Category: NBA

The Spurs played one of the most entertaining games of the season in Denver on Saturday. Unfortunately, it ended with a painful loss in overtime for the Silver and Black, which helped confirm the concerns of the skeptics about San Antonio’s chances to execute down the stretch against top-level opponents in games with playoff intensity.

In reality, the loss, while annoying, is actually encouraging for the Spurs. It doesn’t make it sting any less, because the team seemed to have it in the bag a couple of times, but it showed just how high the ceiling of this group is, even when they are not at their best. Let’s break it down.

The Spurs made a lot of mistakes and still almost won the game

Close losses to other contenders are discouraging when a team plays almost flawless basketball, and it’s still not enough. When your best falls short, it’s time to reconsider whether you can actually measure up with the top dogs. But the Spurs did not play near their best down the stretch, and they still had a chance to beat an opponent the consensus believes can win a championship.

While rewatching the fourth quarter, here are the mistakes in judgment I could see:

• With Jokic off the court and Valanciunas reeling defensively, Wembanyama takes a pull-up three with 18 seconds on the clock instead of running anything. Not one pass on the play.
• With Jokic back on the floor, the Spurs get Dylan Harper a switch to attack Jokic and he settles for a three instead of driving to collapse the defense or try to get to the rim, where his finishing is elite.
• Wembanyama is guarding Jokic. It gets physical, and Wemby flops to get the official’s attention. They don’t call the foul, and Jokic has a clear path to score at the rim.
• After a Keldon Johnson missed three, the Spurs get back in transition, but no one rushes to pick up Jamal Murray as the trailer, and Murray hits a lightly contested three.
• Keldon Johnson passes up a good three with eight seconds in the shot clock. Spurs try to reset with Harper attacking with the shot winding down, but turn it over, and allow a transition bucket.

Again, these are just errors in judgment, not execution. The possessions in which the ball got sticky and the Spurs didn’t find an open shooter quickly enough, or, for example, when De’Aaron Fox closed out too recklessly on a three for a four-point play, are not counted. The focus is also on process over result, so Harrison Barnes airballing an open three or Castle travelling on an isolation against Hardway Jr., for example, aren’t on this list.

No team is perfect, and the Nuggets also had their errors, but those are a lot of mistakes for San Antonio, especially against an opponent that can capitalize on them. Looking at that list, you’d imagine the Spurs got crushed in the fourth quarter, but they only lost by four and held a two-possession lead in the final minute.

The coaching and execution have plenty of room to improve

Now, since the biggest knock on the Spurs as legitimate contenders is their youth and lack of experience, some would say that the fact they lost because of poor decision-making shows that there are plenty of reasons for concern. But the game was also lost strategically, and that shouldn’t happen in a playoff series where obvious adjustments are expected.

Again, just focusing on the fourth quarter and overtime, there were plenty of tweaks Mitch Johnson could have made to counter the Nuggets’ play. One of the main ones involved Nikola Jokic. Denver hid The Joker on Keldon Johnson, Julian Champagnie, and Stephon Castle, alternatively. Instead of getting the big man involved in the main action and forcing him to defend either Wembanyama or a guard after a switch, they largely allowed Jokic to rest on defense, as he stood near the corner, barely contesting shots if the ball moved to his man.

So if they were not hunting Jokic, what were the Spurs doing on offense? They were running a lot of their plays through Wembanyama at the elbow. When Wemby got Jamal Murray on a switch, that was a good outcome, as he either scored or someone got an open three after a double team. The problem was that whenever Aaron Gordon managed to recover and guard Wemby, he struggled against one of the best defenders in the league, either taking off-balance shots or holding the ball for too long and passing out with the shot clock about to expire.

Is it worrisome that the adjustments never came? Only if you believe that Johnson wouldn’t make them if these two teams met in the playoffs.

The Spurs probably needed this loss to keep them sharp

It has to be at least somewhat reassuring to see that this Spurs team is so talented that there were a couple of plays away from winning the game. If Wemby doesn’t botch the switch in the tying Nuggets’ bucket in regulation or hits the would-be game-winner, the discourse would be completely different. Had Fox made a slightly better pass or had Vassell been able to control the ball in the alley-oop attempt to tie it with 23 seconds to go, maybe San Antonio would have ended up winning.

At the same time, a lot of games, especially close postseason games, come down to a handful of plays. The Spurs need to be the ones who are sharper, and they were not getting tested much in the past couple of months. There are no moral victories for contenders, but there are learning experiences, and this was one. Even the players agreed.

“A game like this is something that we needed, especially with the games we’ve been playing the past week and a half, with some teams that are not fighting for what we are fighting for,” said Julian Champagnie. “Obviously, we lost, and that’s not the outcome you want to leave with, but I think that when we go back and watch the film, there will be a lot of valuable things that we can take from that.”

Meanwhile, Wembanyama called the matchup “fun” and touched on the same topics as Champagnie:

“My conclusion for this game is that it’s good for us. Everything that happened tonight is good for us. It’s a real test against a team that actually is playing for something right now. It had a little bit of playoff vibes.”

A win would have been ideal, and was within grasp, but the loss reminded the Spurs they need to clean things up as the postseason approaches, which is undoubtedly a good thing.

“I’ve always told the players from the first week that I was here that winning starts now,” Jordi Fernández said pregame today. “And for a lot of people, winning means different things. You can see a win on the standings — that’s a win for some. Development can be a win. Real minutes in the NBA can be a win.”

Today, it would have been a loss.

Let’s not kid ourselves. For the Brooklyn Nets and visiting Washington Wizards’ organizations, today’s “game” was all about picking up a key loss to better position themselves for the upcoming NBA draft lottery. Washington came in today with a half game lead over Brooklyn for the top lottery slot. Both teams have just four remaining games, and if the Nets lost, they’d jump into a tie for first.

If you were looking for a contested, high-stakes basketball experience, featuring the heart-pumping, competitive thrill all forms of competition rely and thrive on, the Barclays Center simply was not the place for you or it today.

Calling the injury report a “laundry list” doesn’t do it enough justice. Between the two teams, the following players did not suit up this afternoon:

• Ben Saraf (back tightness)
• Noah Clowney (left ankle soreness)
• Terance Mann (right patella tendon soreness/left achilles soreness)
• Ziaire Williams (left foot soreness)
• Nic Claxton (right hand soreness)
• Danny Wolf (left ankle sprain)
• Michael Porter Jr. (left hamstring strain)
• Day’Ron Sharpe (left thumb surgery)
• Egor Dëmin (left plantar fascia injury management)
• Justin Champagnie (right knee contusion)
• Bilal Coulibaly (right retrocalcaneal bursitis)
• Anthony Davis (left finger sprain)
• Kyshawn George (left elbow sprain)
• Tre Johnson (right foot sprain)
• Alex Sarr (left big toe capsulitis)
• Trisitan Vukcevic (right knee contusion)
• Cam Whitmore (right shoulder deep vein thrombosis)
• D’Angelo Russell (not with the team)
• Trae Young (low back pain/right quad contusion)

There are civil war histories with less populated casualty lists!

