Category: Basketball

Talk about a brutal interview! Here’s a question that Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith asked Cameron Boozer: “Carlos (Boozer) could only take us to the Western Conference Finals. What do you think you could do?”

Well damn.

Really, it’s a two-level question, or possibly three.

The first level is psychological. It’s the sort of question that is designed to irritate you and throw you off. So you have to kind of steady yourself emotionally first. That’s very clever, really.

The proper way to answer would be something like this.

Part I. My father taught me to play the game in ways that he could not, so first, he’s a very good teacher. He was primarily a power forward, and his skill set revolved around that. My skills overlap his. I am similarly built, but I also have a perimeter game and I can drain threes. I owe a lot of that to him. He helped Cayden and me to make sure that our fundamentals were impeccable.

Part II. No one player can lead a team to a championship. It’s a team game. I can help make any group better – my resume backs that up pretty solidly – but this is the most competitive league in the world. As long as I am on a team that has talent and plays together, I am totally confident that any team I am on will reach its potential, and I believe we can win championships in Utah.

It occurs to us that this is a unique question that could only be asked of Boozer. You could theoretically ask Cayden, but he’s a point guard, and that’s different. What a remarkable question.

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It’s the two most electric words in sports: Game 7 and our NBA player prop projections are locked in for this decisive showdown between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons, with the model identifying several high-value betting opportunities to close out the Eastern Conference semifinals.

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

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

If you’re building your card, here are the model’s top NBA picks for Sunday, May 17.

Cavaliers vs Pistons computer picks for Game 7

Cavaliers	Pistons
Mitchell o25.5 points -105	Cunningham o26.5 points -120
Strus o2.5 3-pointers  +135	Duren o8.5 rebounds -135
Harden o6.5 assists +102	Jenkins o3.5 assists -120

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Cavaliers Game 7 computer picks

Donovan Mitchell Over 25.5 points (-105)

Projection: 26.5 points

Donovan Mitchell struggled to find his rhythm in Game 6, finishing with just 18 points on an inefficient 6-for-20 shooting night in what could have punched the Cleveland Cavaliers’ ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals. That level of production simply won’t cut it in a win-or-go-home Game 7.

Having come up short of this scoring line in each of the last two games, Mitchell feels due for a bounce-back performance—one more in line with the explosive showing he delivered in Cleveland’s Game 4 victory.

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Max Strus Over 2.5 3-pointers (+135)

Projection: 2.52 3-pointers

Max Strus has elevated his intensity on both ends throughout this series against the Detroit Pistons, and a Game 7 should only amplify that energy. 

He’s knocked down multiple threes in back-to-back games, and will once again be counted on to make his mark from deep as the Cavaliers try to get past a scrappy Pistons squad on the road.

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James Harden Over 6.5 assists (+102)

Projection: 7.08 assists

James Harden has gone over this assists line in three of six games in the series against Detroit, and nearly made it four after recording six dimes in the Game 5 overtime win. If Cleveland is going to advance, it’ll need Harden at his playmaking best — this team’s ceiling has always been tied to his performance.

Expect the veteran to step up in a must-win spot, facilitating at a high level and putting himself in position to cash this assists prop as the Cavaliers push for a showdown with the Knicks.

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Pistons Game 7 computer picks

Cade Cunningham Over 26.5 points (-120)

Projection: 26.97 points

Cade Cunningham has been on a scoring tear, averaging 28.8 points over his last 10 games; nearly five points above his season average. The matchup only adds to the appeal, as Cleveland has allowed opposing starting point guards to shoot 41.4% from three this season, the second-highest mark in the league.

With that vulnerability in play, Cunningham is set up nicely to deliver at home — and there’s no bigger stage than a Game 7 in front of the Detroit crowd.

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Jalen Duren Over 8.5 rebounds (-135)

Projection: 10.41 rebounds

Jalen Duren bounced back in a big way in Game 6, reasserting himself on the glass and helping keep the Pistons’ season alive. After a few quieter outings against Cleveland, he responded with a strong 15-point, 11-rebound performance.

Now heading into Game 7 at Little Caesars Arena, expect Duren to carry that momentum with a renewed edge as he looks to clear this rebound line once again.

