One of the biggest pressure points facing the Phoenix Suns this offseason is what to do with Mark Williams. He gave Phoenix 60 games this past season and showed exactly why the organization targeted him in the first place. The rim running, the rim deterrence defensively, the athleticism, and the motor. All of those traits were clear positives for a franchise that historically has spent years trying to stabilize the center position.

Restricted free agency is at the doorstep, and with the Suns also trying to retain key pieces from an unexpectedly successful team, Williams becomes one of the more important leverage points of the offseason. His qualifying offer sits at $9.6 million, which on the surface doesn’t feel overwhelming. Once you begin stacking on the other financial realities though (dead money, luxury tax concerns, apron implications), the conversation becomes a lot more complicated.

That’s what made Bobby Marks of ESPN calling Williams the fifth-best restricted free agent this summer such an interesting note.

Per Marks:

At $17 million below the luxury tax and $25 million below the first apron, the Suns are walking a financial tightrope with free agents Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin and Williams.

Williams’ durability issues plagued the first three seasons of his career, in which he sat out 116 games because of back, foot and thumb injuries.

In his first season with Phoenix, Williams sat out 10 games because of a stress reaction in his left foot but still played a career-high 60 games. (Because of the foot injury, Williams did not appear in the Suns’ first-round playoff loss.)

Williams ranked in the top 20 in offensive rebounds per game and played a significant role in Phoenix’s jump from 26th to sixth in second-chance points this season. The Suns were plus-8.5 points per 100 possessions when Williams was on the court with Gillespie, Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks and Royce O’Neale.

Marks projected Williams at three years and $42 million, stating, “The contract would start at $13 million and increase to $15 million in the third season. The first year is $2 million less than the non-tax midlevel exception.”

I’ll start with this. If he’s viewed nationally as the fifth-best restricted free agent available regardless of position, there’s real value attached to that. Marks also identified the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, and Chicago Bulls as logical fits, which naturally creates the possibility that another team helps drive up his market. That matters for Phoenix.

If the number climbs too high, the Suns could ultimately decide to walk away. Or they could work with another team on a sign-and-trade. A deal in the neighborhood of three years, $42 million honestly feels pretty close to what I expected Williams to land based on last season. The injury concerns will always be part of the equation, and they’re likely the biggest reason he won’t command something even larger. At the same time, for a team trying to balance winning now with eventually increasing Khaman Maluach’s role, this kind of contract makes sense as a bridge.

If Maluach needs more time, you’ve bought yourself a clean three-year runway. If he develops faster than expected, then Williams either becomes valuable depth on a fair contract or a tradable asset you can use to strengthen another area of the roster. From a pure basketball standpoint, I think it’s a very reasonable price. The complication, as always, is financial.

If Phoenix is comfortable paying into the luxury tax, bringing him back at that number feels pretty straightforward. If ownership is serious about avoiding the tax line, then this conversation becomes far more interesting and potentially a lot harder.

That’s really what makes Mark Williams one of the defining offseason decisions for Phoenix. On the floor, the fit makes sense. The timeline makes sense. Even the contract projection feels reasonable when viewed through a basketball lens.

The challenge is that the Suns rarely get to make decisions in a vacuum anymore. Every move connects to three others. Retaining Williams impacts what you can do with Collin Gillespie. It impacts overall roster flexibility. It impacts how aggressively you navigate the margins of the tax and how much patience you can afford with younger players.

That’s why this feels bigger than simply deciding whether Williams is worth $14 million a year. He probably is. The harder question is whether Phoenix can make that commitment and still maintain the roster balance and flexibility needed to keep building on what they started last season.

When you root for a team that isn’t in the playoffs anymore it’s very natural to reminisce on what you used to have. When you root for a team that didn’t make the playoffs at all that kind of thought only comes more quickly. For about three months now I’ve been coasting through this season thinking about the NBA Draft Lottery, and now that we’ve secured the #2 pick in this year’s draft, there’s nothing more we can do except wait. Or at least that’s what normal people would do.

For me and my undiagnosed AuDHD my mind can only go back in time until we officially have one of Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, or Cam Boozer on our roster. Once the draft and free agency are over I’ll be locked into what we can accomplish next season, but for now I’m thinking about the guys who aren’t here to be a part of our come up. I’ve thought about it long and hard and I now have my all-time starting 5 from Utah Jazz players who were pretty good: not Hall of Famers, not All-Stars, not even very good. Just pretty good. Be sure to tell us who you’d pick in your Starting 5, but without further ado, let’s go back to a simpler time.

Point Guard: Ricky Rubio

If you know me as a basketball fan, you will know that my favorite archetypes of players are facilitators, and in my mind Ricky Rubio was one of the best. Sure, he never lived up to hype he had coming into the league, and he was never able to justify selecting him over Steph Curry, but having a 12 year career when you’re only true skill is slinging the rock is pretty solid. He was only in Utah for two seasons but was able to give us 12 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds a night on fairly decent shooting splits.

He’s actually the catalyst for this entire article; I was scrolling Twitter and ran across a Ricky Rubio highlight reel and I couldn’t help but smile. He may have never been the point guard, but he’ll always be my point guard. I couldn’t tell you how sad I was to see him retire from the NBA, but they say to not cry because it’s over, and to smile because it happened.

Shooting Guard: DeShawn Stevenson

We’ve got a major throwback for this entry. It would be understandable if you forgot, or even didn’t know at all, that Stevenson played for the Jazz. It was a different time; we just started a new millennium, a gallon of gas was around $1.50, and NBADraft.net just announced to the entire world that Stevenson’s NBA comp was THE Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

Suffice it to say he never lived up that standard, and his three and a half season in Utah weren’t any indication that he would become anything more than his 6 points per game average, but every now and then he would display something just special enough to think that he could turn things around. In his last 54 games for the Jazzmen he averaged a career high 11.4 points per game before he was traded to the Orlando Magic.

I’m not sure why I have such an affinity for him, really. I followed his career in Washington, I was excited to see him be a part of the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks squad in 2011, and I was even rooting for him during his time in Ice Cube’s Big 3 league. By all metrics I shouldn’t care about a player with averages like his, but you can’t help who you love.

Small Forward: Joe Johnson

Yes, I do mean old man Joe Johnson. I can hear a lot of people SCREAMING at me to have Andrei Kirilenko or Joe Ingles here, and while they were certainly great players, they were much more than just role players. I’m not exactly sure what the word for a player between role player and star is, but both of them would be in that category. Some people may also be yelling at me because Iso Joe is a 7x All-Star, but when he made his way to Salt Lake City he was four years removed from All-Star status and 35 years old, so I think this selection is more than acceptable.

To quote the late great Bill Russell: “this game has always been , and will always be, about buckets.” In the case of Joe Johnson, he was able to score with the best of them. Roughly 5000 people in human history have played in the NBA and only 56 of them have ever scored more than 20,000 points; Iso Joe is one of those elite. His midrange game was always a lethal weapon for him to use, but once he got to Utah he was able to really display his post work a lot more; really a refined repertoire for someone in his position. Much like DeShawn Stevenson, I’ve always loved Joe Johnson and I’m happy to say that he’s still killing it in the Big 3 league. Johnson is one of those players who could really hoop until he’s 60, and I hope I get to witness that entire playing career.