Still with us? Gravy! That left each team with only a handful of players available, many having spent the majority of this season in the G-League. Brooklyn started with Nolan Traoré, Drake Powell, Jalen Wilson, E.J. Liddell, and Chaney Johnson. For the latter two, this was their first career start at the pro level.

For a while, it didn’t look too shabby. Even with a motley crew out there, the Nets had an easy time setting up early offense. With how they welcomed any and all Brooklyn ball-handlers inside, you would’ve thought the Wizards were training to be hosts at Applebee’s. Even Jalen Wilson, who’s not exactly known for putting pressure on the rim, got through for some paint points in the first.

That put an abundance of drive and kick threes on the Easter menu early. The Nets opened the game 6-8 from deep, and in a flash, were up double digits.

“Little bit of game flow, little bit of just taking what I get,” Wilson said. “I don’t want to just be so stuck on threes and limit myself. Like being able to get downhill, not only looking to get to the cup, but looking for my teammates. You know, when the paint collapses, we got guys ready to spray.”

But while Washington couldn’t match Brooklyn’s shooting, the Net defense wasn’t so strong either, particularly on the glass. The Wizards wingardium leviosa’d nine offensive rebounds in the first half for 15 second chance points. The Nets have understandably struggled on the boards since losing Day’Ron Sharpe for the season. Johnson stood as their tallest player today, being just six-foot-nine.

That clean up work from Washington helped them cut the lead to four with 6:06 remaining in the second, yet Brooklyn remained ahead at halftime. Even as the Nets cooled off from three, missing their next nine attempts after the 6-8 start, the Washington defense remained laughably weak. The Nets quit getting fancy, now just taking what their opponent kept giving them, and scored 22 paint points in the second after notching just 12 there in the first. That kept them afloat by five at the break.

Highlights were hard to come by in this game, but Josh Minott provided what he could. He had seven points and two blocks at the break. Wilson led with 13 points at halftime, followed by Traoré with 10, and Ochai Agbaji with eight.

“The dunk he had was crazy,” Wilson said of Minott’s jam. “I think Josh has played with such a high motor, and he’s confident himself. We’re all confident him shooting the ball, guarding good players. I think his hands are very active, and I feel like when he’s playing with that good pace, it boosts us a lot too, because he makes plays that get the crowd involved.”

WHY NOT MINOTT!!! 🆙 pic.twitter.com/VqrHnnITLM

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) April 5, 2026

When play resumed, the Nets had a hard time getting their engines up and running once more. For starters, there were a series of clock malfunctions in the period that made it tough for anyone to get into rhythm. Bub Carrington also started to heat up at the other end, at one point hitting a three that tied us at 73-73 with 4:13 to go in the third.

Bub with the fadeaway 🔥 pic.twitter.com/kafBM7yVKs

— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) April 5, 2026

Still, Brooklyn trotted into the fourth with an 85-84 lead. After being -8 in second chance points, they rebounded literally and figuratively in the third, allowing just one offensive board and two second chance points. They did, however, nearly double their turnover output from the first half, giving it away five times in the third.

Down the stretch, fixing that ended up being their saving grace, or damnation, depending on how you feel about tanking.

The Wizards started the fourth with a 5-0 jolt that gave them their first lead of the ballgame. All of a sudden, the Nets were missing layups, giving up open lanes to the basket, and all sorts of things that if clipped and posted online would create viral hysteria as tanking accusations stack.

But the Nets, as the admirable, yet frustratingly gritty team they’ve been for two years now, battled back with eight straight. It was no heavyweight fight, but two fighters going punch for punch with each other never fails to entertain, and that’s what we saw down the stretch. Will Riley was the guy for Washington, adding 12 points in the fourth. The Nets continued to rely on a balanced attack. With a little over two and a half to go, we were tied 105-105.

Then, after a few missed bunnies by both teams, the Nets had their second 8-0 run in the period, ignited by a handful of Washington turnovers. The Nets played an entirely clean final period, while turning the Wizards over five times for 13 points.

Drake with the steal + tough bucket 😤 pic.twitter.com/gLHqmfI3Fu

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) April 5, 2026

“Very clean with the spacing and handling,” Fernández said. “That’s a big reason why we won, to your point, having zero in the fourth. That’s how you win games in the NBA.”

Indeed, after Traoré and Wilson hit back-to-back threes, each a handful of feet beyond the arc, you knew we were headed for another victory most Nets fans will roll their eyes at. Brooklyn went on a 12-3 run to break the tie, take the game, and pass up on the best chance to take the best player this summer.

However, everyone was naturally concentrated on the win postgame, especially Traoré’s role in it. Much has been said of the rookie point guard lately with how he’s seemingly run into the “rookie wall,” but today, he looked spry.

“Yeah, I think he did a great job on this game, especially towards the end,” Fernández said. “Even though at times it gets a little rocky with the amount of games and so forth, it’s part of the NBA, and he’s a rookie, so he’s always trying to do the right thing.”

“He’s a point guard, he’s a rookie in NBA, and he’s leading us, putting us in positions to succeed offensively, defensively, vocalizing everything it needs to,” Wilson added. “I think that the development that he’s, you know, from day one to now, it’s amazing. I’m pleased with his attitude, his work, and trying to do the right things. And today, he was able to close the game. Obviously, you cannot control always making shots, but he made the right play over and over, and at the end of the day, that’s a big reason why we won.”

Traoré finished as the leading scorer for the Nets with career-high 23 points and seven dimes while shooting 7-18 from the field and 5-9 from three. Wilson followed with a 19/4/5 line, shooting 6-9 from the field and 2-4 from deep. Liddell also had a career-high with 15 points after shooting 5-7 from the field and 2-2 from deep. He also blocked two shots, grabbed five rebounds, and dished two assists.

In past instances, I’ve advised against getting too worked up over occasional wins for this team. After all, top odds don’t guarantee a top pick, and even with as little as four games left, there’s a number of variables in play that could alter how Brooklyn’s draft goes. At the moment though, the Nets are two games behind the Wizards in lottery odds and a game behind the Pacers. An rd as we’ve harped on, no team with the worst regular season record has won the overall No. 1 pick (and the last team to win the lottery from the third spot was the San Antonio Spurs in 2023 and that worked out just fine for them.

However, today can’t be one of those days. The Nets blew a chance on something right in front of them. Tanking isn’t fun, but neither is this.

Final: Brooklyn Nets 121, Washington Wizards 115

Milestone Watch

• Nolan Traore scored a career-high 23 points today against Washington with a career-best five 3-pointers (5-of-11) to go with two rebounds and seven assists. It was his ninth game of the season with 7+ assists, which tied Marcus Williams for the fifth most by a Nets rookie.
• E.J. Liddell hit career highs with his 15 points and two blocks. It is his second career game with 10+ points (10 on 3/14/26 at PHI).

Next Up

The drama-riddled Milwaukee Bucks are next on the docket for the Nets. Brooklyn hasn’t played the Bucks since December. Believe it or not, they beat the breaks off them, winning by 40+ points. With the season coming to a close an draft lottery positioning being top of mind, we’ll hope for a different result this time. The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday.

