Category: NBA

The viral Pacers fan captured cursing at her boyfriend had some strong words for “creepy” Shaquille O’Neal after the couple appeared on “Inside the NBA.”

Michael and Grace were at the Nets-Pacers game last Thursday when, as Michael explained on ESPN, they were seen talking about the state of liberal arts education and how it “needed to be updated for how the future job market looks.”

However, that banal conversation went viral after a befuddled Grace was seen responding: “What the f–k are you talking about?” to Michael.

And that led to the couple being invited onto “Inside the NBA” for an interview on Sunday night.

O’Neal was not buying Michael’s explanation for the couple’s disagreement – and turned up the heat when he dared Michael to propose on live TV. The legendary big man even said he’d pay for the ring if Michael took the deal.

Ultimately, no proposal happened on air and Grace was left unimpressed by the Lakers icon.

“Shaq was like a creepy horny uncle trying to embarrass his nephew and I went along with it until the bit got embarrassing and I was like alright chill,'” she wrote on social media.

'Inside the NBA' had the viral Pacers couple join the show tonight.

Shaq was particularly honest and also offered to buy them an engagement ring. #NBAhttps://t.co/Yoa4FeRhxDpic.twitter.com/KQoYba26hm

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 13, 2026

“I’m glad my boyfriend got to meet the people whose videos he shows me constantly but God am I ready to be done with Sports people. I have found u generally exhausting and, forgive me for saying so, I mean this respectfully, not smart in the ways that matter to me. TO ME.”

Following Michael’s explanation of the couple’s disagreement – which Grace has since played down – Shaq pushed back on the Indiana fan.

“What’s his name? Michael?” Oneal said. “Michael, I love you, and I love your lovely wife, but I don’t believe that story you just told. You said something else for her to say, what the ef are you talking about? Stop it. Stop it. I can tell by your wife’s face that this was planned, and your answer was planned. What were you guys really talking about? Come on, come on.”

Michael then jumped in to correct him that they are not in fact, married.

“Did you just hear him correct you? He said ‘Not wife. Girlfriend,” Grace responded.

It was then that Shaq put Michael on the spot and offered a free engagement ring.

Michael, though, immediately began choking on his words, saying, “Listen,” as the “Inside the NBA” crew erupted.

“No, there ain’t no listen. Do it right now. Do it right now, get on your knee right now, and I’ll buy the ring,” O’Neal said. “Ask her right now, go ahead.”

Michael then countered that he would propose to Grace if the “Inside the NBA” crew agreed to come to their wedding – a request that O’Neal actually said he would abide by.

However, Grace added that she hadn’t agreed to the deal herself before Barkley joked: “You already cursed him out on national television. If you turn him down on national television, he has to abort, abort, abort.”

O’Neal’s offer to pay for the ring was generous, though it appears he had about a 30-second shot clock on it.

Should Michael and Grace choose to get engaged later on, that offer might be one that Michael wishes he took advantage of.

Grace – who already had a sizable following on X before this incident – appears done with the sports world after one fan told her to stop milking the couple’s 15 minutes of fame.

“I am literally packing it up girl,” she said. “That’s what this is.”

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Time has run out for NBA players hoping to bolster their cases to win MVP, Rookie of the Year, and a variety of other awards now that the regular season has concluded.

While reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is expected to win the league’s highest individual honor for a second time, the Rookie of the Year race has become one of the most-followed stories in sports.

Key Takeaways

• Gilgeous-Alexander is favored to win his second straight MVP after his team took the #1 seed in the West for the second consecutive season.
  
  
• Victor Wembanyama for Defensive Player of the Year is the largest favorite in any market.
  
  
• NBA players are not eligible for regular-season awards if they didn’t meet the 65-minimum game requirement (barring extreme circumstances).

Gilgeous-Alexander won the MVP last year while averaging 32.7 points, 6.4 assists, and 5.0 rebounds for the 68-14 Oklahoma City Thunder en route to a seven-game victory in the NBA Finals. He followed that up with 31.1 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.3 rebounds on a remarkable 55.3% shooting as his team finished atop the Western Conference for the second year running.

The 27-year-old’s excellence has given him a 95% chance to win the NBA MVP, according to users at the top prediction app Kalshi.

Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) and Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs) are both listed with 3% chances despite having remarkable seasons of their own.

While Wembanyama does not appear to be much of a threat to take Derrick Rose’s title as the youngest NBA MVP in history, he is a near shoo-in to win the Defensive Player of the Year. Kalshi lists him at 99% and everyone else at less than 1% to win the award.

The Rookie of the Year leaves the most intrigue for fans and voters. First-overall pick Cooper Flagg (Dallas Mavericks) sits at a 53% chance, and his former roommate at Duke, Kon Knueppel (Charlotte Hornets), is at 42%. 

Flagg appeared to have lost his grip on the race when he was sidelined by an injury for nearly a month from early February into March. However, 51 and 45-point scoring nights at the start of April made him the favorite again. He finished the year averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. 

Knueppel, the fourth pick in the draft, was the favorite as recently as April 5. He finished the season with the most made threes in the NBA and a stat line of 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists. He also missed just one game and was a driving force in the revitalization of the Hornets franchise.

While no other player received more than 1% chance to win the award, Kalshi believes there is a 6% chance that the vote will end in a tie. That hasn’t happened since 1999-00 and only occurred three times in NBA history, and it would result in Flagg and Knueppel being declared co-winners.

