From the last thing this team needed department, the Sixers will be without Joel Embiid for Game 2 at Madison Square Garden Wednesday.

The star big man has officially been ruled out against the New York Knicks with a right ankle sprain and right hip soreness.

The Sixers were already in a 1-0 series hole after a 137-98 drubbing in Game 1 Monday night. Without Embiid, an uphill battle turns into something much greater.

We’ll see how Nick Nurse looks to use his big man rotation. Adem Bona started at the beginning of the Celtics series with Embiid out, but Andre Drummond played the bulk of the minutes. Drummond has been the primary backup since Embiid’s return.

With New York starting Karl-Anthony Towns, who is more mobile and a threat from three, Bona might be the better option. With that said, Bona was brutal in his brief Game 1 appearance, committing five fouls in less than four minutes. With Jalen Brunson’s propensity to draw fouls, the frontcourt could get thin very quickly. Playing Dominick Barlow at the five is also an option, but that makes the Sixers much smaller.

Any way you slice it, this is unfortunate news for the Sixers. They’re going to need the ultra-aggressive version of Tyrese Maxey to come out early. The All-Star guard took just one field-goal attempt in the first quarter of Game 1. The team could also use meaningful contributions from someone like Quentin Grimes off the bench to help match the Knicks’ firepower.

This also puts doubt on Embiid’s status for the remainder of the series.

Game 2 tips off at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

The Philadelphia 76ers will be without one of their key stars on Wednesday night as they look to turn things around following a 39-point Game 1 loss to the Knicks. 

Joel Embiid has officially been ruled out due to hip and ankle injuries. 

Embiid had been receiving around-the-clock treatment in an effort to play, according to ESPN's Shams Charania, but he was unable to participate in Philly's morning shootaround and will now miss the contest. 

New York did a good job of keeping the seven-time All-Star in check throughout the commanding Game 1 victory, holding him to just 14 points on an ineffective 3-of-11 shooting from the field. 

All but six of those points came from the free-throw line, and he pulled in just four boards. 

The Knicks also did a tremendous job of taking advantage of him in the pick-and-roll all night, finishing with a whopping 46 points in the paint as a team. 

With Embiid sidelined, Philly will have to lean on Andre Drummond and Adem Bona at center. 

Maybe the Minnesota Timberwolves are playing mind games with Victor Wembanyama. Or maybe they're right that the record number of blocks the San Antonio Spurs superstar was credited with during Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals weren't quite what they seemed. Maybe this is simply how the first real playoff obstacle of Wembanyama's career will manifest itself.

It's nonetheless become one of the talking points during the 2026 NBA playoffs, with Game 2 between the Timberwolves and Spurs set for Wednesday, May 6. Wembanyama is coming off a historic triple-double performance in which he set the NBA playoff record with 12 blocks (to go along with 11 points and 15 rebounds) in a losing effort.

But Wembanyama left disappointed by his offensive output and then Minnesota's coach and players added some salt to the wound by clapping back at the legitimacy of some of Wembanyama's blocks. Coach Chris Finch argued in the aftermath of Game 1 that at least four of Wembanyama's swats should have been called goaltending. Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, who is considered Wembanyama's mentor, agreed.

"To me, it's a little alarming they weren't called," Finch told reporters ahead of Game 2.

OKLAHOMA CITY — The last time the Lakers were in Oklahoma City, Luka Doncic’s regular season ended because of a Grade 2 left hamstring strain he suffered in the April 2 loss to the Thunder. 

More than a month later, Doncic reaffirmed his desire to return during the playoffs.  

Doncic told reporters the update on Wednesday during a media availability in between Tuesday’s Game 1 loss to the Thunder and Thursday’s Game 2 of the best-of-seven second-round playoff series. 

“Obviously, this is a different injury than I ever had,” said Doncic, who was sidelined for four games in February because of a mild left hamstring injury. “It’s been [the] second time I [injured the hamstring this season]. So recovery has been a little longer. But I’m feeling good. Working every day, so I’m trying to come back.” 

Originally, the injury was expected to have a recovery timeline of four to six weeks, but Doncic said he was told eight weeks.

Thursday marks five weeks since the injury happened. Eight weeks from Doncic’s injury is May 28 — which is 10 days after a potential Game 7 of a Lakers-Thunder series.

Doncic started running on the injured hamstring, the next step in his return-to-play protocol.

“It’s very frustrating,” Doncic said. “I don’t think people understand how frustrating it is. All I wanna do is play basketball, especially this time. It’s the best time to play basketball. It’s very frustrating seeing what my team is doing. I’m very proud of them. It’s been very tough, too, just to sit and watch them play.”

Right after the injury happened, Doncic traveled to Spain for advanced treatment aimed at accelerating recovery. He received four PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injections.

“Everybody knows that Spain, they’re just one of the best countries to do that,” Doncic said. “And obviously, I talked with the Lakers’ doctors, so everybody agreed for me to go there. Obviously, I know and trust lots of people from Spain that I used to work before. But why I was in Spain so long is because I needed four days in between every shot. So I did it four times. So that’s why I stayed longer.”

Luka Doncic: "I went to Spain to do PRP. Everybody knows that Spain, they're just one of the best countries to do that…I know and trust lots of people from Spain. Why I was in Spain so long is because I needed four days in between every shot. So I did it four times. So that's… pic.twitter.com/16xtKAuMhp

— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) May 6, 2026

When asked about the PRP injections potentially expediting his recovery, Doncic responded: “I’m just in the process, I’m working every day. I feel better every day. Like I said, in the beginning they say eight weeks. So we just go from there.”

