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Banchero is Magic's only hope of giving Celtics a first-round scare

Banchero is Magic's only hope of giving Celtics a first-round scare originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Orlando Magic are heading into their first-round NBA playoff series against the Boston Celtics as heavy underdogs, and if they’re going to have any chance at pulling off a historic upset, Paolo Banchero needs to deliver an all-time performance.

Banchero, who was selected by the Magic with the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, is a rising star. He averaged 25.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game this season.

The 22-year-old forward has tremendous size, length and athleticism at 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds.

Banchero is a legit centerpiece for Orlando. They’ve had a few in the franchise’s 36-year history, including Penny Hardaway, Shaquille O’Neal and most recently Dwight Howard. Banchero is talented enough to join that group, but winning is the only way to do it.

One way for the Magic to have a chance at making this series versus the Celtics a long one is to slow the game down. Part of that is getting to the free throw line, and Banchero’s 8.4 attempts in the regular season ranked fourth-most in the league. And since the All-Star break he’s been averaging 9.2 free throw attempts per game. Banchero is great at using his quickness and strength to get to the rim, draw contact and finish.

The Magic are a great defensive team. They ranked No. 2 in defensive rating and play very physical on that end of the floor. But defense alone won’t give them a chance to win this series. They have to score at a much higher rate than they did in the regular season. Boston scored the eighth-most points at 116.3 per game. Orlando ranked 28th with 105.4 points per game.

If the Magic are going to close that 10-point gap, Banchero has to take his game to another level. And it’s possible he could get there. Just look at the Magic’s first-round series against the Cavaliers last season.

It was Banchero’s first time in the playoffs, and he didn’t look rattled at all. He averaged 27 points, 8.6 rebounds and four assists per game in the series. His best performance came in Game 7 at Cleveland, where he scored 38 points with 16 rebounds and three steals. Unfortunately for the Magic, their other four starters shot a combined 9-for-42 and they lost 106-94.

Banchero won’t just be asked to lead the offense for the Magic. He needs to be a stopper on defense, too.

The one head-to-head matchup where the Celtics played the Magic at full strength this season came on Jan. 17 at TD Garden. The C’s won by 27, but Banchero excelled defensively. He spent most of his time guarding Jayson Tatum and limited the Celtics superstar to four points on 1-for-4 shooting in that matchup. Tatum shot 11-for-17 against other Magic players in that game. Overall, Celtics players shot 1-for-9 that night when Banchero was the primary defender.

It’s probably a little too early for the Magic to make a statement in the playoffs. This is a really young team, and the Celtics have a distinct advantage in playoff experience, talent, depth and coaching. This should be a short series.

But the Magic play hard. They don’t quit. Banchero is going to be a superstar in the very near future. He has the potential to make this a five- or six-game series if he dominates at both ends of the floor.

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Why Warriors' aren't worried about Rockets' physical Steph tactics

Why Warriors' aren't worried about Rockets' physical Steph tactics originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – All the talk after the Warriors’ most recent game against the Houston Rockets is the same noise following them going into the first round of the NBA playoffs. 

The Rockets’ bully-ball defense held Steph Curry to three points on 10 shots in a 106-96 Golden State loss two weeks to the date of Game 1 in Houston. Curry made just one shot on the night at his home court, hitting a deep three on the run in the final seconds of the first half. He took eight shots behind the 3-point line, and that was the only one the shooting cyborg connected on. 

Houston followed the lead of its head coach Ime Udoka, someone who wants to assert himself as an alpha anywhere he goes. The Rockets threw their physicality in the face of Curry. They held, grabbed, pushed and used every tactic to slow him down. 

It was a dare to the referees to blow their whistles with Curry running through their terrain. And it worked. 

Curry and Udoka exchanged words walking to their respective tunnels at halftime. Udoka even called Curry out for crying to refs about foul calls after the game. Jimmy Butler intentionally stood up for his teammate in the Warriors’ locker room, saying he has never seen someone get fouled more, and that “it really angers me that he’s on my team and he gets hacked like that.” 

“There’s a reason teams have to be physical against Steph,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Friday after practice before the team’s flight to Houston. “I mean, he’s the greatest shooter and mover of all time in this game. We would try to guard him the exact same way.” 

Every team is going to put their best athletes on Curry. The game plan is to wear him down physically. For the Rockets, that means heavy doses of Amen Thompson (6-foot-7, 209 pounds), Dillon Brooks (6-foot-6, 225 pounds) and Fred VanVleet, who is smaller at 6-foot and 197 pounds, but has tons of experience defending Curry under the bright lights. Udoka’s strategy to slow down a great scorer isn’t new. 