Power Forward: Derrick Favors

This biggest knock on Derrick Favors’ entire career is that he was born about 15 years too late. For his particular skillset, being a very good post player, he would have been a multi-time All-Star if he was playing in the 80’s or 90’s. Unfortunately for him he was drafted in the 2010 NBA Draft, and just as he was entering his prime as a player, the NBA was starting to move towards a more perimeter centric philosophy thanks to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Despite the fact that he wasn’t able to mold his game with the league, he was still very effective within his niche skillset.

He and Greg Monroe both share the unique distinction of being born just a tad too late to thrive in the NBA. During Favors’ decade in Utah he had only 5 seasons averaging more than 10 points per game, but overall was very solid. If that doesn’t scream “Hall of Pretty Good,” I don’t know what will.

Center: Hassan Whiteside

In a similar story to Derrick Favors, the NBA just pasted Hassan Whiteside by. Utah was Whiteside’s last stop in his NBA career, and while his averages for a backup center were more than respectable, the NBA had fully moved into a perimeter centric offense and Whiteside, to say the least, was not equipped for that role. He was still able to secure 5 rebounds and block 1.6 shots per game during the 2021-2022 season, but with limited to no offensive bag he was phased out of the league.

This may seem like a weird selection to some people, but if I am anything, it is a homer. I grew up in West Virginia, and if you ever played for West Virginia University or Marshall, there is a great chance that I will support you until my last breath. I was actually able to be in attendance for a game between WVU and Marshall at the Charleston Civic Center where Whiteside put up 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks and ever since then I was drawn to him as a basketball player. It was a pleasure to see him play in the league, and it was an extra nice treat to see him finish his career in Utah.

Nostalgia is one hell of a drug, and it is one that I am addicted too. As we look forward to the NBA Draft it’s nice to remember where we came from. I look back at some of these years that the aforementioned players were here and remind myself that we’re onto better things. As we’re approaching the actual draft there will be A TON of draft coverage from everyone here at SLC Dunk so be on the look out for that!

Who would be in your all-time starting five? Do you think you have the most unique taste in Jazzmen role players? Sound off in the comments below!

Be kind. Tell somebody that you love them.

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Cleveland sports fans are getting severe deja vu with the Cavs down 0-2. But with the series shifting back to their home floor, it's time for Cleveland to dig deep ... again.

Ahead of tonight's Game 3 clash with the New York Knicks, our NBA player prop projections have locked onto the highest-value betting angles on the market.

By analyzing the data against current market lines, we’ve identified where the strongest edges exist.

These Knicks vs. Cavaliers predictions are driven by numbers instead of guesswork.

If you’re building your card, here are the model’s top NBA picks for Saturday, May 23.

Knicks vs Cavaliers computer picks for Game 3

Knicks	Cavaliers
Hart u12.5 points  -105	Harden o18.5 points -105
Towns o11.5 rebounds -112	Mitchell o3.5 assists -165
Bridges o12.5 points -105	Mobley o8.5 rebounds  -105

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Knicks Game 3 computer picks

Josh Hart Under 12.5 points (-105)

Projection: 10.70 points

Josh Hart made the Cleveland Cavaliers pay for sleeping on him in Game 2, dropping a massive 26 points while the Cavs focused on Jalen Brunson. Cleveland won't dare him to beat them again in Game 3. Expect a much more disciplined defensive effort from the Cavs tonight, making the Under on Hart's points prop the smart play.

span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet hart Now at bet365!/span

Karl-Anthony Towns Over 11.5 rebounds (-112)

Projection: 11.77 rebounds

Karl-Anthony Towns is in his bag right now. The New York Knicks' big man has cleared the way in the paint with back-to-back double-doubles, pulling down exactly 13 boards in both Games 1 and 2. Expect him to spearhead the rebounding effort for New York again tonight.

span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet towns Now at bet365!/span

Mikal Bridges Over 12.5 points (-105)

Projection: 13.62 points

While it may seem obvious, Mikal Bridges' points prop presents immense value tonight. With Cleveland’s defense heavily focused on trapping Jalen Brunson and adjusting to contain Josh Hart after his Game 2 outburst, Bridges is bound to see plenty of open looks.

Having already cleared this line in Games 1 and 2 with 18- and 19-point performances, he is in a prime position to stay hot tonight.

span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet bridges Now at bet365!/span

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Cavaliers Game 3 computer picks

James Harden Over 18.5 points (-105)

Projection: 20.05 points

The word of the day for James Harden is simple: more. The Cavaliers desperately need him to elevate his game in every facet.

While he put up 15 and 18 points in Games 1 and 2, it clearly hasn't been enough to match a red-hot Knicks squad. Harden has been far too quiet, and it's time for him to pump up the volume to prevent Cleveland from sliding into a familiar, inescapable postseason hole.

span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet harden Now at bet365!/span

Donovan Mitchell Over 3.5 assists (-165)

Projection: 4.78 assists

New York's defensive game plan starts and ends with making life miserable for Donovan Mitchell. With the Knicks doing everything they can to bottle up his scoring, Mitchell will have to lean heavily into his playmaking to keep Cleveland afloat.

He hasn't cleared his assist prop yet in this series, but the Knicks' suffocating pressure is going to force the ball out of his hands and right into a cashable Over for his assist line.

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Evan Mobley Over 8.5 rebounds (-105)

Projection: 8.56

Don’t let a single bad outing scare you off Evan Mobley tonight. While the Knicks limited him to just six rebounds in Game 2, Mobley has otherwise been a cash machine on the boards this postseason.

Back on his home floor, expect the Cavs' big man to play with renewed aggression underneath, making the Over on his rebounding prop a fantastic bounce-back target.

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How to watch Knicks vs Cavaliers Game 3

Location	Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH
Date	Saturday, May 23, 2026
Tip-off	8:00 p.m. ET
TV	ABC

Not intended for use in MA.
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The Houston Rockets have a major offseason ahead. Amen Thompson and Tari Eason are both up for contract extensions, and reports have come out that Fred VanVleet may get his contract restructured, and this is not counting them having Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams back next year.

Fred and Adams will obviously both be returning from injuries, so it is safe to say there will be some regression. Vanvleet is coming off an ACL tear, but since he is not exactly known for his high flying play, so thankfully we don’t have to worry too much about an athletic regression, but with him and Reed being our only high volume respected three point shooters any type of regression is a cause for concern esspecially since last season the Rockets were at a severe mathematical disadvantage every night since they only averaged 31.5 three-point attempts each game.

Enter the Dallas Mavericks, who are now in year two of the post-Luka Doncic rebuild era, and have veteran point guard Kyrie Irving. With Kyrie near the end of his career, it is unclear if he will want to stick around to watch a rebuild in Dallas, and that makes the latest reporting on the Kyrie Irving front, according to Brandon Robinson, also known as Scoop B, the Rockets have interest in Irving.

“Furthermore, the Houston Rockets are also actively monitoring Irving’s availability, ready to spark a bidding war.”

