Category: Basketball

What happens when you solve a problem with another problem?

Adam Silver and the NBA’s campaign to abolish the practice of tanking has creased another wrinkle, as the newest proposal to cure professional basketball of its blood-sucking parasite has been revealed to the public. Their solution? Eliminate the incentive to tank by completely erasing the advantage of finishing in last place and rewarding those who won just a few more games.

Here’s how it works, according to Kevin O’Connor:

The three worst records in the NBA will all be given decreased lottery odds and a worse chance at receiving the number-one overall pick compared to teams 4-10 in the lottery order. This eliminates any incentive to dive to the bottom of the standings and gives the league’s worst teams no reason to tank, especially in the late season (unless you’re just one or two spots above that 4-10 range, I suppose).

It’s innovative and relatively straightforward (I’d certainly prefer to commit this rule to memory than other suggestions like taking an average of the last two seasons’ records, tracking draft credits, or other dizzying proposals). Tanking is a race for last place, and by removing all incentive to be in the bottom three, you remove all incentive to tank at all. Problem solved!

…Not quite.

If this fix actually accomplishes its goal of eliminating tanking, the NBA will be plagued with a new problem of its own creation.

Assuming a future where tanking no longer exists, the altered lottery odds could keep the NBA’s worst teams at the bottom for years. Franchises with little free agency appeal and a smaller bank account will be in the bottom four, not by choice, but by nature. They didn’t fall to the bottom on purpose — tanking is over.

These are the teams that need a Cooper Flagg, an AJ Dybantsa, a Darryn Peterson, or a Cameron Boozer. These are the teams that must build a competitive team through the draft. These are the teams that, under this proposed rule change, are systematically disadvantaged from ever drafting a player capable of changing their luck.

If the bottom four teams are, in fact, the worst four teams, why are they being penalized?

Tanking isn’t the disease; it’s a symptom. We’re treating a papercut via amputation — sure, my finger doesn’t hurt anymore, but now I don’t have a hand. What have we fixed?

The NBA Draft was originally implemented with one purpose in mind: to prevent bad teams from staying bad and good teams from perpetual dominance. The inverted order makes perfect sense for this reason: give the worst teams good players, and give the best teams the leftovers. For the sake of competition and parity, this system works perfectly.

When one player’s impact is minimal, like in the MLB and NFL, tanking isn’t a very common practice. In the NBA this season, nearly one-third of the league was actively sabotaging their season for the opportunity of drafting a top player.

The NBA Draft Lottery accelerates the tanking problem, giving teams 1-14 in the order a chance at lucking into the number-one overall pick, and we’ve seen teams jump up 10 and 9 spots to the number-one pick in consecutive years.

That’s why teams want to tank, even if they’re not at the bottom of the standings; so long as you’re in the lottery, you have a chance at a franchise-changing superstar.

I propose that the draft isn’t the problem at all — the lottery is.

Eliminate the lottery, and instead return to the straightforward inverse order according to the teams’ records. You’ll still see teams 1 through 3 make a desperate attempt to tank their way to the number one pick, or to simply retain their draft position, but what about teams 6-14?

Do you really think that this year’s Golden State Warriors or Miami Heat would be desperately dropping games for the sake of getting the 11th pick instead of the 12th?

Would Washington or Indiana spend year after year dive-bombing the standings ladder if they already got their franchise star after one year of misery? There would be no need to after just one or two seasons, right? But instead, you have teams like Washington, Utah, Charlotte, and Brooklyn who have spent four-plus years tanking away, only for the odds to fall flat and encourage another season of deliberate losing.

By giving half the league a chance of leapfrogging the draft order if the ping pong balls fall their way, you give half the league a reason to tank for every percentage point. You’re not digging deep enough, Adam Silver, and you won’t bring in more fans by further complicating the sport.

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Calvin Barrett is a writer, editor, and prolific Mario Kart racer located in Tokyo, Japan. He has covered the NBA and College Sports since 2024.

10 thoughts and tidbits on Sixers vs. Magic play-in tournament game  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

If Wednesday night proceeds according to plan for the Sixers, there’s 48 minutes between them and the playoffs.

Ahead of their No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in tournament game vs. the Magic, here are 10 thoughts and tidbits on the matchup:

1. It’s interesting to consider who will start at center and how Sixers head coach Nick Nurse will divvy out minutes there without Joel Embiid (appendectomy recovery).

Adem Bona made several brilliant, high-flying defensive plays early in the Sixers’ Oct. 27 win over Orlando. He picked up two quick fouls, though. Bona started the Sixers’ last three games but played less than Andre Drummond every time. It would not qualify as a major surprise if Nurse prefers to start Drummond for this matchup. Drummond’s physicality and rebounding may very well appeal to Nurse against a big Orlando team that’s good on the glass. 

Starting Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. is somewhat of a stretch five, although that doesn’t appear like it should be a significant factor in how the Sixers handle their center minutes. Carter could always heat up, but he’s shot just 31.9 percent from three-point range this season on 2.9 attempts per game. Goga Bitadze will play behind Carter. He knows his role well as a rim protector and rebounder who can chip in double-figure scoring nights on occasion. 

2. Orlando’s size and strength can be overwhelming. One place that could hurt the Sixers is when the Magic attack before the defense is set. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner will be happy to go right to the rim against Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe or any smaller defender they see in transition. 

The Sixers’ transition defense was again a weakness this year. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Sixers’ opponents added 3.4 points per 100 possessions through transition play, which ranked 25th in the NBA.

3. Wagner, Banchero and the Magic aren’t shy about using their size to help earn trips to the foul line. Orlando led the league in free throw rate, per Cleaning the Glass.

Beyond all the free throws, the Magic’s physical style can contribute to some chippy moments. There were several during the regular-season series, including a tense scene back on Nov. 25 when Drummond took a boxer’s stance as he exchanged words with Carter, a slew of technical fouls got dished out, and Jalen Suggs was ejected for his part in the dust-up. 

4. The Sixers’ home and road records were nearly identical — 23-18 at Xfinity Mobile Arena, 22-19 away from Philadelphia.

There’s still no doubt the players prefer to have home-court advantage. Sixers fans can get awfully loud and they’ll be fired up for a high-stakes game. 

