Category: NBA

A day later, Kenny Atkinson remained firmly in James Harden’s corner. 

No second-guessing his decision to stick with the veteran despite his issues defending Jalen Brunson in the Knicks’ wild comeback from 22 points down to win the opener of the Eastern Conference finals. 

“One thing about James: I’ll just defend him,” the Cavaliers coach said Wednesday. “He’s a good isolation defender, always has been. He’s super smart. I said it [Tuesday] night, he has great hands.”

In fact, Atkinson was far more disappointed with Cleveland’s team defense — or lack thereof. Time and again, the Knicks targeted Harden in the pick-and-roll to get him to switch on to Brunson, and the superstar guard torched the Cavaliers for 17 of his 38 points in the final 12:39 of regulation and overtime.

In the fourth quarter, the Knicks were able to get Harden to switch on to Brunson for nine isolations that averaged 1.9 points per action, according to the “All NBA Podcast.” In a stretch when Brunson scored 11 straight Knicks points to cap an 18-1 burst, Harden was the primary defender. 

“[Brunson] hit two or three really tough shots on him, but the baseline drive [that tied the game with 19.3 seconds remaining in regulation] where our low guy didn’t come over and get a contest, that is team defense. At this level, it’s team defense,” Atkinson said. “Sure, everybody’s putting it on James. A lot of it’s on the team, our team defense. … Sure, some of it was him, there were a couple of blow-byes. But again, I’d argue it was the team defense, too.” 

On a few occasions, the Cavaliers blitzed Brunson to get the ball out of his hands, but it resulted in open shots for other Knicks, which was also a major part of the comeback. 

It has been an inconsistent postseason for Harden. While he is averaging 19.7 points and six assists, he is only shooting 31.8 percent from 3-point range on 7.1 attempts. He has also accounted for more turnovers than field goals in six different playoff games, including the series opener. 

But Atkinson has vehemently defended him throughout, speaking to Harden recently about his belief in him.

“Without you, we’re knocked out in the first round,” the coach told him. “We’re in a great position, you’ve played great. Sometimes micro experiences get exaggerated. Keep being yourself.” 

Kenny Atkinson called it “devastating.”

No, not Tuesday’s Eastern Conference finals opener, in which his Cavaliers blew a 22-point fourth quarter lead to the Knicks.

He was referring to Game 6 of the opening round, specifically RJ Barrett’s game-winning 3-pointer that bounced off the back rim and dropped in, forcing a Game 7. 

The point: Heartbreak isn’t new to this group of Cavaliers. They are well-versed in adversity, having survived two elimination games to get to this point. 

“We’ve been through it in the playoffs,” the Cavaliers coach said Wednesday after a walk-through inside the Garden. “I’m more like, ‘OK, here it is. This is what it’s about.’ You live between misery and awesomeness in the playoffs, and this is of course misery. But this is probably the fourth miserable game we’ve had in the playoffs. It’s like, ‘OK, get back on the horse.’ ”

Atkinson wasn’t trying to diminish the pain of the setback, and nor were his players.

The Cavaliers were in position to take home-court advantage, dominating the Knicks for three-plus quarters. MSG was quiet. The home team looked rusty. 

Then, everything went wrong for the visitors. 

“We gave them a game,” reserve guard Dennis Schröder said. “At the end of the day, we controlled the game — I think 90 percent of the game we controlled it. The last 10 percent, they did a great job. You have to give them credit, too, for not giving up and making shots at the end, and that was the game.” 

There was a lot to like before the collapse at both ends of the floor. Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points on 11-for-17 shooting in the first three quarters. Big men Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley were giving the Knicks fits. Cleveland didn’t look like such a big underdog. 

“I want to lean on the positive,” Atkinson said. “We had three quarters of really good basketball — some of the best basketball we’ve honestly played in the playoffs, offensively and defensively.”

The hope for the Cavaliers is their experiences throughout this postseason will help them Thursday and beyond. This is a team that shook off the Barrett shot, that rallied from a 2-0 deficit to take down the top-seeded Pistons in the Eastern Conference semifinals and win Game 7 in Detroit in emphatic fashion. 

“Just understanding that we didn’t have the best effort last night, we didn’t have the best outcome,” Allen said, “and the resiliency is going to show [Thursday] how we come out. 

“Just have confidence in yourself and the team, and know that we have to go get one [in Game 2].”

Jalen Williams left the game in the first quarter of Game 2 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday, May 20 and did not return due to a hamstring injury.

