Category: Basketball

The Phoenix Suns have numerous decisions ahead of them this upcoming offseason, including multiple restricted free agents, unrestricted free agents, and players with trade value. The following series will examine those decisions as our writing team presents both a point and a counterpoint for each.

Grayson Allen arrived in Phoenix right before the 2023 season in that three-team deal involving Deandre Ayton, Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, and Toumani Camara. He has been a steady force, whether off the bench or in a starting role, for Phoenix over the past three seasons; he’s fit right in like a glove.

Grayson has been a low-maintenance role player who has more to his game than you’d think once you get a closer look. He is not “just” a shooter. He is a legitimate athletic downhill threat and secondary playmaker.

Allen missed 32 games, but even with a down year relative to his three-point shooting, he showcased why he is one of the best value contracts on the team, posting career highs in scoring and assists.

Expanded Role, Not Regression

Let’s address the elephant in the room right away. Allen’s 2025-26 season naturally leaves you a bit cautious. Missing 32 games and watching his usually lethal three-point efficiency dip to 34.9% (alongside a 40.3% overall field-goal percentage) are some yellow flags of caution to monitor. That said, he did average a career-high in PPG (16.5), APG (3.8), and 3PFGA (8.9) this season.

The increase in volume, along with a couple of rough shooting stretches and injury woes, is more than likely the culprit for the dip in efficiency. In his expanded role, the volume was there, the aggressiveness was there, and the defense remained mostly steady. On a guard-heavy roster where every single contract matters, a down year from your premium floor-spacer triggers concern; that’s only fair.

Let’s not forget he dropped a career-high 42 points to go with a franchise-best 10 three pointers in a win over the Pelicans in November!

Grayson Allen is an easy player to take for granted. Plenty of teams could use an efficient floor-spacing guard that competes on both ends and makes the right play more often than not. He is athletic and has excellent footwork and deceleration skills on the move.

3 Reasons the Suns should keep him

With the Suns’ sudden influx of guard depth, it is incredibly easy to fall into the trap of viewing Allen as expendable. But trading away a high-IQ, plug-and-play volume shooter just to balance out a positional spreadsheet is how good teams accidentally slide back into mediocrity.

1. Perimeter Gravity + Downhill threat

Even in a self-described “down” shooting year, Allen still canned 3.1 triples a night. Opposing coaching staffs don’t look at his season percentage on a scouting report and decide to leave him open; they respect the quick release and the proven history.

When Devin Booker is hunting paint touches or running the offense, the floor geometry completely changes depending on whether Allen is standing on the wing. His gravity is far more than a luxury. It’s a necessity. And he can aggressively attack closeouts and put the ball on the deck. As mentioned above, he is not just a shooter.

2. Every Contender Wants This Exact Archetype

The modern NBA is defined by premium wing depth. Teams are constantly scouring the market, desperate to find players who can hit open shots, execute extra passes, and defend multiple perimeter positions without demanding heavy usage.

Grayson Allen is exactly what every contending front office is searching for. Having that piece already in-house is a massive competitive advantage.

3. The 11% Cap Bargain

Grayson Allen is still on a relatively friendly contract heading into next season at $18.1 million, which accounts for roughly 11% of the salary cap. He holds a player option for $19.4 million the following year. In an era where the second apron and tightening financial restrictions can paralyze a front office, having a highly productive asset locked in at roughly 11% of the cap is an incredibly team-friendly, movable contract sitting right in a mid-tier sweet spot.

And for that same reason, it’s why he’s come up in potential trade talks, which I’m not against if the RIGHT deal comes along that addresses their weaknesses. Trading him just to trade him is a mistake.

Closing Thought

Guard depth is a position of strength, not a flaw that requires a panicked correction. Unless a landscape-altering frontcourt piece becomes available via a consolidated package, keeping Allen’s spacing, elite perimeter gravity, contract flexibility, and competitive fire in the Valley is the smartest path forward.

If the perfect deal comes along that moves the needle, I’m okay dealing from a position of strength. Otherwise, let’s welcome Grasyon back to the Valley with open arms.