More NBA awards battles

The NBA attempts to highlight players who showed the most growth during the season by offering them the Most Improved Player award. Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker soared in the market over the last month, moving from a 3% chance on March 14 to his current mark of 86%. Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren is second at 13%, and Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija is third at 2%.

Gilgeous-Alexander, Alexander-Walker’s cousin, is favored to win Clutch Player of the Year along with the MVP. He does not currently have an opponent with even a 1% chance.

The Spurs are shaping up to be the only team to have different players win individual regular-season awards, as Keldon Johnson is the frontrunner for the Sixth Man of the Year at Kalshi. Like Alexander-Walker, his 90% chance to claim the honor represents an enormous growth from the 15.4% chance he was given exactly one month ago. Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Miami Heat) is his only real competition at 6%.

Boston Celtics boss Joe Mazzulla is making a late surge to win Coach of the Year, climbing from 24% just one week ago to his current mark of 77%. Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons’ J.B. Bickerstaff is at 26% despite leading the market at 61% two days ago.

All-league team chances

The All-NBA and All-Defensive teams are difficult to parse since there is overlap between the possible teams, whereas individual awards only yield one winner and a field of losers.

At the time of writing, these are the players and probabilities for the All-NBA and All-Defensive teams:

All-NBA First Team

• Nikola Jokic - 99%
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - 99%
• Victor Wembanyama - 99%
• Jaylen Brown - 94%
• Luka Doncic - 70%

All-NBA Second Team

• Jalen Brunson - 96%
• Jalen Johnson - 87%
• Kawhi Leonard - 87%
• Donovan Mitchell - 82%
• Kevin Durant - 71%

All-NBA Third Team

• Tyrese Maxey - 68%
• Karl-Anthony Towns - 67%
• Jalen Duren - 51%
• Stephon Castle - 16%
• Alperen Sengun - 15%

All-Defensive First Team

• Victor Wembanyama - 99%
• Chet Holmgren - 96%
• Ausar Thompson - 76%
• Rudy Gobert - 66%
• Scottie Barnes - 66%

All-Defensive Second Team

• Derrick White - 58%
• Bam Adebayo - 42%
• Dyson Daniels - 39%
• OG Anunoby - 26%
• Donovan Clingan/Evan Mobley - 20%

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 cruelness of social media knows no bounds, so when the Pacers posted a photo of Tyrese Haliburton on Friday night seemingly everyone was there to make jokes about his weight.

Tyrese Haliburton fit check 👀 pic.twitter.com/Gq1cPaMseh

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) April 11, 2026

From Nutty Professor jokes, to quips about how he had been “eating good,” there was no shortage of people noticing that Haliburton bulked up while being sidelined with the ruptured achilles that took the Pacers’ point guard of Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, and has kept him from playing this entire season.

Haliburton revealed on Monday why he’s gained weight, and it’s a lesson in why you shouldn’t get Twitter fingers too quickly and blast someone without knowing the whole story.

#Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton “lost part my eyebrow” due to face shingles:

“I’ve been taking unbelievable amounts of medication to try to get rid of it. It hasn’t worked. It’s obviously caused me to gain weight … That’s been a topic of conversation through social media …” pic.twitter.com/nRSpgnzjm6

— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) April 13, 2026

Shingles is a ludicrously painful illness caused by a reactivation of the dormant chickenpox virus. It leads to incredibly painful rashes, complete with blisters. Shingles which appear on the face are considered to be both the most serious, and the most painful due to the amount of facial nerves which are affected.

The best treatment is to receive the shingles vaccine, but if that is not possible, a regimen of antiviral medications is often prescribed, as is corticosteroid therapy. These topical steroids are designed to reduce inflammation, but can also cause swelling. As for why he lost part of his eyebrow, that could be caused due to the rashes and blistering.

Here’s hoping Tyrese feels better soon, because this is an awful.

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Adam Silver has gotten two things undeniably right during his tenure as commissioner — calling out Donald Sterling for his racism and introducing the Play-In Tournament.

This week’s six-game slate has been pure entertainment, even if fans of the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns might describe tonight as nothing short of agony.

My Trail Blazers vs. Suns predictions and NBA picks bet on one of the NBA’s most irrationally confident players on April 14.

Trail Blazers vs Suns prediction

Who will win Trail Blazers vs Suns?

Suns: Personally, I expect Phoenix to win this game by multiple buckets, but suppose it comes down to the final minute. Who are you going to side with, the team leaning on Scoot Henderson initiating an offense to feature either Jrue Holiday or Deni Adija for a needed bucket or the team with Devin Booker?

Trail Blazers vs Suns best bet: Dillon Brooks Over 19.5 points (+102)

Kevin Durant was right. His worst year is better than Dillon Brooks’s best year, but that does not mean the Phoenix Suns’ biggest acquisition for trading away Durant is going to shy away from this moment. Frankly, Dillon Brooks’s delusional confidence is his most redeeming trait, though also and obviously his most infuriating one.

The Portland Trail Blazers should devote Jrue Holiday to slowing Devin Booker as much as possible. That will move the ball into Brooks’s hands more often.

Phoenix needs either Brooks or Jalen Green to complement Booker to pull off this upset and avoid the Oklahoma City Thunder. Portland is more likely to let Brooks get an advantage than Green.

That is to effectively say, betting on Phoenix’s third option is both the best bet and the Suns’ best approach to winning this game.

In a few respects, the greatest concern with Brooks may be foul trouble. And if Phoenix advances, Brooks’s worst habit will undoubtedly rear its ugly head, but that usually comes once well into a series, as tensions run highest. A one-game format lessens that concern.