He took it right out of the books of coaching greats like Chuck Daley and Pat Riley. But Kerr made it a point to send the same message he’s telling his team. 

“By the way, we’re a very physical team too,” Kerr said. “We’ve been very good in the playoffs by playing a physical game. I welcome all of that. The series will unfold, and teams will complain about officiating. We will, they will – it’s all a part of it.”

Rookie center Quinten Post followed his coach’s lead in responding to a question about the Rockets’ physicality. 

“I think we’re a pretty physical team ourselves,” Post said. “Maybe we’ve been a little undersized throughout this year, but we have the experience and I think we play hard. I don’t think it’s anything we haven’t seen before.” 

While the Warriors already have faced the Rockets five times this season, Curry only played in three of them. Curry averaged 16.3 points per game against the Rockets, which is more than eight points below his season average of 24.5. The only team he played multiple times and averaged fewer points against was the Eastern Conference’s No. 1-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. Curry averaged only 11.3 points in two games against the Cavs. 

His 36.4 field goal percentage (16 of 44) and 30.0 3-point percentage (9 of 30) against the Rockets’ defense would erase confidence in most cases. Curry isn’t most cases. 

He’s a four-time champion. A NBA Finals MVP. The greatest shooter of all time, as well as one of the game’s most brilliant minds. 

Everything about a game can be flipped on its head the second Steph starts to get going.

“He’s been through this millions of times,” Brandin Podziemski said. “He’s always going to make the adjustment that’s right for us to win.”

The adjustment for the Warriors still revolves around their principles of spacing, cutting and getting out in transition. The Rockets are an extremely tough wall to take down after scoring and being able to set up their defense and apply pressure. The solution might be more pick-and-roll. The Warriors have been more of an isolation team since Butler’s arrival. 

Anything to give Curry a sliver of space to work with. 

Whatever the answer is for the Warriors, it’s never a one-man job for the opposition. Thompson, a former Curry Camp attendee, is being anointed as the next “Steph Stopper.” History isn’t on his side. 

Matthew Dellavedova is still asking for oxygen somewhere in Australia. Davion Mitchell. Pat Bev. Marcus Smart. Jrue Holiday. Even rookie Jaylen Wells earlier this season. 

There were spurts of success for them. Maybe even a game or two. Those little wins typically have a quick expiration date. 

“There’s a fluidity and emotion and a beauty to Steph’s game that comes from understanding the movement and the spacing on the court – coordinating that space with his teammates,” Kerr said. “If he does that well in concert with his teammates, he’s going to get some openings. 

“And with Steph, all it takes is one to get him going.” 

The veteran-led Warriors aren’t about to puff their chests and make guarantees for the series. Post, before his first taste of the playoffs, isn’t afraid to make one on behalf of Curry. 

“What I do know is that they’re not going to be able to hold Steph to three points again,” he said. “I know that for a fact. It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before, and he’ll be up for the challenge.”

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Post vows Steph won't be limited to three points vs. Rockets again

Post vows Steph won't be limited to three points vs. Rockets again originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Warriors superstar Steph Curry had one of his worst games of the 2024-25 NBA season against the Houston Rockets, Golden State’s opponent in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. 

The four-time NBA champion mustered just three points on 1-for-10 shooting in the Warriors’ 106-96 loss to the Rockets at Chase Center on April 6.

The outing obviously was an anomaly, and Curry’s teammate and rookie Golden State center Quinten Post vowed that the sharpshooter won’t have that rough of a performance against Houston again when talking to reporters on Friday.

“I’ve played with Steph now throughout the season and I think I’ve never seen a guy being guarded like that by everybody,” Post said. “But what I do think they have is the size and athleticism to back up that aggressive play. But what I do know is that they’re not going to hold Steph to three points again. I know that for a fact. It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before and he’ll be up for the challenge.”

Post is right.

Anyone who has followed Curry’s renowned 16-year Warriors career knows “for a fact” that the 11-time NBA All-Star is more likely to score 60 points than three points on any given night, and the Rockets shouldn’t expect Curry to struggle that badly ever again.

And on the contrary, Houston should be concerned about Curry upping his level of play.

Since their first meeting in 2015, Curry has averaged 25.2 points, 5.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds over 20 playoff games against the Rockets and has won all four series with a 13-7 record. Houston’s famed James Harden era ended ringless largely because of Curry and the Warriors’ dominant reign over them.

Sure, the Rockets held Curry to three points a few weeks ago. But as Post said, that won’t happen again, as all parties know what the greatest shooter of all time is capable of when the lights are brightest.