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Daniss Jenkins Over 3.5 assists (-120)

Projection: 4.02 assists

Daniss Jenkins has consistently stepped up in key moments for Detroit, making his presence felt with hustle plays, timely rebounds, and shot creation. While he’s hovered around this 3.5 assists line for most of the series — only clearing it in Game 2 — he’s been right on the doorstep more often than not.

In a win-or-go-home scenario, expect Jenkins to be heavily involved again, with a strong chance to convert those "almosts" into enough dimes to push this prop over the line.

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How to watch Cavaliers vs Pistons Game 7

Location	Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
Date	Sunday, May 17, 2026
Tip-off	8:00 p.m. ET
TV	Prime Video

Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.

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Welcome to our Phoenix Suns Season in Review series, where we revisit every player who suited up during the 2025–26 campaign through the lens of expectation, reality, and what it ultimately meant.

Player Snapshot

• Position: PG
• Age: 26
• Contract Status: UFA (Suns have his early bird rights)
• SunsRank (Preseason): 8
• SunsRank (Postseason): 4

*SunsRank is based on Bright Side writers’ ranking.

Season in One Sentence

In his first full year with the Suns, Collin Gillespie proved to be worth the investment by breaking a franchise record and growing into a true offensive piece in this rotation.

By the Numbers

How impressive was he, truly? Well, this illustrates it perfectly.

The Expectation

Many fans expected Gillespie to be a solid playmaker and scorer for this bench unit. I wrote last year that he was a better fit next to Devin Booker than Tyus Jones, and people were looking forward to seeing it. You add that with a good three-point shot, and some hustle on defense, and that is someone the fans can buy into.

The Reality

Well, Gillespie shocked the NBA world, putting fans in a head spin trying to learn who he was. He immediately impressed early in the season when Jalen Green was hurt, gifting Gillespie more playing time. He was able to use his playmaking and ability to initiate the offense to work alongside Booker and Brooks. When he was coming off the bench, though, he was able to work with big man Oso Ighodaro to form a solid pick-and-roll connection as well.

This connection continued as he and Mark Williams also got things going and became a solid pair. Suns fans claim this team needs another true point guard, but Gillespie has been filling that role perfectly well.

On the defensive end, he showed his heart and hustled for more minutes, averaging 1.2 steals per game. This fast-paced offensive style, which focuses heavily on the three-assist plays, plays into his strengths. As the season went on, he did start to see a decline in his shooting, but for a guy who was never tasked with this big a role, it can still be something not to fret about.

Oh yeah, and that three-point shooting, man, was that a big success for Gillepsie and the Suns’ structure this year. Gillepsie proved to be one of the better three-point shooters and on such a steal of a contract as well.

What It Means

There is no doubt that the Suns want to bring Gillespie back to this team and re-sign him. Suns insider John Gambadoro stated that this would be one of their main focuses. Gillepsie, who made just over 2M this year, will be looking for a payday that the Suns can give him.

Since the Suns have early-bird rights on the contract, they can sign him to the max anyone can in free agency. Therefore, it is expected he will come back on a deal that works for both sides. One that will give him a deserving payday, but one that is worth his value in this league.

Gillespie has also stated that at the end of the year, when the media questions him, he wants to be back in Phoenix. This statement should make the fans feel confident that he will be back next year, and that is a good sign.

Defining Moment

Gillespie had many great moments this season, so it’s hard to choose one, but I think this is the best. This is obviously where he etched himself into the sun’s history by breaking a franchise record. This was for the most three pointers made in a season, in which he beat Quentin Richardson.

This was the true test of winning fans over in such a successful season. Even if they were first-round exits, they exceed the exceptions in the standings and with their own players. Gillepsie is a major contributor to that movement, and his offensive versatility was a huge part of that.

He finished the year with 232 threes, which was a huge milestone for the young guard. This was huge and a turning point for the guard. Throughout the year, he was a fantastic three-point scorer, so to see him do this was amazing, especially in his first full year in the Valley.

Grade: A

Overall, for the season, I think that Gillespie deserves an A for his performance. He came out of nowhere to most and has now made him a household name in Phoenix for the future. Everyone is talking about how great iof a season he had and how they need to resign him. Even if he did start to slow down on his three-point shooting later in the year, that does not completely knock his whole season.

The chemistry he built with guys like Dillon Brooks, Oso Ighodaro, Jordan Goodwin, and so many more will help pave the way for this new identity for the Suns. The man who was deemed Villain Jr. this year definitely showed that he cares and puts his all out there.