Trail Blazers vs Suns same-game parlay

Devin Booker is too pure a scorer not to pour in some buckets in a game of this import, hence Portland presumably needing to devote Jrue Holiday to the Suns’ franchise cornerstone. And that is part of why Brooks should score, though partly at Green’s expense. In a very real way, every leg of this one-sided same-game parlay is correlated.

Trail Blazers vs Suns SGP

• Dillon Brooks Over 19.5 points
• Jalen Green Under 18.5 points
• Devin Booker Over 26.5 points

Our "from downtown" SGP: Suns don't set

To put this simply, if the Suns’ point distribution breaks down like this, then Phoenix is in a great position to win this Play-In game with ease. Adding the -4 to this same-game parlay should not raise it 73%.

This is what makes the Suns just dangerous enough. They may be devoid of stars aside from Booker, a year after having too many stars to function, but Phoenix still has an array of backcourt scoring to worry just about anybody in the NBA, particularly for one game.

Trail Blazers vs Suns SGP

• Dillon Brooks Over 19.5 points
• Jalen Green Under 18.5 points
• Devin Booker Over 26.5 points
• Suns -4

Trail Blazers vs Suns odds

• Spread: Trail Blazers +4 | Suns -4
• Moneyline: Trail Blazers +145 | Suns -170
• Over/Under: Over 218 | Under 218

Trail Blazers vs Suns betting trend to know

Phoenix went 23-17-1 against the spread at home this season. Find more NBA betting trends for Trail Blazers vs. Suns.

How to watch Trail Blazers vs Suns

Trail Blazers vs Suns latest injuries

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 Lakers got a taste of a playoff atmosphere against the Houston Rockets only a month ago. They can recreate the moment again, this time with real postseason stakes, but the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference will be missing a key component from those thrilling wins.

Luka Doncic, still getting specialized treatment in Europe for his Grade 2 left hamstring strain, is a long shot to return during the first round of the playoffs, which begin Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena.

Between Doncic and Austin Reaves, who is out with a Grade 2 left oblique strain, the Lakers have lost their two leading scorers and an average of 56.8 points per game. They lost the No. 3 seed. But by finishing the season with three consecutive wins to maintain home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, they haven’t lost their fight.

Read more:Lakers beat Jazz in finale, will host play-in game against Timberwolves

They'll need it against the Rockets.

“The playoffs, to me, are all about resiliency,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “... You're playing one opponent in the playoffs and there's a bunch of things that are gonna happen, some good, some bad. You may get down in a series. You may get down in the game, you may get down in the game on the road. And just, you have to play with resiliency.”

Here’s how the teams match up:

Key team stats

Lakers

Record: 53-29

Offensive rating (OFF RTG): 117.0 (10th)

Defensive rating (DEF RTG):115.5 (20th)

Net Rating (NET RTG)*: 1.5 (14th)

Rockets

Record: 52-30

Offensive Rating (OFF RTG): 117.5 (8th)

Defensive Rating (DEF RTG): 112.1 (6th)

Net Rating (NET RTG)*: 5.4 (6th)

(*Net rating subtracts defensive rating from offensive rating for a projected margin of victory.)

Players to watch

Lakers

LeBron James: 20.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 7.2 apg, 51.5 fg%/31.7 3-pt. fg%/73.7 ft%

Deandre Ayton: 12.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1 bpg, 67 fg%/64.5% ft%

Marcus Smart: 9.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.0 apg, 39.5 fg%/33.1 3-pt. fg%/82.2 ft%

Rockets

Kevin Durant: 26 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.8 apg, 52 fg%/41.3 3-pt. fg%/87.4 ft%

Alperen Sengun: 20.4 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 6.2 bpg, 51.9 fg%/30.5 3-pt. fg%/69.1 ft%

Amen Thompson: 18.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 5.3 apg, 53.4 fg%/77.9 ft%

How the Lakers fared

Season Series: 2-1

Dec. 25, 2025, in Los Angeles

Rockets 119, Lakers 96

The Rockets looked like a championship-contending team early in the season behind the generational rebounding force of Sengun and Steven Adams. They bullied the Lakers in a nationally televised, Christmas Day showcase, and to add injury to insult, Reaves re-aggravated a calf injury that kept him out for six weeks.

Read more:'Mr. 82.' How Jake LaRavia became the injury-plagued Lakers' iron man

March 16, in Houston

Lakers 100, Rockets 92

Part of their season-long nine-game winning streak, the Lakers came back from a 10-point third-quarter deficit behind 36 points, six rebounds and four assists from Doncic. The Rockets committed 24 turnovers, a season-high for a Lakers opponent, including seven turnovers from Durant. The Rockets were without Sengun, who missed the game with low back pain.

March 18, in Houston

Lakers 124, Rockets 116

Doncic and James combined for 70 points to lead the Lakers to their seventh consecutive win. Doncic scored 40 with 10 assists and nine rebounds while James was 13 for 14 from the field, including an alley-oop dunk from Doncic with 1:22 remaining that contributed to a 13-2 Lakers run that put the game away. While the Lakers were one of the league’s best in clutch time — going 22-8 in games within five points in the last five minutes — the Rockets were 16th with a 22-23 clutch time record.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

“They say they want you successful, but then they make it stressful, you start keeping pace, they start switching up the tempo.”