• Boxscore: Brooklyn Nets 121, Washington Wizards 115 – NBA
• Game Highlights: Brooklyn Nets 121, Washington Wizards 115 (Video) – NBA
• Nolan Traore scores 23 points, Jalen Wilson adds 19 and Nets beat Wizards 121-115 – AP
• Nets give away key lottery opportunity with comeback win over Wizards – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• Nets win tank war vs. Wizards, but keep focus on development with four games left ($) – C.J. Holmes – New York Daily News
• Nets end 2-game losing streak with 121-115 win over Wizards – Sharif Phillips-Keaton – USA TODAY

The Dallas Mavericks (24-53) are home for an early Sunday evening game against the Los Angeles Lakers (50-27). The Mavericks are coming off a loss against the Orlando Magic, but one where Cooper Flagg was on fire from the field and he scored 51. The Lakers had a devestating loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in more ways than one on Thursday.

Here are the main things you need to know:

• WHO: Dallas Mavericks vs Los Angeles Lakers
• WHAT: Dallas tries to end a long, long home losing streak
• WHERE: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
• WHEN: 6:30 pm CST
• HOW: NBC/Peacock

The Mavericks are fielding as close to a full team as we’ve seen in several games. Caleb Martin is out with his plantar issue. Moussa Cisse is questionable and I don’t think he’ll play given who Dallas has available. Tyler Smith is questionable due to illness. John Poulakidas is probable to play. Marvin Bagley is as well after dealing with a shoulder injury.

The Lakers are in a brutal injury position. Luka Doncic went down with a very bad hamstring injury against the Thunder. Austin Reaves also suffered a very bad oblique injury. Both players will be out for weeks and weeks and I don’t see how the Lakers win a playoff round. Dallas native Marcus Smart will miss this game with an ankle injury. Jarred Vanderbilt is questionable as of this writing with a calf issue.

Give how close to the end of the regular season we are, the Mavericks winning this game is going to drive some people mad. But the Lakers don’t have the horses and I don’t care how bad Dallas has been as of late, when the top heavy Lakers are missing two of their three best players, the Mavericks should have more than enough juice to win.

Be sure to chime in with your predictions in the comments!

Consider joining Josh and me on Pod Maverick live after the game on YouTube, we should start LATE. Thanks so much for spending time with us here at Mavs Moneyball. Let’s go Mavs!

The Golden State Warriors haven't been at full strength for seemingly the entire season. But with five games left to go before the play-in begins, they're reportedly set to bring back their most important piece.

While Stephen Curry's official status is still listed as questionable, the NBA's all-time leading three-point shooter could make his return to the Warriors in Sunday night's game against the Houston Rockets.

An official announcement will likely come closer to the 7 p.m. PT tip-off but in the meantime, here's everything you need to know about Curry's impending return:

Is Steph Curry playing tonight vs. the Houston Rockets?

It hasn't been officially announced yet as of 3:15 p.m. PT, but all indications are that Curry will be cleared to play Sunday night for the first time in over two months. ESPN's Shams Charania and Anthony Slater first reported on Curry's impending return on Friday, April 3.

Official word from the Warriors on Curry's status will likely come closer to Sunday night's 7 p.m. local time tip-off.

Steph Curry stats

Prior to injuring his knee in February, Curry was averaging 27.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 39 games played this season, while shooting 46.8% from the field, 39.1% on 3-pointers and 93.1% on free throws.

Curry participated in a scrimmage at Warriors practice on Friday, and head coach Steve Kerr came away from it hopeful about his star.

"Everything went well. Yeah, he looked good," Kerr told reporters. "He’s pretty good. He looks like Steph Curry."

Warriors playoff outlook

Golden State has been in turmoil ever since Curry went down. They were already dealing with several injuries, but being without their best player sent them spiraling. The Warriors went 9-18 in the 27 games Curry missed, but his return is just in time for the most important time of the year.

Though they won't be able to catch the sixth seed, the Warriors' spot in the play-in tournament is set. With five games left to go in the regular season, Golden State currently holds the 10th and final seed as they trail the seventh-seeded Phoenix Suns by six games and the No. 9 Los Angeles Clippers by three.

"Yeah, I mean he brings hope to a tough situation," Kerr told reporters on Friday. "I thought [Spurs] game, we were never really in the game, but the guys fought, they competed, they stayed with it until the end. The vibe was good. When Steph’s around, the vibe tends to be better. It’s definitely better right now so hopefully we’ll have another good effort tonight and he’ll be on the sidelines cheering. We’ll see how it goes the next couple of days but we’re obviously dying to get him back.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry could play vs Rockets tonight

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t had many opportunities to see how this team looks when it’s at — or even near — full strength. That’s one of the downsides to having a team undergo renovations at the trade deadline.

As of now, head coach Kenny Atkinson still doesn’t know who the starting small forward will be in the playoffs. Right now, the plan is to decide who’s in that spot based on the matchup and how they’re playing.

Atkinson was asked if Max Strus was going to be the starting small forward going forward, and said no.

“That position is going to be flexible in terms of starting and finishing,” Atkinson said before the Indiana Pacers game on Sunday. “You have to earn it.”

Atkinson listed five options for who could be in the starting small forward spot: Max Strus, Dean Wade, Sam Merrill, Jaylon Tyson, and Keon Ellis.

Below is a chart of how those groupings have done with the four permanent starters: James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. For a point of reference, the Cavs have scored 121.2 points per 100 possessions (88th percentile for offensive rating), allowed 100.6 points per 100 defensive possessions (100th percentile for defensive rating), and outscored their opponent by 20.6 points per 100 possessions (100th percentile for net rating) in the 165 possessions this quartet has played together.

Fifth Starter	Possessions with other four starters	Offensive Rating	Defensive Rating	Net Rating
Max Strus	68	108.8	110.8	-1.9
Dean Wade	56	114.3	91.1	+23.2
Sam Merrill	38	155.3	100	+55.3
Jaylon Tyson	3	100	66.7	+33.3
Keon Ellis	Have not played together yet	N/A	N/A	N/A

As you can see, the sample size is incredibly small. So much so, the data from any of these numbers isn’t really that useful. The Cavs shouldn’t be making any decisions based on this. At the same time, it is encouraging that they have performed well in the limited time their four best players have shared the floor.

Atkinson admitted before Sunday’s game that he’s still trying to figure out how to best use Harden, who will be playing in just his 24th game with the Cavs on Sunday.

“I’m still looking back at James’s career, stealing ATOs (after timeout plays) from Houston,” Atkinson said. “How did the spacing look with the Clippers? I look at some of the Nets’ stuff. … Past teams, have used him as a defender on the four-man?”

The Cavaliers are in a tough position. The playoffs are two weeks away, and they’re still assessing what they have and how to use their best players. There was really no way around this problem when the Cavs decided to overhaul the roster in February. The hope was that talent would win out this season. And at times it has. Other times, they’ve looked like a team still piecing things together.

We’ll see how this looks in the playoffs. As of now, Atkinson doesn’t know who will be at the starting small forward spot. He is, however, confident in the options that he does have.