“Super excited about it,” Paul George said Sunday after the Sixers beat the Bucks in their season finale. “Obviously, I’ve never experienced a playoff environment here, but I’m looking forward to it with the intensity, the passion. With the fans here, I’m sure it’s going to be a special environment and I’m looking forward to playing in it.”

5. For the Sixers’ defense, we imagine a successful game would be a combination of contested Magic jumpers and good gambles.

The Sixers’ zone defense was very effective in the second half of their Jan. 9 road victory over the Magic. Orlando isn’t a team full of non-shooters, but any defensive scheme that can lead the Magic to fire up three-pointers and do less damage inside is likely worth using. After adding Desmond Bane last summer, the Magic improved their team three-point percentage from 30th in the NBA last season (31.8 percent) … to 27th (34.3 percent). 

Even when they play zone, the Sixers need to be active and keep trying to force turnovers. That doesn’t mean selling out for steals and abandoning shooters in the corners, but the Sixers’ defense is best when players poke at the ball, spring the odd trap and disrupt the opponent’s rhythm. 

6. One of the Sixers’ best defensive tools should be the handful of switchable wing/forward defenders they can employ against Banchero and Wagner.

Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Dominick Barlow all meet that description. Jabari Walker’s another name who might be in the mix. Of all the players Walker defended this season, he spent the second-most time on Banchero. Again, Banchero is a big forward — listed at 6-foot-10, 250 pounds — so it’s perfectly reasonable to have size in mind when looking at how to guard him.

7. We presume the Sixers will remain star-powered and that Maxey and Edgecombe will both rarely rest.

The team has obvious deficiencies with its depth. For instance, Quentin Grimes is the one true bench guard if you don’t count little-used 40-year-old Kyle Lowry.

On a sunnier note, the Sixers have several non-stars who have shown they can deliver game-winning performances. Grimes can catch fire. Justin Edwards won’t hesitate to take important threes and he’s capable of knocking them down. Barlow can grab a vital offensive rebound, stop a star in isolation or slip free with a savvy cut. 

Those sorts of players have all had extended opportunities to fine-tune their roles and build confidence through the season. 

“I think the overall assessment is, as choppy as it was injury-wise again, I’m glad we were able to handle that a lot better,” Nurse said. “A lot of guys improved and a lot of guys filled in. There were big moments for almost everybody. … I’m pretty proud of them for hanging in there, battling through the adversity and all that kind of stuff.

“I think we’ve got a lot of ceiling to go yet. I think there’s a lot, so hopefully we’ll be able to play a bunch of games and keep improving.”

8. The Sixers’ one previous play-in tournament appearance came two years ago against the Heat.

A role player saved the day. With their offense struggling against Miami’s zone, Nicolas Batum’s 20-point night rescued the Sixers.

9. The Magic and Sixers have met twice before in the postseason.

The Sixers notched a 3-1 first-round series win in 1999. After losing Game 2 by a 79-68 score, the Sixers returned home. Allen Iverson snagged 10 steals in Game 2 (along with 33 points, five assists and two blocks). He still holds the NBA’s single-game playoff steals record.

Orlando earned a six-game series victory over the Sixers in Round 1 of the 2009 playoffs. Games 1, 3 and 4 all came down to the final seconds and featured game-winners from Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young and Hedo Turkoglu.

10. At this point, there’s almost nothing about VJ Edgecombe that alerts you to the fact he’s a 20-year-old rookie.

He’ll still sometimes admit he’s not sure exactly what to expect next. When that’s the case, Edgecombe peppers veterans with questions and learns as he goes. But as far as his ability to handle high-pressure moments and play with a clear, confident head in the clutch, he sure seems ready for the postseason. 

“I would say probably just the pace of the game slowing down for me,” Edgecombe said Sunday. “It’s more mental than physical. Mentally, I would say I was able to soak it all up. The game wasn’t going too fast. 

“It slowed down for me, so I would say it’s just been more mental and that’s where I’ve grown the most.”

Michael Porter Jr. is the best player on the rebuilding Nets, but also their biggest question.

He’s the only Net with a ring or to have played at an All-Star level. But at 27 and on an expiring deal, do they extend him this summer or deal him?

What Nets GM Sean Marks wants is a mystery. For Porter himself, not so much.

“If it was up to me, I’d love to sign an extension with this franchise,” said Porter. “I feel like we mesh. We have great vibes, great energy in the locker room, and to be a part of something that’s building in a positive way, a positive momentum, that’d be awesome. I’d love to spend many years in Brooklyn, make this my home and build and watch this franchise take off, because we saw glimpses of it this year.

“There was a lot of positives. Front office-wise, they have the ability to make some moves and make us even better. If the goal is to win, which we all know it is, then I’d love to make this my home, and that’d definitely be a cool thing for sure.”

Porter joined Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic and Jaylen Brown as the only players to average 24 points and seven rebounds this season, even after a slow finish and a hamstring injury.

“Once All-Star break happened and I realized I wasn’t an All-Star, I had a little slippage in my focus, in my preparation,” said Porter. “That can’t happen regardless of what’s going on with the team and the record.”

Still, Porter has made known his desire to stick around. Marks has been more coy.

After trades selling high on Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, Marks could deal Porter to a contender in need of shooting.

“We spoke a little bit in the exit interview, me and Andy [Birdsong, assistant GM]. And me and Sean had a phone call,” said Porter. “But my job is to just make it clear I want to be here and let those guys know. And from there, it’s on them, whatever’s best for the franchise. Either way, they can let me know what’s going on or not. I have no hard feelings.

“I always feel grateful and blessed to be given an opportunity to play for a lot of money. And I think that Sean and them will be transparent with me. But I don’t think they owe me that. Obviously as a player I would appreciate it, and I’d like to know what they’re thinking. But things happen quick in the NBA; deals come up and things move pretty fast. So just got to take it in stride and see what happens.”

Porter is on an expiring $40.8 million deal, and on July 6 becomes eligible for an extension of up to four years and $234 million. The price will certainly be lower, but will he get signed at all?

“[In] the summer, there’s going to be a lot of those discussions,” said Marks. “Whether it’s with Michael, there’s a variety of decisions we have to make with a variety of our players.”

Cap expert Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron mentioned a four-year, $194 million extension, but suggested the Nets could get Porter for less. He’d earlier opined four years, $160 million.