– Mos Def

Can’t print the name of the song. Realistically, the comparison is arguably offensive. The Mighty Mos Def is talking about racial inequality in America. This article is going to be about the NBA’s draft pick economy. Dear reader, just know that the quote comes from a place of unadulterated reverence.

Adam Silver’s tenure as a commissioner has been…busy. By now, one could describe him as a busybody. The NBA is like a single-celled organism in a petri dish. There are two scientists in the room. One thinks they’ve introduced enough conditions, and ought to see how it grows organically. Silver is the other, and he wants to add more:

And more, and more, and more.

He won’t stop until the NBA is perfect. Problematically, the NBA will never be perfect. Silver seems unfamiliar with the law of unintended consequences.

For example, he flattened the lottery odds to discourage tanking. So, more teams started tanking. If they didn’t land “their guy”, they tanked for longer. Flattening the odds made tanking a bigger problem, so naturally, Silver is set to flatten them even more.

The Houston Rockets are major stakeholders.

Rockets could be impacted by new lottery odds

Specifically, the new proposal would expand the lottery to 18 teams. Without knowing what the new odds would specifically look like, that might be a wash for the Rockets.

In the 2027 Draft, the Rockets have swap rights with the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are not necessarily on pace to escape the lottery, so if the rules are implemented this summer, that pick depreciates. That said, they also own the Suns’ pick with no protections. Phoenix is likely to land just inside that bottom 18 mark, so the Rockets may have lottery odds on that pick that they weren’t expecting.

In 2029, the Rockets own the best of their own, Phoenix, and Dallas’ picks. It’s difficult to project so far out. In a vacuum, flatter odds should capture more lottery potential here, but a Phoenix implosion would suddenly be less beneficial for Houston than it would have been before.

So, it’s hard to say how this would impact the Rockets. It could help, and it could hinder.

That’s not entirely the point here.

Rockets acquired picks under certain conditions

I’ll be frank: This boils my blood.

The NBA is a multilayered competition. There’s competition at the immediate, on-court level, but there’s competition between boardrooms as well. Imagine the league eliminates the corner three: How is that fair to teams that built their offense around generating corner threes?

So what’s the difference? Silver is trying to enhance competition, but he’s going directly against the league’s competitive spirit in the process.

These acquisitions were made with certain rules in mind. If the league wants to implement change, it should take hold starting in 2032, when no team owns another team’s picks yet.

That won’t happen. Tanking is apparently a catastrophic emergency that needs to be fixed immediately. It feels like a strange stance from a man who recently described basketball as a “highlight sport”. If I were a betting man…

I’d bet that sports betting has something to do with it.

Anyone who’s cheered for a tanking team is likely to disagree. It wasn’t so bad, was it? Speaking personally, I’ve preferred the experience of watching these young guys grow over, say, the Louis Scola / Kevin Martin years. Perpetual mediocrity is the real basement for the NBA fan experience, and you’ll see a lot more Chicago Bulls team building with these rules.

Is that what Silver wants? He wants three contenders, and 27 teams with no chance to win, and minimal avenues to improve? If so, he’s on his way:

Even if it means changing the rules of a game that’s still ongoing.

The most anticipated yet anticlimactic Knick regular season in years concluded its preamble with a 110-96 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, though it didn’t feel like an L. Both teams got what they wanted: New York rested their starting five and Mitchell Robinson (somewhere in Connecticut, a worried friend injects thorazine into the red, raging Tom Thibodeau); the Hornets earned the right to host their Play-In game against the Heat. Before nostalgia became commodity, it was once a pretty sweet fruit. I’m old enough to look back on and look forward to raucous Carolina playoff crowds. If Charlotte makes it to the playoffs, they’ll face Detroit. Please make it, Charlotte.

11 Knicks suited up, with 10 playing between 12 and 35 minutes, led by Mo Diawara; ironically, iron man Mikal Bridges played just 23 seconds, long enough to extend his consecutive games streak for yet another year. There’ll be a whole heaping host of playoff previews and player retrospectives the next few months, but before we all go into playoff mode, a few reflections on the 2025-26 Knicks season.