The Oklahoma City Thunder forward was in the starting lineup for the matchup against the San Antonio Spurs but only played seven minutes before he was sidelined. Cason Wallace took his place.

ESPN NBA reporter Tim MacMahon said on X that Williams was "getting treatment on his left hamstring." The NBC broadcast also reported the news and showed Williams walking into the locker room with his hamstring wrapped in ice.

Head coach Mark Daigneault spoke to the media after the Thunder's 122-113 win and addressed Williams' injury.

“He’s going to get checked out,” he said. “I don’t deal in hypotheticals, especially when doctors are involved. I just let them tell us what’s going on, so he’ll get checked out in the morning, we’ll see where he’s at, we’ll update accordingly.”

Williams had 4 points and 2 steals in the game, which evened the series.

Jalen Williams heads to the locker room due to left hamstring injury pic.twitter.com/xmpEOdRkB5

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) May 21, 2026

Williams suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain in Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs, where the Thunder swept the Phoenix Suns. He sat out six games before returning in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the Spurs.

We witnessed one of the greatest postseason slams of all-time as San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle rose up and put Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein on a poster during Game 2 of the Western Conference finals on May 20.

Castle drove the basket with 8:19 remaining in the second quarter and the Spurs trailed 43-39 as they were building momentum to climb back from a deficit.

The lane opened up. Castle took off before he posterized Hartenstein.

The NBA has announced the 2025-26 All-Rookie Team and it's headlined by former Duke teammates Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg, the league's Rookie of the Year.

The accolade is reserved for the 10 best first-year players in the league during the 2025-26 regular season.

It's comprised of prospects who, in their first year, made an impact on the floor that was felt around the league. These players are projected to be the future of the league, whether as superstars or vital role players.

The All-Rookie First Team includes: Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg, San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper, Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel, Philadelphia 76ers forward VJ Edgecombe and Memphis Grizzlies guard Cedric Coward.

Flagg, Knueppel and Edgecombe each racked up 100 first-place votes.

The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder’s matchup in the 2026 Western Conference Finals is destined to go down as an all-timer. Game 1 was a double-overtime instant classic that saw the Spurs take control with an incredible performance from Victor Wembanyama, including a logo three-pointer to tie the game from Steph Curry range. How can Game 2 live up to its predecessor? Well, San Antonio guard Stephon Castle did his best by dropping one of the best dunks you will ever seen in the NBA Playoffs.

During the second quarter, Castle took a kickout pass from Wembanyama and attacked the paint with force. He sized up Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein and ripped a vicious tomahawk slam on his head. Poster dunks don’t get any better than this. Watch the play here:

Castle doesn’t have a reliable jump shot, he’s battled turnover problems throughout his career (with 11 in Game 1), and his handle can be shaky. It doesn’t matter because he plays with so much damn force on both ends of the floor, and he put it all on display with this dunk.

Wembanyama isn’t the only young stud on the Spurs. Castle is a great young player, and he’s proving it in this series.

Jalen Brunson has brought the best out of Madison Square Garden in the past four years, inspiring its loudest and most frequent pops.

Josh Hart isn’t far behind, doing it in a different way, doing it in so many ways, born from never-ending hustle and never-questioned passion. 

But Hart was a spectator to the greatest postseason comeback in Knicks history, watching the 22-point rally in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals with a T-shirt over his jersey and a towel over his shoulders after being benched in the fourth quarter and overtime for Landry Shamet.


“That’s always difficult, watching it on the bench,” Hart said after Wednesday’s practice. “Obviously, I want to be out there. I want to help my guys win, but at the end of the day, for me, I don’t have an ego to it. I approach this game with extreme humility.

“I’m here to serve these guys … [to] make sure they’re in the best position to be successful. I put the success of the team over the success of myself any day.”


Hart’s enthusiasm was evident as he stood alongside his teammates on the sideline, celebrating each of Shamet’s 3-pointers that allowed the Knicks to claim the historic victory.



Mike Brown had little choice but to emphasize shooting and spacing after Hart badly missed multiple 3-pointers (1-for-5) — and posted a team-worst minus-23 rating — while Cleveland left him open on the perimeter.

Shamet made each of his three 3-pointers, finishing with a team-best plus-20 rating.
Hart, who shot a career-best 41.3 percent of 3-pointers this season, has only gone 26.7 percent in the playoffs, and anticipates the Cavaliers again daring him to beat them from deep.

“For them, this is the same game plan that put them up [22]. … So they’re probably gonna do the exact same thing,” Hart said. “I’m gonna shoot the exact same shots. I’m gonna shoot it with confidence, play my game.