Game 3 and Game 4 of the Lakers-Thunder series are scheduled Saturday and Monday at Crypto.com Arena.

Doncic didn’t have a concrete answer when asked if he’d try to ramp things up when the series shifts to Los Angeles.

“I’m just doing everything I can,” he said. “Every day I’m doing stuff I’m supposed to do. Obviously recovery, now I’m working. But like I said, doctor said eight weeks at the beginning of the first MRI. Just going day by day, and I feel better every day.”

Luka Doncic's response when asked whether he'll try to ramp up his return-to-play process for when Lakers-Thunder shifts back to L.A.: "I'm just doing everything I can, like I said, every day I'm doing stuff I'm supposed to do. The doctors said 8 weeks at the beginning of the 1st… pic.twitter.com/ab2kaCQavE

— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) May 6, 2026

Doncic had an incredible season before suffering the hamstring strain April 2. He became the second player in NBA history to score 600-plus points in March, alongside Michael Jordan. Over that period, he led the Lakers on a 16-2 run.

“We had an amazing month of March,” Doncic said. “The injury came in the worst moment probably for me. But I think other guys just stepped up really good. But it was very frustrating for me.” 

Yet he wasn’t even an MVP finalist this season despite leading the league in scoring (33.5 points), finishing third in assists (8.3) and sixth in steals (1.6).

It’s a tough break for Doncic, who came into training camp in arguably the best shape of his career. Motivated by the shocking trade that sent him to Hollywood from Dallas, he carried the Lakers to fourth place in the West after playing in 64 games and averaging 35.8 minutes per game.

Without Doncic, the Lakers shocked the Rockets in six games to advance to the Western Conference semifinals against the defending champions.

“Everybody had us out; everybody had us [losing in] five, six games, and we proved it,” Doncic said. “We can play. The way everybody stepped up is truly amazing to see. So hopefully they continue that.”

Despite limiting reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to 18 points and getting an incredible game from LeBron James, the Lakers suffered a 108-90 loss in Game 1.

“When you play against the world champions and [miss] having a guy that averages 34 [points] and eight [rebounds] and nine [assists] and is that special, that’s [tough],” James said regarding the Lakers missing Doncic.

With Doncic on his way back, the Lakers could return to full strength with James and Austin Reaves and have a legitimate chance at pulling off one of the biggest postseason upsets of the decade.

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“Obviously, we always want to have Luka out there,” Reaves said Sunday. “He’s one of the best players in the league, if not the best player. It’s definitely a different task. Everyone has to play differently to create and fill the void of the things he does for us.”

Luka Doncic: "This is a different injury than I've ever had…the recovery's been a little bit longer. Working every day, trying to come back."

Mentioned that he hasn't started doing contact work yet. https://t.co/PMFA5n20Qwpic.twitter.com/cbfcVpVLXE

— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) May 6, 2026

Against a team as good as the Thunder, there is no margin for error. LeBron James discussed the attention to detail required for LA to have success against OKC before the series even began.

So, when LA played Game 1 and had 18 turnovers, that didn’t exactly put them in a position for success. The result went as expected: the Thunder beat the Lakers fairly easily.

After the loss, Lakers head coach JJ Redick mentioned how the process was good, but the execution was lacking.

“When we made gameplan mistakes, they hurt us,” Redick said. “I thought the Houston Game 5 was the most gameplan mistakes we made in a playoff game so far. We, obviously, lost that game. You’re playing the world champs. Your margin for error is not very high. You can make mistakes. Basketball is a game full of mistakes. There were just too many tonight. We got to clean that up.”

Despite the final score, the Lakers stayed within reach of the Thunder early on. It was an eight-point game at halftime, and midway through the third quarter they cut the lead to four. However, OKC requires 48 minutes of concentration. LA missed their next three shot attempts, Jaxson Hayes had a turnover and the Thunder went on a 6-0 run, bringing the lead back up to double figures.

“I just think we had some gameplan breakdowns,” LeBron said. “What we’ve been preparing, we had some breakdowns. They’re going to test you, obviously. They’re going to see how many times they can make you have gameplan breakdowns. We had a few, almost too many versus a team like this. We know what they’re capable of doing. They can go on a run where it’s like ‘We got them right here, it’s a two-possession game, three-possession game’ and then boom, it’s a double-digit lead. That’s what some of the great teams do. Can’t have compound mistakes.”

Minus LeBron, every other Laker has room for improvement. Jake LaRavia was struggling and gave the team nothing offensively. Austin Reaves had one of his worst games ever. He shot 3-16 from the field and had a team-high four turnovers.

Reaves is supposed to be the franchise guard, and that performance wasn’t even close to good enough.

“Just made a couple mental mistakes…If you watched [OKC] throughout the year, every time you make a couple mistakes in a row, they capitalize on those,” Reaves said.”

The good news is that this series is still very early. OKC did their job and won their home game. The Lakers want to steal one and that’s still on the table with Game 2 set for Thursday. For them to accomplish this, they’ll have to be better in every statistical category, and the last thing they need is self-inflicted errors.