He never gives up and is relentless on both ends, making for a perfect match for the franchise. The hope is that he is just brought back and he can continue to grow within this Suns regime to help bring a championship here. This season was just a taste of what he can be, and that leaves me satisfied.

SAN FRANCISCO — The first domino of the Warriors’ offseason fell last week, when Steve Kerr signed to return as their head coach. Now, the real business can begin.

“We have a lot to figure out this summer,” Kerr said.

Steph Curry has expressed a desire to get an extension done. There is mutual interest in locking up Brandin Podziemski long term. Draymond Green must decide whether to exercise his player option or seek a longer-term deal at a lower annual figure.

Then there is the prospect of the No. 11 pick, a valuable asset in a loaded lottery that the team can use to inject some youth into an aging roster — or in a potential trade for another superstar to pair with Curry.

General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. didn’t rule out the possibility of going big-game hunting.

“As far as trade acquisition stuff, I mean, we’re probably always in the conversation, frankly, because we have the draft capital to be,” Dunleavy said. “If there’s offers to the pick to move up, move back, trade for a veteran player that could help us, we’ll definitely look at all that stuff.”

It’s no secret the Warriors sought to add Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kawhi Leonard during this season’s trade deadline. They’ve also been rumored as a possible landing spot for LeBron James, should his eight-year run with the Lakers end.

However, there is more to consider than simply star power when supplementing a roster built around an age-38 Curry. They will already be “behind the eight ball” to begin the season, Dunleavy acknowledged, while Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody recover from injuries.

“I think we had, like, six guys this year who either couldn’t play back-to-backs or were on minutes restrictions often at the same time,” Kerr said. “We can’t do that again. It’s too hard to build continuity. We need some younger legs, for sure. We know that.”

The draft gives them a chance to do that, and Kerr said with their shortcomings to start the season, particularly on the wing, “that guy has to play” if they hold onto their pick.

Butler and Moody are two of only five players under contract for next season. Kristaps Porzingis, Gary Payton II and Seth Curry are unrestricted free agents, De’Anthony Melton and Al Horford also have player options, and Pat Spencer and Quinten Post will have the opportunity to receive offer sheets from other teams as restricted free agents.

Golden State also has three assistant coaching vacancies to fill, including the top two chairs on the bench following the departures of Chris DeMarco, Jerry Stackhouse and Terry Stotts.

Dunleavy said he is hopeful about reunions with Porzingis and Horford, who “add[ed] an element to our team that we haven’t had in the past.” Horford, 39, must decide if he wants to keep playing, in Golden State or elsewhere, while Porzingis may have to weigh the value of the Warriors’ training staff against more lucrative offers from other teams.

As for Green, whose player option would pay him $27.7 million, “the ball is in his court,” Dunleavy said. “We have had discussions where we want him to finish his career as a Warrior. He kind of feels the same way. I would expect him to be back, but it’s his call on that.”

The Warriors didn’t give Jonathan Kuminga the contract he wanted before restricted free agency, straining a relationship that hit its breaking point at the trade deadline this season.

With Podziemski, Dunleavy indicated the team is targeting a different outcome.

“It’s one of those situations where if you want a player back, it’s got to work for you and him,” the GM said. “Hopefully we can come to a contract agreement before the start of next season.”

Another extension will take priority: One for Curry, who will make $62.6 million this season but doesn’t have a contract beyond that. Curry said he hopes to play for “multiple” more years, and now Kerr’s contract extends a year beyond Curry’s current commitment.

“I’m sure those conversations will happen,” Dunleavy said. “You can predict where they’ll be going. I don’t see any scenario where we don’t want to figure out a way to have him finish here.”

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named NBA MVP for second straight year originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has gone back to back.

The Oklahoma City Thunder guard will be named NBA MVP for the second straight year on Sunday after another dominant season. ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported the news, with an official announcement coming Sunday night.

The 27-year-old Gilgeous-Alexander is the 14th player to win consecutive MVP awards, joining recent stars Nikola Jokic (2020-22), Giannis Antetokounmpo (2018-20) and Stephen Curry (2014-16) to do so over the past decade-plus.

In the 2025-26 season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists over 68 games. He was named Clutch Player of the Year for the first time in his career and made his fourth All-Star Game.

Other finalists for MVP included Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.