“I shot good shots. I just didn’t make them … I’m gonna continue to shoot. I’m working incredibly hard on my shots.” 

Hart was back at it during Wednesday’s practice, taking numerous corner 3-pointers in the brief window open to the media.

At one point, he hit eight straight. Six touched nothing but net. The other two barely nudged iron before falling through.



Game 2 will be different from a day at the driving range, but Brown expects Hart’s impact to be felt again, just as Mikal Bridges’ benching in the first round led to him becoming one of the most impactful players in the postseason.

“When you are in the position that Josh was in or Mikal was in in the Atlanta series … they sacrificed their minutes willingly and they were great about it while keeping themselves ready,” Brown said. “Mikal was fantastic … and I don’t see anything different from Josh going forward.”

No surprise here, the Sixers’ rookie is getting recognized for his stellar inaugural season as a pro.

Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe has been named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, the league announced on Wednesday night. The other First Team rookies for this season are Cedric Coward (Memphis), Cooper Flagg (Dallas), Dylan Harper (Spurs) and Kon Knueppel (Hornets).

The last Sixer to make the All-Rookie First Team was Ben Simmons, way back in 2017-18.

Just about a year ago, Edgecombe was selected third overall in the 2025 Draft by the Sixers, and he’s been showing off the capabilities and personality of a star ever since — of course, starting with his 34-point career debut against the Boston Celtics to open the season. Sure, he didn’t end up doing quite that every single game, but there’s very few rookies that showed more league-ready promise than Edgecombe did on a consistent basis, even in some big moments. In 75 games as a rookie, the 20-year-old averaged 16.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Not only that, but he proved that he’s already ready to be relied upon by his teammates in the clutch, with Edgecombe posting a number of incredibly-timed, massive buckets (and performances overall) throughout his first campaign in the NBA.

Though a distant third to Rookie of the Year-winner Flagg and runner-up Knueppel, Edgecombe was the clear-cut selection by voters for third place in that race. Edgecombe actually joined Flagg and Knueppel in receiving all First-Team nods from the 100 voters surveyed for the All-Rookie selection. Certainly not bad company to be in the mix with, and a display of how highly Edgecombe’s play is being regarded, even outside of the Sixers-specific orbit.

Seeing the players that made the First-Team alongside Edgecombe down throughout the Second-Team — and even some that didn’t make the cut for either — really makes you appreciate the talent that has already been shown by the 2025 draft class. And it’s only the beginning for this crew, with a number of guys on the list having not even hit their 21st birthdays yet.

Edgecombe is one of them. So, let’s hope this rookie season was a sign of many more brilliant things to come for the Sixers’ boy from Bimini.

Mike Brown of the New York Knicks and Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers are facing off in the Eastern Conference Finals in a showdown of former Golden State Warriors assistant coaches. Game 1 went to Brown’s Knicks thanks to lessons he learned facing James Harden in the playoffs with the Warriors.

After the Knicks made an improbable comeback from 22 points down to win Game 1 in overtime, 115-104, Brown credited the approach the Warriors took when battling Harden in the 2018 and 2019 playoffs.

“We played Houston in the playoffs. We counted Harden’s dribbles,” Brown told reporters after the win. “He’s dribbling 1,000 times a game. [Kevin Durant] was at 300 or right below, so keep picking him up at full speed. Because at the end of series, at the end of games, it’ll wear him down.”

Brown did acknowledge that the strategy may have only given his players a “psychological advantage,” but the approach did play a big part in Tuesday’s Knicks comeback. Jalen Brunson started forcing switches to get matched on Harden and went on to shoot 7-for-9 with 15 points in the 4th quarter, while Harden shot 1-for-6 and missed his only attempt in overtime.

Meanwhile, Atkinson coached more like former Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, playing Harden the entirety of the 4th quarter and OT and keeping Donovan Mitchell in for the final 17 minutes of the game.

He also took Steve Kerr’s frequent “no timeout” approach to the end of games to an extreme. Kerr does it to get looks against a defense that doesn’t get a chance to set up, which worked when Harden hit a turnaround jumper with 31 seconds to play. However, Kerr doesn’t hoard timeouts for no reason! Atkinson waited until the Knicks had gone on a 16-1 run before calling a timeout in the fourth, waited out a 9-0 run before using a timeout in overtime, and ended regulation with two timeouts in his pocket.

Here’s some other elements Brown may have taken away from the Warriors.