“Those little mistakes are going to hurt,” Hachimura said. “We talked about it after the game. Those little stuff, they hurt us. This is the first game. Of course, we have more games but I think we have to communicate better on those mistakes. Especially after coming out of timeouts, those are going to be important positions for us so we have to lock in.”

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

The Mavericks introduced Masai Ujiri as their new president of basketball operations on Tuesday. He answered questions for about 45 minutes, where he spoke about his background, his time off from basketball, and his hope of turning Cooper Flagg into a king. But it wasn’t Ujiri who inspired the most hope in me on Tuesday. It was team governor Patrick Dumont. The last question he was asked revolved around what he learned about the NBA that would make this job better for Masai and ultimately make the Mavericks a better franchise:

“I think it has to do with communication and collaboration within the organization,” Dumont said. “That having the right leadership is key, but having those leaders work together with a common goal is what sets franchises apart. That, to me, is the big difference.”

His answer here means something. It was just 20 seconds at the end of a long presser, but the emphasis he put on communication and collaboration indicates a level of self-awareness that is important. Not even 15 months ago, he oversaw a deal that exemplified a lack of communication of the highest order. That cannot happen again. He lost a lot of fans the minute Shams tweeted out the trade that sent Luka Doncic to Los Angeles, and for those of us who have stuck it out, the acknowledgement that Dumont is the one who gave the go-ahead remains in the back of our minds. Even with the poster boy, Nico Harrison, long gone.

And this lingering concern will be a worry going forward. Dumont will still be the man who signs off on every trade, signing, hiring, and firing. The Mavericks have an unprecedented opportunity for redemption with Cooper Flagg, but Dumont is still the guy who called the NBA Finals the “championship games”, in addition to calling in the disastrous trade. So while hearing him say he wants better communication throughout the organization doesn’t release all of my stress, it does give me a smidge of reassurance that maybe things will be different this time around.

Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun is continuing to catch strays during the offseason.

The Turkish All-Star just finished his fifth NBA season and the second in a row where the Rockets could not get out of the first round in the playoffs.

The Athletic conducted a league-wide survey asking players various questions about their peers. When asked who the most overrated player in the league is, Sengun received the most votes with 12.3 percent.

“He’s crying every play. He’s talented, but, dude, just play hard,” an anonymous player said.

Sengun, 23, average 20.4 points per game this season, which was a step up from the previous year, but it was not his career-high, which was set back in the 2023-24 campaign. However, he did make his second straight All-Star team.

Sengun’s season was up and down as he was trying to adapt to playing alongside Kevin Durant and find his way around all of that. All things considered, he did a decent jump weathering the storms throughout the year.

While he wasn’t perfect, he was the leader in many victories this season, including five where he scored 30 or more points.

Sengun still has a long way to go as a lot of his potential is untapped. Perhaps this diagnosis of being the league’s most overrated player will fuel him in his offseason preparations.

TDS community, what do you think of Sengun being named the most overrated player in the league? Let your thoughts be known in the comments section below.

Turns out the Sixers lost Game 1 because of the schedule, not because the Knicks crushed their souls into dust.

Let’s see if having a bit of rest helps the Philly Numbers, or if they keep crumbling.

Fresh Bulletin now, Game 2 later.

Mike Brown

On coaching under the Finals-or-bust pressure:

“People have talked about a mandate — like I’m coaching to win. It doesn’t matter what others say. I’m disappointed if we’re not in the Finals and having a chance to win it.”

On embracing expectations once he signed with New York:

“The opportunity for this job came open, and I was just intrigued by the players. I was intrigued by being in New York, calling Madison Square Garden my home court, being around the fans, hanging with [team president] Leon Rose who I’ve known for many years. He’s just a fantastic human being. And being around the players on that roster, and that’s all I looked at it as. The mandate and all that other stuff, like that’s what I expect, that’s what I want to do, and hopefully it can happen, but who knows.”

On the need for improvement after Game 1:

“We’re playing well at the right time, but I think we have room to grow. We can’t give up 34 free throws like we did last night. It’s gonna be tough if you give up 34 free throws. We had 15 turnovers last night. We can’t have 15 turnovers against this team because they thrive at the free-throw line, they thrive in the steal game, they convert those turnovers into points really quickly. And they didn’t shoot well. We know they’re gonna shoot better. We know that [Tyrese] Maxey is gonna be more aggressive, so we have to be even more alert than what we were in our last game.”

On guarding Maxey and Embiid without fouling:

“Maxey and Embiid are really, really good at drawing fouls. Maxey’s speed, he’s gonna drive and he’s gonna attack your chest. Most of them you can’t lead with your hands, you gotta lead with your chest. You hope that the referee sees that at times, we’re not initiating the contact, but we can’t put ourselves in the position to put the whistle on the referees’ hands of making a call or no call. So we gotta do a better job of leading with our chest and showing our hands. Shot fake, shot fake, and he can still shoot it whether its from two or three. We have to be disciplined and we have to stay down and figure out how to be the second jumper while having tests from behind and stuff like that. But we can’t send those guys to the free-throw line – and the rest of their team – 34 times and expect to get a win, especially if we only go 17.”

On Maxey’s point-of-attack challenge:

“The biggest thing when guarding Maxey at the point of attack is, he just moves so well and he can score from all three levels. His quickness, his athleticism for his size, is second to none. Because he can score from all three levels, so you have to give a multiple effort on every single possession. Because when he gives it up, you best bet that he’s gonna get it back at some point during that possession if not right away.”