Both Gozlan and ESPN Insider Bobby Marks said the Nets could use some of their $30 million in cap space to renegotiate and extend Porter, giving him a raise next season and then up to a 40% pay cut in the first year of the extension.

Gozlan suggested raising him to the 30 percent max of $49.5 million, then give him a smaller $30 million cap hit in the subsequent season. That would both help the Nets’ team-building and boost his trade value.

“I don’t think anybody questioned whether he could shoot, but could he be a No. 1 option? And for us, he’s the No. 1 option,” said Marks. “I just enjoyed the person, I enjoyed being around him. He’s a fun-loving guy, he’s curious.”

Marks gave only a sly nod to Porter’s podcast, “Curious Mike.” He gave even less on his summer plans.

After the 2024 Paris Olympics concluded, I wrote a piece entitled “Age does not defeat joy, even in sports“.  I talked about how some of the “senior members” of the USA Olympic basketball teams, and in particular, Steph Curry and LeBron James, had conquered the world joyfully.

For me, that same word “joy” describes the 2025-26 regular season for the Spurs.  Regardless of how the playoffs end, Spurs fans should remember the joy we all experienced watching our team this season, game after game after joyful game.  

At the start of the season, we dreamed of the Spurs getting back into the playoff hunt, if everything went well. We hoped to be one of “those teams” — the lower seeded team that no one wants to play.  Indeed, last September, a Pounding the Rock writer wrote this:

“While the 2025-26 Spurs cannot realistically expect to challenge the top five from last year, they can set their sights on the next three, along with Play-In losers Mavs and Kings.

“Let’s aim for that 6-spot. And maybe face the Clippers in Round One. Does that sound about right?”

That guy’s hopeful outlook seems ridiculous now. The Spurs both challenged and exceeded the top five from last year, even going 4-1 against the mighty Thunder. 62 wins!!  I am sure glad I was not the guy who wrote that the Spurs would be happy with a sixth place finish and a first-round match-up with the third place Clippers.  

Oh, wait.  That guy was me. I have only one excuse.  The article was entitled: “The Spurs got better this summer, but so did most of the Western Conference. Wait, did all the good Western Conference teams get better?”

I must have decided my conclusion should match the title. 

However, I did much better on another preseason prediction.  I wrote:

“The basketball universe unanimously approved the Spurs’ selection on Dylan Harper as the clear second best player in the 2025 NBA draft. The only concern I have heard is that Harper’s skills overlap with those of the anticipated starting backcourt of De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle.

“Having coached a bit, I know that having three good guards for the two backcourt spots is a good thing, not a bad one. The reason is simple: players don’t play all 48 minutes. Indeed, the Spurs’ best player last year (you know his name) averaged just 33 minutes per game. In 17 games with the Spurs, Fox averaged 34 minutes while Castle averaged 27. If Fox and Castle play the same amount this season, they will play a total of 61 minutes out of the 96 minutes available. That leaves 35 minutes for Harper or others — for instance if Devin Vassell splits his time between the 2 and the 3. Harper will be not be 20 years old until March 2026 — and 20 is probably about the right number of minutes for such a young player in his rookie season.  There probably won’t be enough playing time for Harper to win the Spurs’ third consecutive Rookie of the Year award, but with that other rookie in Dallas starting for the Mavs, Harper probably won’t win the award anyway.”

I absolutely nailed that one. The Spurs’ three top guards were great, and sharing those 96 minutes was not an issue at all.  Fox and Castle combined to average 61 minutes per game, exactly the number I predicted, while young Harper averaged 22 minutes – and those 22 minutes were fabulous.  While I correctly stated that he would not win Rookie of the Year, Harper will almost certainly be on the First Team All-Rookie Team. And he brought Spurs fans much joy throughout the season.  

As did Castle and Fox, Keldon Johnson, who thrived as Sixth Man (of the Year?), our shooting wings (Devin Vassell and undrafted and therefore very Spursian Julian Champagnie), the back-up center (and sometimes starter) Luke Kornet (also undrafted), unheralded rookie Carter Bryant (who plays with a joyful abandon, enthusiasm and skill), Harrison Barnes (who adjusted well to coming off the bench for the first time ever), and the coaching staff — also essentially rookies. 

After a Spurs win in Miami, one of the more joyous recent games to watch, our Frenchman said this, which we could all see as we watched the team compete:

“It’s unselfishness,” said Wemby postgame. “We get along super well on and off the court, and we see the results.”

KJ, who recently had a group of reporters visit his ranch, just had a piece published in The Player’s Tribune about his time with the Spurs and how much of a home San Antonio has become, had this to say:

The best way I can describe our group is like a rodeo. Everybody on the team has their own unique vibe and personality, and when it all comes together it’s just wild. And we thrive off that. We thrive off that chaotic energy of yelling and screaming, and laughing and joking 24/7. And on the floor, that turns into something special. 

They say it is the journey, not the destination.  For this regular season, I can’t imagine a more joyful journey, without even knowing the ultimate destination.  Perhaps I should I have entitled this piece “Youth and inexperience do not defeat joy, they enhance it.”

Speaking of journeys and destinations, I intended this post to be a look back at my preseason over/under predictions for the Western Conference. Unlike prior seasons, I am very joyous about how my preseason predictions this time.  Most importantly, I got the Spurs right.  My preseason prediction for the Spurs:  

 “Vegas has projected the Spurs to improve more in 2025-26 than every other team except one . . . Who am I to disagree? I am also contractually obligated to say OVER, and I know better than to breach my contract before ‘the powers that be’ decide on my Christmas bonus. OVER, OVER, OVER”

Of course, even though Vegas projected the Spurs to increase from 34 wins to 43.5, Vegas was wildly pessimistic.  My “OVER, OVER, OVER” did so much better than Vegas.

I also went “UNDER, UNDER, UNDER” on the Clippers, who Vegas pegged for 48.5 wins.  Wrong!  Clips won only 42 games, so I beat Vegas again.

The Spurs’ loss to the Nuggets Sunday put Denver’s win total at 54, just over the 53.5 Vegas prediction — and I had the Nuggets as an Over.  That brought my overall record this season to a remarkable 11-4. I would much rather the Spurs won, which would have put me at 10-5, but I would accept that in a heartbeat rather than having to beat both Denver and OKC to get to the NBA Finals.