Unnecessary help defense

The Knicks defended corner threes like the Warriors have for the last few seasons. Cleveland built their big lead thanks to the Knicks over-helping and leaving players like Sam Merrill and Max Strus wide-open behind the arc.

Going small

You know who would have loved the guard-heavy lineups the Knicks went to during their epic comeback? Steve Kerr, baby! Five different guards saw the floor in the fourth quarter. Three of them were 6-foot-2 or shorter. And Landry Shamet, who sank two threes in the comeback, has hair that’s almost as crazy as Brandin Podziemski!

Running the offense through a front court player who commits a lot of turnovers

The Knicks confounded the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers by using Karl-Anthony Towns as a passer, running their offense through the big man. In Game 1, that led to Towns committing seven turnovers, though unlike a certain Warriors big man, he did grab 13 rebounds.

Leaning on a guard whose father played in the NBA to bail you out

When in doubt, give the ball to Jalen Brunson or Steph Curry in crunch time and you’ll look like a genius.

Beat the Cleveland Cavaliers

The Warriors went 8-1 in the playoffs against the Cavs while Brown was on the bench. Now’s 9-1 against his old team. That’ll teach Cleveland to fire him twice!

The Spurs won’t have a third consecutive Rookie of the Year, as the Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg claimed that honor, but that doesn’t mean Dylan Harper’s excellent play will go unrecognized. The second overall pick of the 2025 draft got a spot in the All-Rookie First Team, the league announced.

Harper received 93 first-place votes and seven second-place votes, trailing only Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and VJ Edgecombe, who all got 100 first-place votes. Rounding up the top five is Grizzlies rookie Cedric Coward. Out of the five, Harper is the only one to come off the bench for most of the season. He also played the fewest minutes per game, but his impact was undeniable, and his spot was deserved.

Had Harper landed on a non-contender, he would have likely had better numbers and potentially been a Rookie of the Year finalist, at the very least. In San Antonio, he was asked to provide bench scoring while sharing the ball with an All-Star veteran like De’Aaron Fox and the 2024 Rookie of the Year, Stephon Castle. Harper was impressive in his role and has shown his tremendous potential with standout performances both in the regular season and now in the playoffs. The 2025 class looks like a strong one, but Harper still has a chance to be the best player to come out of it as he grows into a bigger role and rounds out his game.

The second team features New Orleans’ Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears, Sacramento’s Maxime Raynaud, Utah’s Ace Bailey, and Toronto’s Collin Murray-Boyles.

The Spurs’ other first-rounder in 2025, Carter Bryant, was among the other players receiving votes, but his three second-place selections didn’t get him close to a spot on an All-Rookie team. Like Harper, Bryant would have probably received more minutes in a rebuilding team, but has been brought along slowly in San Antonio, showing flashes of potential and elite athleticism at the wing.

Harper averaged 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists while shooting 50 percent from the floor and an encouraging 34 percent from three on 22.6 minutes a game during the regular season.

Brandon Clarke's fiancée made her first public statements since the NBA player's passing.

Amber Suchomel, who goes by Amber Hana Lorraine on social media, published an Instagram post on Sunday, May 17 expressing her grief at losing Clarke, according to multiple outlets. Suchomel has since made her Instagram profile private.

"There are no words to describe this feeling,” Suchomel said, as People reported. “I never thought I’d have to live life without you. I’m not really sure how to do this without you by my side. You were the most special person, with the biggest heart. You made an impact on so many people, but most of all me. I have never felt so loved and cared for, you made me feel like the most special girl in the world.”

Suchomel went on to praise the Memphis Grizzlies forward, who died on May 11, for being "so impressive" in "everything you were passionate about," including his seven-year basketball career and his venture as a music artist.

The Knicks went back to old reliable.

And it sparked their historic Game 1 comeback.

There has been so much written and said about the offensive transformation that was behind the Knicks turning a 2-1 first-round deficit into seven straight overpowering wins.

They began playing through Karl-Anthony Towns as a facilitator from the elbows, allowing others around him — notably Jalen Brunson — to cut and set screens around him. The Hawks and 76ers had no answers. Towns’ assist numbers skyrocketed.

But predictably, it was not nearly as effective against the Cavaliers and their two strong big man defenders in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Towns’ ability to easily see and pass over Onyeka Okongwu and Joel Embiid was key to that system thriving. Mobley and Allen, though, are much more active and disruptive defenders and made it much more difficult for Towns to facilitate.

He had seven turnovers compared to five assists.

So down the stretch, as the Knicks mounted their epic comeback, they went away from that system. It was back to having the ball in Brunson’s hands to start possessions, with the others spreading the floor and letting him score in isolation. And he took over.