On offering condolences to Nick Nurse:

“I’d like to pass my condolences along to Nick Nurse and his family, his brother’s family, and all their friends. Life is precious, and you don’t wish that upon anybody.”

Josh Hart

On the Game 1 blowout not meaning that much:

“I mean, it’s pretty easy because yesterday is irrelevant. Only thing that matters right now is the present. We got to make sure we’re focused, have good attention to detail, make sure we’re prepared for tomorrow. You know, that’s a good team. Obviously, they had an emotional Game 7, and I don’t know what their travel schedule is like and all that, but I’m sure they probably didn’t even go home. They probably went straight here. They had physical and exhausting series in travel. So, they’re gonna try to get their legs under them and come out with energy tomorrow. So we gotta make sure we don’t just match that, but exceed it.”

On being the favorites against the Sixers:

“Being the favorite means literally nothing. Every game you have to come in with a focus and attention to detail. And if you don’t do that, you can lose anybody in this league. We feel like we can beat anybody, but it’s that mentality that you have to go out there and be present every single day. Not worried about the past, because that’s irrelevant. Not worried about what the future holds, because you have no idea. It’s about us being in the present. So we don’t really care too much about being favorites or All Stars, All-NBA and all, because at the end of the day, none of that really matters. And none of that matters if you win. No one remembers the leading scorer or how many All Stars you had or how many NBA, All-NBA [honors you had]. They remember you being a champion, and that’s obviously the goal.”

On Brunson’s head size comments from Kelly Oubre:

“I feel like that was something that is very well documented. So I don’t think that was any shocker when he said that one.”

On Mikal Bridges and Miles McBride guarding Maxey:

“That was huge. Both of those guys obviously are blessed enough athletically to be able to keep up with him, use their physicality, use their length to their advantage. Maxey obviously is an offense unto himself, being able to break out and transition. You know, he’s tough, so they did an amazing job on him and have to continue it.”

Deuce McBride

On guarding Tyrese Maxey as a team:

“I feel like the whole team was just locked in, honestly. Mikal started off on him really well and then I came in, but there were times where other guys were matched up with him, and all of our antennas are up just guarding him as a team.”

On staying locked in during the series:

“Man, give God the glory. Can’t take it for granted being here. We’ve been here. We’ve lost. We’ve been up. We’ve been down. This is an experienced group, so we just can’t take it for granted. We’re locked in.”

On targeting Embiid in pick-and-roll:

“A lot of it is just reading and reacting.”

Jalen Brunson

On finding rhythm in Game 1:

“Most importantly, the ball was going in, and I got in a rhythm. My teammates did a good job with setting screens and getting me open.”

Nick Nurse

On the lack of rookie jitters from Edgecombe:

“Not very often. There’s been one or two brief moments. I think in the playoff game in Orlando, he took some wild shots. But it’s better than him turning them down.”

On the Game 1 defensive struggles:

“We have to wash that one away and get back and provide a bunch more energy and physicality. I just felt like we were a full step slower defensively. We just seemed like we were chasing everything, didn’t guard the ball well enough, didn’t contest shooters well enough. They were obviously picking us apart, just moving a lot better than we were. I think it was a pretty tough night for everybody. I didn’t think we shot it particularly well, but I don’t think we generated good enough shots. We’re gonna have to figure out how to run more offense to get some of the same looks we got in the past series. Obviously it’s a new series. We gotta figure it out.”

Kelly Oubre Jr.

On Brunson’s “big head”:

“I just know he has a big head. He’s got the braids. He’s a very smart, tactical player, so he uses all that to his advantage. Hey, I’ll be there. He can whip me [with his braids] all he wants, but he’s not getting free like that.”

On bouncing back from the Game 1 loss:

“We kind of started the Boston series off like this, right? But we made adjustments. We got better each and every game, so I expect the same from this series. Only up from here.”

On the Game 1 loss links to the quick turnaround after Game 7 in Boston:

“It was a quick turnaround. We had to travel, didn’t have a full practice before the game. In my time, I remember in the playoffs, you always had at least a practice before the game. If we were able to get some rest, get some recovery, and then get a good practice in…we would’ve been a little bit more prepared. But we don’t make the schedule. We just have to go out there and play.”

VJ Edgecombe

On his rookie season extending into the second round of the playoffs:

“Obviously, this is a dream. I didn’t imagine it to happen so fast like this.”

On adjusting to guarding Brunson:

“He’s a great player, so he’s going to make adjustments. Now, it’s time for me to make adjustments on how I guard him. Just play hard, fight through, just try to make sure I don’t get hit by any screens. Just try my best to stay in front of him and make him make difficult shots.”

On embracing the unpredictability in playoffs:

“You live for surprises. It’s hard to set high expectations and think you are going to fulfill all your expectations. I didn’t set crazy high expectations for myself. I just wanted to play basketball. I’m glad I’m in the position I’m in.”

Tyrese Maxey

On not overreacting to the Game 1 loss:

“If we lose by seven points, or 70 points, it doesn’t really matter. They won one game and we lost one game. We’re gonna make some adjustments and we’ll be ready for Game 2. Game 1 doesn’t carry over to Game 2.”

Paul George

On the emotional toll of the Celtics series and the need for adjustments vs. New York:

“We can’t use the fatigue as an excuse. But it has been an emotional roller coaster. You go from a Game 7, you get one day off and then you’re right back into another matchup. I think there was some carryover of us trying to get up and trying to get prepared for this next matchup. But we definitely should have come out and did a better job.”