Additonally ESPN’s Shams Charania also reported that multiple contending teams are interested in Irving and are keeping tabs on the Dallas Mavericks, following the ouster of Jason Kidd as head coach, which was preceded by the hire of Masai Ujiri as the Mavericks’ vice president and decision maker. 

CBS Sports named the Rockets as one of five possible destinations for Irving.

Irving, who will turn 35 at the end of the 2026–2027 campaign, is recovering from an ACL tear that held him out for much of the 2025–2026 campaign, which was essentially a disastrous year for Dallas.

From a contractual standpoint, Irving has a $39.5 million guaranteed year left in 2026–2027, followed by a $42 million player option in 2027–2028. He will undoubtedly wash his hands of the transaction for long-term security.

When Irving last played in 2024–2025, he averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 47.3 percent from the field, 40.1 percent from beyond the arc (on 7.2 attempts), and 91.6 percent from the foul line. These stats were good enough to earn Irving another All-Star selection.

However, after looking at the contracts, the trade doesn’t make much sense to me. Just from a contract perspective, I am unsure how a trade would work with Fred VanVleet’s essential no-trade clause. Additonally with Houston being capped at the first appron and Dallas being capped at the second appron, it makes a deal even more difficult.

However, I am curious to hear what you all think do you like the idea of a Kyrie trade? What would your proposed trade package be? Let me know, and as always, be sure to check back at The Dream Shake for all your Houston Rockets news needs.

The reality of being the only Canadian team in the NBA is one of highs and lows for the Toronto Raptors. It means having the entire country (except *maybe* Vancouver) united to cheer for the team, and the spirit of an entire nation behind the squad.

It also means a gulf between the Raptors and the rest of the American teams, that can feel bigger than the 49th Parallel. This is something becomes even more pronounced in perception of players by those south of the border. All this to say, that it’s a travesty that Scottie Barnes did not make it onto the All-Defensive First Team, ending up on the Second Team with 130 total points.

All-Defensive First Team

• Victor Wembanyama (200 points)
• Chet Holmgren (190 points)
• Ausar Thompson (166 points)
• Rudy Gobert (151 points)
• Derrick White (146 points)

All-Defensive Second Team

• Scottie Barnes (130 points)
• Cason Wallace (94 points)
• Bam Adebayo (71 points)
• OG Anunoby (67 points)
• Dyson Daniels (50 points)

Barnes was 17 points short of First Team honours, and it’s got me scratching my head as to what exactly voters were thinking. Only two Canada-based sportswriters voted in last year’s awards races, drowned in a sea of American perspectives, and it’s likely to be a similar ratio for this year. And while the Raptors have been one of the league’s most prominent teams of the 21st century, the legacy and fanbase of the Boston Celtics is almost incomparable in size, thus lending to the likelihood of some implicit bias.

Derrick White had a very solid defensive season, especially with Jayson Tatum out, as the Celtics’ guard posted a career high in both steals and blocks. But, considering that Scottie Barnes was playing much of the season without his starting centre and served as the defensive anchor for his squad, their responsibilities are by no means comparable. The Celtics finished as second in the Eastern Conference, no mean feat, but White was playing alongside 29-7-5 Jaylen Brown as the offensive centrepiece, while Scottie took on some serious offensive responsibilities in addition to balancing his defensive role, making the latter performance all the more impressive.

Barnes had his own thoughts on the awards, taking the snub good-naturedly, making a commitment to another season of hard work.

The importance of having a good defensive centre cannot be understated, and Ausar Thompson winning the steals title makes 4 out of 5 of the First Team’s awards relatively hard to dispute. But, Scottie Barnes not taking that fifth spot is a grave error for the voting population, and very likely another chapter in the book of writing off the Raptors.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers went down 0-2 to the Detroit Pistons on the road in the conference semifinals before winning Games 3 and 4 at home and ultimately stealing the series in seven.

Cleveland will look to repeat that pattern in the Eastern Conference Finals, and my Knicks vs. Cavaliers props dig into the best value plays for this pivotal contest, giving you my best NBA picks for Saturday, May 23.

It's all part of our full Knicks vs. Cavaliers predictions for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, so let's dive in.

Best Knicks vs Cavaliers props for Game 3

Player	Pick
Mikal Bridges	Over 13.5 points	-105
Donovan Mitchell	Over 2.5 threes	-155
Evan Mobley	Over 3.5 assists	+105

Game 3 Prop #1: Mikal Bridges Over 13.5 points

-105 at bet365

The Cleveland Cavaliers strategy to ignore Josh Hart backfired in Game 2, as Hart went off for 26 points. After that outburst, Hart will see more defensive attention, leading to less pressure on Bridges.

Over his last seven games, 31.9% of Mikal Bridges’ shot attempts have been “open,” with defenders 4-6 feet away, and 15.9% have been “wide open,” with defenders 6+ feet away.

Bridges is shooting a blistering 68.3% on 11.7 shots per game in that span, yet he could see even more open looks. I’m willing to bet this one up to 15.5.

Game 3 Prop #2: Donovan Mitchell Over 2.5 threes

-155 at bet365

The New York Knicks interior defense has ceded just 40.2 paint points across the team’s nine-game win streak. As a result, opponents have focused on outside shots and attempted the fourth-most three-pointers (37.1).

Donovan Mitchell is just 11-of-38 from deep over his last five games, but nearly a third of those shots were “open” or “wide open.”

Shot quality has been favorable, and Mitchell has shot 36.8% from deep at home compared to 27.5% on the road this postseason. Mitchell can improve when he returns to Rocket Arena, and I’ll climb the ladder to 3.5 triples.

Game 3 Prop #3: Evan Mobley Over 3.5 assists

+105 at bet365

Among centers averaging at least 30 minutes in the playoffs, Evan Mobley ranks fifth in assist percentage (25.4) and seventh in usage (18.8).

Cleveland has struggled to move the ball, assisting on just 57.8% of made baskets, but Mobley has consistently gotten teammates involved with four dimes per tilt.

Cleveland is 6-3 when the big man dishes 4+, and Cleveland’s offense averaged 8.1 more points in those contests.

This is a favorable line that I’ll bet up to 4.5, as Cleveland should emphasize ball movement to get better looks against New York’s stiff defense.

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The New York Knicks can move to the brink of the NBA Finals with a victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Knicks won the first two games in New York. Games 3 and 4 will be in Cleveland. The Cavaliers are favored at home by 2.5 points. The over/under is 214.5.

How to watch New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

• Date: Saturday, May 23

• Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT

• Where: Rocket Arena, Cleveland, Ohio

• TV Channels: ABC

• Live Stream:NBA League Pass | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Odds

• Spread: Cleveland Cavaliers -2.5

• Moneyline: Cleveland Cavaliers -131 (54.5%) / New York Knicks +111 (45.5%)

• Over/Under: 214.5

Series schedule, results

Game 1: Knicks 115, Cavaliers 104 (OT)
Game 2:Knicks 109, Cavaliers 93
Game 3: New York at Cleveland (Saturday May 23, 8 p.m. ET, ABC)
Game 4: New York at Cleveland (Monday May 25, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Game 5: Cleveland at New York (Wednesday May 27, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)*
Game 6: New York at Cleveland (Friday May 29, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)*
Game 7: Cleveland at New York (Sunday May 31, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)*

*if necessary

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After winning a dramatic, double-OT thriller in Game 1, the San Antonio Spurs have dropped two straight games and face a 2-1 series deficit heading into Game 4 at home.