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Mat Ishbia on Suns coaching change: 'We got to get the next hire right and we will'

Who are the Phoenix Suns? What is their basketball identity?

It's okay if you don't have the answer to that question, neither does team owner Mat Ishbia — and he is part of the reason that identity hasn't formed. Of course, it's better for him politically to throw fired coach Mike Budenholzer under the bus, so that happened, too, in a lengthy interview with Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. Here are a few highlights of what Ishbia said.

"We got to get the next hire right and we will," Ishbia said at the team's practice facility. "The team and the roster that was constructed by (Suns general manager James Jones and CEO Josh Bartelstein), scouts, the front office is much better than a 36-win roster.

"There's a lot of reasons why Coach Bud is not here. I'm not going to get into all those reasons, but definitely believe we should've won a lot more games and been a lot more competitive during those games as well," Ishbia said. "Wish him the best, but it was the wrong coach for our organization and for that team and at the end of the day, you can blame me for it because I'm the owner...

"We're going to look for someone that fits the vision of Phoenix Suns basketball," Ishbia said. "Someone who is going to live out exactly what I'm talking about. Someone who is a little bit grimy, a little bit tough. Have a little bit of that in them."

A few thoughts on Ishbia's words.

• The Suns' lack of an identity can be directly tied to the way Ishbia pushed his front office to add talent in a fantasy basketball way rather than a thoughtful building out of a roster. The result was evident on the court, and it's not all the coach's fault. Or coaches. Budenholzer has a ring and has won at the highest levels with teams built for his style of play. The same goes for Frank Vogel, who was fired before him. Then there was Monty Williams, who took this team to the NBA Finals but was fired by Ishbia when he first bought the team. See the pattern here?

• Ishbia is right that Budenholzer proved to be a poor fit for this team. He did not connect with the veterans, including Devin Booker, who this franchise plans to rebuild around.

• Throwing Budenholzer under the bus will play well with fans, and, more importantly, in the locker room and with guys like Booker, who had friction with Coach Bud.

• While the coaches are on a revolving door, the front office of Jones and Bartelstein appear safe. Is it wise to let the guys who helped build out this failed roster retool it?

• We'll see which "a little bit grimy, a little bit tough" coach the Suns go with, but maybe it is time to go with one of the top assistants in the league, rather than a bigger name coach.

• More than a new coach, this roster needs an overhaul. Kevin Durant will almost certainly be traded this summer, although the question is where (Houston, with its deep supply of draft picks and young talent, is the preferred destination for Phoenix, but Marc Stein reports that the Rockets are not thrilled about adding a 37-year-old KD to their young core). Miami might have interest, and there are others. But the market for KD — and the contract extension he wants and expects — may not be as deep as the Suns and Durant hope.

• The Suns also will try to trade Bradley Beal this summer, but with his big contract and no-trade clause, that's a much tougher sell.

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Stephen A warns Draymond to ‘watch himself' vs. Brooks, Rockets

Stephen A warns Draymond to ‘watch himself' vs. Brooks, Rockets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Stephen A. Smith believes Draymond Green needs to be careful as he and the Warriors face forward Dillon Brooks and the Houston Rockets in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

The ESPN analyst explained what makes Green such a great player and how Brooks’ contentious comments play into the looming matchup.  

“The greatest element of Draymond Green is his mind,” Smith told Danny Green and Molly Qerim on Friday on ESPN’s “First Take.” “And Dillion Brooks basically challenged him when he said what he said. ‘I’m not going to get ejected, I’m going to leave that to someone else,’ we know who he is talking about. So, Draymond Green hears that kind of statement, and his mentality in all likelihood is going to be, ‘We’re going to play these mind games…and I’m going to one-up you mentally.’ ”

Brooks and Green are not exactly friendly, having had plenty of fiery interactions on the court when the former was a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. Now a key contributor to an up-and-coming Rockets team focused on avenging years of playoff futility against the Warriors, Brooks is expected to be a thorn in the side of Golden State.

Smith understands the heated nature of the Rockets-Warriors rivalry and Green’s penchant for playing hard and drawing fouls and ejections, which has cost Golden State in the past.

“It’s worth repeating this: Draymond needs to watch himself,” Smith said. “There is a title that Draymond himself will admit he cost Golden State years ago because he got himself suspended [for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals].”

The upstart Rockets have been one of the biggest surprises this season, surging up the standings to capture the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. The Warriors have been rejuvenated since trading for Jimmy Butler, but a few late-season missteps cost them a shot at a top-six seed. After surviving a slugfest in the NBA play-in tournament against Memphis, Golden State arrives with a full head of steam as the No. 7 seed.