Despite the other worthy challengers, Gilgeous-Alexander set himself apart to repeat as the award winner. He was the first guard in NBA history to average at least 30 points with over 55% shooting in a season. He also extended his record streak of scoring at least 20 points to 140 games, joining Wilt Chamberlain (1961-62, 1963-64) and Elgin Baylor (1961-62) as the only players to score 20 or more in every game of a season.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s rise to stardom has come as the Thunder have emerged as the league’s most dominant team. He led the franchise to its first title in Oklahoma City last season while being named NBA Finals MVP, and the Thunder are still aiming to repeat this year. The team is a perfect 8-0 in the playoffs so far with Gilgeous-Alexander averaging 29.1 points and 7.1 assists per game.

It’s been an extended break for Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder after their second-round sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Western Conference Finals against Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs begins Monday.

On Friday night, the Spurs put on a clinic in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals sending the Minnesota Timberwolves into the summer break.

Although the Spurs win was wire to wire, Minnesota made a few pushes throughout the match. However, by the 8-minute mark of the 4th quarter Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch waved the white flag and cleared his bench.

During the timeout, Anthony Edwards sauntered over to the Spurs bench and began congratulating them.

Immediately, Stan Van Gundy said he’d rather wait and see that done post game. Specifically, SVG was curious how Udonis Haslam was going to respond in the postgame analysis to Edwards’ move.

It didn’t take long for Haslam, Dirk Nowitzki, and Blake Griffin to point out the awkwardness of the moment.

Edwards addressed the decision in his postgame press conference.

To be honest, he doesn’t really explain it. In his mind, he wasn’t going back in, so that was his justification for walking over.

Usually, there is a meeting at center court at the end of a series. The players congratulate one another, show some respect, and wish each other well. Everything else is left on the court.

While Edwards made a strange move, it was done out of respect. But the uncomfortable send off was not the worst in NBA history.

For some reason the hype around the situation stirred up a memory of the Detroit Pistons walking off court without congratulating the Chicago Bulls at the conclusion of the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals.

For what it’s worth, Edwards had good intentions if not the best execution.

Tomorrow, the Spurs continue the Race for Seis in Oklahoma City against the reigning champion Thunder.

Go Spurs Go!

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The Cleveland Cavaliers had a chance to close out their playoff series with the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, but in typical Cleveland fashion … they did not.

So that leaves the Cavs and Pistons playing tonight in Game 7 in Detroit to see who will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Expect plenty of people posting on social media today about “the best two words in sports, Game 7.” That’s nonsense, of course, because Game 7 is only fun if the team you are rooting for actually wins.

What does this have to do with the Cleveland Browns, you ask? Nothing. But the Cavs are a Cleveland team, so no harm in showing a little love to the Wine and Gold. And they have to be there anyway, so may as well win tonight.

And for those readers who may not be old enough to get the reference in the headline, give this a listen:

Now that we have accomplished that, let’s get the day rolling with the latest edition of the Sunday Dawg Chow.

Dawgs By Nature

• Browns: Is Harold Fannin Jr. set for a big second year? (Thomas Moore) – The offense will look different under HC Todd Monken. What does that mean for Cleveland’s talented tight end?
• Browns Todd Monken’s offense: Data on passing rate is interesting (Jared Mueller) – Will Cleveland Browns HC Todd Monken open up the passing offense? His history says he’s far more likely to run the ball.
• Browns schedule: 1 PM slots abound, best for fans? Players? (Abby Mueller) – The Cleveland Browns 2026 schedule is official and they only have one primetime game on the slate.
• Every Browns’ opponent’s schedule release video (Barry Shuck) – The team communications departments produce their own collection, including Cleveland Browns opponents.

Cleveland Browns

• Deshaun Watson vs. Shedeur Sanders, rookies top Browns’ OTA questions (Beacon Journal) – The entire offseason program for the Browns has been building up to this point.
• David Njoku’s legacy as a Browns tight end: What Terry Pluto will remember (Terry Pluto) – When David Njoku signed with the Los Angeles Chargers this week, the reaction from Browns fans was a mix of sadness and nostalgia.
• Cleveland Browns 2026 Week One Roster Prediction – Center (OBR) – A look at the likely week one Cleveland Browns roster, a position room at a time, focusing on center today.