Depth and fatigue will be key factors in Game 4, and my Thunder vs. Spurs predictions expect the visiting team to earn a third straight victory.

Here are my best free NBA picks for Sunday, May 24.

Thunder vs Spurs Game 4 prediction

Thunder vs Spurs best bet: Thunder moneyline (+110)

The disparity in bench numbers has been jarring, as the Oklahoma City Thunder have gotten 61 points and 121.6 minutes per game from their reserves, compared to just 21.3 points and 60.4 minutes for the San Antonio Spurs.

Victor Wembanyama has averaged 41.7 minutes, and giving him a break isn’t viable. The Spurs are +21 with him on the floor and -38 when he’s on the bench.

With Dylan Harper and De’Aaron Fox nursing injuries, and Wemby forced into big minutes, fatigue will be critical. I priced this line at -140, so I’m thrilled to get it early at +110.

COVERS INTEL: The Thunder’s 76 bench points in Game 3 are the most in a Conference Finals or NBA Finals game since 1971. Oklahoma City’s bench outscored San Antonio’s by 53 in the win.

Thunder vs Spurs Game 4 same-game parlay

OKC’s defense forced Victor Wembanyama outside the paint in Games 2 and 3. He attempted 25 shots and two three-pointers in Game 1 but combined for 31 shots and 12 triples over his last two. The Spurs need to adjust and get him more paint touches to utilize his size and create kickout opportunities. This is a strong value play at plus-money.

Part of San Antonio’s adjustment has to be more bench minutes. Keldon Johnson scored 20.4 points per 36 minutes while shooting 36.3% from beyond the arc this season. I’ll bet this one up to 9.5.

Thunder vs Spurs SGP

• Thunder moneyline
• Victor Wembanyama Under 1.5 3-pointers
• Keldon Johnson Over 8.5 points

Thunder vs Spurs odds for Game 4

• Spread: Oklahoma City +1.5 (-105) | San Antonio -1.5 (-115)
• Moneyline: Oklahoma City +110 | San Antonio -130
• Over/Under: Over 218 (-110) | Under 218 (-110)

Thunder vs Spurs betting trend to know

The Thunder have hit the moneyline in 25 of their last 30 games (+16.40 Units / 8% ROI). Find more NBA betting trends for Thunder vs. Spurs.

How to watch Thunder vs Spurs Game 4

Thunder vs Spurs latest injuries

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For the first time in the Western Conference Finals, the San Antonio Spurs trail the Oklahoma City Thunder. After a wild Game One victory, the Spurs lost two straight, including a 123-108 loss at home in Game Three. It was a game defined by the Thunder’s dominance. San Antonio started the game on a 15-0 run, and managed to lose the game by 15, a 30-point swing for OKC.

If you want a stat that sums up a lot of the game, it’s this one: OKC’s bench outscored San Antonio’s bench by 53 points (76-23). When Victor Wembanyama sat out, the Thunder went on huge runs. Even with him in the game, Oklahoma City’s bench was able to score from outside. Meanwhile, the Spurs couldn’t find any consistent offense as they continue to deal with injuries to key players like De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper.

The Spurs enter Game Four needing to win a game to prevent the Thunder from taking a 3-1 series lead. San Antonio is -126 favorites on FanDuel to defend home court and tie the series at 2-2 in Game Four. They’ll need to find a way to score against Oklahoma City’s swarming defense and get contributions from their bench to stay in the series.

Before looking ahead to Game Four, let’s grade the performances from Game Three. As a quick reminder, player grades are based on each player’s on-court performance, going beyond just the stat sheet. A “B” grade represents the average performance for an individual. If a player logs fewer than 5 minutes or plays only in garbage time, their grade will be incomplete.

Victor Wembanyama

39 minutes, 26 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 8-for-15 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, +4

Wembanyama continues to be the Spurs’ most consistent offensive threat in this series. However, since the Thunder decided to guard him with a big man, Wembanyama has struggled to reach the scoring heights we saw in Game One. He’s being forced to hurt the Thunder on the perimeter, where he isn’t nearly as effective. He keeps getting pushed further and further away from the hoop and is stuck taking some tough shots.

Defensively, Wembanyama has to stick to what makes him great. Too many times, he is being pulled onto the perimeter to contest Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s mid-range jumpers. While he’s away from the paint, the Thunder can find lanes for drives or kickout angles for threes. It’s also limiting Wemby’s impact on the boards, as he grabbed just four rebounds in the loss.

Grade: B

De’Aaron Fox

31 minutes, 15 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, 2 fouls, 7-for-14 shooting, 1-for-6 threes, +9

You have to hand it to Fox for playing through what appears to be a significant ankle injury. He went down in the third quarter, and it looked like it might be the last time we see him in the game. But he gutted it out and came back into the game, clearly hampered.

Fox is giving them some nice offensive juice off the dribble, getting into the paint with speed and creatively finishing around the Thunder’s defense. The problem is he didn’t make a lot of his outside shots, which OKC dared him to take, and he turned the ball over four times. If he can play smart with the ball, push the pace, and make some outside shots, the Spurs will have a better chance to win Game Four.

Grade: B

Stephon Castle

35 minutes, 14 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 5 fouls, 1-for-8 shooting, 1-for-5 threes, -17

It looked like Castle struggled to adjust to Fox returning to the lineup. He corrected his turnover issue, but his offense was way off, making just one shot in the game. Defensively, he looks like he may be letting his emotions get the best of him. He is clearly frustrated with the officiating and is fed up with SGA’s ability to get to the free-throw line. He’s fouling too much and complaining about most of the foul calls. Castle is the Spurs’ most physical player, and he’s paying for it a bit with how he guards. He’ll have to play smarter defense if San Antonio wants a chance to win the series.

Grade: C+

Julian Champagnie

35 minutes, 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 fouls, 4-for-10 shooting, 2-for-8 threes, -4

Not only was Champagnie struggling to hit threes, but he missed several defensive rotations. Champagnie would often overhelp off a shooter to help Wembanyama in the paint (he’s the Defensive Player of the Year and doesn’t need help) or sell out to stop a Gilgeous-Alexander drive and leave a player wide open for a kickout. The Spurs need him to make open shots, and they can’t afford major defensive mistakes. The margins in this series are razor-thin and those miscues will snowball as they did in Game Three.

Grade: C

Devin Vassell

36 minutes, 20 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 4 fouls, 6-for-12 shooting, 3-for-6 threes, -5

Vassell was arguably the most impactful Spur in Game Three. His shooting was always there when the Spurs needed it, and he was excellent defensively. He’s risen to the moment in this series in a way that makes him look like an untouchable part of the Spurs’ core moving forward.

I also appreciated Vassell sticking up for Castle when he got fouled hard in transition two times in a row. San Antonio has to fight back a bit against some of the physicality they are seeing from OKC.