“It’s a good problem to have, but these are tough decisions to make, so it’ll be flexible,” Atkinson said.

The Bucks closed out their two-game home stretch on Easter with a 131-115 win over the Memphis Grizzlies to improve to 31-47. Ryan Rollins, returning from a hip strain, contributed 24 points to the Bucks’ victory, while Rayan Rupert led the Grizzlies with 33.

NBA.com Box Score

Game Recap

The Grizzlies, missing an alarming number of players to “injury,” jumped out to an early 9-3 lead, fueled by two-way guard Rayan Rupert’s early five points. However, the Bucks quickly embarked on a 13-0 run through three-pointers from Myles Turner and AJ Green, and they built on their lead as the first quarter wore on. Ryan Rollins shook off ten-day forward Toby Okani on a smooth pair of dribble moves before cleanly converting a mid-range fadeaway, showing that the Bucks were beginning to find their rhythm. The Grizzlies were still in it, largely thanks to Milwaukee’s persistent defensive lapses, like Taurean Prince’s hard flagrant foul on Rupert. Cormac Ryan closed out the first frame with a buzzer-beating three to take Milwaukee up by nine, 34-25.

Rollins led Milwaukee to a dominant start to the second quarter. He used a dizzying array of body checks and step-backs to get to his spots. His eight early points in the second fueled Milwaukee’s early 12-3 run, and before long, the home side found itself up by as much as 19 points. It was obvious that the Grizzlies’ hodge-podge lineup didn’t really click; spacing worked against them on both sides of the ball, and they looked helpless against the pick-and-roll. Rupert was their only bright spot; the Frenchman poured in 25 first-half points, torching the Bucks’ defense. The Grizzlies clawed back some ground in the game by getting to the line in droves and strung together a 12-0 run, but the Bucks still held a 62-56 lead at half.

The Grizzlies and Bucks went back and forth in the third quarter. The Bucks’ offense began to take off through Rollins’ tough buckets and interior plays from Myles Turner. However, the Grizzlies took off at the same time. Rookie Walter Clayton Jr. finally woke up from his quiet first half, and Rupert continued to slice Milwaukee’s defense with his dribble. Despite Milwaukee gradually losing ground as fatigue kicked in, the Bucks ended the penultimate quarter up five, 92-87.

Olivier Maxence-Prosper’s breakaway jam trimmed Milwaukee’s once-mighty lead to just two early in the fourth quarter, and, suddenly, it felt like this game could go either way. However, Jericho Sims’ heroics halted Memphis’ momentum. His defense, denying Dariq Whitehead and Taylor Hendricks key looks at the rim, kept Memphis quiet on offense. It was his intelligent assist that found Ryan open under the rim, it was his screen that freed up Prince for an emphatic three, and it was his putback dunk to widen Milwaukee’s lead to double digits with just six minutes left of game time. Milwaukee continued to flow offensively, limiting Memphis to tough under-the-rim attempts and finding quick transition points. The Bucks accentuated their Easter Day victory with a smooth Alex Antetokounmpo midrange jumper and a technical-foul-inducing lob to Thanasis that set Fiserv on fire.

Stat That Stood Out

The Bucks’ bench scored 61 points in Sunday’s win, 32 more than the Grizzlies’. Sims’ and Ryan’s contributions in crunch time helped Milwaukee go the distance and fight off a dangerous Memphis comeback.

The Golden State Warriors will reach the midway point of their five-game homestand with Sunday night’s primetime matchup against the Houston Rockets. Tipoff is set for 7:00 PM PT in San Francisco and will be nationally televised on NBC, with streaming available on Peacock.

Sunday hoops

🏀 GSW vs. HOU
🕖 7pm PT
📺 @NBAonNBC & @peacock
📻 @957thegame
📱 https://t.co/6BLvDT0oIP
🎟️ https://t.co/eAyVFXMMvs@Coinbase || #DubNationpic.twitter.com/zOJmO8KWJc

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 5, 2026

Previously with the Warriors:

The Warriors had a chance to snap their two-game losing streak against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night, but their late push came up short in a 118–111 loss. After playing severely shorthanded the night prior, Golden State welcomed back several key contributors, including Gui Santos and Kristaps Porzingis, who finished with 25 and 16 points, respectively. In addition to that, Brandin Podziemski tied Santos for the team-high with 25 points of his own.

Their combined scoring helped keep the game competitive, but Cleveland’s star power ultimately proved too much. Donovan Mitchell and James Harden combined for 44 points, while Max Strus caught fire from beyond the arc, knocking down six of his 10 three-point attempts to seal the Warriors’ 41st loss of the season.

MAX DID HIS BIG ONE. #LetEmKnowpic.twitter.com/fd9Gy14mFn

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) April 3, 2026

Steve Kerr explained what happened in those final two minutes that allowed Cavs’ Max Strus to get open:

“t looked like we over rotated to start the play, and they got the ball behind us, and then we were scrambling.”

Said they weren’t necessarily doubling Harden at all costs. https://t.co/5NNZk0Clczpic.twitter.com/LYx7Rpymdd

— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) April 3, 2026

What to watch for tonight:

The biggest storyline entering Sunday night’s matchup against the Rockets is the expected return of Steph Curry. The Warriors’ superstar has missed 27 games with a knee injury suffered in January, but after fully participating in practice earlier this week, he appears on track to return.

On Saturday, Curry spoke about the injury during his press conference.

Steph Curry details the knee injury that held him out 27 games

“I thought I was going to be out a week. Ten days max.”

“There is nothing structurally wrong with my knee. So it’s not like I’m compromised out there. It is a new normal, though.” pic.twitter.com/5ZIL6xyyJN

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 4, 2026

If Curry does suit up, one key element to watch will be his on-court fit with Porzingis. The Warriors’ starting big man has already shown he can thrive in team’s system, but his ability to complement Curry could elevate the offense to another level. With Porzingis providing both floor spacing and a vertical lob threat, and Curry’s gravity consistently drawing multiple defenders, the pairing has the potential to be highly effective.

“I don’t know how people are going to guard our pick and roll.”

Steph Curry is excited to play with Kristaps Porzingis. Warriors face the Rockets tmrw. pic.twitter.com/OWjChjKWbG

— Joseph Dycus (@joseph_dycus) April 4, 2026

Of course, with just five games remaining, the Warriors are virtually locked into the 10th seed in the Western Conference, making the results of these final games largely insignificant from a standings perspective. Still, Curry understands the importance of building momentum heading into the Play-In Tournament and will look to make the most of his time on the floor as Golden State prepares for the challenge ahead.

Steph Curry on what can still be ahead for the Warriors this season

“Win two play-in games and then have another conversation.” pic.twitter.com/bznIJ5soEp

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 4, 2026

Enjoy the game Dub Nation. GO WARRIORS!!! 

Projected Starters

Warriors: Steph Curry, De’Anthony Melton, Gui Santos, Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis

Rockets: Reed Sheppard, Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun

How to watch Regular Season Game 78

Who: Golden State Warriors (36 – 41) vs. Houston Rockets (48 – 29)

When: Sunday, April 5th, at 7:00 p.m. PT

Where: Chase Center — San Francisco, California

TV and Streaming: NBC and Peacock (available on fuboTV)

Jaylen Brown’s 26 points led the Boston Celtics to a 115-101 win over the Toronto Raptors on Easter Sunday at TD Garden, completing the team’s 4-0 season sweep over its division rival.

