Knicks Notes: Hart, Brunson, Bridges, Robinson, Alvarado
Knicks forward Josh Hart was on the bench for much of the fourth quarter and overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday as the team completed a historic 22-point comeback with Landry Shamet taking his place on the floor. The Knicks were outscored by 23 points when Hart was on the court in Game 1, and he made just 1-of-5 three-point tries.
It initially looked like Thursday might be another rough night for Hart, who missed his first three outside shots in the Game 2 as the Cavaliers‘ defense let him have open looks. But by the end of the night, Hart had emerged as the Knicks’ leading scorer and most effective all-around player, writes Fiifi Frimpong of The New York Daily News (subscription required). He racked up 26 points, seven assists, and a pair of steals while knocking down 5-of-11 total three-pointers in the 109-93 victory.
“Those first three, they felt good,” Hart said after the game. “Kind of frustrated with it. I’ve been putting in the reps with (assistant coaches Kwadzo Ahelegbe) and Peter Patton and I was frustrated at first. I’m just like, ‘It is not translating right now.’ And then I knew I had to just keep shooting and if I did that, I’ll be good.”
Speaking to reporters, head coach Mike Brown said he never considered going away from Hart as he struggled early in Game 2. As James L. Edwards III of The Athletic relays, Brown explained that the versatile forward is “so impactful as a connector” that he can have an impact on winning even when his shot isn’t falling.
“It’s easy for me to say because I have the utmost confidence in the world in him,” Brown said, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required). “He’s a gamer. When you have guys who are gamers, they do stuff that people don’t think they can do. And he knows the work he puts in. We know the work he puts in. His confidence is not going to waver. He’s going to put confidence in himself to take the next one and make the next one.”
Here’s more on the Knicks, who will head to Cleveland with a 2-0 lead in the Eastern finals:
- After playing hero in Game 1 by scoring 16 fourth-quarter points, Jalen Brunson had the ball forced out of hands on Thursday by the Cavaliers, who were determined not to let the star point guard beat them in Game 2, notes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Brunson had no problem adjusting, setting a new career playoff high by handing out 14 assists. “It just shows that he plays the right way,” teammate Mikal Bridges said. “If you’re not going to send a double-team, I think it’s an advantage for him. If you send a double-team, he’s going to read and react and find the open guy. Ever since I’ve known him, he plays the right way. Kudos to him, how he works, and his understanding of the game. If you’re going to come (double-team him), he’s going to make you pay and that’s what makes him great.”
- Speaking of Bridges, he continues to be everything the Knicks hoped for when they gave up five first-round picks to acquire him and signed him to a $150MM extension, says Howie Kussoy of The New York Post. Bridges has been the Knicks’ primary defender on James Harden and has scored 37 points on 16-of-23 shooting (69.6%) through the first two games of the series. “He’s an amazing player,” Knicks forward OG Anunoby said. “He’s been his whole career. I’m not surprised at all. This is Mikal. He’s a great player.”
- While it hasn’t prevented the Knicks from building a 2-0 lead in the series, Mitchell Robinson‘s poor free throw shooting remains a concern for the team, as Jared Schwartz of The New York Post observes. After making 2-of-8 shots from the line in Game 1, Robinson missed all four of his attempts in Game 2, resulting in Brown playing him just three minutes in the second half.
- Trade deadline acquisition Jose Alvarado has averaged just 7.5 minutes per night through the first two games vs. Cleveland, but he’s having a real impact on the team even when he’s not on the court, according to the Knicks’ head coach. “We actually pointed it out to our group in practice,” Brown said on Thursday, per Schwartz. “You watch the film, he’s uplifting the entire team when he’s on the bench. He’s always talking in a positive way. He’s showing our young guys that you can impact the game if you’re present, because Jose’s always present. You’re using your voice and your energy, guys feel that on the floor. Jose’s been phenomenal.”
Knicks Notes: Series Sweep, Hart, Towns, McBride, Brunson
The Knicks didn’t get to celebrate in front of their home crowd after finishing off a sweep of the Sixers on Sunday afternoon, but it kind of felt that way, writes Vincent Goodwill of ESPN. Plenty of New York fans made the trip to Xfinity Mobile Arena to enjoy their team’s latest dominant performance, a 144-114 win that ran the Knicks’ winning streak to seven games and put them in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Guard Josh Hart, who played at Villanova, couldn’t resist taking a playful swipe at his former home city.