Game 1 was fun, I guess. Let’s see what pain this one brings.

Share your thoughts as the game unfolds. If you aren’t a member of the community, sign up so you can talk to your fellow Cavalier fans and make your voice heard!

Go Cavs!

If you have children and they watch WWE, you know who Danhausen is.

In case you don’t, he is a professional wrestler who has gained fame for “cursing” opponents. He records copious amounts of YouTube videos in character, which you can view here.

Danhausen debuted back at WWE’s Elimination Chamber Premium Live Event. Since then, he has quickly risen to be the number 2 merchandise seller in the company.

He then went on to ‘curse’ Stephen A. Smith, and the Knicks promptly went down 2-1 to the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA playoffs. A Knicks fan bought a Cameo, which is a way for fans to pay for celebrities to create custom videos, to uncurse the Knicks and curse the Hawks.

He did it for the “human monies,” and now the Knicks haven’t lost, including in a game they were down 22 in the 4th quarter.

Anytime you can pair WWE with BBN, it probably means a successful business venture.

So, when Kentucky announced it would be pairing with Danhausen to create a new collaboration, the internet went into a frenzy.

Now, it may not mean a lot to some of you, and that’s okay. But if you are a wrestling fan, the shirt has already had a couple of restocks today, which means it is selling fast. See the design and get yours below. It comes as WWE SmackDown is live tomorrow night at Rupp Arena; you can get tickets for that here.

Maybe we can all get together and pay for a reversal of the Kentucky injury curse. It certainly can’t hurt.

The Eastern Conference Finals resume tonight at Madison Square Garden with the Knicks holding a 1-0 series lead after Tuesday’s astonishing comeback victory over Cleveland. Donovan “Spida” Mitchell remains fully capable of carrying Cleveland for stretches, but the Cavs were totally gassed late in Game 1, particularly James Harden, who shot terribly, committed a half-dozen turnovers, and was hunted by Jalen Brunson in crunch time. Tonight, Cleveland will either dig deep and come back with a big swing or roll over like dogs. (We predict some version of the former.)

Tip off is at 8 PM EST on ESPN. This is your game thread. This is Fear the Sword. Please don’t post large photos, GIFs, or links to illegal streams in the thread. Be cool and enjoy the ride. And go Knicks!

We’re deep into the NBA playoffs, and one former Husky hooper is still playing meaningful basketball.

Stephon Castle and the San Antonio Spurs are in the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2017. Castle has been the number-two option behind the breakout megastar Victor Wembanyama. Castle is doing a little bit of everything this postseason, averaging 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game while providing some highlight-reel dunks, including one over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in their Game 1 win that included a staredown.

As well as he has been playing overall, his turnover numbers in the first two games of the Western Conference Finals have been less than ideal, totaling 20, the most by a player over two postseason games in NBA history. After the Spurs mounted a late comeback in Game 2, Castle threw the ball directly out of bounds, which was the nail in the coffin for San Antonio.

Game 2 also saw one of the best dunks in recent memory. Midway through the second quarter, Wembyanyama fed the ball to Castle, who had an open lane to the rim. The 6 ‘6 guard drove the lane and levitated over the 7-foot Isaish Hartenstein, who had no chance at blocking the dunk. Even Wembyanyama couldn’t believe how thunderous the jam was.

Castle and the Spurs are even at 1 game apiece heading into a crucial game 3 back in San Antonio Friday night. Castle’s key for victory? Hold onto the ball and hit long-range shots. So far he’s 2-for-12 from the three-point range over the first two games. Castle hit his threes in the Minnesota series, going 5-for-7 in the closeout Game 6. Most importantly, the turnovers were the result in over half of the teams in the department. If they played the defending champs close in both games, the Spurs shouldn’t be alarmed. They have a great chance of finishing the series in six games.

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals are tonight. The Cleveland Cavaliers are at New York Knicks. Watch starting at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Enjoy the game!

After exiting Game 2 early in the second half following an awkward fall, Spurs rookie guard Dylan Harper is listed as questionable for Game 3 in San Antonio with a sore adductor. The play occurred when he collided with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander while going for a lay-up and came down awkwardly on his leg. While obviously not ideal, it’s a much better diagnosis than a hamstring pull, which was the fear after he appeared to grab it after the play.