On settling in after the Game 1 blowout loss:

“Just get settled in. Yeah, we had breakdowns but they also shot the (expletive) out of the ball. You know, they were hot. They came out hot, they came out on fire. But it’s a game of adjustments. We’ll make adjustments; see what we need to get better at. It’s the same as last series. It’s one. They don’t get any extra points for going up big [in Game 1]. We’ll be ready for Game 2.”

Aristotle “Telly” Hatzigeorgiou

On NYC restaurants banning Philly cheesesteaks:

“We just sat around, and all of a sudden we see the word ‘Philly’ there, and we’re like, ‘ugh!’ Teeth are grinding, and we didn’t want anything Philly that’s weak. We wanted strong NYC grit. Not a weak Philly cheesesteak.”

BOSTON — Three days after the Celtics’ early playoff elimination, Brad Stevens sat down in front of the media for his longest press conference of the year, touching on a slew of questions ranging from the team’s offensive play style, reports that Jaylen Brown is unhappy with the organization, Jayson Tatum’s Game 7 sidelining, and much more.

Here’s the crux of what Brad Stevens had to say — and some of my instant reactions to his comments.

On Tracy McGrady’s recent comments about Jaylen Brown:

Tracy McGrady made headlines late Tuesday night when he shared on his podcast that Jaylen Brown is frustrated with the Boston Celtics.

“His frustration lies deeply in the organization that we don’t have the details to,” McGrady said. “There’s just been a lot of stuff that I’ve been hearing, just going on with the Boston organization with JB.”

McGrady, a former NBA superstar, is a prominent member of the media and an NBC analyst. But he’s also long been a mentor and close friend of Brown’s, so his words carry more weight than most.

While he didn’t offer specifics, his comments raised eyebrows, particularly in that they came on the heels of a Jaylen Brown saying this was his favorite-ever Celtic season on a Twitch stream on the day following the team’s elimination.

As such, the first question Stevens fielded was about T-Mac’s comments regarding Brown’s grievances.

“I talked to Jaylen Monday a little bit after —  real quickly, and it was nothing but positive,” Stevens said. “He has not expressed those frustrations to me. We’ve been here 10 years together. Obviously, I love JB, and everybody around here loves JB, and just like any of our other guys, as we get to the end of the season, I’ll be here, and my door is always open, and if anybody ever wants to come in and talk about it — and talk about their team, their place, whatever the case may be, I’m all ears. And that would be 1-16, not just Jaylen, not just Jayson, not just the guys that have been here. I think it’s really important to be available. So I certainly am, and none of that has been expressed to me.”

My reaction: Would Stevens air out private conversations of frustration from his star player? Probably not. So, while I was glad this question was asked, Stevens’ answer did not provide assurance that the organization and Brown are on good footing. I don’t have insight into Brown’s frustrations, but between the Twitch stream and T-Mac’s comments, there may be something there. I imagine we’ll learn more in the weeks to come.

On the Celtics’ first-round loss to the 76ers:

The Celtics blew a 3-1 lead for the first time in franchise history, but they were also just a few fourth-quarter shots away from advancing in Game 7.

How did Stevens reckon with that duality?

He took it upon himself to address the series loss before even taking any questions.

“I thought we really struggled to generate good looks against Philly,” he said. “I thought they deserved to win. I thought on the other end, they made it really hard on us, and really kind of felt in control in a lot of ways, especially as Embiid got his legs under him. I thought that probably one of the defining things that they did to us in games five through seven was they cleaned up the glass, which had been a real boost for us. Our first-shot offense wasn’t very good the whole series, but we really got a lot of good looks on second chances and off the glass, and I thought they did a really good job. So I think overall, obviously, we had chances to win, and I’m sure there’ll be specific questions about that, but I thought overall, Philly deserved to win, and played a great series and made it hard on us.”

My reaction: I was a little bit surprised at how candid Stevens was about the team’s first-round shortcomings — he clearly felt like Philadelphia was the better team, and that the Celtics didn’t just miss shots — they struggled to generate good looks. That’s a key difference from what Joe Mazzulla maintained after Game 7.

On the Celtics’ play-style and three-point-heavy offense:

Are the Celtics too reliant on three-point shooting? That’s been the million-dollar question for years now, and this year’s postseason performance re-surfaced those conversations. Stevens fielded at least four questions on the topic, and here’s what he had to say.

Do the Celtics shoot too many threes?

“I look at more of each shot individually, and my general feeling watching us play, in really each of the last two playoffs, in the second-round against New York, even against Orlando in the first round, was, we had a hard time generating really good looks on that first shot,” he said. “So, we got to figure out a way to do better in that. And I think that that’s again, one of the things that we’ve got to figure out is how to have more of an impact at the rim. And I think we do need to add to our team to do that. Everybody plays a role in that. But, at the end of that game, Embiid is standing at the rim on all those possessions, or a lot of those possessions, right? And so I thought the shots we took, with the exception of Jaylen’s top-of-the-key-three and the one where you get in the middle of the lane, and then Payton’s open shot, I thought they were really well defended. I thought we struggled to get to where we wanted to go on offense a lot of the series, but it was particularly in those last four games, when those four perimeter defenders who are all very good, had Embiid standing behind them.”