“I used to think Philly was a sports town. I don’t know if it is anymore,” he said. “Everybody was begging for Philly [fans] not to sell their tickets. It never felt like a road game.”
In fairness to Philadelphia fans, they were probably dispirited by the one-sided nature of the matchup. New York controlled the series right from the start and had Sunday’s game virtually wrapped up by halftime. The Knicks tied an NBA record by making 18 three-pointers in the first half and held a 24-point lead at intermission.
Goodwill notes that New York has outscored its opponents by 19.4 points per game through the first two rounds, which is the largest differential for any team entering the conference finals since the playoffs were expanded 42 years ago. The Knicks have been looking unbeatable lately, but players aren’t taking anything for granted.
“Our team, the first year with each other, beating Boston last year we were very excited,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “This year, we’re locked into the moment, and there’s a lot more work to do. So, it’s great to see our guys kind of hungry for the next challenge.”
There’s more on the Knicks:
- Towns continued to flash his play-making skills with nine assists in 16 minutes during the first half on Sunday, observes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. He finished with 10, but only had to play four minutes in the second half because the game was out of reach. The Knicks’ offense has been energized since Brown decided to turn Towns into more of a passer midway through the first-round series. “Shout out to our team,” Towns said. “We found a way to, in a way, stabilize our season and do what was needed to adjust to Atlanta. And [we] found ourselves in a better position. It’s a shout-out to the coaching staff for realizing adjustments that needed to be made and also [a] shout-out to me personally that they trusted me.”
- Miles McBride, who hit seven three-pointers on Sunday while starting in place of the injured OG Anunoby, said the Knicks adopted a more aggressive attitude after falling behind Atlanta in Round 1, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv. “I feel like our mindset shifted,” McBride said. “We know we’re the better team (but) we can’t just come out there and expect to win, because they’re talented too. So I feel like our mindset just shifted totally to ‘take the game’ instead of (waiting for) them to give us the game.”
- The organization spent years chasing stars before landing Jalen Brunson in the summer of 2022, notes James L. Edwards of The Athletic. The undersized guard didn’t look like a franchise player when he was signed away from Dallas, but he has affected the team as much as anyone else could have. “What’s the dude’s name on Snoopy? Linus? He’s got a blanket,” coach Mike Brown said. “I’m Linus, and Jalen is my blanket. He helps me relax throughout the course of a game. That’s what great players do. They keep you poised, they make the game easier for everybody else and they help you get through a stretch.”
Knicks Notes: Towns, Brown, Hart, Bridges, Potential Sweep
Head coach Mike Brown made a strategic adjustment heading into Game 4 of the first-round series against Atlanta, and the Knicks haven’t lost since, writes Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Trailing 2-1 in the series, Brown opted to station Karl-Anthony Towns on the perimeter more often and use him as a play-maker. The results have been spectacular as New York has reeled off six straight wins by an average of 25.8 points per game and is now one victory away from the conference finals.
“The real change for us came before Game 4 in Atlanta,” Towns told reporters. “That’s when we really changed our offense. It’s been great. It’s been something I’ve talked about for a lot of the season, to feel like we can help our guys [on offense] more. We made the right moves.”
Brown likes having an “equal opportunity” offense where anyone can contribute in a variety of ways, and he believes the Knicks are “just scratching the surface” of what they can become on that end of the court. He plans to keep the philosophy in place beyond the current playoff run.
“What we’re doing now, I think, can have great carryover next year and down the line because we’d be able to expand on it the right way through a training camp,” Brown said.
There’s more on the Knicks:
- Josh Hart is still feeling the effects of a sprained left thumb he suffered in Game 2, Begley adds. An X-ray taken during that game showed that it wasn’t broken, so he opted to keep playing. “It’s something I’ll revisit in the offseason,” he said. “There’s people that played through this.”