Unfortunately, losing that last game means that the Spurs will likely need to go through both Denver and OKC to get to the NBA Finals.  But let’s not focus on that right now.  If I would have predicted before the season that as of the start of the Play-In Round,  the Spurs would have finished 62-20 (62 wins!!), second place in the tough Western Conference, with home court for the first two rounds of the playoffs (and the NBA Finals if they get there), and dominate the defending champs in their regular season match-ups, everyone would have understandably called me crazy. 

But now?  Call me joyous.

Shams Charania fired back at now-former Bucks coach Doc Rivers while appearing on “The Pat McAfee Show on Monday, dropping the gauntlet down that he just documents “the news and the truth can hurt sometimes.” 

The NBA insider was discussing where the Bucks will go after a disastrous season concluded on Sunday with a loss to the 76ers, when Charania pushed back at those who have questioned his reporting.

“The reality of everything in Milwaukee is this, if they spent as much time dealing with their own internal dynamics and problems as they do responding to accurate reports, they wouldn’t be in the mess that they’re in right now,” he said. 

“I got one more for you. I’ve been watching documentaries from time to time, I saw one on Fyre Festival, and so the part we’re at right now is everyone wants to run and you’re doing the cover-up,” Charania added. “Again, it’s totally fine, I’m just here to document and cover it the right way. I feel like we’ve done an unbelievable job tracking everything. At the end of the day, the last month and a half we’ve seen it.” 

Charania reported earlier this month on the internal issues going on during the season in Milwaukee, which included the persistent speculation around star Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

"The reality of everything in Milwaukee is this…

If they spent as much time dealing with their own internal problems as they did responding to accurate reports they wouldn't be in the mess that they're in right now" ~ @ShamsCharania#PMSLivehttps://t.co/r9gaw2CBx5pic.twitter.com/sVjKAq4Vxz

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 13, 2026

It also detailed a March 1 team meeting where Rivers challenged his players and told them to look up his résumé.

Rivers had taken shots at Charania during an appearance on “Run It Back” on FanDuel Sports Network – a show Charania had been a part of in the past – on Friday. 

“Shams wrote an article that was so inaccurate that I don’t have enough time to go into it,” River said. “He talked about a locker room thing and I was laughing like, ‘yeah, we had a tough locker room day.’ We lost to the Chicago Bulls with a 20-point lead. I showed clips the next day of guys who were screwing up. That’s what happens in a locker room. The first thing I thought was, ‘Where’s Woj? I miss [Adrian Wojnarowski] so much.'”

Rivers also questioned Charania’s sourcing in the story and appeared to allege that the insider had written the story as payback for a joke the coach made about him during NBA All-Star Weekend. Rivers said Antetokounmpo should have traded him from his celebrity team, a quip the team’s social media department ran with, much to Charania’s reported dismay.

“I just report the news,” Charania said on Monday. “I just document the news and the truth can hurt sometimes 100 percent. I stand by my reporting to the 10th degree, like 100 percent.” 

If you go looking through the Knicks’ biggest playoff rivals, the Hawks aren’t the first matchup that comes to mind. They’re not Miami, they’re not Indiana, and they haven’t been a consistent playoff opponent at all. In fact, it’s a pretty rare matchup. But when these two teams do meet in the postseason, it usually ends up reflecting exactly where the Knicks are as a franchise in that moment. There have only been three playoff matchups between the Knicks and the Hawks, and each one sits in a completely different era, with a completely different identity behind it.

The first matchup between the two teams came in 1971, when the Knicks were at the height of their powers. This was a championship-caliber team, built on structure, depth, and discipline, and they approached the series against Atlanta the way great teams typically do when facing an opponent they are simply better than. The Knicks won the series 4-1 to move on to the Eastern Conference Finals. This was a team loaded with five players whose jerseys now hang in the Garden rafters, led by Walt Frazier and Dick Barnett, and they controlled the series from start to finish. Even when games got competitive, it never really felt like the outcome was in doubt. New York controlled pace, executed consistently, and imposed its style over the course of the series.

The numbers tell part of it, but the feel of that series says even more. The Knicks averaged 110 points per game, with Walt Frazier leading the way at 25.6 a night while doing a little bit of everything. Dick Barnett gave them another 22 per game. Inside, Willis Reed and Dave DeBusschere controlled the paint, combining for over 30 rebounds per game and setting the physical tone that Atlanta couldn’t match. It was not about individual brilliance as much as it was about collective reliability. That Knicks team knew exactly who it was, and Atlanta did not have the personnel or cohesion to disrupt that.

Nearly three decades later, the two teams met again in 1999, and this series carries far more weight when viewed in context. The Knicks entered that postseason as an 8 seed in a lockout-shortened season, having gone just 27-23 in the regular season. Expectations were minimal, and their first-round matchup against the top-seeded Miami Heat was widely viewed as a formality. Instead, the Knicks pulled off one of the most memorable upsets in franchise history, winning that series in five games and completely shifting the trajectory of their season. Waiting for them in the second round was Atlanta, a team that had finished 31-19 and was considered far more stable and complete at that point in time.

The Knicks had already adjusted to life without Patrick Ewing before the playoffs. This wasn’t a team scrambling to replace him, it was a team that had already evolved. Marcus Camby brought a completely different dynamic with his length, mobility, and defensive activity, anchoring a more aggressive and disruptive approach. He didn’t just fill a role, he changed the energy. His weakside shot blocking, quick rotations, and ability to cover ground gave the Knicks a defensive presence that felt everywhere at once, and when he got going, the Garden felt it. The rejections at the rim, the putback slams, the transition finishes, it all brought a level of electricity that fed into the team’s identity. On both ends, Camby made the game feel faster, more chaotic, and more alive, and Atlanta never adjusted to it.

Offensively, the Knicks were led by Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell, with Sprewell averaging 22.5 points per game and Houston adding 18. The offense controlled the pace, but it was the defense that dictated the series, leading to a second-round sweep of the Hawks.

That sweep wasn’t just another series win, it was a continuation of one of the most improbable runs in franchise history. As an 8 seed, the Knicks weren’t supposed to be there, and they definitely weren’t supposed to dominate a higher-seeded Hawks team the way they did. Instead, they stayed in control, carried their momentum from Miami, and moved straight through to the Eastern Conference Finals. From there, the run kept building, all the way to the NBA Finals, marking the franchise’s first appearance on that stage since 1994.