That “rivalry” has been pretty lopsided in recent years. Boston has gone 15-1 against Toronto over the past four regular seasons and has not lost a season series against the Raptors since 2016-17.

While the teams have not faced off in the playoffs since the 2020 NBA Bubble, that could change this year.

With today’s win, the Celtics are 53-25 and hold a commanding three-game lead over the New York Knicks for second seed in the Eastern Conference, with only four games left to go. Unless Boston bottoms out over that final run, it will face the seventh seed as determined by the Play-In Tournament.

With today’s loss, the Raptors are 43-35 and tied record-wise with the Philadelphia 76ers. However, Toronto loses that tiebreaker since its 4-11 division record is worse than Philly’s 9-7. That leaves the Raptors as the East’s current seventh seed and lined up for a potential appearance in the play-ins.

Today’s game was the first time all season that the Celtics’ injury report was clear, as Nikola Vučević returned almost a month after undergoing surgery to stabilize a fractured right ring finger.

Boston started Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Jayson Tatum and Neemias Queta.

The Raptors were without Immanuel Quickley, who missed his eighth straight game to plantar fasciitis in his right foot, and Chucky Hepburn, who tore the meniscus in his right knee in January and has yet to return.

Toronto started Ja’Kobe Walter, RJ Barrett, Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl.

Boston got off to a hot start, taking a 10-2 lead less than three minutes into the game. A lot of that can be credited to Neemias Queta, who got three easy buckets off of assists from Brown and White as Toronto’s defense crowded the perimeter and left the paint open for Queta to dominate.

With the help of some sloppy play and three Celtics turnovers, the Raptors went on a mini-run and tied the game at 12-12, but a Tatum three-pointer, Queta putback and four straight points from Brown put Boston back up 19-15.

With five minutes to go in the first quarter, Coach Joe Mazzulla subbed in Baylor Scheierman — who immediately hit a three-pointer — Vučević, Jordan Walsh and Payton Pritchard for everyone but Brown.

Vooch looked rusty in his first minutes back on the court, turning the ball over on a bad pass and missing his first three-point attempt. During that time, Toronto took its first lead of the game 24-22, with about two minutes to go in the quarter.

During the last play of the quarter, Tatum drove to the rim and made an impressive pass to Vučević on the perimeter, but Vooch missed his second three-point attempt. The quarter ended with the teams tied 26-26.

Early in the second quarter, Tatum strong-armed a block on RJ Barrett, leading to an open Hauser three-point make and a technical foul on Barrett, who was upset with the no-call.

Tatum hit the technical free throw to put the Celtics up 31-30, but the Raptors hit the next two shots and took a 34-30 lead with 10 minutes to go in the half. Ja’Kobe Walter led Toronto’s early efforts with a 13-point start on 5-6 shooting from the field and 3-4 shooting from three-point range.

A 10-0 run increased the Raptors’ lead to 38-30, but the Celtics got a few offensive rebounds on the next play to snap their scoreless run with a strong Queta layup. His early dominance continued into the second quarter, as he got another putback bucket, as well as an easy cutting dunk off of a Tatum assist.

While the Celtics continued to struggle on offense, the Raptors shared in the lull, allowing Boston to tie the game at 42 with about three minutes to go in the half.

Derrick White hit a three-pointer to take the lead back, 45-42, and after some back-and-forth scoring, Tatum hit a three from the top of the key to go up 52-46.

Brown hit the team’s final shot of the quarter to extend the lead to 54-46 at the half. He finished the half with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists on 6-10 shooting from the field.

Tatum had 11 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals on 50% shooting from the field and 2-3 shooting from three-point range, but also had 5 turnovers — more than half of the team’s 9 total turnovers — and 3 personal fouls at the half.

Queta was the Celtics’ undisputed MVP of the first half, leading the team with 16 points on 8-9 shooting from the field, 5 rebounds and an assist. He was at the heart of the Celtics’ 24-8 run to end the second quarter, which began when he subbed back into the game with less than nine minutes to go in the half.

To begin the third quarter, Tatum slithered past a solid Queta screen and through the Raptors’ defense for a dunk. He also secured his sixth double-double in seven games with his 10th rebound with 22 minutes left to go in the game.

Queta’s strong play continued with a pair of soaring blocks over the first few minutes of the second half, but he was subbed out in favor of Vučević with about 7:30 to go in the third quarter as the team was up 62-57.

Vooch got his first bucket of the night off of an offensive rebound, but did little else during his second stint on the court.

Boston’s struggles with turnovers did not let up in the third quarter, as the Celtics racked up 5 more turnovers over the first six minutes of the second half. The Raptors kept up the pressure and tied the game at 69-69 with less than five minutes to go in the third quarter.

Queta was subbed back in for Vučević with about four minutes left to go in the third quarter and he got his third block of the night shortly after.

Toronto again tied the game at 75-75, but a wild corner three from Brown once again put the Celtics on top, 78-75.

The teams went back-and-forth over the last two minutes of the third, which finished with Boston leading 80-77.

The fourth quarter began with an absurd behind-the-back pass from Tatum to an open Payton Pritchard for a three-pointer, then a Vučević bucket to put the C’s up 85-77.

With the help of another Pritchard bucket and a Toronto turnover, then a foul on a Tatum three-pointer, the Celtics secured their first double-digit lead of the night at 89-79 with 10 minutes to go in the final frame.

When it looked like the Raptors may bring the lead back to single digits, Sam Hauser got an and-1 to extend the lead to 96-83.

Toronto cut the lead to 98-91 with a couple Brandon Ingram jumpers over Pritchard, but Queta got a massive putback dunk and White hit his second three-pointer of the night to extend the lead back up to 103-91 with about four minutes remaining.

The Celtics all but ended the night with a sudden scoring explosion sparked by Brown in the final minutes. Brown used some slick moves to make Barrett buckle over and touch the court before he blew by for an easy driving layup. He then got his own rebound off of a free throw miss and put it back in for another bucket to put Boston up by 14.

After a Tatum layup and White fadeaway, Brown got a steal and dunked it to bring the Celtics’ lead to 18 points with less than three minutes to go.

Brown finished the game with 26 points on 55% shooting from the field, with 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Tatum had 23 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 5 turnovers.

Queta racked up 18 points, 7 rebounds — five of them on the offensive end — 4 assists and three blocks.

In Vooch’s first chance to play alongside Jayson Tatum, he finished with 4 points, 4 rebounds and an assist in 13 minutes of play.

Overall, Boston shot an abysmal 8-28 (28.6%) from three-point range, but finished the game with 76 points in the paint and 9 more rebounds than Toronto (44-31). While turnovers were an issue for the Celtics, both teams ended with 15 turnovers, and there was only a 2-point difference in points off of turnovers for the game.

The Celtics’ next game will be another potential first-round preview, as Boston will take on the rolling Charlotte Hornets at 8 p.m. EST on Tuesday, April 7, at the TD Garden.