The Warriors must bring their best against a dynamic and physical Rockets team, particularly a calm, focused Green.

Expect plenty of mind games and colorful language from the 35-year-old as he and Golden State look to ground Brooks and the Rockets for good.

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Post clarifies TJD giving up Warriors bench seat during play-in game

Post clarifies TJD giving up Warriors bench seat during play-in game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Warriors rookie center Quinten Post clarified the moment second-year center Trayce Jackson-Davis gave up his seat on the bench for him during Golden State’s 121-116 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA play-in tournament on Tuesday.

“Me and Trayce are obviously really close, honestly,” Post told reporters after practice Friday. “We play the center position together. But he’s been very supportive of me as I’ve been with him at the start of the year. It wasn’t [anything]. I think I was just gassed. I think I played the longest stint of basketball I’ve played here. I think I played 10 minutes straight, and I just asked Trayce if I could sit there. I also had to ask something to Draymond and he was sitting next to him, so I just asked if I could sit there.

“I didn’t mean for [Jackson-Davis] to get up and stand. I thought there was another seat available maybe but that wasn’t the case. I don’t think it was anything crazy but we’re a very united team, I feel like, and we kind of do those things for each other sometimes.”

The two 25-year-old Warriors centers clearly have each other’s backs.

Nonetheless, it was Golden State star forward Draymond Green who illuminated Jackson-Davis’ honorable gesture. Green told reporters about Jackson-Davis’ selfless act following the Warriors’ win over the Grizzlies.

“I want to mention something that I saw today that no one will give a s–t about,” Green prefaced. “Trayce Jackson-Davis did something on the bench today. He didn’t play in the game. There were no seats on the bench, Quinten Post said, ‘Trayce, can I get that seat?’ and Trayce just got up. And a part of me was baffled that he got up for the rookie. Because the rookie – if there’s no seat, you sit on the floor. [Jackson-Davis] just got up and gave him the seat. 

“And I walked over to [Jackson-Davis] and said that’s one of the more selfless things I’ve ever seen. Ninety-nine percent of the time, you’re going to be like, ‘You going to go sit on the floor, rook. Go find a seat somewhere else.’ But [Jackson-Davis] knew he wasn’t part of the rotation, and yet the rookie was. They’re playing the same position, and [Jackson-Davis] got up and went and stood in the tunnel because there were no seats.”

The seventh-seeded Warriors have tons of momentum in the West entering their first-round playoff series against the second-seeded Houston Rockets. 

And the chemistry, as demonstrated by Jackson-Davis, Green and Post, is exactly what Golden State’s locker room needs moving forward – especially with the franchise aiming for a fifth NBA championship in 11 seasons.

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Can Magic score enough to make playoff series vs. Celtics competitive?

Can Magic score enough to make playoff series vs. Celtics competitive? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Orlando Magic are a great defensive team. They finished the NBA regular season ranked No. 2 in defensive rating. This team has size, length and athleticism all over the floor.

The real question entering the Magic’s first-round playoff series against the Celtics is whether they can score enough points to keep up with Boston’s potent attack. The C’s set league records for the most 3-point shots made and attempted in a single season, and they had the No. 2 offensive rating in the regular season.

The Magic have a couple good offensive players, most notably Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. But other guys have to step up. The good news for the Magic is they actually showed improvement offensively after the All-Star break.

🔊 Celtics Talk: Behind Enemy Lines: Which rival will push the Celtics in the Eastern Conference playoffs? | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube

“They’ve struggled to shoot the ball,” Magic broadcaster Dante Marchitelli told Chris Forsberg on NBC Sports Boston’s Celtics Talk Podcast. “They had an almost historically poor 3-point percentage this year, and that’s a problem in today’s NBA, and especially against the Celtics, which is what they do at 17.8 makes per game. You’re not going to have a chance to stay in this game if you’re making five to eight 3-pointers, right?

“They’ve got to knock down shots. So that’s been a big thing. But they’ve moved from 30th in offensive rating to 20th since the All-Star break. It doesn’t seem like much, but that was a big jump where they have started to make shots.

“I think they’ve kind of got their rotation going down. Cory Joseph might be a household name for real avid basketball fans, but not casual fans. He has steadied the ship. He kind of gets the ball to Paolo and Franz and lets them do their things. They’re 11-5 with Joseph as a starter. So that’s kind of been steadying the ship for them.

“Cole Anthony is a wild card. If he’s got it going, you just stay out of the way. You get him the basketball. The Celtics have several guys like that. Cole Anthony is one of those guys that if he’s got it going, you just continue to ride him. And then maybe Kentavious Caldwell-Pope can get hot. He’s won two championships.