NFL

• Jags’ DaVon Hamilton opens up about being ‘almost paralyzed’ (ESPN) – DaVon Hamilton couldn’t sleep. The debilitating pain pulsing through his back propelled the Jacksonville Jaguars’ training staff to haul in a pool lounge chair into his hotel room in Detroit on Aug. 17, 2023. He needed the almost 7-foot chair because he couldn’t lie flat.
• NFL schedule makers told the Jets what the league thinks of them: Not much (The Athletic) – It’s 2026, and the New York Jets made scheduling history again, or at least franchise history: They are not scheduled to participate in a single primetime game this season.
• Zaire Franklin confident in Packers’ trajectory: When you’ve got a QB and a pass rush, you’ve got a chance (NFL.com) – The Green Bay Packers experienced an exodus of talent this offseason, losing two contributors at wide receiver, two starting offensive linemen and a couple longtime figure pieces on defense.

San Antonio Spurs (62-20, second in the Western Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (64-18, first in the Western Conference)

Oklahoma City; Monday, 8:30 p.m. EDT

LINE: Thunder -6.5; over/under is 219.5

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Thunder host first series matchup

BOTTOM LINE: The Oklahoma City Thunder host the San Antonio Spurs to begin the Western Conference finals. San Antonio went 4-1 against Oklahoma City during the regular season. The Spurs won the last regular season matchup 116-106 on Thursday, Feb. 5 led by 25 points from Keldon Johnson, while Kenrich Williams scored 25 points for the Thunder.

The Thunder are 41-11 in conference games. Oklahoma City is 5-6 in one-possession games.

The Spurs are 36-16 in Western Conference play. San Antonio is second in the Western Conference scoring 119.8 points per game and is shooting 48.3%.

The 119.0 points per game the Thunder average are 7.5 more points than the Spurs give up (111.5). The Spurs average 11.9 more points per game (119.8) than the Thunder give up to opponents (107.9).

TOP PERFORMERS: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 31.1 points and 6.6 assists for the Thunder. Ajay Mitchell is averaging 15 points and 3.9 assists over the last 10 games.

Victor Wembanyama is scoring 25.0 points per game and averaging 11.5 rebounds for the Spurs. Julian Champagnie is averaging 2.6 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Thunder: 8-2, averaging 118.0 points, 41.1 rebounds, 26.4 assists, 10.2 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 49.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.9 points per game.

Spurs: 7-3, averaging 117.5 points, 47.8 rebounds, 25.4 assists, 8.6 steals and 8.5 blocks per game while shooting 49.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 102.9 points.

INJURIES: Thunder: Jalen Williams: out (hamstring), Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee).

Spurs: David Jones Garcia: out for season (ankle).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30, fourth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Detroit Pistons (60-22, first in the Eastern Conference)

Detroit; Sunday, 8 p.m. EDT

LINE: Pistons -4.5; over/under is 206.5

EASTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Series tied 3-3

BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Pistons host the Cleveland Cavaliers in game seven of the Eastern Conference second round. The Pistons defeated the Cavaliers 115-94 in the last matchup on Friday. Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 21 points, and James Harden led the Cavaliers with 23.

The Pistons are 12-4 against division opponents. Detroit is the top team in the Eastern Conference with 57.9 points in the paint led by Jalen Duren averaging 14.6.

The Cavaliers are 11-5 against the rest of the division. Cleveland ranks fifth in the Eastern Conference with 28.3 assists per game led by Harden averaging 8.0.

The Pistons score 117.8 points per game, 2.4 more points than the 115.4 the Cavaliers allow. The Cavaliers average 9.9 more points per game (119.5) than the Pistons allow (109.6).

TOP PERFORMERS: Duren is averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds for the Pistons. Cunningham is averaging 28.8 points over the last 10 games.

Donovan Mitchell is scoring 27.9 points per game with 4.5 rebounds and 5.7 assists for the Cavaliers. Harden is averaging 20.4 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 40.7% over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pistons: 6-4, averaging 107.1 points, 43.6 rebounds, 22.7 assists, 9.1 steals and 6.8 blocks per game while shooting 46.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 101.3 points per game.

Cavaliers: 5-5, averaging 107.5 points, 43.0 rebounds, 20.9 assists, 7.2 steals and 6.0 blocks per game while shooting 44.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.5 points.

INJURIES: Pistons: Caris LeVert: day to day (heel), Kevin Huerter: day to day (adductor), Duncan Robinson: day to day (back).