The game will be broadcasted on NBC and Peacock.

A skeleton-crew version of the Cleveland Cavaliers is taking on a more skeleton crew version of the Indiana Pacers. This should be fun (depending on how you define fun).

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!

The Cleveland Cavaliers are racing to the finish line. With just a week before the regular season ends, the team is still waiting on two of its most important players to return to action.

Dean Wade and Jaylon Tyson both missed Cleveland’s recent trip to the West Coast. Wade is out with an ankle injury that he suffered after falling on a ball boy during his pre-game warmup against the Miami Heat on March 25.

“[He’s doing] better,” said Kenny Atkinson before the game. “I watched Dean work out yesterday. It was a one-on-one workout, but he was moving at game speed, so big progress. I do think we need to get him a three-on -three, four-on-four [workout]… but I think that’s the next step.”

Tyson, meanwhile, is nurturing a bone bruise in his left great toe. The sophomore wing has been one of the biggest revelations of the season, averaging 13.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Tyson is also shooting 45.5% from downtown. That’s elite efficiency for a guy who wasn’t previously seen as a catch-and-shoot threat.

“Jaylon is on court, probably not at game speed yet, so maybe a step or two behind Dean,” said Atkinson. “Still some soreness, but again, love to think he’ll be ready by the playoffs.”

Time is running out for the Cavs to get healthy. The final game of the regular season is on April 12. From there, they have roughly a week to rest and recover before the playoffs begin the following weekend. Hopefully that’s enough time for both Wade and Tyson to get their legs under them.

INDIANAPOLIS – The men’s national championship game has Dan Hurley feeling like he’s in “Space Jam.”

Not because he feels like he’s got Michael Jordan and his secret stuff. Yes, he does have Bill Murray on his side, but he won’t be a last-minute substitution. 

It’s because Connecticut is about to face the “Monstars.”

The Final Four magic Hurley has crafted — 5-0 in his career — will face its toughest challenge yet with the vaunted No. 1 seed Michigan awaiting the Huskies in Lucas Oil Stadium, playing like it gained some basketball superpower to make them supersized and on a warpath to make UConn its final victim to punctuate a dominant season.

“Their size kind of do remind you of the Monstars,” said UConn guard Silas Demary Jr.

Michigan vs UConn prediction, spread: Who is favored to win national championship?

Monstrous would be one way to describe Michigan’s performance against Arizona. A game billed as the true national championship between the two heavyweights of the season looked like a buy game in December, with the Wolverines overwhelming the Wildcats from the start for their fifth straight tournament win by double-digits.

UConn staff and players made sure to watch the game following their win over Illinois, and it was just as much of a shock to them.

“I kind of didn't see that happening,” Demary said. “Everybody was just hitting shots… They pretty much kind of dominated the game throughout the whole game.”

Whether it’s knocking down 3-pointers, turning the game into a dunk contest or leaving opposing offenses helpless, Michigan is “scary,” Hurley said, adding “you've got to have a plan A, a plan B and a plan C” against it.

Michigan is the first team to score at least 90 points in five straight March Madness games.

UConn has built a reputation on succeeding on the biggest stage, one win away from its third national title in four years. However, that run didn’t come with a whole bunch of struggle. 

The best seed the Huskies saw in the 2023 title run was a No. 3, and the 2024 championship team was so talented, not even the Zach Edey-led Purdue team stood much of a chance. UConn came close to beating eventual champion Florida in the second round last season, but it’s not farfetched to say the Wolverines are the best team Hurley will have ever faced in the tournament. 

Everything (including the 7.5-point spread) screams Michigan running away with this one to cement one of the most impressive seasons, especially with fresh UConn's injury issues. But if there is one team to spoil it all, it would be UConn.

After all, remember how they got here?

“We shot 1-for-18 vs. Duke, down 19. Nobody in the country, in the whole wide world, thought we were going to win that game,” said UConn center Tarris Reed Jr.. “The second half, we promised each other we're gonna go out with fighting honor, no matter what the result is. We knew there was going to be a slight chance that Duke will slip up, we're going to have a small window for us to really win this game, and we have to take advantage

“We kept fighting, kept running through the fences, and we ended up winning that game,” he added.

The Huskies may in fact be the perfect team to spoil Michigan’s title hopes. While Michigan is capable of delivering a knockout blow like Mike Tyson, UConn is able to make it an extremely ugly — perhaps boring — bout that can frustrate the other side.

That’s why even though they’re the clear underdog, Hurley actually sees advantages on his side.

“Every team has some vulnerabilities. No teams are perfect,” he said. “We're going to do things to make our opponents move defensively maybe more than they are accustomed to, and then hopefully that has a compounding effect for us during the course of the game where it could just wear an opponent down a little bit, just having to run around and chase people and off-ball movement more than they're accustomed to.”

The evidence supports it. Illinois came into the Final Four the top offensive efficiency team in the country, and the Huskies' defense made it uncomfortable to grind out the win. Even with UConn’s own middling offensive showing, the Fighting Illini shot 33.9% from the field and scored 62 points, its worst performance since — playing UConn in November, when it shot a season-low 31.7% and scored 61. 

That 90-point benchmark Michigan has reached, UConn has only allowed twice this season, and one of those games ended in overtime.

Plus, you have to account UConn has been here before. Hurley is undefeated in the Final Four and has guys who have won titles with him. In a tournament that has proven how valuable experience is, it doesn’t get better than championship expertise.

That’s why May isn’t counting on his team to coast to the title.

“We never ride momentum. It's ‘What do we need to do to prepare to play well against UConn?’ They have championship DNA. They're conditioned to win. This run they're on is one of the best — probably the best since John Wooden,” May said. “If we think any momentum or wave, riding in on a wave is going to take care of UConn, then we're going to be very disappointed at about 11 p.m. (Monday) night.”

Remember why we love March Madness? A whole season gets thrown out the window the moment the ball tips. Who is more talented doesn’t matter. It’s all about being the better team for 40 minutes, surviving and advancing. Hurley and May reminded everyone this isn’t a seven-game series where the best team typically wins.

It will be a de facto Game 7, and anything can happen in the final 40 minutes of the college basketball season — like UConn shocking the college basketball world.

After all, the "Monstars" did end up losing.

“There's been plenty of times in the history of this tournament where the best team hasn't won it,” Hurley said. “You've just got to be better for one night.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michigan favored to win national championship, but UConn won't fold

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The Charlotte Hornets need a flawless finish to avoid the Play-In tournament, and they can help their chances tonight against the faltering Minnesota Timberwolves.

Minnesota has dropped three of its last four games and will be without Anthony Edwards, but my Hornets vs. Timberwolves predictions trust Rudy Gobert to hold down the paint at Target Center.

Take a closer look at this marquee showdown on Sunday, April 5, with my free NBA picks and betting angles.

Hornets vs Timberwolves prediction

Hornets vs Timberwolves best bet: Rudy Gobert Over 11.5 rebounds (-115)

The Minnesota Timberwolves offense has been stuck in the mud lately, with 110 or fewer points in six of their last seven games. But Minnesota continues to do a nice job at the other end of the floor, led by Rudy Gobert’s elite rebounding.