“That’s just the action we went to at the time,” coach Mike Brown said after practice Wednesday. “But we have a lot of other stuff and we didn’t execute well throughout the course of the game. We have to do a better job of it. And we tried to clean a lot of it up today and hopefully it will translate to the game [Thursday] because I feel like everybody we have on the floor is dynamic, our offense has been dynamic and we don’t want to lose sight of that.”

Brunson scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, including 11 straight Knicks points. Possession after possession, he relentlessly hunted James Harden. If Harden wasn’t initially on Brunson, the Knicks got him involved in an action, and he repeatedly switched way too easily and ended up on Brunson.

The Knicks forced Harden to switch onto Brunson for nine isolation plays in the fourth quarter and overtime, according to the “All NBA Podcast,” which features ESPN’s top NBA analyst Tim Legler. They averaged an incredible 1.9 points per action. Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson curiously watched it all unfold for a long stretch before calling timeout or adjusting to have Harden avoid guarding Brunson.

“It was cool,” Josh Hart said Wednesday. “Obviously he took over the fourth quarter, overtime.”

This wasn’t the free-flowing offense with ample ball movement that was on display across those seven games. This was mano a mano, with Brunson embarrassing Harden.

That doesn’t mean the Knicks have to completely abandon the Towns-centric system, though. It struggled in Game 1, and the Brunson ball-dominant system proved to be the more effective for that situation.

But it now provides the Knicks with different systems they can utilize in different scenarios.

The Knicks are confident that they will be able to revamp the Towns-centric system, particularly as the series goes on. OG Anunoby, whose cutting around Towns is pivotal to that system, getting more and more healthy should help.

“Trying to show the diversity our group has,” Brown said. “Not just with the actions that we try to execute but with the players involved in it. I have to try to do a better job of helping with that diversity throughout the course of the game so that down the stretch we have a few more things that we go to.”

The Knicks also expect the Cavaliers to adjust, even if Atkinson doubled down Wednesday on his support of Harden as a one-on-one defender. If the Cavaliers try to blitz or double-team Brunson, it would make sense for the Knicks to revert to the Towns-centric system.

“They are going to be ready and mix it up at the end of the day,” Brown said. “It’s our job to make sure we are more efficient and we are more diverse offensively so that no one can sit on any one action we are trying to run.”

It became clear that Brunson hunting Harden is where the Knicks likely have their biggest advantage. The Cavaliers lack any sort of defensive ace that can slow Brunson down when he’s in a rhythm.

But they still have their recent revelation in their back pocket.

While the Lakers will have plenty of player movement with their roster this summer, there will also likely be a lot of front office movement as well.

The arrival of Mark Walter as owner was always going to lead to filling out the front office. President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka acknowledged that the team would spare no expense to do so during the season. At his exit interview, he revealed the team planned to hire a pair of assistant general managers this summer.

However, there’s another role in the front office that the team was at least looking to fill previously. In an article on Wednesday from Yaron Weitzman of Yahoo Sports, it was revealed that the team offered the role of Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations to Timberwolves executive Steve Senior, who turned it down.

Around February, Zaidi started placing calls to agents representing front office and medical personnel to inquire about their clients. Around three months later, the Lakers offered Steve Senior, an assistant general manager for the Minnesota Timberwolves, the job of executive vice president of basketball operations. Senior, who declined to comment, decided to remain with the Timberwolves, according to multiple league sources.

As is often the case with front office figures, Senior is a relatively unknown name. The Wolves hired him in 2022 from the Grizzlies for a role that should sound familiar to Lakers fans.

Senior worked in player development with the Grizzlies and had similar responsibilities, as well as being a video coordinator, with the Knicks.

The role the Lakers were hiring him for was definitely different from the assistant GM roles Pelinka mentioned. That’s good news for fans as it shows that the team is really looking to build out a bigger front office.

The Wolves are a great front office to try to poach talent from as well. They’ve built a team that is a perennial contender in the Western Conference with multiple players developing into quality role players in Minnesota, none more than Jaden McDaniels.

Weitzman notes that it’s unclear if the Lakers are still looking to fill that role, but it would be a surprise if they weren’t. It’s a high enough job title that it could entice some higher-ranking executives in other teams to come over.

This is also the point of having Walter’s billions. Pull out every job title you can think of and hire people accordingly. This is an area where the Lakers are not restricted by the league in their spending and need to flex their muscle.

Even if they were turned down this time, that should not deter them from continuing to make hires.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.