The status of questionable suggests MRI’s were negative, and while it doesn’t confirm he will play tomorrow, it’s a brighter outlook than some may have feared. Adding to the awkwardness, he appeared ready to return as he jogged back from the locker room, only for someone to tell him to go back. That could also be a good sign.

As has been the case for both games so far in this series, De’Aaron Fox remains questionable with a high ankle sprain suffered in Game 5 against the Timberwolves when Ayo Dusunmo rolled into his legs while diving for a loose ball. Fox played in Game 6 but re-aggravated the injury and did not participate in Game 1 vs. the Thunder, which the Spurs won in double overtime. While Mitch Johnson has been adamant that he would play if he could, the win had many speculating that it bought him an extra game off. Related or not, he was ruled out of Game 2 about an hour before tip-off. Both Fox and Harper’s returns will likely depend on pain tolerance.

In other injury related news, Thunder star Jalen Williams has been ruled as day-to-day after he re-aggravated the same hamstring that had kept him out of the first two rounds of the playoffs. He only played seven minutes last night before exiting after playing 37 minutes in Game 1, which was his first game in a month.

While the Thunder have been used to not having Williams for much of this season, the same can’t be said for the Spurs. While Fox, Harper and Stephon Castle all missed time here and there, they’re used it having at least two of the three, and the Spurs need at least one of them to give Castle some relief from ball-handling duties. While his scoring has been on point in this series, he has struggled holding onto the ball with 20 turnovers so far. If both Fox and Harper can’t go, expect to see some relief minutes from Jordan McLaughlin.

This series had all the makings of an instant classic coming in and has lived up to the hype through the first two games, so it would be a shame if more injuries were to spoil it in any way. Despite last night’s loss, the Spurs still hold home court advantage heading into Game 3 in San Antonio after stealing Game 1.

Lakers President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka said that with Mark Walter as the majority owner, the Lakers would spend everywhere possible to improve the franchise. So far, that’s been true.

The franchise has hired a new President of Business Operations in Lon Rosen, and will hire two assistant general managers to help Pelinka with his front-office duties.

To help with all of these hires, the Lakers brought on Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi from the Dodgers as advisors.

In fact, Friedman and Zaidi have reportedly been present during interviews for the assistant general manager positions.

However, don’t expect Zaidi and Friedman to remain as involved once all new hires are put in place. According to a piece by Yaron Weitzman of Yahoo Sports, both Zaidi and Friedman are only focused on getting things situated for the Lakers.

That said, neither Friedman nor Zaidi seems interested in making a cross-sport leap. Their interactions over the past few months with NBA player agents, including those representing Lakers’ stars, have been minimal, according to league sources. “This isn’t like when one of these owners comes in and acts like they know everything,” said an agent who’s spoken frequently with Zaidi about the Lakers. “His focus seems to be much more on the building out of the organization.”

Since Friedman and Zaidi don’t seem interested in planting their roots in basketball, they can focus on helping where they can with front office hires and then move on once the right people are in place.

While basketball and baseball are completely different sports, this is more about the organizational front-office infrastructure, which is essentially corporate work wrapped in an entertainment package. So, their success with the Dodgers should be replicable with the Lakers.

The fact that they’ll likely be done once their work is finished should be a good indicator to Lakers fans that Walter will rely on experts rather than hire people he already knows.

We’ll better understand how Walter will run the team once these big transitions are further along and more new hires are revealed.

Until then, expect a lot of change with the Lakers this season, not just with their roster, but with everything involving the franchise.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

Ever lose a bet and come away even more convinced you were right? It’s a risky mindset—but sometimes it holds up.

That’s the case here. The New York Knicks played far from their best in Game 1 and still walked away with an overtime win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Those busted Tuesday tickets might just be setting the stage for Thursday cashes.

These Cavaliers vs. Knicks props and NBA picks are doubling down on a pair of Game 1 angles, with confidence that New York’s shooting bounces back in Game 2 on Thursday, May 21.