- The Knicks are seeing the version of Mikal Bridges that caused them to send five first-round picks to Brooklyn in a 2024 trade, per Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News (subscription required). Bridges is playing shutdown defense on Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey and is contributing on offense as well. “I would take it a step further. There’s a ton of stuff that I would argue people don’t see that he does throughout the course of the game that’s far more important than just a couple of the big plays and coming up with a loose ball down the stretch,” Landry Shamet said. “He does that for 48 minutes. So does his level go up and does he show up in big moments? Absolutely, but I would argue that he’s the type of guy that does that for all 48 and finds a way to do it every night.”
- The Knicks have a chance to sweep their rivals from Philadelphia for the first time in 37 years, but they’re not looking past Sunday’s game, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. The Sixers overcame a 3-1 deficit to beat Boston in the first round, and the Knicks don’t want to offer them any hope of another big comeback. “We just gotta stay in the present,” Towns said. “The next game is the most important game. There’s a lot of things we need to clean up and we want to clean up and we have another game to do that. It’s about just staying about us.”
OG Anunoby Ruled Out For Game 3; Joel Embiid Will Play
The Knicks have ruled out starting forward OG Anunoby ahead of Friday’s Game 3 matchup in Philadelphia, head coach Mike Brown told reporters, including Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link).
For the Sixers, Joel Embiid has been upgraded from questionable to available, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter links).
Head coach Nick Nurse gave a promising update on Embiid earlier on Friday when he suggested the former league MVP would attempt to suit up, Neubeck notes.
“He’s getting better all the time, he was a participant in (Friday’s) shootaround,” Nurse said of Embiid, who missed Game 2 due to ankle and hip injuries.
Anunoby was diagnosed with a right hamstring strain on Thursday after suffering the injury in Wednesday’s Game 2 victory. With the Knicks up 2-0, there was no urgency to rush Anunoby back, but multiple reports indicated the strain wasn’t serious and Brown repeatedly referred to him as day-to-day on Friday, per Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link).
Anunoby has been outstanding in eight playoff games, averaging 21.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.1 blocks in 35.3 minutes per contest, with a scorching hot shooting line of .619/.538/.811. The 28-year-old traveled with the Knicks to Philadelphia, Bondy notes (via Twitter).
Miles McBride will take Anunoby’s place in the starting lineup, per the team (Twitter link via Bondy).
Josh Hart, who sprained his thumb in Game 2 and was originally listed as questionable Friday before being updated to probable, will suit up again tonight, Brown confirmed (Twitter link via ESPN’s Tim Bontemps). Hart is among a handful of Knicks who could receive more shots and minutes with Anunoby out.
According to Bondy (Twitter link), Hart said he underwent an X-ray on his injured left thumb, which came back negative.
Atlantic Notes: Thomas, Sixers, Celtics, Hart
Speaking on the Road Trippin’ Show podcast (YouTube link), Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. suggested that Cam Thomas‘ time in Brooklyn came to an end due to his attitude rather than his talent, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post relays.
A restricted free agent in 2025, Thomas eventually signed his qualifying offer in September after being unable to negotiate a favorable multiyear deal with the Nets. He was waived in February and joined the Bucks before being cut again in March.
“There’s a lot more to the NBA and sticking around than just (scoring),” Porter said. “For Cam, I think it was a mixture of he was frustrated with a lot of things, and also his personality … he doesn’t really socialize. He’ll come to the gym sometimes and he’ll say like two words all day, all practice. He doesn’t really talk to anybody.
“I don’t think he does it in a way where he’s trying to be a bad teammate; I just think that’s him. But when it comes to a team being willing to pay you and come off that money and you’re a number one option, it comes with so much more. I don’t know if he was willing to break out of his personality and be talkative and try to be a leader and bring guys together. I think that’s kind of what happened here in Brooklyn.”
Thomas has flashed impressive scoring ability since entering the league, averaging 22.9 points per game in 91 outings during his third and fourth seasons (2023-25). However, he hasn’t consistently contributed in other ways and hasn’t always shot the ball efficiently, having registered career averages of 43.5% from the floor and 34.0% from beyond the arc.