After 1999, the matchup disappeared again for more than two decades, as the two franchises moved through different cycles without ever aligning in the postseason. It was not until 2021 that they met for the third time, and this series carried a very different kind of significance. The Knicks entered the playoffs as the 4 seed in the Eastern Conference after a 41-31 season, marking their first postseason appearance since 2013. More importantly, they entered with a renewed identity under Tom Thibodeau, built around defense, physicality, and the emergence of Julius Randle as an All-NBA level player. Madison Square Garden, limited in capacity but fully engaged, provided an atmosphere that felt like a reintroduction of playoff basketball to New York.

Game 1 immediately shifted the tone of the series and added Trae Young to the list of Garden villains. Tie game, under 10 seconds left, ball in his hands. He waves off the screen, drives straight down the middle, freezes the defense just enough, and floats it in with 0.9 seconds left. No panic, no rush, just complete control in the biggest moment of the night. Atlanta stole a 107-105 win, but it felt bigger than just one game. That moment set the tone for the entire series. It gave Atlanta confidence, put the Knicks on their heels, and from there, the series steadily tilted in Atlanta’s favor.

Julius Randle, who had been the focal point of the Knicks’ offense throughout the regular season, struggled to find efficiency against Atlanta’s defensive schemes. The Hawks consistently sent help, crowded his space, and forced him into difficult shot attempts, disrupting both his rhythm and the overall flow of the Knicks’ offense. As a result, New York found itself relying on contested looks and late-clock possessions, unable to generate consistent scoring opportunities. Atlanta, on the other hand, maintained balance and execution. They spaced the floor effectively, created quality looks through pick-and-roll action, and received timely contributions from multiple players. Each time the Knicks appeared close to building momentum, Atlanta responded quickly, preventing any sustained shift in control.

The series returned to Madison Square Garden for Game 5 with the Knicks facing elimination, and while the energy remained present, the outcome increasingly felt inevitable. Atlanta closed out the series with a 103-89 win, taking it 4-1 and ending what had been a promising season for New York. The loss was not just about the result, but about how it unfolded. It exposed limitations, highlighted the difficulty of adjusting within a series, and underscored how quickly a playoff matchup can turn once control is lost early.

Looking at the full history, the Knicks have won two of the three playoff series between the teams, taking the matchups in 1971 and 1999, while the Hawks claimed the most recent meeting in 2021. Each series reflects a different version of the Knicks. In 1971, they were a championship team executing at a high level. In 1999, they were a resilient, adaptive group that found a new identity under pressure and made an unexpected run to the Finals. In 2021, they were a team on the rise that encountered a moment it was not fully prepared to handle.

Now, with another opening round matchup set for this Saturday evening at the Garden for Game 1, the focus isn’t so much on the history between these two teams, but on what this round represents for the Knicks.

Over the past two seasons, they’ve taken clear steps forward, from a hard-fought second-round exit to last year’s Eastern Conference Finals appearance. With that kind of progression, expectations have shifted. This is no longer just about competing, it’s about breaking through.

That’s what makes this first round feel different. It’s the starting point of a run that needs to go further than it has the last two years. Knicks fans aren’t just hoping for another deep playoff push, they’re expecting one.

It was weird getting to zone out last night.

Over the years I’ve been pretty open about my tendency to do this when the game gets out of hand for the Spurs, but (for the most part) I just wasn’t able to disengage like that this season.

That is, I think, one of the biggest compliments that I can give this Spurs team, after years of spending 4^th quarters trying to brainstorm new ways to write about losses.

Sure, when I started writing for the site back in 2018, I would have to write about the occasional loss, but it almost felt like a novelty after so many years of watching the Spurs win so many games.

I had no way of knowing what I’d gotten myself into, even though my very first article ended up being about Kawhi’s exit.

The thing is, you can read about Icarus, and The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, and the sacking of Babylon, and still not really comprehend the free-fall until you’re in it. There’s something about the immediacy of human experience that insulates us from fully grasping how vulnerable we all are, especially at the highest of highs.

In 2018 the Spurs were just four years removed from the most astonishing title in franchise history. The seven years between titles had felt like an eternity.

Now, it’s hard to grasp that it’s been twelve years. I mean, the Spurs were one year shy of going seven years without seeing the postseason, much less a title.

Somehow, the prosperity of this year feels like it has compressed all of that time into something that feels infinitely more brief. It’s strange how a good thing can almost banish the visceral eternity of a more difficult time. Odd how it can effortlessly alter the atmosphere of memory.

It’s one of the most fascinating aspects of mortal recollection that we have this bizarre way of romanticizing the past in the glow of a better present. We talk about the good times in the context of the bad times.

[smiling] “Remember how bad that was?!”

[laughing] “Oh yeah, that was terrible!”

I suppose the contrast is a necessary part of appreciation. I certainly have appreciated this Spurs season more than a great many that were arguably just as prosperous.

I remember having the great privilege of seeing my daughter being born. It was a long, arduous labor to an extent that words can hardly do it justice, and then, suddenly, it was over.

It was almost frightening how quickly things moved once our child was out in the world. The span in which the child was handed to her mother, and then to me, felt like it moved in milliseconds, though I know it must have been much longer.

I can distinctly remember wondering if time itself had sped up as I severed the umbilical cord in what felt like mere moments after she’d been delivered. Nothing prepares you for the immediacy of the event. I’m not sure that anything ever could.

It’s not unlike the way this Spurs season feels like it has materialized. We’ve all been witness to the labor and the difficulty and even knowing what was on the other end of it, somehow it still feels like a surprise.

The Spurs won 62 games. I had them marked down for 50ish at the start of the season, and I was one of the more optimistic ones.

62 wins is tied for the 3^rd most wins in franchise history. The Spurs are the #2 seed in the West, and were clear of #3 by eight wins. They’re just the 3^rd team in NBA history to increase their win total by 40+ wins in a two-year span. They tied the franchise record for wins on the road with 30.

When did this all happen?! It feels like one-minute I was writing about 16 and 18 game losing streaks, and patience, and deep vein thrombosis, and then suddenly this monster of a team materialized, and I spent almost every game glued to my television set because it honestly felt like they could win any and all of them, no matter how far behind they were.