“And then Paolo and Franz. They’re built for this. They love this moment and the spotlight. … This series will do one of two things. It’ll either wake up Boston real early in the first round because Orlando’s defense will be so tough or it could surprise them. I think it’s going to be a much more competitive series than people think.”

The Magic beat the Celtics in two of their three matchups during the regular season, although Jayson Tatum didn’t play in both of those Boston losses.

In the one game that both Tatum and Jaylen Brown did play versus the Magic, the Celtics won by 27 points on Jan. 17. at TD Garden.

Nevertheless, the Magic are coming to Boston with plenty of confidence. It’ll be interesting to see just how long it lasts.

“They’re not just happy to be there in Boston,” Marchitelli said. “They’re not along for the ride. They’re going into Boston feeling they can win. If you’re going to go play the games, you might as well win them. They won two out of three (vs. Boston in the regular season). They’ve got one of the best winning percentages against Boston since 2022.

“But they know it’s monumental. They know it’s going to be a monumental task to do it. And literally everything has to break their way to pull off an upset or to stay competitive in this series. But that’s how they view it. They don’t know what they don’t know yet, which I think is huge. They’re going to go in there feeling confident because all the things that are Orlando’s strengths — they kind of were able to utilize that in two victories and limit Boston’s 3-point attempts, field goal attempts per game, slow things down for them.

“It was hard for Boston to score. They averaged right around 100 points per game against Orlando this year, the fewest in the NBA. So Orlando’s strengths will hopefully help them in this series.”

NBC Sports Boston has complete coverage of Game 1 starting at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday with Celtics Pregame Live.

Also in this episode:

  • Ian Begley on state of the Knicks and possible matchup with C’s
  • Kayla Burton and Chris discuss upcoming postseason scenarios for C’s
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Pierce: LeBron's NBA status could change if Steph wins another title

Pierce: LeBron's NBA status could change if Steph wins another title originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

As the NBA playoffs begin Sunday, both Steph Curry and LeBron James seek their fifth NBA championship with their respective teams.

But if Curry and his Warriors get the edge over James and the Los Angeles Lakers, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame forward Paul Pierce anticipates that could lead to some “uncomfortable” discussions around the basketball world.

“If Steph Curry wins the championship or one more championship, gets the Finals MVP, we are going to have some very, very, very uncomfortable conversations,” Pierce said Thursday on FS1’s “Speak.” “You know why? That’s going to mean in the LeBron era, he would’ve won his fifth title with pretty much three different squads. The pre-[Kevin Durant], the KD and the after KD. Three of those championships he would’ve won without a top 75 player. In my eyes, he would’ve won this era with LeBron. So then that tells me, is he greater than LeBron?

“He won the era. In the LeBron era, five chips. In the LeBron era, a unanimous MVP. That got to hold some type of weight. It’s never been done. If we’re talking about LeBron as the greatest player, and a player in your era in any year you were in your prime won unanimously without you getting a vote. It’s going to shake something up. We going to start putting Steph up there with Michael Jordan. Seriously. If he wins one more. Think about that. He wins the era.

“Whose era is it? LeBron, KD and Curry. This is that era, right? He gets five championships, and Bron stays with four, and a unanimous MVP, it’s going to get real uncomfortable, I promise you.”

Curry has made six NBA Finals appearances and won four championships, all with the Warriors, but has his eye on a fifth. He won his first title in 2015 and then back-to-back chips in 2017 and 2018 once Durant joined the organization. He then defied all odds and won a fourth title in 2022 without Durant.

James has made 10 Finals appearances and also won four, two with the Miami Heat, one with the Cleveland Cavaliers and one with the Lakers.

Curry is an 11-time NBA All-Star, 10-time All-NBA member, two-time scoring champ, two-time league MVP, and two-time All-Star MVP. Meanwhile, James is a 21-time All-Star, 20-time All-NBA member, four-time Finals MVP, three-time All-Star MVP, one-time scoring champ and four-time league MVP.

In his 16th season, Curry is averaging 24.5 points on 44.8-percent shooting from the field and 39.7 percent from 3-point range, with 4.4 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 70 games.

James, in Year 22, is averaging 24.4 points on 51.3-percent shooting from the field and 37.6 percent from distance, with 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists in 70 games.

Both players shine even more under bright lights, but who will, if anyone at all, get ring No. 5 first?

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NBA Finals predictions: Many experts picking one team to dethrone Celtics

NBA Finals predictions: Many experts picking one team to dethrone Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics are trying to become the first team to repeat as NBA champions since the Golden State Warriors accomplished the feat during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.