We have more from around the Atlantic:
- As Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice and Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required) detail, the Sixers rolled with a patchwork center rotation on Wednesday with usual starter Joel Embiid sidelined due to ankle and hip injuries. Adem Bona and Andre Drummond both got into foul trouble, prompting head coach Nick Nurse to turn to forward Dominick Barlow, who had played just 54 total minutes through the team’s first eight playoff games. Embiid is listed as questionable for Game 3, so it remains to be seen whether Philadelphia will have him back on Friday.
- Confirming that Celtics minority shareholders Aditya Mittal and Wyc Grousbeck are preparing a bid for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe says the expectation is that their roles with the NBA franchise would remain unchanged if they were to buy the Seahawks. According to Himmelsbach, Mittal would be the Seahawks’ controlling owner if the bid is successful, while Grousbeck would hold a smaller stake in the team.
- In case you missed it, we rounded up several Knicks notes earlier today. Since we published that article, Josh Hart (sprained thumb) has been upgraded from questionable to probable, signaling that he’s expected to suit up for Game 3.
Knicks Notes: Anunoby, Shamet, McBride, Hart, Robinson
Given that even mild hamstring strains often require a recovery period of a week or two, there was some skepticism on Thursday when OG Anunoby was dubbed day-to-day and listed as questionable for Friday’s game after being diagnosed with a strain. However, league sources tell Stefan Bondy and Jared Schwartz of The New York Post (subscription required) that imaging revealed a “very minor” strain and that the Knicks forward is truly considered day-to-day.
Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter video link) conveyed a similar sentiment in the latest episode of The Putback.
“This is not something that’s going to (take) weeks (to come back from) unless there’s some kind of setback,” Begley said. “If he misses games, it’s going to be a handful of games. He will be back, assuming the Knicks get through Philadelphia. He will be back in this series if the Sixers take a game or two. (There’s) optimism in the locker room — there’s a chance he could be back Friday or Sunday.”
While Anunoby hasn’t been ruled out yet for Game 3 on Friday, it would be surprising if he suited up just two days after suffering the injury, especially with the Knicks holding a 2-0 lead in the series. However, all indications are that he won’t miss as much time as he has when he sustained similar injuries in the past. As Bondy and Schwartz write, two previous hamstring strains cost Anunoby nine games and four games, respectively, but this one is considered milder than either of those.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- In separate stories for the Post, Schwartz breaks down the ripple effect of Anunoby’s injury, noting that Landry Shamet could return to the rotation and the Knicks could deploy more double-big looks, while Bondy says the team should play it safe with Anunoby, arguing that Miles McBride is more than capable of taking his spot in the starting lineup for at least the next game or two.
- Ryan Dunleavy of The New York Post breaks down why Josh Hart is the best bet to step up if Anunoby misses time, noting that the versatile swingman saw his production spike when Anunoby was injured early in the regular season.
- Of course, it’s not a lock that Hart will be available for Game 3 — he’s listed as questionable after spraining his left thumb in Game 2. Still, there have been no indications to this point that Hart’s availability is in serious jeopardy. Mitchell Robinson is also on the injury report after missing Game 2 with an illness, but he’s considered probable to return to action.
Knicks Notes: Hart, Clarkson, Alvarado, Towns
The Knicks‘ series against Atlanta turned around after Josh Hart demanded to be given the full-time defensive assignment on CJ McCollum, Stefan Bondy of The New York Post writes in a subscriber-only piece. After McCollum hit a game-winning shot to give the Hawks a 2-1 series lead, Hart made sure the coaching staff understood his intentions.
“I cursed out one of our defensive [coaches] for taking me off him at the end of Game 3,” said Hart, who also walked into the coaches’ room at halftime of Game 4 to make sure it didn’t happen again. “I said, ‘I’m on him. Don’t take me off him. I’m guarding him. And that was the challenge I wanted.”
The difference was stark, Bondy notes, as McCollum averaged 27 points per game in the first three games of the series while shooting 51% from the field and 39% on three-pointers. Over the final three games, he was limited to 11.3 PPG while his shooting dropped to 39.5% from the field and 10% from beyond the arc. He averaged 3.3 turnovers in that span and only 1.3 assists.
“At a certain point, it’s just pride,” Hart said. “It’s wanting to obviously try to stop him, to limit him. Games 1 and 2, he had (about) 30 (per game). It was just a pride thing. Go out there and get stops.”