I get that I’ve been writing about them the whole time that changes have been occurring, but it’s kind of the like the gulf between knowing that your child is roughly the size of a watermelon during the final month of pregnancy and then seeing that kid pop right out in front of you.

Maybe it’s just one of the limits of our finite cognizance; that knowledge is both limited and expanded by the relative immediacy of presence. Not so much ‘out of sight out of mind’ as ‘a bird in hand’ is very viscerally a bird in your hand.

I think all the time about how humanity is so very awful at both existing in and fully appreciating the moment. The miracle of birth feels like one of the rare times that nothing else interferes, nothing else distracts, nothing else takes precedence.

It’s an intense event because of how present we are; something that the modern zeitgeist has proliferated into countless courses and methods in pursuit of it.

I’ve been thinking about this for almost two weeks now. I thought about it last night, as the final quarters of the Spurs’ final loss of regular season ticked away, and my twitter feed gradually turned to despair and anxiety.

I thought about it at Easter, as I watched my daughter and her cousins blithely frolic on the gargantuan playground that I’d helped my parents install in their backyard two winters ago.

It’s a brutal truth that we’re always loving things through delay.

Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo, once broke down the present into three categories: Memory, the present of things past. Attention, the present of things present. And Expectation, the present of things future.

In that philosophical vision of reality, only one of the three consists of the actual, immediate present – we must otherwise define it by reference. And it seems fitting that one of the ways in which we experience the present is through the root of all heartache (expectation).

We will never be happier than we are now, until later. We will never be unhappier, until the moment that it passes. We hyperbolize and catastrophize, and ache in the delay.

I’m gazing off into the middle distance with my television muted and a music app playing loudly over the silence, as the Spurs go through the motions of the final moments of the final regular season game, in a display that serves as a commentary on the lack of precariousness that the season has provided, and suddenly a children’s song comes on, the algorithmic remainder of a time when car rides consisted of nursery rhymes and lullabies.

In an instant, my daughter materializes in front of me, tottering in a way that she’s well beyond now.

She’s not even two yet, bouncing at the knees in the way that toddlers mimic dance, singing her best version of ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’, lisps and all. She wants my approval, the words that convey pride. She needs them in the way that she’ll never stop needing them from someone.

She’s smiling at me, and I hope it never ends. I know that it both will and never will. Everything ends and never ends and keeps on ending and not ending.

Memory is an eternity and an instant, and I want to remember every moment. I want to notice everything and carry it away. We all contain the multitudes of daughters dancing now and in memory.

The season was a miracle and a tragedy. A miracle in the way it unfolded. A tragedy in the way that I will never experience it anew. And it’s still not over.

Be present for it. Present for it all. And Go Spurs, Go!

Takeaways

• Carter Bryant may have gone 1-7 from three last night, but man are the flashes starting to come hard and fast with the minutes he’s getting. I don’t think it’s possible to bottle the feeling I had watching him dunk all over Nikola Jokic near the end of the 1st quarter, but I’d almost be willing to watch the entire loss all over again just to experience the shiver than went up my spine when he did it, or the hyper-athletic pair of blocks he had on Curtis Jones and David Roddy barely a minute later. There’s still some inconsistency from long-range, which is understandable, but much like Steph Castle and Dylan Harper, Bryant is actually shooting over 40% from three over the last ten games, so give shooting coach Jimmy Baron his flowers, because he’s done incredible work with multiple budding players on San Antonio’s roster this year.
• I have to admit, I didn’t love the Spurs playing Castle and Harper if MATFO’s intention was to mail this game in like Ted Kaczynski. Outside of Wemby, the thing that makes this team so lethal is the way it can mix and match guards in any scheme and phase of the game. At any given moment, the Spurs have multiple star-caliber guards sharing the back-court, harassing the opposition and darting down lanes like the Roadrunner bolts through canyons. Thankfully Harper only sustained a thumb injury to the point of being listed as ‘day-to-day’, but that could have been disastrous, as the bench in particular (as well as Keldon Johnson) just does not function at their absolute best without him. The Spurs are going to need to be able to lean into their depth as a postseason advantage, even without accruing further injuries, so that felt like a miss from the coaching staff. Still, I understand that you have to play somebody.
• I think this might really be it for Bismack Biyombo after this season. After looking pretty creaky last year, I assumed he’d pretty much reached his basement as a player, but he somehow looked even more immobile this season, to the point that I felt confused at to why he was even on the roster. I understand that there are players you keep around because they’re good for the team, but the Spurs absolutely have to upgrade at the 3rd big man spot this off-season. Whether in the draft or in free-agency, it should be a pretty low asset cost to exceed the degrading skill of Biyombo and Mason Plumlee, and with both Wemby and Kornet missing some games this season (separately and together), it’s a point of clear need.
• I’m a big fan of De’Aaron Fox, and am usually in the habit of defending him against fans who hate on him because of his contract, but it has to be noted that he has been absolutely frigid from beyond the arc as of late. Not only is he shooting 25% from three over the last 10 games, but he hasn’t finished a month shooting better than 33% from three since January. Granted, he’s never been a sniper from downtown, but the Spurs will need him to be closer to 35% to maximize the tandem between him and Castle as teams look for ways to scheme against San Antonio’s start back-court. I’m really hoping he turns it around, asap.
• I just have to praise Stephon Castle one more time for his defense this season. Even playing at less than full-octane, he’s remains a black hole for whoever he’s matched up on. If you have twitter, you should take a look at some the charts on this tweet I’ve linked. He wreaked havoc on everyone from Luka Doncic, to Devin Booker, to SGA. There’s a reason I started calling it Castle’s Dungeon.
  
  

Critique his offense all you want, but here's what Castle did to Doncic, Booker, Maxey, Cade, Garland, DeRozan, and even your beloved SGA.

Amen's defense is really good.

Castle's is an absolute dungeon. https://t.co/hj4oKzHR3vpic.twitter.com/1LZxPq4AuF

— Devon Birdsong (@DevonBirdsong) April 13, 2026

Playing You Out – The Theme Song of the Evening:

You and Me by Lifehouse

By the numbers, the Phoenix Suns were average this season, and that is perfectly okay. Right before the All-Star break in February, that would have sounded like a disappointment, but before the season it would have been a huge success.