• Jalen Brunson led the team in scoring at 26 per game. This was his third straight year scoring at least that many while being named an All-Star, the first Knick ever to do so. Patrick Ewing, Carmelo Anthony and Bernard King did so two years in a row, and Richie Guerin once. Bob McAdoo did twice, technically, with one in his split season between Buffalo and New York.
• Brunson averaged six more points a game than Karl-Anthony Towns. The last time the Knicks had a gap that large between their leading scorers was 2021, when Julius Randle scored 6.5 more than RJ Barrett.
• Despite a career-low in minutes per game and the fewest field goals made and attempted averages since his rookie year, KAT had a career-best year on the glass, leading the league in defensive rebounds while finishing seventh on the offensive boards.
• Another encouraging number from Towns: seven. As in seven games missed this year, 17 total since becoming a Knick. The five years prior in Minnesota, he missed 29, 22, 8, 53 and 20. KAT is one of God’s creatures, equal parts ineffable and effed up. One day when you’re looking back, much older than now, and the world is smaller and crueler and hotter, and the number of people who remember you keeps plummeting, the number who care even less, you will remember these as the good times. You will. Because the Knicks were a welcome distraction. One big reason why: Towns, simply showing up. Lotta good in life comes down to that.
• The Knicks managed to be more available while being less available this season. In 2025 nine Knicks played 500+ minutes; this year, Ariel Hukporti was two minutes away from making it a dozen. And while more Knicks played more, the more essential ‘bockers all played less: KAT played 195 fewer minutes, Mikal Bridges 344, OG Anunoby 482 and Josh Hart 903. Brunson played more total minutes because he played nine more games then last year; if he’d played the same number of games, he’d have played 30 less total minutes. Hopefully them legs pay off come playoff time.
• I always loved baseball players who would keep changing up their batting stance or delivery. Josh Hart is that kind of baseball player, a Cal Ripken Jr., a David Cone. Every year Hart does something pretty radically different, almost always for the better. In 2025 he shot 10% better from the field than he did in 2024 while dishing 45% more assists per game. This year he’s scoring like he hasn’t since his split 2022 season with the Pelicans and Trail Blazers. Per 36 minutes, he’s taking and making 40% more 3s than he did last season, all while going from the league leader in minutes last year to 54th this year. Hart remains the league leader among Joshes, comfortably ahead of both Okogie (197th) and Green (210th).
• You’re probably aware OG had more than 100 dunks and 100 3s, which is really cool. Can you guess who the Knick top-five in dunks were? By which I mean “Can you without looking it up?” You, the person reading this. You’re a miracle. Use your imagination. Googling is like masturbation: it has a time and a place, but don’t make it a crutch. I’ll confirm/reveal the answer in the comments. Don’t get any ideas.
• Bridges attempted 98 free throws this year. How rare is it for a starter to take fewer than 100 in a season? I went back over the past decade and could only find five. Four played far fewer minutes than Bridges, and would’ve broken the century mark if they’d played as often: Quentin Grimes, Damyean Dotson, Jarrett Jack and Courtney Lee. Essentially, there is only one Knick in the last 10 years who drew the whistle as rarely as Mikal.

• The Knicks finished 53-29, their third straight season of 50+ wins. Don’t sleep on that! Pat Riley won that many all four years he coached in New York. In the 27 seasons between Riley and Brunson, the Knicks did only three times. In the 18 seasons between their last title and the arrival of Ewing, they did twice. The NBA started playing 80 games in 1961-62 before settling on 82. In the dozen seasons from 1962 to 1973, the last Knick title, they won 50+ four times. To sum it all up: this franchise wins this many games a quarter of the time. So three straight times? Told you: these are the good times.

DollarBill24: “ I can already hear the ‘F*** Trae Young’ chants.” I never once liked those chants before, but if they break out in this series I am going to die laughing. Knicks got a week to rest and prepare for their series against Atlanta. There’ll be plenty of roundtables, previews and pods between now and then, so for a couple days let yourself marinate in the mellow.

The Toronto Raptors might look like one of the worst matchups for the Cleveland Cavaliers based on the sweep they conducted, but there are a lot of asterisks at play.

For one, the starting lineups they used in those games aren’t exactly the ones we’ll be seeing when the series starts next week.

#Cavs starting lineups in their matchups vs. TOR
Oct. 31 – Evan Mobley, De'Andre Hunter, Dean Wade, Jaylon Tyson & Lonzo Ball
Nov. 13 – Donovan Mitchell, Sam Merill, Hunter, Mobley & Jarrett Allen (5th game in 7 nights)
Nov. 24 – Mitchell, Ball, Tyson, Mobley & Larry Nance Jr.

— Danny Cunningham (@RealDCunningham) April 13, 2026

The main talking point is that the Cavaliers were sending out makeshift lineups against Toronto. However, something that is not attached to this sentiment, as far as I have seen, is that this was going to be brought up no matter who Cleveland’s first-round opponent was.

The Cavaliers have donned 41 unique lineups in 82 games this season. These changes weren’t inspired by testing out different methodology. The Cavaliers have been snake bitten by the injury bug for the entirety of the regular season. Even on the opening tip in October, they started the season without Darius Garland and Max Strus.

The wave of injuries continued throughout the whole season. Mitchell is the Cavaliers’ so-called “iron man” with 70 games played. The fluctuation has impacted this roster from top to bottom.

The greater point is less about the Cavaliers against the Raptors individually as there is no basis to go off of, and more so how that the Cavaliers are arguably the biggest question mark of any team in the postseason.

It is hard to figure out what a fully healthy version of the Cavaliers looks like. Especially one that has undergone the personnel changes the Cavaliers did at the deadline. Whether it’s swapping James Harden in for Garland, Dennis Schroeder and Keon Ellis for Lonzo Ball and De’Andre Hunter, or even Jaylon Tyson or Max Strus at the three, the Cavaliers have a ton of open-ended questions that were never cemented in certainty.

The postseason is usually when a team commits to what has worked and sticks true to this identity made over 82 games. The Cavs don’t have that luxury.

The Cavaliers had just two five-man lineups that played at least 80 minutes together. One of them involves two players not currently with the team. Even the most used lineup isn’t available for the playoffs.

It makes the Cavaliers a blank canvas, unlike anything we’ve seen in recent years. Usually, it is that a team is hampered by injuries by the time the postseason rolls around. Look at the Lakers, they are starting a series possibly without two of their best three players on the team in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. The Cavaliers are actually at their healthiest at the most optimal time; we just don’t know how good they can be.

We’ll soon find out whether they can reach their ceiling as title contenders or if their lack of continuity will cause them to falter.

Daryl Morey and the rest of the Philadelphia front office are going to have challenges in upcoming summers. Thanks to the term left on the max contracts to Joel Embiid and Paul George, constructing future rosters will prove difficult. Perhaps there’s a world in which Morey can get off of George’s deal as the wing has shown signs of life since returning from his suspension and his contract has two years remaining on it compared to Embiid’s three.