There’s more from New York:
- The additions of Jordan Clarkson and Jose Alvarado have given the Knicks more depth than they’ve had in recent seasons, notes Howie Kussoy of The New York Post. That backcourt duo has teamed with Mitchell Robinson and Miles McBride to provide a reliable second unit that takes some of the stress off the starters. Clarkson and Alvarado both fell out of coach Mike Brown’s rotation late in the season, but they’ve reemerged since the playoffs began. “[Being out of the rotation is] definitely challenging, but I’ve been in the league for 12 years. I know how it goes,” Clarkson said. “Just continue to stay ready. There’s a locker room of young guys and other people, watching me and seeing how I react to those things. Set an example for them. Continue to stay locked in. … Just wait for my opportunity to go out there and play. Everybody setting that example and having everybody ready is big for the team.”
- The first-round series featured Karl-Anthony Towns‘ best sustained performance since Brown took over as head coach, observes Ian Begley of SNY.tv. There were season-long concerns about whether Towns could adjust to Brown’s system, but he was dominant against Atlanta, posting a combined plus-62 rating over the final three games of the series. “I never doubted my ability,” Towns said. “I never doubted the work I put in. It’s just – you gotta adjust, you gotta adjust. Especially (with) a lot of new things being thrown at you, you’re being asked to do a lot more things – some things that (haven’t) consistently been asked of me in my career. It’s one thing anyone who knows me, who’s followed my career, I’m willing to sacrifice and do whatever it takes for the team to win.”
- James L. Edwards of The Athletic considers whether the Knicks are now in the best position of anybody to win the East.
Hornets’ Moussa Diabate Wins 2025/26 Hustle Award
Hornets big man Moussa Diabate is the winner of the NBA’s Hustle Award for the 2025/26 season, the league announced today.
The Hustle Award, which debuted in 2017, isn’t voted on by media members, players, or executives like other end-of-season awards. It’s based on a statistical formula that utilizes several “hustle” stats and is designed to recognize players whose efforts might not appear in the box score but “impact winning on a nightly basis.”
Among qualified players, Diabate ranked first on a per-minute basis in offensive box outs, fourth in screen assists, eighth in offensive loose balls recovered, 10th in contested two-point shots, and 11th in defensive box outs and contested three-point shots.
Diabate set new career highs in games played (73), starts (47), and minutes per game (26.0) in 2025/26, helping provide some stability at the five for a Hornets team whose center position looked like a major question mark entering the season following the offseason trades of Mark Williams and Jusuf Nurkic. The 24-year-old was among the Hornets who played key roles in the team’s improvement from 19 wins in 2024/25 to 44 victories this season.
Hawks guard Dyson Daniels was the runner-up for the Hustle Award, per the NBA, with 2025 winner Draymond Green of the Warriors finishing in third. Grizzlies rookie Cedric Coward and Knicks swingman Josh Hart rounded out the top five.
Injury Notes: Gordon, Hyland, Wagner, Isaac, Huerter, Hart
Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon is listed as questionable in the official injury report for Thursday’s Game 6 at Minnesota. Gordon wasn’t available for Games 3 and 5, but he managed to play through the pain caused by tightness in his left calf and logged 23 minutes in Saturday’s Game 4.
Tomorrow will be another must-win for Denver, which trails 3-2 in the series. Coach David Adelman talked to reporters, including Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link), about what will go into making the decision on Gordon’s availability.
“I though Aaron in the first half (of Game 4) was very different from Aaron in the second half,” Adelman said. “And I know in both halves, he wasn’t moving great. So I’m not saying he looked great the first half. But I thought his mobility, the way he guarded (Julius) Randle in the post, we need that. I thought in the second half, you could see the wear and tear. Not to mention, for me, one of the hardest parts of a guy like that is you’ve gotta get him back on the court quicker (after he subs out). And I think when you get to halftime, you sit there for 20 minutes, that doesn’t help anyone.
“So I’m not a doctor. I’m not a trainer. But obviously, you guys could see it. I could see it. There’s a point where it’s not good for him; it’s not good for the team. And everybody knows that Aaron wants to play. The guy’s the ultimate teammate. He’s been so good for us over the years. But we have to do what’s right for him and the team.”