Cavaliers: Larry Nance Jr.: day to day (illness).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

When the Lakers traded for Rui Hachimura in 2023, they were acquiring a disgruntled wing, upset that the Wizards were not willing to commit to him long-term.

The player who helped them to the second round of the 2026 playoffs years later had changed drastically, embracing his role on a team and franchise that has spent multiple years developing him and reaping the benefits.

With the Lakers, Rui has become one of the best long-range shooters in the league and blossomed into a vital role player for a team with title-contending aspirations each year. His incredible performance in the postseason couldn’t have come at a better time for him personally as he’s set to enter free agency this summer.

After the team’s Game 4 loss to the Thunder to end the season, Rui was asked about his impending free agency. As free-agents-to-be always say, he noted he had not thought about it, but did speak about the joy of playing for the Lakers.

“I love this team,” Hachimura said. “I love this organization since I got here. This is my fourth season here. Start from [President of Basketball Operations] Rob [Pelinka], everybody. The owners, Jeanie [Buss] and now new owner Mark [Walter]. I just like them. I just like how they operate everything.

“I really appreciate them for what they’ve done for me. They did a lot for me. I love it here, but at the end of the day, I’m not the one negotiating. My agent is negotiator. I’m not a good negotiator. I put everything on my agents.”

You can understand why he isn’t doing the negotiating because he did a lot to show his hand in this answer. He clearly enjoys a lot of things about playing for the Lakers, including being part of a franchise that committed to his future.

Even outside of this quote from Hachimura, reports indicated that the expectation around the league is Rui will return to the Lakers. The price will be an interesting aspect of that.

At around $14-15 million, any team could compete for Rui’s services with the mid-level exception. However, that’d be a pay cut compared to his current deal, and given how well he’s performed, it feels unlikely that will be the case.

In that event, realistically, only the Lakers, Nets and Bulls can afford to bring him back. And, at his age, it seems unlikely he’d go to rebuilding teams in Brooklyn or Chicago. It puts the Lakers in the driver’s seat, if they want him back.

And based on how he played in the postseason and the commitment they’ve made for him, it’d be a surprise if they didn’t.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

To win an NBA championship, a team needs to win 16 playoff games.  The majority of the players on the Spurs entered these playoffs without ever playing in an NBA playoff game, let alone winning one, or 16.  The Spurs coach is also essentially a rookie, with just over one year of being a head coach — and no NBA playoff experience as either head or assistant coach.

However, the Spurs’ best player had faced the pressure of playing in an Olympic gold-medal game, at home, against a USA team filled with former MVPs and numerous previous gold medals. The Spurs’ second best player ran the table during his one college season, winning the six intense March Madness games necessary to win the NCAA championship.  Of course, that is putting the best possible spin on the fact that Victor Wembanyama is only 22, while Stephon Castle is 21. The Spurs third guard, rookie Dylan Harper, is 20, while key bench contributor Carter Bryant, also a rookie, is 20 and looks 16. How young is Bryant?  This is how he described Gregg Popovich:

“It’s funny because you hear the stories about him being tough on guys and, obviously, he’s not my head coach, so I don’t kind of get that same experience,” Bryant said. “But I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ This dude is the sweetest, nicest guy. He’s dope.”

Yes, Bryant became the first person in history to describe Pop as “dope”.  Bryant is also one of the few 20-year-olds sent in the game specifically to cover a player as good as Anthony Edwards — and he loves the assignment.

And look at this picture from Game 6 in Minnesota, with the Spurs about to go up 54-27 (yes, 54-27) after Victor made this free throw:

The five Spurs in that photo were on the floor on the road in a crucial playoff game.  Their ages?  20, 20, 21, 22 and 25 (Devin Vassel is the ancient one).  I asked AI if those were the youngest five players to be on the floor together in an NBA playoff game. AI gave me this response:

“Oops, something went wrong.”

Thanks, AI.  I guess you won’t be taking over the world quite yet.  I think I can answer my question: ‘”Yes.”  If anyone can prove me wrong, go for it.  

My quick research indicates that the youngest starting unit to win a playoff game may have been this year’s Houston Rockets.  The Rockets starters were Reed Shephard (21), Jabari Smith (23), Amen Thompson (23), Alperen Sengun (23) and Tari Eason (25).  The Spurs group referenced above calls that Rockets team “the old guys”, like that group of older players on the court as you are calling “winners” so you can blow them off the court in the next game. (I am on that old guy team.)