But as the Sixers prepare to participate in the NBA’s play-in tournament for the second time in three seasons, we are yet again preparing for another postseason, should Philly get out of the play-in tournament, without Embiid for at least part of it. If we’re being completely honest, it’s probably going to be all of the postseason. Who in their right mind is going to pick them to beat Boston in the first round if they get a victory on Wednesday night against Orlando?

However, the 2025-26 Philadelphia 76ers season was never one that anyone expected to come with a deep playoff run. Fans were either checked out after an abysmal 2024-25 or ready to turn the page and see how quickly VJ Edgecombe could adapt to life in the NBA and what kind of backcourt tandem he could make with Tyrese Maxey. At best, it felt like fans were in wait-and-see mode as Embiid and George returned from respective knee procedures.

During the regular season, Embiid showed signs of his old self, particularly offensively. But unfortunately, it was only glimpses of the player he once was and he only played in 38 games. Despite the fact that Embiid is likely to be a Sixer for each of the next three seasons, this season was always a transitional one for the franchise. It was more about what kind of future the franchise could carve out for itself rather than doing all it could to make one last run with Embiid.

It is for that very reason that while Embiid’s recent appendicitis diagnosis is a tough blow for a future Hall of Famer who can never seem to catch a break, that the franchise could benefit from whatever the rest of April brings. Without Embiid, the organization will potentially get a look at how close they are to Boston, the franchise that seemingly everyone in the East has been competing to dethrone for the majority of the 2020s. Should the Sixers indeed square off with the Celtics in the first round, that series should give Morey the ability to make some more informed decisions about the team heading into the offseason. However cold this may sound, the reality is that all of those decisions about future roster construction should be made without Embiid being considered at all.

Anything Embiid contributes for the remaining three years on his contract should be viewed as a bonus. Frankly, anything the Sixers do in the playoffs should be viewed as a bonus as well. This season was always about figuring out what the franchise’s future is and how it can build a contender around players that aren’t Joel Embiid. Would a win against Orlando and then a six or seven-game series loss to Boston have Morey feeling more optimistic about a roster built around Maxey and Edgecombe? Of course, building that roster will require Morey to be creative due to the presence of Embiid and George’s hefty salaries for the next few seasons.

But we can all probably safely assume Embiid will play less than 50 regular season games a year for the rest of his career, so it just makes sense to continue to make decisions as if Embiid wasn’t around anymore. Perhaps a strong offseason from Morey maximizes Maxey and Edgecombe next season and Philly has a top four seed in the 2027 NBA Playoffs. Let’s not forget all the years the Sixers were dysfunctional around Embiid and Embiid was practically the sole reason they were a top four seed in the East. If there’s a world in which the Sixers can get back to that point with Embiid being used in a much lesser role, I’d say they’d finally be returning the favor for their former MVP.

Where Steph Curry ranks among all players in jersey sales for 2025-26 NBA season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Once again, Steph Curry has the most popular jersey in the entire NBA.

According to the league, Curry’s jersey was the top seller for the 2025-26 regular season based on sales from the NBA Store and Fanatics. Luka Dončić of the Los Angeles Lakers, Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, Victor Wembenyama of the San Antonio Spurs and LeBron James of the Lakers rounded out the top five, respectively.

It’s the sixth time the Warriors star has led all players in jersey sales; Curry last ranked No. 1 in 2023-24 before falling all the way down to No. 2 behind Dončić last season.

The NBA's top-selling jerseys list for the 2025-26 regular season… based on sales from https://t.co/I0ypSvyq5i, https://t.co/tYEBPOnXdC and Fanatics partner sites! pic.twitter.com/8nQfnD8T0z

— NBA (@NBA) April 13, 2026

Curry’s reign atop the NBA’s jersey sales rankings is especially impressive given he’s never played for another organization in his 17-year pro career. Furthermore, Curry missed almost half of the 2025-26 season due to injury yet remained as popular as ever among fans.

As a team, the Warriors remained among the top-selling organizations in merchandise sales, coming in at No. 4 this season behind the Knicks, Lakers and Boston Celtics. Golden State ranked third in the NBA each of the previous two years.

The NBA's top-selling team merchandise list for the 2025-26 regular season… based on sales from https://t.co/I0ypSvyq5i, https://t.co/tYEBPOnXdC and Fanatics partner sites! pic.twitter.com/NvLC6GV8Mq

— NBA (@NBA) April 13, 2026

So even in a down year for Curry and the Warriors, still expect to see plenty of people repping them going forward.

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Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Lakers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

With Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves out to start their postseason run, the Lakers won’t have many believers.

The team has relied on LeBron James, who has had some remarkable games and helped LA earn a top-four seed in the West. Still, those victories were against play-in teams like the Warriors and Suns, who were resting players as their postseason positions in the West were solidified.

Now that the Lakers are playing a legitimate team trying to win, stacking victories won’t be easy.

In our national SB Nation Reacts survey this week, we asked fans which top-four seed had the best chance to be knocked out of the first round and the Lakers were the clear winner.

No other team is dealing with injuries as severe as the Lakers. With their top two players out, generating enough offense to keep up with the best in the West will be an uphill battle for the purple and gold.

The good news is that Reaves and Dončić are not ruled out for the playoffs. In fact, Luka has spent time in Spain working to accelerate the recovery of his hamstring strain. While Dončić is doing everything possible to get better and his attempt to return is commendable, it can also be concerning.