This season was a rollercoaster ride, as most NBA seasons are. Some of the highlights included: Collin Gillespie’s game-winner against the Timberwolves, Devin Booker’s game-winner against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and blowing out the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs. There were also some lows: getting blown out by the Thunder, Spurs, and Rockets, injuries, and a below-.500 stretch post-All-Star break.

There are a million different angles to dissect how this season went for the Suns, who stood out, injuries, who underperformed, where the Suns should go from here, whether the Suns were more real before the All-Star break or after, and many more angles. Which will all be dissected throughout the summer on our site and everywhere else you get your Suns fix.

The Suns finished the season 15th in net rating at +1.5; they ranked ninth in defense and 17th in offense. They finished seventh in the West, and tied for the 13th-best record in the league at 45-37 with the Orlando Magic and the Philadelphia 76ers. The Suns finished fifth in offensive rebound percentage, but 27th in defensive rebounding percentage. Phoenix finished fourth in steals per game, but finished 19th in turnover percentage. Outside of Devin Booker’s All-Star game appearance, there likely will not be any member of the organization who earns an end-of-season award or is named to a team All-NBA or All-Defensive team.

The Suns, by the numbers, were average. But what the numbers cannot tell you is that this team competed hard every night before the All-Star break, and most nights after the All-Star break. Many times, they were positionally challenged, having to play multiple shooting guard-sized players out of position, and still Jordan Ott and his staff put out the best lineups they could for success every night. Players like Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin, Oso Ighodaro, Grayson Allen, and Dillon Brooks exceeded all preseason expectations, while Jalen Green, Ryan Dunn, Mark Williams, Royce O’Neale, and the rookies were up and down.

The Suns did not get lucky with health this season either: Booker missed 18 games and had an average Booker season, Green missed 50 games, Brooks missed 26 games, and Allen missed 31 games. However, even with their four highest-paid players out of the lineup, the Suns still managed to find ways to win. With the way that the Suns finished the season (13-14 after the All-Star break), Ott is not a frontrunner to win Coach of the Year anymore, but his ability to have everyone on the roster buy into his philosophy and play hard for him cannot be taken for granted after what Suns fans have experienced the previous two seasons.

The Suns were average by the numbers, but they established an identity, a culture, and a style of play that will be successful in the years to come because they know what works and what does not in the NBA. Do the Suns have a lot of work to do to compete for championships again? Absolutely, and this offseason might be more difficult than last summer’s because of all the question marks on the roster.

The good news going forward is that the Suns have Devin Booker, Jordan Ott, Dillon Brooks, and a young, athletic core they can build around for the future and stay competitive right now. Hope is the most powerful drug in sports, and living without hope for your team is depressing, just ask Arizona Cardinals fans. The Phoenix Suns organization, from Mat Ishbia, Brian Gregory, Jordan Ott, and the rest of the organization have injected the fan base with hope again.

So, whether the Suns do not make the playoffs, get swept in the first round, or win the NBA Finals, this season was an overwhelming success, despite it being a perfectly average season.

North Carolina men's basketball and Michael Malone have lost a key part of their future building blocks in Chapel Hill.

According to multiple reports, Tar Heels recruit Dylan Mingo, the No. 2-ranked combo guard in the 2026 recruiting class by 247Sports' Composite rankings, has reopened his recruitment. The reports were then confirmed by Rodd Baxley of The Fayetteville Observer, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Mingo has yet to publicly announce his decision, but did reshare a post from Rivals' Joe Tipton on the report.

TRANSFER PORTAL RANKINGS: Top 20 players still uncommitted in men's basketball

The 6-foot-5 guard out of Long Island committed to North Carolina back in February when Hubert Davis was still the Tar Heels coach. North Carolina fired Davis on March 24 following another first weekend exit from the Men's NCAA Tournament.

The Tar Heels hired Malone, who has not coached at the college ranks before, on Monday, April 6 to be Davis' successor. The NCAA allows committed high school recruits to get out of their binding agreements with their future university

Mingo is ranked as a five-star recruit and the No. 5 overall recruit in the 2026 recruiting class according to 247Sports' Composite rankings system. He chose North Carolina over Baylor, Penn State and Washington. He was one of two 2026 recruits who committed to North Carolina under Davis, with the other being Maximo Adams, who has re-committed to Malone and the Tar Heels.

As noted by ESPN's Jeff Borzello, Mingo missed most of his high school season at Long Island Lutheran High School with an ankle injury and sat out last summer's Peach Jam, one of the top AAU tournaments on the Nike circuit, with an injury. 

Mingo is the brother of former Penn State guard Kayden Mingo, who is the No. 14-ranked player in USA TODAY Sports' most recent transfer portal rankings.

Dylan Mingo 247 rankings

• Stars: Five
• National ranking: No. 5
• Positional ranking: No. 2
• State ranking: No. 1

Dylan Mingo was listed as a five-star recruit and the fifth-best recruit in the 2026 recruiting class per 247Sports' Composite rankings. He was also listed as the No. 2 combo guard and the No. 1 player in the state of New York in his class.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dylan Mingo reopens UNC basketball recruitment, 247 rankings

The Los Angeles Lakers are gearing up to host the Houston Rockets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs on Saturday, April 18. The Lakers managed to snag the No. 4 seed in the West to clinch home court advantage in the opening series, but they'll likely have to take on Houston without two of their biggest contributors.

Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have each been out since the Lakers' 139-96 blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 2, but there are new updates on the L.A. stars.

News emerged, during a segment on ESPN's NBA Today Monday, April 13, that Dončić is reportedly traveling back to the United States after undergoing "multiple" injections on his left hamstring over the last week in Spain to promote healing from his grade 2 strain and potentially expedite his return to the floor.

On Lakers star Luka Doncic’s impending return to the U.S. after treatments in Spain for NBA Today: pic.twitter.com/ZWWSelaZ5L

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 13, 2026

He is expected to rejoin the Lakers by Friday, April 17, though it remains unclear whether or not the treatment has sped up his recovery timeline from the standard 4-6 weeks.

Reaves, meanwhile, has been rehabbing his grade 2 left oblique muscle strain in Los Angeles and was also originally given a return window of 4-6 weeks.