The league has had five straight different champions, and the last time that happened was 1977 through 1981. Repeating is harder than it’s ever been, but the Celtics are well-equipped to end that streak, and their journey begins Sunday with Game 1 of their first-round series against the Orlando Magic.

For starters, the Celtics brought back nearly their entire team from last season’s championship. The C’s are mostly healthy, too. You could even argue Boston is a deeper team than last season given the improvements that Payton Pritchard and Luke Kornet have made.

The Celtics are elite at both ends of the floor and finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in offensive rating and No. 4 in defensive rating.

Despite all of these factors, a lot of people are not picking the Celtics to repeat. Many people think they will get back to the NBA Finals only to lose to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder are a fascinating team. They won 67 games and superstar point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander likely will win league MVP. Like the C’s, the Thunder ranked top-five in both offensive and defensive rating, and they have a deep and super talented roster.

However, the Thunder lack experience. This group has never played beyond the second round of the playoffs. This team also has never dealt with the enormous expectations that come from being the title favorite. The Western Conference has many more title-worthy challengers than the Eastern Conference, as well. OKC might have to go through the Grizzlies, Nuggets and Lakers/Warriors just to reach the Finals. That would be a very tough road.

What do the experts think?

Here’s a roundup of their NBA Finals predictions:

Kurt Helin, NBC Sports: Thunder over Celtics in seven

Kevin Pelton, ESPN: Thunder over Celtics in seven

Howard Beck, The Ringer: Thunder over Celtics

Rob Mahoney, The Ringer: Thunder over Celtics

Logan Murdock, The Ringer: Celtics over Lakers in six

Michael Pina, The Ringer: Celtics over Nuggets in seven

John Hollinger, The Athletic: Thunder over Celtics in six

Dan Devine, Yahoo! Sports: Thunder over Celtics

Dan Titus, Yahoo! Sports: Celtics over Thunder

Vince Goodwill, Yahoo! Sports: Celtics over “whomever”

Brad Botkin, CBS Sports: Thunder over Celtics

Sam Quinn, CBS Sports: Thunder over Celtics

Ricky O’Donnell, SB Nation: Thunder over Celtics

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How the Warriors Became the NBA’s Most Valuable Team at $9.14 Billion

The Golden State Warriors punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs Tuesday night with a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in the Play-In Tournament. As the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, they will face the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets in a series that tips off Sunday.

NBA rightsholders TNT and ESPN should be pleased, as the Warriors are a massive TV draw. The team’s bean counters are also happy with at least two home games, and potentially many more if Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler lead a strong postseason run.

The transformation of the Warriors from a perennial money-losing franchise that rarely made the playoffs into a financial juggernaut should be a Harvard Business School case study. The club is now worth $9.14 billion, second highest among global sports franchises and trailing only the Dallas Cowboys ($10.32 billion). It is up 20x from what the current ownership paid.

In 2010, Joe Lacob and Peter Guber bought the Warriors for $450 million. The team was in a postseason drought that spanned 17 out of 18 years. It bled red ink playing in the NBA’s oldest arena with a third-quartile revenue ranking while missing the playoffs year after year.

Revenue rose with the long playoff runs on the backs of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, and the club became Silicon Valley’s “It” team. A pair of moves then made the Warriors’ newfound success even more lucrative: Golden State opened its new arena and the NBA changed its playoff revenue structure.

In 2015, the Warriors started a run of five straight trips to the NBA Finals, including three titles. The timing was perfect, as it built momentum and interest in the Chase Center that opened in 2019 as the most expensive arena ever constructed to that point at $1.4 billion.

Companies and fans lined up to lock up long-term commitments for sponsorships and tickets. Sponsorship and premium seating revenue were in the single-digit millions when Lacob bought the team, but are now $150 million and $250 million, respectively. Total revenue is up sevenfold since 2010.

And even if the winning slows down, the Warriors are insulated to a degree. The average suite deal is 10 years, the average sponsorship deal runs eight years, and almost everything has annual escalators. The Warriors top the league in basically every revenue category outside of local media. They have $3 billion in contractually obligated revenues tied to Chase Center.

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Golden State’s sky-high value benefits from its multi-use development around Chase Center. The team has also expanded its related businesses with a new entertainment division—Golden State Entertainment—while landing a WNBA expansion franchise, the Golden State Valkyries, that begin play this year.