Best Cavaliers vs Knicks props for Game 2

Player	Pick
Karl-Anthony Towns	Over 1.5 3-pointers	+125
James Harden	Over 17.5 points	-120
Jalen Brunson	Over 6.5 assists	+110

Game 2 Prop #1: Karl-Anthony Towns Over 1.5 3-pointers

+125 at bet365

Karl-Anthony Towns hit just one 3-pointer in Game 1, yet this price has fallen to +125 now from +145 then. Why? Because he took five 3-pointers.

With the New York Knicks center, the question to consider in these moments is not how many 3-pointers he will make but how many 3-pointers he will take. He has made a career from beyond the arc, even if sometimes reluctant to chuck from deep.

Towns shot 36.8% from beyond the arc this season while taking 4.8 threes per 36 minutes. Through 11 postseason games, Towns has shot 44.1% from beyond the arc while taking just 3.8 threes per 36 minutes.

Simply enough, Towns hardly needed to play or play well in the seven games closing out the Hawks and the 76ers. He needs to play and play well against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

If Towns takes five 3-pointers again tonight, making at least two is far more likely than not.

Game 2 Prop #2: James Harden Over 17.5 points

-120 at bet365

The jokes the last two days have been fair. Is Donovan McNabb or Phillip Rivers the more apt NFL comparison to James Harden’s postseason career? Has a former MVP ever been described as a “journeyman” before?

Harden was Cleveland’s weak link in its fourth quarter collapse. He should be lampooned.

But he is also still James Harden. He cleared this prop in five of seven games against the Pistons, a better defense than the Knicks even if no one in New York would agree with that. For that matter, he cleared it in six of seven games against the Raptors.

Is James Harden a clutch player? No.

Has there been an overreaction to his Tuesday struggles? Very much so.

Much like Towns’ five 3-point attempts, the most notable Harden stat is that he took 16 shots in Game 1, going 1-for-8 from deep. No matter how poorly Harden plays, there is no reason to think he will shoot that poorly again, creating some value for us here.

Game 2 Prop #3: Jalen Brunson Over 6.5 assists

+110 at bet365

The Knicks really escaped on Tuesday, huh? Through three quarters, they shot 4-of-22 from deep, 18.2%. Not to get too far into the math here, but that is bad.

From the field, they shot 26-for-60, 43.3%. Again, not so good.

Then New York went 6-for-9 from deep in the fourth quarter and in overtime, part of going 16-for-28 from the field.

Jalen Brunson ended with six assists. Imagine if the Knicks had not been absolute garbage for three quarters and he then had to go nuclear in the fourth quarter.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to even their Eastern Conference finals series against the New York Knicks. The Knicks won the opener in overtime on Tuesday after rallying from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter — the second-largest fourth-quarter comeback in NBA playoff history. New York is 6.5-point favorites in Game 2.

How to watch Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks

• Date: Thursday, May 21

• Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT

• Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York

• TV Channels: ESPN

• Live Stream:NBA League Pass | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Team records

• Cleveland Cavaliers: 52-30 (#2 in Eastern Central)

• New York Knicks: 53-29 (#2 in Eastern Atlantic)

Odds

• Spread: New York Knicks -6.5

• Moneyline: New York Knicks -238 (67.6%) / Cleveland Cavaliers +196 (32.4%)

• Over/Under: 216.5

Series schedule, results

Game 1: Knicks 115, Cavaliers 104 (OT)
Game 2: Cleveland at New York (Thursday May 21, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Game 3: New York at Cleveland (Saturday May 23, 8 p.m. ET, ABC)
Game 4: New York at Cleveland (Monday May 25, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Game 5: Cleveland at New York (Wednesday May 27, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)*
Game 6: New York at Cleveland (Friday May 29, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)*
Game 7: Cleveland at New York (Sunday May 31, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)*

*if necessary

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

Whether you’re riding high off the New York Knicks’ crazy comeback or wallowing in disbelief at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ collapse, we now know that anything can happen in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.