"Both of these guys going into the playoffs, there is an expectation that they will be sidelined an indefinite period of time, just how soon (remains to be seen)," ESPN's Shams Charania said on-air. "They're both trying to get back ASAP."

If both original timelines hold up, Dončić and Reaves would be out through at least the first week of May. But while the Lakers aren't expecting Reaves back against Houston, Dončić will reportedly be re-evaluated once he rejoins the team for a possible return in the first round.

What is a Grade 2 hamstring strain?

A Grade 2 hamstring strain is a “moderate injury that is typically a partial tear in the muscle; patients are likely to limp when walking and will have occasional twinges of pain during activity,” according to Mercy Health.

The injury could take close to a month to heal, but “returning to sports before the injury is fully healed can cause more severe injuries.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Luka Doncic injury update: Will Lakers star be back for NBA playoffs?

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina freshman Caleb Wilson is headed to the NBA draft after what he called “the most fun year of my life” playing for the Tar Heels.

The program released a video statement Monday from the 6-foot-10 forward regarded as a top prospect in the June draft. That made Wilson's one-and-done route official, coming after he had posted an “#8out” message on social media late last month indicating he was headed in that anticipated direction.

“I am grateful for the opportunity I had to represent North Carolina,” Wilson said. “Wearing No. 8, running out of that historic tunnel every day for practice and games, and i’m happy to say every day I gave it my all.”

Wilson averaged 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds in a dynamic season was cut short by injury, first a broken bone in his left hand days after a thrilling win against rival Duke. Then, when he was on the verge of returning, he broke his right thumb in a non-contact drill to end his season on the eve of Round 2 with the Blue Devils.

Still, Wilson was named a second-team Associated Press All-American, a distinction that will ensure that he will be included among the honored jerseys in the Smith Center rafters.

___

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

The Detroit Pistons know that they will host Game 1 of the NBA playoffs on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET. What they do not know is who their opponent will be. That gives Pistons fans an added incentive to pay close attention to the play-in games, with seeds 7-10 vying for the final two playoff spots in each conference. In the East, the Miami Heat (10th seed) will visit the Charlotte Hornets (9) on Tuesday night with the loser being eliminated from the playoffs. Then, on Wednesday, the Orlando Magic (8) visit the Philadelphia 76ers. The loser earns the seventh seed and the right to play the Boston Celtics in the first round. Finally, on Friday, the winner of the Heat-Hornets game will play the loser of the Magic-Sixers game for the eighth seed and a visit to Detroit.

In the Western Conference, the matchups will be Portland Trail Blazers (8) vs. the Phoenix Suns (7) on Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET, and the Golden State Warriors (10) vs. the Los Angeles Clippers (9) on Wednesday. On Friday, the winners of Blazers-Suns will play the winner of the Warriors-Clippers.

Who are you rooting for to earn that eighth seed in the Eastern Conference? The misbegotten Magic, who are suddenly healthy but no less confusing and disappointing? The upstart Charlotte Hornets, who feel dangerous everywhere, but are just as inexperienced? The Miami Heat, who have struggled plenty this season, but always seem to give the Pistons fits? Or the sadly injured but still talented Sixers?

Does it even matter?

Anything you’re rooting for or paying particular attention to out West?

For six weeks, Lakers coach JJ Redick emphasized that the focus was on his team, not their variety of opponents, as they looked to build the right mentality for the playoffs.

That stopped being the case as soon as the final buzzer of the regular season went off after the Lakers beat the Jazz on Sunday night.

The Lakers (53-29) have fully turned their attention and focus to the Rockets (52-30), whom they’ll match up against in the first round of the playoffs after finishing fourth and fifth in the Western Conference standings, respectively.

Game 1 is on Saturday (5:30 p.m.) at Crypto.com Arena. 

The Rockets finished the regular season sixth in net rating (plus-5.4), while the Lakers finished 14th (plus-1.5). 

They’re one of six teams that finished the regular season top-10 in both offensive rating (eighth) and defensive rating (sixth), which is typically a good marker for whether a team is a contender.

“Houston’s obviously a really, really good basketball team,” Redick said. “We’re going to prepare, and we’re going to fight and we’re going to go try to win a series.”

Redick added: “We’re going to do everything we can to get our guys in a great frame of mind and great physical shape over the next four or five days and be ready to play.”

An obvious storyline going into the playoff series will be LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant — a matchup between two of the greatest players of their generation.

It’ll mark the fourth time the legendary players meet up in the playoffs, and the first time in a non-NBA Finals series, after James’ Heat beat Durant’s Thunder in the 2012 Finals before Durant’s Warriors beat James’ Cavaliers in the ‘17 and ‘18 Finals. 

For the Lakers, the top-of-the-line strategies for their series against the Rockets start with Durant, who’s in line to make his 12th All-NBA team, and Alperen Sengun, who averaged 20.4 points and 6.2 assists in his second All-Star season. 

“Those are the two heads of the snake,” Marcus Smart said. “Making sure we keep those guys under control. Can’t let those other players get off as well. But the focus is those two guys and just going out there and making it as tough as possible for them.”

The Rockets’ physicality will also be a focus after they led the league in offensive rebounding percentage.

“For me, we know it and these guys know my motto: ‘The toughest team sets the rule’,” Smart said. “And the playoffs are a little bit different. Things are a lot tougher. They let you play a lot more and I think that works to my advantage and our advantage.”

In the backdrop of the playoff series will be the Lakers being without star guards Luka Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique strain) to start the first round – and probably longer. 

Not only will they be without two of their best players and ball handlers, but the spirit of their team took a hit when both suffered their regular season-ending injuries during the April 2 road loss to the Thunder in Oklahoma City.

The Lakers went 3-2 in the five games they closed out the season without their star duo in what was both a mental and emotional test.

“This team needs great spirit and we need our remaining guys to be healthy,” Redick said. “That was our focus last week. It’s gonna be our focus this week: Building our capacity physically, making sure we don’t do too much, making sure we don’t do too little, making sure we get through the week healthy. And then the spirit, again, creating that belief. We’ve done that with this group over these last few games and we’ve gotta continue that going into Game 1.”

Resiliency has been a common theme for the Lakers in 2025-26. 

They hope that remains the case. 

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