Grade: A

Dylan Harper

17 minutes, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 2-for-7 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, -13

Harper looks like he is really struggling through an injury, even more than Fox. He doesn’t have the same level of explosion that he had in the first game of the series. That led to a pretty meh night from the rookie, who was inefficient scoring the ball, and didn’t make a huge impact defensively. Harper’s strength and athleticism give the Spurs an advantage in the backcourt. If those attributes are severely hampered by his injury, it’s hard to see them winning this series.

Grade: C

Keldon Johnson

12 minutes, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 turnover, 5 fouls, 1-for-5 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, -23

Johnson was borderline unplayable in Game Three. He provided no offense, and he continues to be a liability defensively. It feels like we’ve been saying the same things about KJ all playoffs. San Antonio needs his fire and energy to emerge. In a “must-win” Game Four, maybe we see Johnson return to his Sixth Man of the Year form.

Grade: D

Luke Kornet

13 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 2-for-3 shooting, -18

Kornet is in a tough position backing up Wembanyama. When he’s in the game without him, the Thunder are attacking the rim every chance they get. It’s not so much that Kornet is a bad rim defender; it’s just that Wembanyama is so good that it’s almost like a lid has been removed from the rim when he exits the game. That said, Kornet has to hold his ground better to give the Spurs a chance. Wembanyama is already playing more minutes in this series than he has in his entire career.

Grade: D

Harrison Barnes

3 minutes, 0-for-1 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, +2

Barnes hasn’t gotten much run in this series, but I wonder if he may get an increase in minutes moving forward. The Spurs need another shooter and someone who can create some offense on the wing. Barnes has regressed quickly this season and hasn’t shown the ability to be a strong rotational piece in quite some time. But these are desperate times for San Antonio, and Barnes has shown some of the skill set that they need against OKC.

Grade: Incomplete

Carter Bryant

10 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 1-for-3 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, -10

Bryant isn’t quite ready for a series like this. He can’t put the ball on the deck in a meaningful way, and he fouls way too much to be impactful defensively. All the youthful energy in the world isn’t enough to make up for some of those shortcomings against a great OKC team.

Grade: C-

Jordan McLaughlin

2 minutes, 1 rebound, 1 assist, +/- 0

McLaughlin went from being in the rotation in Game Two to playing in garbage time in Game Three.

Grade: Incomplete

Lindy Waters III

2 minutes, +/- 0

Waters got some cardio in for two minutes at the end of the game, but didn’t make an impact.

Grade: Incomplete

Bismack Biyombo

2 minutes, +/- 0

Biyombo touched the floor against his former team, but didn’t do much.

Grade: Incomplete

Kelly Olynyk

2 minutes, 3 points, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 1-for-1 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, +/- 0

Olynyk was very involved in his two minutes. He knocked down a corner three.

Grade: Incomplete

Mason Plumlee

2 minutes, 2 points, 1 assist, 1 block, 1-for-1 shooting, +/- 0

Plumlee got a shot to go at the rim and a block in his limited playing time.

Grade: Incomplete

Ahead of Saturday's pivotal Eastern Conference Finals Game 3 between the Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers, stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges said team's mindset is to continue "playing desperate" despite their 2-0 lead in the series.

"We got to execute at a high level, have that desperation that we had in Philly and Atlanta," Towns said. "We just got to, obviously, shoot the ball well."

"We just got to keep playing desperate," Bridges added. "I know it's easier for the team that's down 0-2 to play more desperate, but that can't be us. Keep doing what we've been doing. All playoffs, just staying desperate no matter what the situation is. To us, it's 0-0."

While New York has won the first two games of the Conference Finals by a combined margin of 27 points, the contests have been closer than meets the eye. The Knicks trailed by 22 points in the fourth quarter of Game 1 before Jalen Brunson went on a scoring tear to force OT and steal the win, and they were down again after the first quarter of Game 2, but dominated the second and third quarters to earn the 16-point victory.

One of the keys to the Knicks' first-round and semifinal series wins over the Hawks and 76ers was Towns quarterbacking the offense. After going down 2-1 in the first-round matchup against Atlanta, Towns averaged 8.6 assists and posted two triple-doubles over the final three games. His assist numbers continued to guide the team against the Sixers, averaging 7.5 assists per night in the four-game sweep. 

With Cleveland having a bit more size to match up better defensively against Towns, New York's style of play has changed. Brunson is back in charge of the offense, dishing out six assists in Games 1 and another 14 dimes in Game 2. Luckily that change in playing style does not bother Towns, as the former No. 1 overall pick made it clear he'll do "whatever it takes" to help New York win.

"I've always said I'm willing to sacrifice and do whatever it takes to impact winning and help this team win," Towns said. "That's the blessing of our group. We have multiple ways and systems that we can utilize to help us get the win. And I've been happy because we continue to win, so there's nothing to be sad about." 

Towns was asked if he thinks that lack of selfishness helps makes the Knicks' offense more dangerous, saying it shows the team's character and allows for them to be great.

"I think that the guys in the locker room, the characters, they speak so highly on the court and off the court, is what makes us special," Towns said.

For New York to continue its pursuit of reaching the NBA Finals, Towns said the team needs to keep trusting each other and displaying their "cohesiveness." 

"At the end of the day, regardless if we're home or away, it's about us executing and being disciplined in our gameplan. So that's the most important thing," Towns said. 

Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals tips off at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.

"We got to execute at a high level, have that desperation that we had in Philly and Atlanta"

Karl-Anthony Towns talks about the keys to success for the Knicks ahead of tonight's Game 3 in Cleveland: pic.twitter.com/qwQAgJhfuq

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) May 23, 2026

In an effort to calm my nerves before the game on Friday, I went to an art museum.

I wasn’t sure what I was looking for other than a distraction. Anything to stop myself from listening to one more increasingly obscure basketball podcast.

The exhibit on display was titled “International Surrealism: 50 Years of Dreams,” something I was passingly familiar with in the sense that if someone asked me if I know what surrealism was I’d say, “sure” and then if they pressed me on it, I’d probably go on to say, “It’s like, when something is surreal.”

Now, as I learned during this rainy afternoon stroll through the Frist Museum in Nashville, the artistic movement grew out of Paris in the 1920s, and its practitioners were super into the teachings of Freud, obsessed with the unconscious mind. However, where Freud was interested in this concept for therapeutic purposes, the surrealists were more like, “sure man, whatever, but what if we actually just used it to unlock the mysteries of the universe? Or at the very least, maybe paint some cool stuff?”

I passed through the galleries, nodding along, armed with my newfound knowledge and ready to be enlightened or inspired. I saw shapes. I saw colors. I saw sculptures. I then turned a corner and was, all of a sudden, alone in a room with Salvador Dalí’s Autumnal Cannibalism.

Like most things with Dalí, it was weird.

This painting…it’s somehow bright and yet muted, vivid and yet enshrouded in this deep grey darkness that pulls everything in the landscape towards it. Two figures, front and center, are locked together in some kind of unholy embrace, consuming each other. It’s somehow violent and peaceful at the same time. They’re melting into each other. I still don’t even know what I was really looking at, but it held me there for a long time, locked in that same embrace.