He’s dealt with hamstring injuries throughout his career, including earlier this season. The last thing anyone wants is for him to return too soon and make his injury worse.

So, we also asked Lakers fans if they were worried or excited about Dončić potentially returning this postseason.

The Lakers were in a similar situation with Anthony Davis back in 2021. He got hurt in the middle of their first round matchup against the Suns with a groin strain. AD pushed himself and came back for Game 6. However, he was very hobbled and couldn’t even complete the first quarter, ending his night early as the Lakers were eliminated.

A scenario where the Lakers not only lose in the first round but Luka gets even more injured would be awful.

The Lakers’ medical staff will have to be 100% certain Luka’s good to go and not be influenced by what the first round series win total looks like. If Luka can play great, but there’s no need to push like a title is on the line. Dončić is the future of this franchise, and his health shouldn’t be jeopardized for minimal benefit in the present.

For now, it’s all about recovery for Luka as the postseason begins and we see if he’ll get a chance to play.

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

Almost as soon as the 2025-26 NBA regular season officially ended, Kendrick Perkins made sure everybody knew he kept the receipts for Bill Simmons.

The former NBA player who's now a prominent commentator in ESPN's coverage of the league sent out a reminder via social media at 2:10 a.m. on Monday, April 13, that he was right about the Toronto Raptors and Simmons – the former ESPN personality who founded The Ringer website and podcast network, hosts "The Bill Simmons Podcast," and wrote "The Book of Basketball," – was wrong.

This particular feud between Perkins and Simmons dates back to June 2025 when Perkins posted a video in which he called Simmons a "fool," among other things, after apparent criticism Simmons had levied against Perkins for predicting the Raptors would be a top-six seed in the Eastern Conference during the 2025-26 season. Simmons, at the time, offered to put a "wager" on Perkins' take.

GIANNIS: Opens up about frustrations, future with Bucks

Well, the Raptors will be the No. 5 seed and face the No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers when the Eastern Conference playoffs begin this weekend.

Perkins didn't forget about Simmons' proposition for a bet. It's unclear if either side actually agreed to terms prior to Perkins resurfacing their original back-and-forth on Monday.

"Somebody tell @BillSimmons he can just make a donation to my non profit that’s for the youth in our communities that are less fortunate," Perkins wrote on his X account over the original tweet exchange with Simmons.

Somebody tell @BillSimmons he can just make a donation to my non profit that’s for the youth in our communities that are less fortunate https://t.co/wTpp9b7Mod

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) April 13, 2026

Perkins, 41, played 14 seasons in the NBA, including the first eight years of his career with the Boston Celtics. Simmons, 56, is an unabashed Boston sports fan who came to national prominence as a columnist at ESPN beginning in the early 2000s, including a two-year stint as an analyst on ESPN's NBA Countdown show.

"I don't know who anointed you the preacher or king or the head honcho of basketball, of the way things need to be. What have you done? Have you ever played?" Perkins said to Simmons in his initial video posted to social media on June 26, 2025. "... You feel like you're sitting on this throne. You got in your feelings because I feel like the Toronto Raptors are going to be a top-six seed in the Eastern Conference this upcoming season? So? That wasn't a crazy take or anything to that nature. It's a real thing, fool."

Simmons wrote back to Perkins in June he was, "honored that you sat in a car for 2+ minutes to scold me on your iPhone like this, even though we are a combined age of like 92. If you actually think Toronto will be top-6 in the East in anything other than 'most fun place to visit' – let’s wager on it ASAP."

Perkins was ready to collect just as soon as the NBA regular season concluded.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kendrick Perkins revives Bill Simmons feud over NBA, Raptors 'wager'

The 2026 NBA playoffs are upon us.

As of this moment, 20 teams are still alive for a shot at the Larry O’Brien trophy. However, eight of those teams still have some work to do before their playoff journeys can begin in earnest. Things kick off on Tuesday with the Play-In Tournament, as four teams in the Eastern Conference, and four teams in the Western Conference, vie for the final two spots in each conference.

Here is the schedule for the Play-In Tournament as well as the First Round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs. And be warned, if you want to watch all the games, you better have Prime Video.

Here’s the final bracket for the 2026 NBA Playoffs. Remember, the NBA does not reseed.

Eastern Conference Play-In

The Eastern Conference Play-In tournament gets things going on Tuesday, April 15. The Miami Heat and the Charlotte Hornets square off in the first game, with the loser eliminated from postseason contention. The winner will take on the loser of Wednesday’s game between No. 8 Orlando and No. 7 Philadelphia, with the winner of that game securing the No. 7 seed in the East.

The loser of that second game will drop to the No. 8 spot.

All times Eastern.

No. 9 Charlotte Hornets 127, No. 10 Miami Heat 126 (OT)
Miami eliminated

No. 8 Orlando Magic at No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers: Wednesday, April 15 (7:30 p.m., Prime Video)
Winner secures No. 7 seed in East

No. 7/No. 8 loser vs. No. 9 Charlotte Hornets: Friday, April 17 (7:30 p.m., Prime Video)
Winner secures No. 8 seed in East, loser eliminated

Western Conference Play-In

Over in the Western Conference, the Play-In Tournament begins with the Phoenix Suns hosting the Portland Trail Blazers, with the winner of that game on Tuesday securing the No. 7 seed. The loser will take on the winner of Wednesday’s game between No. 10 Golden State and No. 9 Los Angeles.

All times Eastern.