Gordon and Peyton Watson, who remains sidelined with a hamstring issue, worked out after today’s walkthrough, according to Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette (Twitter link).
Other than Donte DiVincenzo and Anthony Edwards, who both suffered serious injuries on Saturday, the only player listed on the Timberwolves‘ injury report is Bones Hyland, who is questionable due to left knee soreness.
We have a few more injury-related updates from around the league:
- Magic forward Franz Wagner, who was ruled out of tonight’s Game 5 with a calf strain, offered an update on his condition, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).“I hate to miss any game, especially in this situation,” Wagner said. “But I think there are things that are really important. Obviously, we know the history of other guys that have gotten hurt. So like I said, you’ve got to be careful with this kind of injury.” Wagner had his right foot in a boot as he spoke with the media, adds Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Jamal Cain took Wagner’s place in the starting lineup.
- The Magic are also missing backup big man Jonathan Isaac, who’s out with a left knee sprain, per Marc Stein of the Stein Line (Twitter link).
- The Pistons are playing tonight without Kevin Huerter, who’s sidelined with a left adductor strain, relays Hunter Patterson of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- The Knicks are listing Josh Hart as questionable for Thursday’s Game 6 with a lower back contusion, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.
Knicks Notes: Towns, Hart, Brunson, McBride
The Knicks struggled to put four straight quarters of high-level offense together in Games 2 and 3 of their series against the Hawks. In Game 4, they turned to Karl-Anthony Towns as the lead man, and it may have saved their season, Kristian Winfield writes for the New York Daily News. The Knicks have had issues getting the talented center involved at times, but they made a clear effort to do so on Saturday.
The six-time All-Star had his first playoff triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. His passing from the top of the key opened up the game for the Knicks, as did the off-ball play designs from head coach Mike Brown, which got players like OG Anunoby shot after shot inside, most of which were courtesy of Towns.
“[Towns] is a special talent. He can do it all. And I know if I get open, he’ll find me,” Anunoby said after the game, per Winfield. “No matter how tight the window is, he’ll be able to find it. It’s amazing playing with a player like him.”
Brown said that the decision to play through Towns was a result of being willing to adjust quickly, given the magnitude of the game, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.
“We just switched our early offense,” Brown said. “So with us switching our early offense up the way we did, the ball went to his hands quite a bit.”
We have more from the Knicks:
- Josh Hart is best known for his rebounding and hustle plays, but it’s his defensive versatility that has allowed New York to come back and tie their first-round series with the Hawks, Jared Schwartz writes for the New York Post. Hart split his time guarding CJ McCollum, who has been picking apart the Knicks’ defense for much of the series, and Jalen Johnson. He was similarly effective on both players, and his intensity helped set the tone for New York’s perimeter defense, which held the Hawks to 24.4% shooting from deep and converted 19 Atlanta turnovers into 21 points. “Josh was really good on the ball,” Brown said. “Josh is a guy with quick feet, he’s strong and when he gets locked in, he’s locked in. His defensive activity, especially when he [pressures the ball], was fabulous [Saturday night]. Really, really good. And we needed all of it.”
- Another crucial part of the Knicks’ victory was finding a way to keep Jalen Brunson from being a target on defense. On Saturday, Brown was able to do that, Winfield writes. “We mix it up so Jalen is not always on [the ball-handler],” Brown said pregame. “When he is, we got to make sure we continue to mix up our defensive coverages.” Brunson also waved away concerns over the visible disagreement he had with his father, assistant coach Rick Brunson, simply saying, “That was two competitors,” per Schwartz.
- It’s been an inconsistent start to the playoffs for Miles McBride, who is still less than three months removed from undergoing sports hernia surgery. McBride has had some positive moments, especially late in games, but has made just one two-pointer and has yet to attempt a free throw. He’s not making excuses about his injury though, Bondy writes. “I expect a lot out of myself, more than anybody else, honestly. And I try not to listen to how I’m feeling day to day,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter; if I’m supposed to get a stop, I gotta get a stop. If I’m supposed to make a shot, I gotta make a shot. So I try not to think about it. Reality is, I’ve gotta go out there and perform.”