Out of all the major sports leagues, the NBA delivers the biggest financial rewards for its teams that make the playoffs. The league used to keep 45% of home ticket revenue in the playoffs versus 6% in the regular season. In 2016, the NBA reduced its playoff cut to 25%, providing a significant boost in the opportunity for postseason profits. Ticket demand in the playoffs is also elevated, which allows clubs to bump up prices. Games in the NBA Finals are often priced at least 200% higher than their regular-season equivalent. Cutting the NBA’s take of playoff revenue provided even more incentive for teams to maximize pricing.

The Boston Celtics’ sale document showcased how much the playoffs can goose revenue. Last year’s title run generated $102 million in gross revenue before the NBA took its cut.

The Warriors lost in their Play-In game last year, but they generated $55 million in gross revenue over six home playoff games in 2023, including concessions, merchandise and parking. That is $9 million per game before the Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals where teams have even more pricing power. The club’s last title in 2022 generated well over $100 million from its 12 playoff home games.

Another run to the NBA Finals would push gross revenue near $1 billion, rare air for sports teams. Only the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Dodgers, Real Madrid and Barcelona have hit the mark in a single season.

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The road so far: West Virginia basketball roster construction

West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge had the arduous task of rebuilding the West Virginia basketball roster. Hodge inherited a program that had lost basically all production from the 19-13 team a season ago due to either graduation or the transfer portal. Hodge made it clear that the Mountaineers would hit the ground running on the recruiting trail, and this is a look at all of the players that have elected to join him at this point in the off-season.

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NBA Playoff Games Really Are Different, Data Shows

Jimmy Butler scored 38 points in the Golden State Warriors’ NBA Play-In Tournament win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night. Before then, Butler hadn’t eclipsed 30 points in any regular season game since he was traded to the Bay Area on Feb. 6.

Fans rejoiced at the arrival of “Playoff Jimmy”—a nickname minted during past playoffs with the Miami Heat.

“You could just see a whole different intensity level and focus,” teammate Draymond Green said after the Grizzlies game. “There [are] a lot of nicknames out there—they’re not real. That one’s real.”

Butler led the Heat to the NBA Finals twice as a No. 5 seed or lower, and the Warriors acquired him hoping he could bring similar magic to Chase Center. Since his first All-Star appearance in 2015, he has upped his scoring average from 21.0 points per game in the regular season to 23.3 points per game in the playoffs—without sacrificing efficiency.

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Other players decline in the postseason. For example, Joel Embiid, the NBA’s 2022-23 MVP, has averaged three points fewer in the playoffs than the regular season, with a dip in true shooting percentage to boot.

Because the playoff schedule is spread out with days off between every game, players get more rest and coaching staffs more preparation time. Teams can build game plans to expose opponents’ weaknesses and hide their own, a luxury not afforded by the frantic regular season calendar.

If a player’s go-to moves on offense are scouted and taken away, they may not have sufficient counters. If a player can’t defend a certain action, they might get played off the floor and subbed out for a teammate who can.

In the postseason, the style of the game is distinct, too, in measurable ways. Here are a few examples.

1. Pace Slows

In all but two seasons since 1980, there were fewer possessions per game in the playoffs than in the regular season. In 2024, for example, teams had 98.5 offensive possessions per game in the regular season and only 92.6 in the postseason, one of the largest disparities in league history. Increased focus and effort limit opponents’ fastbreak opportunities, and tighter half-court defense leads to more drawn-out possessions.

As the postseason goes on, the intensity ramps up further, slowing down the game even more. Seventeen of the past 20 NBA Finals have been played at a slower pace than the rest of the playoffs.

2. Teams Shoot More 3s

Stingier playoff defense makes it more difficult for teams to generate open shots close to the basket. Indeed, paint touches have consistently declined in the postseason throughout the player tracking era since 2014. As a result, teams settle for more long jumpers.

In all but two years since the 1980 inception of the 3-point line, a higher percentage of shots were taken from 3-point range in the playoffs than in the regular season. The past few seasons, however, this trend has become much less pronounced.

3. Teams Make Fewer 3s

Teams choose to live and die by the 3-pointer in the playoffs, but shooting percentages go down when the pressure is higher. Of the 224 playoff squads since 2010, excluding those in the 2020 playoff bubble, nearly three-quarters (72%) shot worse from behind the 3-point line during the postseason than the regular season.

4. More Isolation Offense

As robust defenses shut down the plays teams have used throughout the season, superstars must rely on individual brilliance. Teams have relied more on isolation offense in every postseason since 2016. Relatedly, there are fewer passes and fewer assists during the playoffs.

5. More Fouls

The aggressive postseason defense that limits transition opportunities and shots around the basket while forcing teams out of their offensive sets does come at a cost: more fouls.