No. 8 Portland Trail Blazers at No. 7 Phoenix Suns, Tuesday, April 14 ( 10:00 p.m., Prime Video)
Winner secures No. 7 seed in West

No. 10 Golden State Warriors at No. 9 Los Angeles Clippers: Wednesday, April 15 ( 10:00 p.m., Prime Video)
Loser eliminated

No. 7/No. 8 loser vs. No. 9/No. 10 winner: Friday, April 17 ( 10:00 p.m., Prime Video)
Winner secures No. 8 seed in West, loser eliminated

Eastern Conference Playoffs

Six teams are waiting in the Eastern Conference, led by the top-seeded Detroit Pistons. They’ll take on the No. 8 seed in the first round, while the Boston Celtics — who check in as the No. 2 seed in the East — will take on the No. 7 seed.

The other two first-round matchups are set: No. 3 New York vs. No. 6 Atlanta, and No. 4 Cleveland vs. No. 5 Toronto.

First Round

No. 1 Detroit Pistons vs. No. 8 (TBD)

Game 1: TBD at Detroit: Sunday, April 19 (6:30 p.m., NBC)
Game 2: TBD at Detroit: TBD
Game 3: Detroit at TBD: TBD
Game 4: Detroit at TBD: TBD
Game 5: TBD at Detroit: TBD*
Game 6: Detroit at TBD: TBD*
Game 7: TBD at Detroit: TBD*

No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. No. 7 (TBD)

Game 1: TBD at Boston: Sunday, April 19 (1:00 p.m., ABC)
Game 2: TBD at Boston: TBD
Game 3: Boston at TBD: TBD
Game 4: Boston at TBD: TBD
Game 5: TBD at Boston: TBD*
Game 6: Boston at TBD: TBD*
Game 7: TBD at Boston: TBD*

No. 3 New York Knicks vs. No. 6 Atlanta Hawks

Game 1: Atlanta at New York: Saturday, April 18 (6:00 p.m., Prime Video)
Game 2: Atlanta at New York: TBD
Game 3: New York at Atlanta: TBD
Game 4: New York at Atlanta: TBD
Game 5: Atlanta at New York: TBD*
Game 6: New York at Atlanta: TBD*
Game 7: Atlanta at New York: TBD*

No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Toronto Raptors

Game 1: Toronto at Cleveland: Saturday, April 18 (1:00 p.m., Prime Video)
Game 2: Toronto at Cleveland: TBD
Game 3: Cleveland at Toronto: TBD
Game 4: Cleveland at Toronto: TBD
Game 5: Toronto at Cleveland: TBD*
Game 6: Cleveland at Toronto: TBD*
Game 7: Toronto at Cleveland: TBD*

*If necessary

Western Conference Playoffs

Over in the Western Conference, the defending champions are waiting on the results of the Play-In Tournament, as the Thunder will have home-court in the First Round against the No. 8 seed. Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs secured the No. 2 seed, and will take on the No. 7 seed.

The other two matchups in the Western Conference are set. In the first, No. 3 Denver will take on No. 6 Minnesota, while in the second, No. 4 Los Angeles matches up against No. 5 Houston.

First Round

No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 8 (TBD)

Game 1: TBD at Oklahoma City: Sunday, April 19 (3:30 p.m., ABC)
Game 2: TBD at Oklahoma City: TBD
Game 3: Oklahoma City at TBD: TBD
Game 4: Oklahoma City at TBD: TBD
Game 5: TBD at Oklahoma City: TBD*
Game 6: Oklahoma City at TBD: TBD*
Game 7: TBD at Oklahoma City: TBD*

No. 2 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 7 (TBD)

Game 1: TBD at San Antonio: Sunday, April 19 (9:00 p.m., NBC)
Game 2: TBD at San Antonio: TBD
Game 3: San Antonio at TBD: TBD
Game 4: San Antonio at TBD: TBD
Game 5: TBD at San Antonio: TBD*
Game 6: San Antonio at TBD: TBD*
Game 7: TBD at San Antonio: TBD*

No. 3 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves

Game 1: Minnesota at Denver: Saturday, April 18 (3:30 p.m., Prime Video)
Game 2: Minnesota at Denver: TBD
Game 3: Denver at Minnesota: TBD
Game 4: Denver at Minnesota: TBD
Game 5: Minnesota at Denver: TBD*
Game 6: Denver at Minnesota: TBD*
Game 7: Minnesota at Denver: TBD*

No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 5 Houston Rockets

Game 1: Houston at Los Angeles: Saturday, April 18 (8:30 p.m., ABC)
Game 2: Houston at Los Angeles: TBD
Game 3: Los Angeles at Houston: TBD
Game 4: Los Angeles at Houston: TBD
Game 5: Houston at Los Angeles: TBD*
Game 6: Los Angeles at Houston: TBD*
Game 7: Houston at Los Angeles: TBD*

*If necessary

With the Sixers taking care of business against the Milwaukee Bucks (so long, Doc Rivers) and the Orlando Magic losing to the Hospital Celtics, we’ll have meaningful basketball in South Philly this week.

The Sixers will host the Magic in the 7-8 play-in game Wednesday at Xfinity Mobile Arena. It’s simple: win and the Sixers will take on the second-seeded Boston Celtics in the first round. Lose and they get another shot to make the playoffs and take on the top-seeded Detroit Pistons with a win over the loser of the 9-10 play-in game. Lose both games and that’s all she wrote.

Any questions or thoughts about the matchup? Hit me up in the comments.