Asked about three-point shooting again, he double-downed:

“The biggest thing is: can we generate looks at the rim?” Stevens said. “Yeah, everybody wants to do that, and every one of us would prefer a dunk over that, over a three. Every single one of us. Those are hard to get, and we struggle to generate them, and so, yeah, we certainly shot some bad ones. I’m not telling you we didn’t. There’s no question about that. But I also thought we shot some really hard shots at the rim, really hard shots in the midrange too, and I don’t necessarily fault anyone for that, other than credit to Philly’s defense, and we’ve got to do a good job as we build out the roster to have more options.”

My reaction: In Brad Stevens’ eyes, this is not an issue of making or missing shots. He doesn’t believe the Celtics have been able to sufficiently generate good looks in their first-shot offense, and clearly said that’s been an issue in their last three playoff serieses. At the same time, it’s evident to me he feels like it’s a reflection of roster shortcomings: “We need to add to our team to do that.” This line of questioning, more than anything, made me feel like Stevens feels that the roster needs significant upgrades.

On Jayson Tatum coming back and then missing Game 7:

Jayson Tatum returned to the lineup 10 months after rupturing his Achilles tendon, was excellent to close the regular season, and was in the midst of a very good first-round series against the 76ers before he injured his knee and had to miss Game 7.

Stevens fielded multiple questions about the left knee stiffness that held him out of the biggest game of the year, providing context on what Tatum was dealing with.

“You probably could see it at the end of Game 6,” Stevens said. “We thought that it would dissipate and be okay the next day. He didn’t do very much on Friday, just rested, and then came in on Saturday morning and tried to do a workout. I watched it, and [he] clearly didn’t feel right.  I think it’s not like a long, long-term concern, but it certainly didn’t look right when he was working out, and didn’t feel right. So, it made sense to be smart about that. The obvious answer is, anytime you’re coming back from an injury like he was coming from, there’s a tendency to overcompensate, and there’s probably a little bit of that there.”

He was also asked about Tatum’s heavy minutes in the weeks leading up to Game 7, and about whether that could have contributed to his sidelining.

“We did try to ramp him up for more playoff load and playoff minutes towards the end of the regular season, including a couple of the games there late where we kept him in, even though the games weren’t necessarily close, just to get his minutes up,” he said. “And that’s a part of this kind of load management era that we have a lot of discussions about, because I think Phil Coles and his group do a great job. And a big part of that is they say you have to be ready to play those kinds of meaningful minutes in those kinds of meaningful moments. Do we think that that had an impact on his knee stiffness and the injury in Game 6? Hard to tell, but you can’t cross it off. So we have to look at that. I know that they will, but I feel really comfortable that they worked their butts off to try to get everybody on the court, and they did an amazing job with JT, and he did an amazing job all year, and to be able to play a lot if needed.”

My reaction: This was always a risk, and it’s unfortunate that Tatum had to miss the biggest game of the year. But, I don’t think he or the team has any regrets about the way his return-to-play was handled, and ultimately, there was no real harm done: Tatum did not get seriously hurt, proved to himself he’s still the guy he was before the injury, and should be good to go and fully rested to begin next season.

On Joe Mazzulla’s future with the Celtics:

Stevens was asked about the job that Joe Mazzulla has done over the past four years and what his future holds.

“First of all, I know how hard that job is, and I know all that goes into it,” he said. “And I know he and his staff are putting everything they can into it. And when I say that we struggle to get by — I think that’s, again, that’s — we need to add to our team. So, I think our coaching staff, like all of us, can continue to improve and get better. That said, I think they’re very good. And we need to continue to provide them the resources to grow, and to get better, and to continue to be the best that we can be. I don’t think we can ignore, and certainly, again, can’t ignore anything, the good and the bad. But there was a lot of growth this year, and I thought that there [were] a lot of things that we can build off of, even though that ending was disappointing.”

My reaction: I don’t think Joe Mazzulla is on the immediate hot seat, and Stevens said multiple times that the coaching staff did a good job. That being said, this was not a ringing, resounding endorsement (he could have gone further in discussing Joe’s coaching tenure positively), and it’s clear that Stevens expects Mazzulla — like everyone — will get better.

The Eastern Conference was unpredictable during the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs thanks to three seven-games series and the upset loss of the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics.

The conference’s frenzied first round also changed FanDuel’s market for 2025-26 NBA Eastern Conference Finals MVP. Superstar Celtics like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were previously among the favorites for the media-voted award before their untimely first-round dismissal.

The wide-open race in the East, coupled with Boston’s elimination, means three players are ahead of the pack for the Larry Bird Award. New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson (+160) is the current favorite after averaging just over 26 points per game in the first round against Atlanta. Continuing a string of strong postseason runs, Brunson’s consistency and high usage gives him considerable traction with the Knicks as the conference’s new favorites.

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham slightly trails Brunson on the heels of a terrific first round against Orlando. With Detroit trailing 3-1 in the series, Cunningham took over and averaged 36.3 points per game in the final three games of the series — helping the Pistons recapture their confidence in the process. Cunningham now sits at +200, behind only Brunson in the Eastern Conference.

Donovan Mitchell (+600) from the Cleveland Cavaliers sits third in the market for Eastern Conference Finals MVP. Although Cleveland moved past Toronto in the first round, the Raptors made Mitchell work and held him to 23.1 points per game and 43 percent shooting after Mitchell put up 27.9 points on 48 percent shooting in the regular season. Cunningham and Mitchell will battle in the second round for a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals with the winner likely gaining a significant market boost in the process.