The notion that the refs “let ‘em play” in the playoffs hasn’t historically been true. The percentage of 2-point shots that yield free throws was higher in the postseason than the regular season in 19 of the first 22 years this century, per PBP Stats.

Notably, the past two years were exceptions. In the 2022-23 regular season, the foul rate on shot attempts inside the arc skyrocketed, as refs gave offensive players more leeway to initiate contact and “draw” fouls. In the 2023 playoffs, though, officials swallowed their whistles more and brought that rate back to normal.

Halfway through the 2023-24 regular season, after foul rates reverted to the previous year’s highs, the NBA responded to criticism by allowing more defensive physicality, and that carried over into the 2024 playoffs as well.

In the 2024-25 regular season, the foul rate has been much closer to the first half of 2023-24 than the adjusted post-All-Star break norm. We will see how the referees decide to officiate contact in this year’s playoffs, but either way, it will be a whole different ball game from the past six months.

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Adam Silver says expect expansion momentum to pick up this summer, Mavericks not moving to Vegas

Expansion is coming to the NBA. Adam Silver is too smart a lawyer and too wise a commissioner to put it that bluntly — ultimately he needs the votes of two-thirds of a fickle group of owners — but that's the reality.

Silver opened up about that on ESPN's Pat McAfee show Wednesday.

"What I've been saying for the last several years, we knew we needed to get a new collective bargaining agreement done. We did. We needed a new media deal to get done… We did that. We've locked in our television rights for 11 years...

"I think as we get into the summer, we'll get into a more formal process of how we go about doing it. I don't want to say it's a foregone conclusion that we're going to expand, but I also think over time, organizations tend to grow. And I look at the success of those markets for other major league teams, and so it's easy to present a scenario where you can see it working successfully for the league.

"But I don't want to jump the gun here," said Silver. "We have the 30 existing teams who all need to weigh in on this process, and also at some point need to have direct conversations with the people who are who are interested in those teams."

Silver also addressed the rumor that the motive behind the Luka Doncic trade was some sort of plot ripped from the movie "Major League" to move the Mavericks to Las Vegas. The dots are not hard to connect, Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont is president and COO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp.

It's not just Silver shooting the idea of a Mavericks move down, Dumont himself has said the plan is to build a new arena for the Mavericks in the Dallas area, part of a larger real estate investment, but that the team is not going anywhere.

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Why Draymond is impressed by Steph's on-court growth, leadership

Why Draymond is impressed by Steph's on-court growth, leadership originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green is amazed at Steph Curry’s leadership development during their time with the Warriors.

Green recounted a moment during Golden State’s 121-116 NBA play-in tournament victory over the Memphis Grizzlies where Curry offered a critique and play suggestion.

“I said in my press conference, ‘Steph, in a very nice way, told me not to shoot,’ ” Green said on “The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis.” “Steph would never say ‘don’t shoot,’ but that’s how I wanted to hear what he was saying.

“Pretty much what he was saying was, ‘I want you to get the ball in the same spot that you just got it.’ I don’t want you to take the shot, I want you to get me the ball so I can take the shot.’

“And we went right back to it, and he took the shot, and if you see when he made the shot, he turned to me and [screamed].”

The tandem has played together on the Warriors for 13 years, during which Green has noticed Curry become a much more vocal leader on the court.

“I was right here for that year where I felt like his career really started,” Green told Davis. “So to watch the growth from that point and for him to come to me and be like, ‘Yo all right so just boom boom,’ we need to like that’s the growth that I’m most impressed by.

“Obviously, the shot-making, like all of that stuff, is incredible, but for me, I’ve seen it from the inside the entire time. Because that growth right there encompasses so many different areas, it encompasses his voice. You know he didn’t always have that voice right there.”

The 37-year-old has become known for his incredible shooting prowess and his ability to weave through opposing defenses with ease, something that leaves Green in awe to this day.

“All these years, that’s something that he grew into and the ability to read the defenses and see the floor,” Green explained. “He’s always been able to see the floor, but he sees the floor at such an elite level now, it’s crazy and the timeliness.

“So those are the areas of growth where people will see we have a certain connection on the court, right? That’s one of the ones where I’ll be sitting back like, wow. I’m amazed because I can remember those situations even seven years ago, five years ago, and he wouldn’t have said that.”

Curry turned in a resurgent second half of the regular season, with the Jimmy Butler trade rejuvenating the 37-year-old. His ability to nail clutch shots was on full display against Memphis as his 15-point scoring barrage in the fourth quarter was enough to hold off the Grizzlies.

Now, Green and Curry will turn their attention to a first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets. Expect more vocal leadership and unreal shooting from one of the NBA’s all-time greats.

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