My Cavaliers vs. Knicks same-game parlay isn’t discounting Cleveland – even if everyone else is – and looks up to big man Jarrett Allen to anchor the Cavs' attack. I’m also going Under on a staple of New York’s postseason success, as adjustments may limit his minutes tonight.

Here are my best NBA picks and SGP predictions for May 21.

Our best Cavaliers vs Knicks SGP for Game 2

SGP leg #1: Cavaliers +6.5

The Cleveland Cavaliers were playing fantastic basketball coming into the Eastern Conference finals, having won four of their last five while eliminating the top-seeded Pistons. And the Cavs kept that up for about 36 minutes in Game 1, before the wheels came off in the fourth quarter. Cleveland knows it can hang with the New York Knicks and is mentally tough after a loss, going 27-9 SU when coming off a defeat this season. The Cavs are also 5-2 ATS as an underdog coming off a loss.

SGP leg #2: Jarrett Allen Over 20.5 points + rebounds

Considering how much trouble New York had with Joel Embiid inside in Round 2, Cleveland should have leaned into big man Jarrett Allen more in Game 1. He didn’t have a bad game, but seemed forgotten at times. He’ll often get matched with smaller forwards, and projections for Game 2 call for 13+ points and as many as 10+ rebounds from the 7-footer. He grabbed seven boards in Game 1 – six on the offensive glass – and was in position for 17.0 rebounding chances.

SGP leg #3: Josh Hart Under 12.5 points

Josh Hart’s defense is a staple of this New York run, but his lack of offensive pop is being exposed. Cleveland is choosing to guard Hart with 7-footer Jarrett Allen and begging Hart to shoot from outside. His minutes took a hit in Game 1 with Landry Shamet offering a better two-way return, and his Game 2 forecasts all come in below his 12.5-point scoring total.

Covers NBA betting tools

• NBA odds
• NBA picks
• NBA player props
• Best NBA betting sites
• Today’s NBA matchups

See our full Cavaliers vs Knicks Game 2 preview

Get Jason Logan's full breakdown of this game, including his best bet, plus the latest NBA odds, injuries, and betting trends, in his Cavaliers vs. Knicks predictionsfor Game 2.

More Covers NBA Playoff content

NBA Championship odds

Stay up-to-date with the latest NBA Championship odds for each remaining team, as well as NBA title splits, betting trends, and the previous list of teams that have won the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

NBA Finals MVP odds

See what the current line movement and updates are in the NBA Finals MVP odds race, along with Finals MVP betting trends, favorite analysis, and recent superstars to receive this award.

Live NBA Playoff bracket

Never lose track of where each series sits with our live NBA Playoff bracket, as well as the updated prices for each team to win their respective series — round by round. 

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

So would it have been smart of me to set this up before the NBA Conference Finals started? Yes. Am I smart? No.

But that’s what happens when in addition to my two kids and one dog, my wife opted to have us foster two puppies. Everything is chaotic all the time now. Here’s the Semi Finals discussion thread.

Right now, the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are tied up at 1-1 and both games have been fantastic and insane. I find myself rooting for the Spurs just because they can’t seem to defend without constant fouling. But maybe I’ll change my mind if they take control of the series.

The Cleveland Cavaliers blew their first game to the New York Knicks in absurd fashion. I don’t see how they recover from that loss, to be honest.

Have fun and someone reach out if it gets too crazy

Real or not, Charmin is jumping in to reward the player they have crowned the "MVPee" of the NBA playoffs. Hours after a viral video showed San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant using a public restroom at Paycom Center in full uniform, they offered him free toilet paper.  

The brand announced on Instagram that they would like to send Bryant enough of its Forever Roll to last him through the end of the season. Charmin called it “the best FAST BREAK of the night,” and an “MVPee performance.” 

But is the video real? 

Well, in this day and age of AI, we really don’t know yet. 

The video shows him in full uniform washing and drying his hands. The caption said “mid game btw.” It could be a fake, but it is also possible that Keith Hillary, whose TikTok bio identifies him as an artist at Almighty Ink in Oklahoma City, could have happened to have been standing in the restroom when the Spurs rookie walked in. 

Charmin doesn’t need to confirm the video to jump on a fun marketing campaign.