After a noticeable decline in the odds, the secondary list of contenders is still filled with All-Stars capable of taking over a playoff series. Karl-Anthony Towns (+1200) played improved defense for the Knicks while closing out the Hawks. But Towns was third in scoring for the Atlanta series behind Brunson and guard OG Anunoby — hurting Towns’ potential case for a series MVP award.

Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid (+1700) must stay healthy and eliminate the No. 2 seed Knicks in the second round to even make the Eastern Conference Finals. But a healthy Embiid is still a force after averaging 29 points per game in four games against Boston.

Similar to Embiid’s candidacy, 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (+3000) needs to first get past New York in the second round to even garner serious ECF MVP consideration. But if Maxey’s stellar play against Boston is any indication, the high-scoring guard is capable of putting up points in bunches after averaging just under 27 points per game in the series.

A few other notable names to consider for Eastern Conference Finals MVP includes Knicks two-way threat OG Anunoby (+3300), Cavaliers veteran guard James Harden (+3500), and Cleveland big man Evan Mobley (+5500).

Knicks fans got a little too wild outside of Madison Square Garden after Game 1, but J.R. Smith is surviving.

The former Knick talked about how social media is the real culprit for why it took so long for him to get up as a pack of wild fans nearly trampled him Monday night after the Knicks beat the 76ers.

“The Knicks fans saw JR walking and they couldn’t believe it, man,” former Knicks teammate Iman Shumpert said to Smith on an episode of “Run it Back.” “They gave him love. They gave him too much love and knocked him down in front of Madison Square [Garden]. Legendary performance.”

Smith responded: “The worst part about it is in this society, man, they’re so bad. Everybody just has their phone out, and I’m like, ‘Yo, bro, pull me up. Come on, dog.'”

Smith joked that he “needed some help” and was looking for Shumpert to come to his rescue.

Knicks fans were going wild after a 137-98 victory, and when they saw Smith outside the arena, they crowded him and nearly trampled the former NBA star.

Smith repeatedly told the fans to “relax” as they piled on top of him, but that did not stop them from crowding him.

The former Knicks guard, who played for the team from 2011-15 when the Knicks were a strong Eastern Conference contender with Mike Woodson as coach and Carmelo Anthony leading the charge, did not specify whether he would attend Game 2 following the dangerous encounter.

Shumpert and Smith were also teammates on the Cavaliers’ championship team in 2016 after a trade from the Knicks at the trade deadline.

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The Knicks will look to keep their torrid pace going with Game 2 on Wednesday night at home.

The Nature Boy is very upset with the Lakers’ wonder boy.

After Luka Doncic missed Game 1 of Los Angeles’ conference semifinals matchup with the Thunder on Tuesday night due to a hamstring strain, Ric Flair laid into the point guard for not playing injured.

“@lukadoncic,” the wrestling legend wrote on his X page as Oklahoma City dismantled the Lakers, 108-90, “Please Get In The Game! Take A Shot Of Cortisone And Deal With The Pain! They Are Paying You 50 Million A Year, And You’re Not There! WTF!”

Flair then went on to say he was so ticked over the matter, he hopes LA trades the 27-year-old this offseason.

“Nobody Wants A Lame Duck On Their Team!” he said.

Following backlash, Flair fired off another message about the situation early Wednesday morning, and while he softened a bit, he nonetheless remained critical of Doncic.

“FYI-,” Flair wrote, “Obviously They Are Not Going To Trade Luka. He’s Their Future. He’s Their Franchise. But Do The Math- He Averages 33 Points A Game. If He Has 20, LeBron @KingJames Has 27, And The Rest Of The Team- They Win!

“I Would Have Said The Same Thing About @jaytatum0 On The @celtics, But I’m Not A Boston Fan. For 46 Million Dollars A Year, I Think You Can Play! Everyone Is Allowed To Have Their Own Opinion. And This Is Mine!”

Doncic sustained a Grade 2 hamstring strain during a regular-season game against the Thunder on April 2. He has not suited up since, though he’s taken measures — including traveling overseas for treatment — to get back on the court as soon as possible.

LA head coach JJ Redick said earlier this week he didn’t have “any updates on Luka,” but the six-time All-Star is expected to miss at least one more game of the postseason series with the Thunder.

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With 5:28 seconds left in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Cleveland Cavaliers tied things up at 93 points apiece. They mounted an 18-point comeback against the Detroit Pistons, the top seed, capped off by three James Harden free throws. A whole new ballgame.

But Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson made one of his many questionable coaching decisions at this moment.

In between free throws two and three, the Pistons brought back in their best player, Cade Cunningham. The Cavs, however, stuck with their lineup at the time — which did not include Donovan Mitchell or Evan Mobley. It would be over a minute later before those two would enter the game, a period in which Cunningham and starting center Jalen Duren took back momentum with a block and two pick-and-roll dunks. By the time Atkinson brought in his closing lineup, the winds had shifted. Duren had another dunk a few seconds later, and the Cavs would remain at arm’s length.