Gobert has nailed this Over in seven of his past nine contests, and he’s actually finished with 14+ boards in five of those outings, despite only playing 30+ minutes just once in his last six games.

Make no mistake, the hosts are going to ask even more of Gobert defensively without Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels to take on the perimeter assignments. As long as he can avoid being dragged out to the 3-point line on the Charlotte Hornets' shooters, I expect him to have an edge against Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner.

Gobert dominated the Hornets on the glass earlier this season, on the way to 15 rebounds, and he’s on pace for a career-high with 4.0 offensive rebounds per night.

Charlotte’s style of play helps, too.

The visitors launch the second-most 3-pointers per game (43), and that should create opportunities for long rebounds. Against the Hornets’ smaller lineups, Gobert, Naz Reid, and Julius Randle will all have chances to hit their rebounding Overs, but I’ll stick with the Frenchman as the value pick.

Hornets vs Timberwolves same-game parlay

I’m banking on a fierce battle on the glass tonight, with Gobert coming off a 16-rebound effort on Friday against the 76ers and Diabate hauling in 10+ boards in three of his last four outings. Rudy has the extra size, but Diabate is a relentless pest on the glass.

The Under also offers good value. It’s 1-9 in the T-Wolves’ last 10 games, and Minnesota’s offensive numbers will take a hit again without Ant Man. Plus, six of Charlotte’s past eight contests have cashed the Under.

Hornets vs Timberwolves SGP

• Rudy Gobert Over 11.5 rebounds
• Moussa Diabate Over 9.5 rebounds
• Under 226.5

Our "from downtown" SGP: Feel the sting

The Hornets are 8-2 in their last 10 games, and this SGP taps into the visitors’ hot streak, which has kept them in the fight for the No. 6 seed. LaMelo Ball has dished 8+ dimes in four of his past five contests, while Kon Knueppel is fresh off consecutive 20-point games.

Hornets vs Timberwolves SGP

• Hornets moneyline
• LaMelo Ball Over 7.5 assists
• Moussa Diabate Over 9.5 rebounds
• Kon Knueppel Over 17.5 points

Hornets vs Timberwolves odds

• Spread: Hornets -3.5 (-110) | Timberwolves +3.5 (-110)
• Moneyline: Hornets -160 | Timberwolves +135
• Over/Under: Over 226.5 (-110) | Under 226.5 (-110)

Hornets vs Timberwolves betting trend to know

The Under is 48-30 for the Hornets this season. Find more NBA betting trends for Hornets vs. Timberwolves.

How to watch Hornets vs Timberwolves

Hornets vs Timberwolves 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.

Just one more game until a national champion is crowned for the 2026 men's college basketball season.

With 66 games in the books, the stage has been set for No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Connecticut to face off in the 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament national championship game.

REQUIRED READING: Michigan vs UConn prediction, spread: Who is favored to win national championship?

While Dan Hurley and the Huskies look to make history with their third championship in four seasons, Dusty May will look to help the Wolverines end a 37-year drought with the program's first national title since 1989.

UConn defeated No. 3 seed Illinois 71-62 to advance to the title game, while Michigan torpedoed Arizona 91-73 to win another game by double figures during an impressive NCAA Tournament run.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 2026 men's NCAA national championship game, from the time to the TV channel.

When is March Madness national championship game?

The men's national title game tips off on Monday, April 6, at 8:50 p.m. ET.

Where is March Madness national championship game?

The 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament national championship game will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts.

What channel is March Madness national championship game?

The men's title game will be broadcast nationally on TBS, TNT and truTV, with Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Bill Raftery (analyst), Grant Hill (analyst) and Tracy Wolfson (sideline reporter) on the call from the game.

Where to stream March Madness national championship game

The men's NCAA Tournament national championship game can be streamed on NCAA March Madness Live (with a valid cable login), HBO Max, which requires a subscription, and Sling TV , which carries Turner Broadcast stations.

Who won March Madness in 2025?

Last year, Todd Golden and Walter Clayton Jr. led Florida to the program's third national championship with a 65-63 win over Kelvin Sampson and Houston in the title game.

There won't be a back-to-back champion this year after Iowa took down the Gators in the second round of the NCAA Tournament this season.

March Madness champions, by year

Here's a look at the year-by-year NCAA Tournament national champions in men's basketball, since 2006. The full list can be found here:

• 2025: Florida defeats Houston, 65-63
• 2024: UConn defeats Purdue, 75-60
• 2023: UConn defeats San Diego State, 76-59
• 2022: Kansas defeats North Carolina, 72-69
• 2021: Baylor defeats Gonzaga, 86-70
• 2020: Canceled due to COVID-19
• 2019: Virginia defeats Texas Tech, 85-77, OT
• 2018: Villanova defeats Michigan, 79-62
• 2017: North Carolina defeats Gonzaga, 71-65
• 2016: Villanova defeats North Carolina, 77-74
• 2015: Duke defeats Wisconsin, 6-63
• 2014: UConn defeats Kentucky, 60-54
• 2013: Louisville defeats Michigan, 82-76 *
• 2012: Kentucky defeats Kansas, 67-59
• 2011: UConn defeats Butler, 53-41
• 2010: Duke defeats Butler, 61-59
• 2009: North Carolina defeats Michigan State, 89-72
• 2008: Kansas defeats Memphis, 75-68, OT
• 2007: Florida defeats Ohio State, 84-75
• 2006: Florida defeats UCLA, 73-57

* vacated by NCAA

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness men's championship game date, time, TV, odds, more to know

INDIANAPOLIS – Dusty May is a self-described “blue-collar guy” who cut grass, cut tobacco, baled hay and worked in turkey barns growing up in Greene County, Indiana, where he learned that “if you see a neighbor moving in, you go help them.”

So when Michigan point guard Elliot Cadeau arrived on campus last year as a transfer from North Carolina, May was there to help carry a table up a flight of stairs to the junior’s new apartment.

“When a player is moving in, it's a lot quicker if we walk across the parking lot and help them move in rather than just mom and dad,” said May. “It's kind of how we run our program.”

Yaxel Lendeborg injury news: Will Michigan star play in national championship game?

And Michigan’s program runs on transfers such as Cadeau, who after two often tumultuous seasons with the Tar Heels has found a home and flourished on the Wolverines’ newcomer-heavy roster.

“I think that just comes from the coaching. They have so much confidence in me,” Cadeau said after Michigan’s Final Four win against Arizona. “It just helps me stay calm. If I turn the ball over and I look over at coach, they're calm. So that just helps me stay calm as well.”

There is no bigger test for a major-conference program and coach than personnel management, the annual acquisition and blending of talent in an era of NIL and rampant player movement.

May and Michigan have aced this test with flying colors, piecing together a rotation largely composed of portal additions to evolve into a seemingly unstoppable force heading into Monday night’s national championship game against Connecticut.

“It came together even better than we could ever imagine,” said assistant coach and general manager Kyle Church.

The Wolverines have done so by stressing three assets when evaluating transfers, said May.