And now the young inexperienced Spurs get just what they wanted on their latest young birthdays: a chance to go to the NBA Finals.  All they need to do is win four games against the best NBA team over the last two seasons, and the best team since the Death Star Warriors.  As young Carter Bryant would say: that would be dope.

Other Thoughts

1. Many others are coming over to my view that the Spurs don’t have too many quality guards — they have the exact right number: three.  As I have pointed out several times, teams need to fill 96 minutes between the two guard spots.  If spread exactly evenly, that would be 32 minutes each — a number which is fairly close to the maximum number of minutes the Spurs best players have played since the middle of the Popovich era. For instance, while the Great Duncan played more minutes early in his career, he did not average more than 34 minutes per game for the twelve seasons beginning with the 2003-04 season. For these playoffs, the Spurs three wondrous guards averaged 33 minutes (De’Aaron Fox), 32 (Castle), and 25 (Harper).  And while the rest of America is discovering how good Harper is, let’s pump the brakes a bit on declaring him the best of the three, though he might be someday (Castle will be tough to overcome).  For one thing, Harper has averaged only 2 assists per game in the playoffs, well below Fox (5.8) and Castle (6.1). Instead, let’s just say that each of them is occasionally the best at any given moment, quarter or game. The Spurs’ second superpower (we know who the first one is) is their ability to have two of these guards on the floor at any given time.
2. These have already been a strange playoffs for Victor. In the first series against the Blazers, he ejected himself by face-planting, leading to a concussion.  Then, the NBA ejected him for the elbow against Naz Reid. As a result of those two incidents, and some funky shooting games (both good and bad), Victor’s scoring over the 11 playoff games looks like a scary EKG: 35, 5, 0 (DNP), 27, 17, 11, 39, 27, 4 (ejected), 27 and 19.  Interesting question:  If Victor had elbowed Reid  late in the fourth quarter of Game 4, instead of early in the second quarter, or if the Spurs had won that game,would the NBA have suspended him for Game 5?  Because he essentially suspended himself by having to leave Game 4 early, and the Spurs lost, I believe the NBA decided that he and the team had already received the proper punishment. 
3. My college buddy Jamie emailed me this from his home in Baltimore with the series 2-2: “I am looking forward to your analysis.  The Spurs always look better, and they will probably win, but the T’wolves are fun to watch and easy to cheer for.”  Only someone who has been a Washington Wizards fan would describe the Wolves as “fun to watch”.  As one little factoid (stolen from an excellent Jeremy Lin Instagram post), the Spurs averaged 13 more points off assists per game than the Wolves.  For me, fun to watch involves unselfish players who enjoy setting up a teammate as much as scoring themselves.  To pick a team at random, the 2025-26 Spurs (or the 2014 Beautiful Game Spurs).  One of my favorite moments in Game 6 was when Julian Champagnie, having just buried a three-pointer, got the ball even more wide open the next time down court.  Instead of shooting, he spotted Victor under the rim and fired the ball to him for a dunk. Fun to watch!
4. I generally don’t write much about the Eastern Conference (other than the cheap shot about Jamie’s Wizards in the prior section).  But, holy cow, the New York Knicks just won seven straight playoff games, the last three by over 25 points. My Knick-fan friends are wearing the same clothes every day so as not to jinx the streak. Perhaps the winner of Spurs-Thunder will have more of a test in the Finals than anyone thought a month ago.  

I was seven years old when my father first taught me how to play blackjack.

Whether that is a particularly normal thing to teach a child of that age is perhaps a conversation for another time, but it is, for me, a formative and happy childhood memory.

Having spent the better part of a week vacationing at my father’s boss’s coastal vacation home, we were beginning to run out of card games to play. Old Maid, Go Fish, Kings In the Corner, Spades, Cheat, Spoons, and Uno had all been played ad nauseam, and the beach-house (very purposely) lacked a television set, much less a VCR.

We had only ourselves, and our diversions, and the ocean at the shore. It was, in retrospect, a remarkably lo-fi moment in our lives, preceding the technological onslaught to come.

We read books out loud, and wrestled on the living room floor, and spent time on the beach until our burgeoning sunburns drove us back inside like vampires fleeing the dawn. We marinated in the scent of spices and fresh crustacean boiling in the cavernous kitchen, and sprawled about the dining room table telling all the jokes we knew, and making up worse ones. And then, after the meal, it was down to business.