The playoffs have a way of exposing every flaw a team has and then magnifying them to the national audience. Harden and Mitchell’s turnovers are one of them, but Atkinson’s puzzling decision-making is another. He waited too long to use his timeouts, and not getting Mitchell and Mobley back into the game when the Cavs seemingly had the Pistons on the ropes is another. Does Duren get those easy dunk opportunities with Mobley in the game? Hard to say for sure, but not having your best defender out there in crunch time would have made things harder.

Opposing head coach, and former Cavs scapegoat, J.B. Bickerstaff, sensed the Pistons losing control of the game and brought his best player back in to disrupt Cleveland’s rhythm. It worked.

Atkinson has talked a lot about rhythm this season, largely as it relates to the many different lineups the Cavs had to trot out during the regular season due to injury. Whether it was Darius Garland’s nagging toe ailment or the revolving door of small forward, finding rhythm has been a key emphasis for last year’s NBA Coach of the Year. But last night his decision-making was not sound.

When answering a question post-game about Jarrett Allen’s foul trouble, which limited him to 18 minutes last night, Atkinson said it disrupted the rhythm and his rotations. That is understandable, but not putting Allen back in the game with just a few minutes left is not.

The only Cavalier starter with a positive +/- rating was Allen, and he did so playing bench-level minutes. Atkinson subbed him out during that “too little, too late” timeout, and Allen never saw the floor again. The puzzling part is that Allen had four fouls, not five, and — most importantly — it was crunch time with the opportunity to steal a game on the road. Why not put Allen in? Bickerstaff was still playing Ausar Thompson and Duncan Robinson with four fouls, and both of those players impacted the game late.

There is an argument to be made as well that Mitchell, Mobley, and Harden should have played more minutes. Coincidentally, they all finished with 35, which is less than what Tobias Harris logged for the Pistons. Atkinson noted post-game that he wanted to conserve some energy with certain guys and try to find new energy off the bench, likely due to the grueling seven-game series they played against Toronto. But Detroit also played an equally demanding series against the Orlando Magic and still had its best players playing the most minutes.

It will be very difficult for the Cavs to win this series, whether on the road or not, if Atkinson is routinely getting out-coached by Bickerstaff. Game 1 can be a feel-it-out effort to try and see what works and what doesn’t, but the Cavs had a real chance to win – despite playing exceptionally poorly for most of it. Like the Cavs’ backcourt, Atkinson has to be better. And, like his team, Atkinson needs to be moving with a sense of urgency.

The 39-point defeat the Sixers suffered in Game 1 of the second round at the hands of the New York Knicks was disappointing, but not that surprising. Not just because the Sixers weren’t wearing what’s become their lucky white jerseys, but it was a very quick turnaround from their Round 1 triumph in Boston to starting the next series.

Having less than 48 hours to come down from the emotional high, the Sixers looked pretty tired in Game 1. On top of that, the Knicks hit everything. They finished the game shooting 63% from the field. The silver lining in this was that the Sixers were able give all their key guys the night off early. Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Paul George and VJ Edgecombe all had their nights end before the third quarter.

That’s about as much recharging as the Sixers will be able to get as one day off in between games becomes the norm as the playoffs progress. After the game, the Sixers didn’t want to use exhaustion as an excuse for their performance, but the Knicks shooting unsustainably well was something pointed to as a reason they can bounce back.

“Yeah, they just had a good game plan. We had a couple breakdowns and we’ll be better next game,” Maxey said.

George acknowledged the miscues, but also thought the Knicks couldn’t miss a shot.

“Yeah, we had breakdowns tonight but they also shot the shit out of the ball,” he said. “They came out hot, they came out on fire. But you know, it’s a game of adjustments. We’ll make adjustments; see what we need to get better at.”

It would be quite the feat if the Knicks shoot over 60% from the field for the series, one that would definitely sink the Sixers’ chances of being competitive in this series. Nick Nurse’s answers after the game explained a little bit more why the Knicks shot so well, and why it might be more than shooting variance.

“I think [on] five or six mid pick-and-rolls in a row that they scored on in every way they could,” Nurse said. “I think they hit six straight times off that and that kind of extended a little bit.”

Nurse is talking about a five-minute stretch in the first quarter, one that got the Knicks running away with the game. The Knicks, primarily through Jalen Brunson, were able to generate a really good shot nearly every time down the floor against the Sixers’ drop coverage.

When Embiid came up high to flash against Brunson, Mitchell Robinson was able to slip behind him for a lob. If Embiid stayed lower, Brunson was able to get over a screen easily and walk into an open jumper. All of these baskets are in this clip below by Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice.com

This had the Sixers’ defense so flummoxed that they resorted to Hack-A-Mitch as soon as the Knicks were in the bonus in the first quarter. Nurse brought Justin Edwards in the game for the single purpose of using his fouls to get Robinson on the free throw line.

“I think it was right on the end of that famous pick-and-roll series I’m talking about,” Nurse said, “so I think it was a chance to try to stop their momentum a little bit.”

Robinson did miss all four of his free throw attempts, but with the Sixers’ offense unable to make them pay on the other end, the Knicks were able to get back to their pulverization of Philly.

The Sixers pulled off their comeback against the Celtics thanks in large part to the defensive adjustments they made. They were able to limit Boston’s three-point shooting as much as they could. They’ll similarly have to reduce the Knicks’ shot quality if they want to have a chance in this series. With an offensive threat at center in Karl-Anthony Towns and an offensive strategy that is more than getting up as many threes as possible, the Knicks pose more complicated challenges, and it’s on the Sixers to figure them out.