As the Spurs raced out to that 15-0 lead in the first quarter, I felt like I was having an out of body experience. It was exactly what I wanted. I’d spent two days obsessing with how the Spurs were going to respond to that Game 2 loss and this was the stuff dreams were made of. Our guys were everywhere. The Thunder looked like they couldn’t breathe. There wasn’t a shot that wouldn’t fall. A pass we couldn’t steal. Every single person in the crowd seemed like they were about to exit the physical realm and spend the rest of the game having to astral project into the AT&T Center.

The furthest reaches of my DNA felt like they were on fire. Flames were shooting out of my ears. I could feel my body shaking. I think I’ll remember that stretch of basketball for the rest of my life. I’ve never seen anything like it. When Hartenstein finally hit a floater, I thought to myself, surely, the game has got to be wrapping up soon considering I’ve lived a thousand different lifetimes since tipoff. I’d been to the molten core of the earth. I’d travelled to the outer reaches of the cosmos. I’d traversed through the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Surely, Mike Tirico was moments away from telling us, “So long, from San Antonio.”

It had been 4 minutes.

Four. Minutes.

I just wasn’t sure what to do with that information. My brain couldn’t process it. The Spurs had done it, you know? They’d figured out how to beat the Thunder and they’d gone out there and done it. Who cares if they’d taken care of the job in only four minutes? Stop the count. This was over. It had to be.

I spent the rest of the game, as I’m sure most of you did, melting into the floor, the euphoria slowly draining from my body as the cold realization came into focus that this thing was unraveling in front of us. It wasn’t even some kind of spectacular blow up, just a mundane, systematic dismantling of everything we’d built. The Thunder had grabbed ahold of the thread, and walked away.

Lying on the floor, lying on the floor, we’d come undone.

Surrealism, at its core, is the belief that two contradictory things can be simultaneously, uncomfortably true.

Something can be beautiful and horrible at the same time, occupying the same space. Terrifying and comforting. Completely fictional and utterly real.

It can be a pipe, even when it’s not.

I keep thinking about those two figures in the Dalí painting. Huge. Looming over everything. The act of destroying each other is grotesque in nature, but feels at home in their warped reality. Like they were meant to be here all along. The closer you look at it though, the more you realize the endgame. This isn’t a fair exchange between equals, not really. They take from each other, sure, but the darkness is overwhelming the light, threatening to consume it all.

The Spurs and Thunder are devouring each other in these games. It was a fight that, two days ago, felt like it was on equal ground. Today it’s starting to feel like the Thunder are absorbing everything the Spurs have to offer and the Spurs are simply trying to hold their shape.

It doesn’t feel like this can be the end. It doesn’t feel like it should be. Not yet.

Then again, none of this was the way it was supposed to go in the first place. The Spurs weren’t supposed to be this good, this fast. They weren’t supposed to get the 2 seed. They weren’t supposed to be able to challenge the Thunder. They weren’t supposed to be ready for any of this.

The Spurs are as good as we think they are. The Spurs are not as good as we thought.
The Spurs are flawed.
The Spurs are perfect.

I watched the Spurs go up 15-0 and then I watched them lose 123-108. I’m being asked to tell you which one was real.

The answer, as best I can tell, is both.

Takeaways

• It feels pretty simple really. Guys just didn’t have their legs. I know that’s just my uneducated, guy on the couch analysis but like, were any of you seeing something else going on out there? Shots that normally drop were coming up short. Drives that usually end at the rim were stalling out. Things I’ve seen the Spurs execute all season long, including against this very same Thunder team, just weren’t working. I don’t think there’s an issue with our schemes or our talent or our heart. Like, we’re good on those fronts. We’re just out of gas. Again, it feels pretty simple.
• The Thunder are really good. (barf). They remind me of watching Novak Djokovic play tennis. (barf). Making them bleed only seems to steel their resolve. You can take a set off them, sure, but they have these wells of energy fueled by spite that seem to endlessly spring forth whenever they need them. They are mechanical and brutal and technically perfect. They are taking something beautiful, tearing it down to the studs, and showing us how it works. I hate it. I’m offended to my very core. Congrats to them on the enormity of their success.
• Alex Caruso makes me want to throw rotting fruit at passing cars just so that someone else in the world can experience my pain. That’s right. Every time Caruso hits a three it feels like a moldy peach just slammed into my windshield while I was trying to change lanes on the interstate. If this series goes 7 I might have to go take a walk every time he checks into the game.
• I really wish I had something more substantive to give you from an analysis perspective, but if we’re being real, I do not want to think critically about this thing any more than I have to. I don’t want to see the stats. I don’t want to see the highlights. I don’t want to see the tweets or the pods or the shows. Nothing. In fact, as soon as I hit publish on this thing I’m going to endeavor to never think about this game again for as long as I live. Cheers.

WWL Post Game Press Conference

What goes into the decision to start a recap like this with a total non sequitur?

Well. See. What happened was that the game ended and I immediately sat down at my computer and started typing in an effort to avoid having to sit, think, and process what I had just watched.

So you sat down and started typing your piece, a piece that is, by nature, designed to help Spurs fans process their feelings about the game, in an effort to avoid processing your own feelings about the game?

That’s right.

So it wasn’t intentional to spend 400 words recapping your field trip to the museum instead of the Spurs game, it’s just what came out?

That’s right. Look, I knew I would have to talk about the Spurs eventually, but I also knew I wasn’t ready to do that yet so I decided to let my subconscious take a little walk before we got there. See what that turned up.

Honestly, that feels like it’s pretty in line with something the surrealists would approve of.

Their approval means the world to me.

Speaking of looking for approval, some guy in the comments of your last piece called your writing “middle school girl sludge.” How did that make you feel?

Hey, if I could actually ever write something with half the ethos, pathos, or logos of a middle school girl I’d basically pack up shop and call it a career.

So, really, he paid you a compliment?

It can be both.

First road game of the Eastern Conference Finals for your New York Knickerbockers.

Will the Cavs just bend, or will they molly-break?

Here’s the latest from a wide variety of Knicks-related personalities.

Mike Brown

On the overall Game 2 performance:

“A lot of of guys stepped up; Jalen [Brunson] had a double-double. They’re sending double teams at him, and he has 14 assists. And again, he did what he was supposed to do. KAT with a double-double, 18 points, very efficient shooting and 13 rebounds. Mikal [Bridges] was huge: 19 points, especially catching the ball in the pocket versus their double teams or their tilts. OG was awesome, too. And then, Josh — we had 32 assists on 44 buckets. Josh had seven assists, one turnover, and 33 plus minutes.”

Mikal Bridges

On entering Game 3 with a 2-0 lead:

“We gotta keep playing desperate. Keep doing what we doing, keep playing desperate no matter what the situation is. To us, it’s 0-0.”

On his mental toughness amid his early postseason struggles:

“I know it’s tough, but you gotta be great at whatever you gotta do. A lot of toughness comes from the mental part, and I think I’ve been raised the right way, been coached by a lot of great coaches who talked a lot about mental toughness.”

On his big-game experience having played those in college and past NBA seasons:

“Especially being here last year, just know what it takes, learning from that—you got to be real grateful for be in these moments, and don’t take it for granted. Take every possession by possession, don’t skip a possession, don’t skip a play. Go out there and give all you got, because it’s not easy to get here and you’re not guaranteed to be here all the time.”

On Josh Hart’s toughness:

“Josh is always tough on himself, cause he wants to be great, he really does. That’s gonna be tough sometimes when you struggle. He’s been like that ever since I’ve known him, so I don’t think there’s been a change that he started to change himself if he got upset or anything. I think he’s always been mentally tough and he’s showing it.”

Jalen Brunson

On how defense sparked a sublime transition offense in Game 2:

“I think we were able to get stops and run and get easy baskets. So our offense is definitely — the way we were able to play in transition was a credit to our defense.”

On the Knicks’ growth during the playoff run:

“I think the most important thing is that we’re growing and learning together. No matter what the situation is, whatever the series is or whatever, we’re open to learning, we’re open to getting better, open to figuring out how to win games, trusting each other. So it’s a lot of different things, but I think the most important thing no matter what is that we’re sticking together.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On what the Knicks need to do in Game 3:
“We got to execute at a high level, have that desperation that we had in Philly and Atlanta. We just gotta shoot the ball well.”

On Jalen Brunson’s leadership:

“He’s our cap. He knows when we need to be told something and when we don’t need to be told something and let the game play itself out. He’s done a great job, and we have a tremendous belief in him.”

On Mikal Bridges’ role within the Knicks:

“There is little worry in the locker room about Mikal. He does a lot of things that don’t end up on the stat sheet, that he doesn’t get credit for. Right now, the stat sheet’s giving him the credit for it, but we always know the impact he has on our team.”

On staying grounded even being up 2-0:

“We don’t feel any closer than we did last game or any game. In our minds, it’s back to 0-0. We gotta win the next game, it’s the most important game of the year. That’s how we treat it. We’re hungry to go out there and play basketball at the highest level. But we also understand that you can never be satisfied in these positions in the playoffs. The mindset is gonna continue to be 0-0 every single time we step on that court.”

Kenny Atkinson

On praising Donovan Mitchell’s leadership:

“Not just your on court, but your leadership. Your positivity when things were really not going great. Whether we won or lost tonight, we never celebrate you in these things – you don’t want that, you don’t want the praise – but tonight you deserve the praise.”

On leaning heavily on Mitchell:

“I know I leaned on him. That’s the first place to go when you’re struggling, to your leader. We had a lot of conversations, just talking through things, how we can get this thing back on track. And again, he never kind of swayed towards the negative.”

Donovan Mitchell

On staying calm being down 0-2 to New York:

“I’m not sitting here like, oh man, scrambling and trying to figure things out. At the end of the day, we make some shots, we’ll be in good shape. … We’ll make our adjustments. We’ll be at home and protect home court.”

On avoiding discouragement:

“No need to get discouraged. We just got to go to Cleveland and handle business.”

On Cleveland’s experience falling behind in other postseasonseries:

“I think it helps, from a mentality standpoint, this isn’t our first time at it. This isn’t our first time facing adversity, we’ve been to two Game 7s. So being down 2-0, it’s not the biggest challenge. It’s right here, so let’s go ahead and take advantage of it. I understand that they’re gonna make adjustments, we are as well. … It’s really as simple as we have to protect home court, that’s really it.”

On the foundation built through work:

“It’s the work you put in. In tough moments, in anything, life or the game, if you don’t have anything to pull from, if you don’t have a foundation or something that you work hard at – Kenny was stressing that throughout the whole playoffs, it’s like, ‘This is why we work harder. This is why we’ve did the extra sprints. These are all the things that we’ve done.’ This is why you do those things. So you don’t waver.”

Evan Mobley

On the Cavaliers having dealt with adversity before:

“We’ve been here before. We know what it takes.”

Jarrett Allen

On Cleveland’s gamble leaving Josh Hart open:

“Sometimes the plan doesn’t go to plan. He got hot, not even at the three-point line. He did everything on offense for them. Kudos to him for changing the game and having an impact in a different way.”

Dan Gilbert

On rallying Cavaliers fans after going down 0-2:

“OK Cavs fans, feel familiar? Clearly it’s not ideal, but we have done this twice already. We go home, win 2 and then it’s a 3-game series and we win it in 6 or 7. Keep believing. Let Em **C**** Know?”

Jeremy Lin

On supporting Karl-Anthony Towns during the Knicks’ playoff run:

“I haven’t been back to the Garden since Linsanity…Finally could make a game…but Knicks swept Sixers so I didn’t get to go to Game 5…My outfit was gonna be a KAT jersey…I’m a big supporter of KAT.”

Jazz Chisholm Jr.

On Josh Hart’s Game 2 performance:

“I don’t think anyone in sports in general doesn’t have respect for that guy — even if they aren’t in New York. To be able to come back at a time like this, in the playoffs, and do what he did? That’s kind of legendary.”

On his friendship with Hart in New York:

“We’re just two athletes who understand New York and are trying to learn a little bit more about New York: the excitement of it, the way the city moves and the way the city works. When he has a good game, I’ll hit him up. I was supposed to call him today to see how he’s feeling but I’m late.”

On the possibility of a Knicks-Yankees title year:

“For the city, it would be cool to have a Knicks-Yankees NBA Finals-World Series thing in the same year.”

On bonding with Knicks players:

“Those are my guys over there. It’s pretty cool to have a friendship in the same city.”

Metta World Peace

On predicting a Knicks championship:

“They’re going to win it. I think this is going to be the time. I knew I wanted to see it in my lifetime, and it feels like Jalen Brunson is the best player in the playoffs right now even though [San Antonio’s Victor] Wembanyama is really good. But right now, Jalen Brunson is the best player in the playoffs.”

On his loyalty to the Indiana Pacers:

“With the Pacers, when somebody hold you and your family down, you’re always going to be in debt. So it’s the Pacers, for sure. Because people were trying to really harm me physically, and the city and the coaches and the players, they had my back. So that’s just like Queensbridge-type s–t.”

On what a Knicks title would mean for New York:

“S–t, you already know what it’s going to be. The city is about to be all turned up. It’s about to be turned upside down. Just be ready to pay that big bill, New York City. The energy — it’s time. We’ve been waiting for this.”

On Jalen Brunson’s potential legacy with a title:

“He’d get a statue. He’d be the best Knicks player ever. … If he wins the title in this era, with these players, players playing against him right now like SGA [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander] and Wembanyama — it’s never been this difficult.”

On missing his chance to lead the Knicks to a title:

“I wanted to be the one to bring the Knicks back and be a real core piece in my prime. Being the Defensive Player of the Year in the Garden, I just felt like that would’ve been a helluva — if you would’ve come to the Garden with me on the other side in my prime, good luck to you. I’m always going to go back to me, personally. But for the Knicks to win the championship now, you can’t take it away from nobody. You can’t take it away from anybody from New York. You can’t take it away from the players. You can’t take it away from the coaches. You can’t take it away from the owners. You can’t take it away from the fans. We want to see that because we’re from New York.”

Walt Frazier

On James Harden’s legacy in this series:

“This is where Harden is now. He’s come to the fork in the road. Which way is he going to go? His legacy is on the line. If he gets torched again, he’s done. His career is over. This is all people are going to remember, this series. Not what he did in the regular season, but what he did in the playoffs.”

On how Kenny Atkinson should handle Harden:

“So if I’m Kenny Atkinson, I put Harden back in the game [in crunch time]. I don’t punish him, I encourage him. When we were in the playoffs and we were playing the Bullets, Red Holzman pulled me in the corner [and said], ‘Hey, Clyde, forget about offense, just focus on defense on Earl [Monroe]. Forget about offense. Don’t think about offense.’ Explore More If I’m Kenny Atkinson, I go to Harden, and say, ‘Hey, man, I’m putting you back in there. This is why we acquired you. Look at your career. I know what you’ve done, you can do it.’ I leave it all up to him. This is what coach [Mike] Brown did to [Mikal] Bridges. Remember when Bridges was floundering? Everybody said take him out of the lineup. He didn’t take him out; [he] put him out there and now look at what Bridges is doing.”

Rick Brunson

On Jalen being around him daily when coaching began:

“It was new because my dad was there all the time now. He’s here every day with me, and we’re starting to actually work on my game.”

On Jalen’s early seriousness about basketball:

“This was a job for him, this is what he wanted. I didn’t know where it would go from there, but I knew he was serious about it. Most kids play, go home and enjoy the rest of the day. He cared about winning and losing. Losing bothered him. He wanted to be perfect, he wanted to play well, he wanted to win.”

On pushing Jalen in workouts:

“I wanted to see if he would fold or if he would keep coming back. Are you going to give in? Are you going to talk back? Or are you just going to work and keep showing that you can do it? I would always tell him, ‘This is what a college coach is going to do — the difference is I love you, he doesn’t.’”

On Jalen responding to pressure:

“He kept coming back. He wanted to prove me wrong.”

On Jalen’s physical limitations and mental edge:

“He didn’t have the athleticism. He didn’t have the size. So what gets you over? Mental toughness, hard work and being very, very skilled.”

On wanting Jalen under the radar in New York:

“I didn’t want him to be great, just solid. Go under-the-radar but be respected. Maybe he didn’t get credit for the winning, but he wasn’t going to get blamed for the losing. Remember, I’m a father first, coach second.”

On soaking in the Garden atmosphere:

“I want to be around it and embrace it. I want to smell it. I want to be a part of it.”

On watching Jalen’s introductions:

“I take time to look around the arena, and it’s a surreal feeling. That he’s here on this stage, (the fan reaction) never gets old.”

On advising Jalen during a slump in Utah:

“I said, ‘Hey man, everything’s good. You’re playing well, you’re playing a good floor game. You’re just missing your shots, so now you’ve got to concentrate on why you’re missing. You’ve got to do more of everything — exaggerate your follow-through, exaggerate how high you jump, exaggerate the ball coming off your finger. You’ve got to walk that ball to the hole. You’ve got to visualize it. You’ve got to come out in the second half and just get back to who you are. I’ve seen you go 6-for-6, 7-for-7 in a half. You’ve got to block out what happened in the first half.’”

On challenging Jalen during a game in Toronto:

“He starts yelling back and I said, ‘You need to shut the f–k up and let me coach you. Don’t get too good to let me coach you. Because if you don’t want me to coach you, I won’t say s–t. You’ve got to play harder, you’re bulls–ting.’”

On Jalen’s response afterward:

“Afterward he said, ‘You’re right. I needed that,’”

On what matters most:

“It’s about winning. That’s all I care about. One of my closest friends is the (team) president — I want to win for him; I want to win for myself; I want to win for my son.”

Stephen A. Smith

On being worried about the Knicks’ chances against both Western Conference contenders:

“Because when I look at Oklahoma City and San Antonio, I see the two best teams in basketball. Now, there some that believe that Knicks would lose to OKC. I’m one of those people. But that they would beat San Antonio. I’m not so sure. I’m not so sure and it ain’t because of Wemby. If you got all your ducks in order, if De’Aaron Fox can play… San Antonio and OKC are probably the two best teams in basketball.”

On San Antonio’s guard depth:

“It’s because of Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell and Dylan Harper and [Julian] Champagnie and Sixth Man of the Year, Keldon Johnson. I mean San Antonio’s got weapons all over the place at the guard spot, maybe not the point guard spot because of De’Aaron Fox being out, Stephon Castle has on-ball responsibilities and he’s had 20 turnovers in the first two games.”

Jaxson Dart

On dreaming of similar success for the Giants:

“I mean, I’ve been dreaming about that since the day I got drafted here. Those are conversations I even had with Coach Harbaugh before he even took the job here. I think everybody in the facility wants that. We’re all supporting the Knicks right now and what they’re doing. It’s been really cool to see. We want that for ourselves as well.”

On New York as the best place to win:

“It was very prevalent last year as well … but this year I think they’re on a whole ’nother level. This is the best place to be to win.”

On attending playoff games at the Garden:

“I would like to … only thing is some of those games are really late.”

One of the most important parts of the bull riding industry is the stock contractors who raise, maintain, and supply the bucking bulls to the arena. The PBR works with many different contractors, each one supplying its own unique bulls. Recently, there has been a new stock contractor to enter the business who has simply left the rodeo community in awe. Her name is Addi Drury.

This 16-year-old has taken over her dad’s ranch, Nothin But try Ranch, and taken the world by storm. Not only is she supplying the PBR with some of the best bucking bulls in the world, she is doing so while re-writing the narrative for what stock contractors will look like. A major part of this impact is her deep love and affection for the bulls, and how she has been able to showcase the sweeter, tamer side of these rank athletes, showing the world that even the toughest bucking bulls are still gentle in nature.

This love for her bulls started at a very young age, as Addi grew up around bulls and the rodeo community. She would always help her dad around the ranch, especially with the bulls. One bull in particular, however, stands out to the pages of Addi’s history: Hard Labor. As a calf, this bull had issues nursing, so Addi would spend hours caring for him. She quickly began to call this bull her best friend, and their bond was undeniable. This sweet, gentle bull, however, was one of PBR’s best bucking bulls. This contrast in personality from home to the arena is one that rodeo fans rarely get to see. However, as Addi began to take on a more present role in the stock contracting, she brought with her a very open display of her level of care for these bulls.

Furthermore, Addi has caught the eye of the rodeo community because, at such a young age, she has already made a prominent name for herself in the arena as a “bull-whisperer”. Her deep love for the animals she raises has opened the eyes of many, allowing them to see the true gentle nature of these bulls when they are outside of the arena. This reinforces the fact that the bulls are not simply animals, but athletes. Just like the riders, they have a job to do, and they love doing it.

Addi does her job extremely well, raising her bulls to be strong-performing athletes. But she does this without removing her caring nature and love for her friends (the bulls) in the process. As she continues her career as a stock contractor, Addi Drury is undeniably laying the foundations for the future of stock contracting. Her openness with her process and level of care has shown the world a new side of the rodeo industry that won’t simply fade away. As new stock contractors move into the arena, we are sure to see a lot more who chose to live and work like Addi: with love and care for her bulls.