While production and potential play a role in deciding who Michigan pursues out of the transfer portal, the search ultimately centers on “guys who love ball, who are great teammates, who are competitors,” he said.

“Competitors because we have a strong belief that competitors are going to figure out a way to win. Whatever that is, they're just going to figure out a way to win whatever they're playing.

“And then loving ball would probably be a close, close second. Sometimes we say we don't really care. You can love to compete or you can love ball. We think we can get to the end result as long as you have one of those.”

Leaning on personality and cultural fit has helped the Wolverines divvy up minutes among one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the country.

“Now, what makes Dusty May special as a coach is obviously his eye for talent, his ability to construct a roster, the fact that he insulates himself with an excellent coaching staff, and his ability to build team and culture. Like he's got a special eye for how to put together a great team,” Connecticut coach Dan Hurley said.

“Things are volatile. It's year to year. You've got to have the skill set to do it on a year-to-year basis because things are volatile.”

Of the eight players in the Wolverines’ tournament rotation, six started their college careers elsewhere and transferred into the program. The exceptions are redshirt senior forward Will Tschetter and freshman guard Trey McKenney.

Two joined the program at least two seasons ago: guard Roddy Gayle Jr. transferred from Ohio State before May’s debut in 2024, and former Texas Tech and Alabama guard Nimari Burnett enrolled in 2023, when the Wolverines were led by former coach Juwan Howard.

“During the summer, I just told the guys that everything is going to happen quickly,” Gayle said. “Especially under coach May, you may not understand what he’s asking of you early on. But once you just buy into his program, buy into what he’s telling you, everything will work out just fine. I’m a true believer in that.”

The four transfers who arrived this past summer have transformed Michigan from Big Ten contender to the favorite to capture the program’s second national championship.

“I would say we have the right people around this program, and we have the right players,” McKenney said. “We have players that are really selfless, and you can tell that even when we're under one roof in the summer, so I think it just really carried over from the summer and the fall when we were putting in all that work together and all that sweat that we had.”

None have bigger than Alabama-Birmingham forward Yaxel Lendeborg. The All-America selection has been a remarkably consistent inside-out threat in an offense that can still flourish in his absence, as in the Final Four blowout of Arizona.

Former UCLA center Aday Mara has taken on a starting role after coming off the bench for the Bruins and has evolved into a dominant interior presence. He scored a career-best 26 points in the win against the Wildcats.

Sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. has made a similar leap after transferring from Illinois, showcasing the strength and athleticism that have made him a likely first-round pick in this year’s NBA draft. And Cadeau has stabilized his game in Ann Arbor, with a newfound sense of confidence in his shooting that has given Michigan yet another perimeter threat.

Between the 7-3 Mara, 6-10 Johnson and 6-9 Lendeborg, the Wolverines added major size to the frontcourt this offseason. In that way, they resemble May’s Final Four team at Florida Atlantic, where the Owls “were so big, our defensive numbers were top five in the country,” he said.

But the Wolverines aren’t “married to being big,” May added. “If everybody goes big, we might weave and go small. Who knows? We're not winning because we're big. We're winning because we have really good players and smart players.”

Overall, transfers have combined for 75.6% of Michigan’s scoring. Transfers are the Wolverines’ four leading rebounders. The top three in assists are transfers, and so are the top four in blocks per game.

“You can build a cohesive unit maybe a little bit faster than anyone can really realize,” Church said. “If people like the work and enjoy the process, then you can find that cohesion fairly quickly.”

But the recruitment of players in the transfer portal is much different than traditional recruiting on the high school level, when programs can often spend months to years building relationships.

In comparison, recruiting the portal is like speed dating. Given the abbreviated courtship, Michigan will do background work on a prospective transfer by “leaning on people around them that you trust,” Church said, including the player’s former coaching staff, coaches they might have played against or their former high school and AAU coach. If the Wolverines are lucky, they may have a preexisting relationship by virtue of recruiting the player coming out of high school.

“We try to be brutally honest,” said Church. “And we try to over-deliver and under-promise. If they want to come under those circumstances and we feel like we have a good character reference and they like playing hard, they like passing the ball, they like basketball, then we’ll find a way to make it work.”

Yet none of these transfers were necessarily a sure thing, and many arrived as underdeveloped or inconsistent producers at their previous stops. There’s no greater example of this than Cadeau, who failed to deliver on his five-star billing at UNC and was seen as the poster child for the Tar Heels’ unrealized expectations.

Lendeborg came from UAB. Johnson was a backup at Illinois, though his explosiveness was obvious even in this reserve role. Mara’s career never got off the ground at UCLA. In one way or another, each new addition this offseason represented a roll of the dice for May and Michigan.

“Look, I know this is going to set off a Twitter firestorm, but I think we all are better in certain situations than others,” May said. “There's an environment that's right for me. There's an environment that's right for you. Sometimes you don't choose the right environment from the beginning or sometimes as people we change and we need something different, for a number of reasons.

“The way we choose to look at it, we're going to bring in really, really good guys that are high achievers, that want to do it the way we want to do it.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michigan basketball roster built via transfer portal on cusp of championship

After going undrafted in 2023 and then being shipped off to four different NBA G League teams, former Gonzaga Bulldog guard Malachi Smith has secured a roster spot with the Brooklyn Nets for the rest of the season and potentially further. Smith’s two-year deal comes after two 10-day contracts with the organization.

He made $73,153 on each of his two 10-day contracts and will now be earning $65,838 for the remaining five games of the 2025-26 season.

We’ve signed Malachi Smith to a multi-year contract.

Congrats, @maliworld11! pic.twitter.com/uIrjKKVjPh

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) April 4, 2026

Smith has averaged 7.3 points on a shooting split of 52.7 percent from the field/54.5 percent on three-pointers/100.0 percent at the free throw line, 2.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.0 steals per game in 10 appearances across two 10-day contracts with the Nets after playing for the team’s G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, and now lands a full standard deal.

Along with most bottom-tier franchises at this point in the end of the regular season, Brooklyn took a shot on someone from their development team. Smith used that opportunity and proved his worth amongst the world’s best.

Quick instincts from Malachi Smith. Making the most of his second 10-day contract. https://t.co/NpEMNhmtXM

— The Slipper Still Fits (@slipperstillfit) April 4, 2026

He fought through the grind that is the G League to get in this position. Smith had stops with the G League’s Rip City Remix, Wisconsin Herd, Memphis Hustle, and Long Island over the last three years.

Smith started his collegiate career with the Wright State Raiders from 2018-19, transferred to the Chattanooga Mocs from 2020-22, before making his way to Spokane, Washington. He was named the West Coast Conference Sixth Man of the Year in 2023 before entering his name into the 2023 NBA Draft, bypassing his final season of college eligibility.

This further proves not only how much professional talent that Few has been able to bring through the program, but players that are willing to work their way to this uber-selective pool of talent. Smith could have opted out of the G League and shipped himself over to Europe or Asia, but had trust in his abilites and work ethic to continue to get better over the course of these last three years.

Shows a lot about the type of players that the Zags search for and want to be involved with what they have built in the 21st century.

Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho