden.
While Tatum’s injury and their new underdog status has given the Celtics some added motivation to find a way to win the series, Payton Pritchard said on Friday that just getting to see their injured teammate on Thursday was an emotional lift for everyone, according to Hightower.
“We didn’t talk about basketball at all. That stuff is bigger than basketball now,” Pritchard said. “It’s seeing how he is as a person, how he’s dealing with stuff. The basketball side, we’ll handle that. But just want to check in as a friend.”
We have more on the Celtics ahead of a big Friday game:
- Outside of Tatum, the Celtics have a clean injury report for Game 6, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Hauser, who returned on Wednesday and played 15 minutes after missing three games due to a sprained ankle, isn’t listed, and neither is Kristaps Porzingis, despite the fact that didn’t play in the second half of the Game 5 win as he continues to battle the lingering effects of an illness.
- The Celtics have a decision to make for Game 5, according to Brian Robb of MassLive.com, who argues that Porzingis should be removed from the starting lineup and should perhaps even be benched entirely due to his diminished condition. Both Al Horford and Luke Kornet look like better options in the middle right now, Robb adds.
- In a separate story for MassLive.com, Robb contends that Pritchard needs to continue playing an increased role after logging a playoff-high 39 minutes on Wednesday. Even though Pritchard made just 6-of-17 shots in the Game 5 win, the team was significantly better when he was on the court, which has been a trend for much of the postseason. Boston has a +16.4 net rating and 122.9 offensive rating during the Sixth Man of the Year’s 274 playoff minutes, as opposed to marks of just +0.6 and 105.8, respectively, when he’s on the bench.
Knicks Notes: Towns, Starting Five, Robinson, Achiuwa
After averaging 24.4 points and 16.9 field goal tries per game during the regular season, Karl-Anthony Towns has attempted 17 or more shots in just three of 11 playoff outings so far this spring and has been held below 24 points in all five games in the Knicks‘ second-round series vs. Boston.
Towns was limited to 5-of-11 shooting from the field in New York’s Game 5 loss, with many of his 19 points coming in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach, prompting Stefan Bondy of The New York Post and Ian Begley of SNY.tv to write that the Knicks need to find a way to unlock Towns and get him more involved in the offensive game plan.
Towns shot 42.0% on 4.7 three-point attempts per game during the regular season but has gone just 2-of-13 in five games against Boston. He suggested after Game 5 that the decline in his shots from beyond the arc has been by design, per Begley.
“I haven’t really been out there really. Haven’t had the chance to shoot. We’ve just been trying to do our game plan and I’m just trying to execute at the highest level,” Towns said. “So I’m trying to do most of my damage inside and do whatever my team asks of me.”
As Begley points out, Towns made just one outside shot in his first two games against Detroit in the conference quarterfinals before knocking down nine and scoring 58 total points in Games 3 and 4, so there’s a recent precedent for him bouncing back and coming up big when the Knicks need him most.
Here’s more on the Knicks ahead of Friday’s Game 6:
- Despite being built around a strong starting five, the Knicks haven’t been as dominant with Towns, Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart on the court as hoped. That lineup had just a +1.9 net rating in 330 minutes from Christmas Day through the end of the regular season and has posted a -7.3 mark in the playoffs, including -16.3 in the second round. With that in mind, Fred Katz of The Athletic considers whether or not a starting lineup tweak makes sense.
- The Knicks acquired Bridges and Anunoby for situations like this one, according to Chris Herring of ESPN, who looks at the impact the two standout wings have made in New York and explores how they could make a difference in Game 6.
- Mitchell Robinson‘s 6-of-6 performance from the free throw line was a silver lining for the Knicks in Game 5 and could make him an even more valuable weapon if he can keep it up, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Despite the fact that New York leads the series 3-2, Robinson’s is the only Knick who has a positive net rating (+10.6) vs. Boston.
- The Knicks have listed big man Precious Achiuwa as questionable for Friday’s game due to a right ankle sprain. Achiwua’s status doesn’t figure to have any impact on Tom Thibodeau‘s rotation, since he has only played 15 total minutes in the series.