“Remember, the dealer has to take a hit on 16 or lower”, my father reminded me, as I asked for a somewhat inadvisable hit on a 17 of my own.

“What’s a hard 17 again?”

“A 17 with no aces.”

“Oh, I have an ace. What does that mean?”

“That means you have a soft 17. Your ace can be an 11 or a 1.”

“It’s a 1 if I go over, right?”

“Right. But right now I’m showing a 6, which mean I’ll probably have to take a hit unless I have an ace too.”

“Because the dealer has to stand on 17, right?”

“In our game, yes. But not in all games. In our game, if I have an ace, we’ll push. We’ll tie.”

“I don’t wanna tie. I wanna win. I want a card.”

The card came off the deck and revealed itself as a 2.

“Ok, that’s 19. Do you want to stay?”

“The next card will be high, right?”

“Maybe. It’s not looking good for me.”

“Yeah, I’ll stay.”

My father flipped his second card. It was also an ace.

“Well, that’s 17. I have to stay.”

“I win?”

“Yep. But only in our game. In a casino maybe not. I’d get to take another hit.”

“Good thing we’re not at a casino.”

“Mhmm. And that it’s not your money. It’s harder when it’s your money.”

“How is it harder?”

“Well, do you have any money?”

“No. I spent it all.”

“I guess you’ll just have to find out one day.”

We spent the rest of the vacation playing blackjack when we were indoors, until I was certain I’d mastered the game. I knew when to take a hit. I knew when to stand. I’d gotten good at anticipating what might be coming based on what was on the board. It wasn’t card counting per se, but it was the best I’d ever been with numbers.

We ended up playing blackjack on a lot of subsequent vacations, and I was delighted to find in adulthood, in my first encounter with Las Vegas, that I’d retained the knoweldge.

Maybe that shouldn’t have been so surprising considering how I took to compiling and accumulating box scores in the years just after that first brush with Vingt-et-un.

I’d cut them out of newspapers the night after games (when the paper had been fully read) and keep them in my room, sometimes on my walls (like Tim Duncan’s Game 6 masterpiece against the New Jersey Nets), but more often in piles on the top of my dresser, or the tiny square of laminate ‘wood’ with legs that I called a desk.

It felt like there was more information than the information I was getting, as I tracked the ups-and-downs of important Spurs players in my spiral notebooks. Having gone through much of my mother’s storage, I suspect that they are long-lost at this point, but I still fantasize about finding the notebook that I dedicated to Stephen Jackson, Malik Rose, and Speedy Claxton, as I tried to figure out which one the Spurs should make an effort to keep.

I’m not 100% sure why these were the memories that San Antonio’s thrashing of the Minnesota Timberwolves triggered for me. I was certain that the game was over halfway through third quarter, in the midst of the 3rd straight 36+ point frame from the Silver and Black, just on the conscious side of dozing with the comforting weight of my daughter sleeping on my chest.

(Her sole contribution before passing out was to remark that 100 is a big number)

With every closing flicker of my own eyelids came a memory. With every opening, the massacre of reality.

How am I going to write about this? Do I just say that everyone played well?

I mean, they really did. Kelly Olynyk, Jordan McLaughlin, and Lindy Waters III all played two thirds of the fourth quarter. Only one member of the regular rotation played more than 27 minutes.

With eight minutes left in the game and a 30 point deficit, the valiant but ailing Anthony Edwards personally congratulated Spurs players before retiring to rest his banged-up knees for next season, the opposite of the comportment of the extra-physical ‘Jordan Rule’ Pistons that they were sometimes exasperatingly compared to at the start of the series.

In the end they were more paper tigers than the superstar thwarters so many outside the fan-base had hoped they’d be. Whether by dint of injury and/or inferior roster flexibility, they were forced to stand on 17.

The Spurs were playing with house money, deeper and more advantageously capable of adjusting, and lacking a certain weight of expectation due to the seasons preceding this one.

And while I have spent most of this year’s postseason blowouts reminding myself and others not to put the cart before the horse, I couldn’t help but look ahead to the match-up on the horizon, and the reality that expectations are about to really and truly change.

Before the opening of the season, even the most ardent of Spurs supporters and journalists considered the Western Conference Finals to be the absolute and remotest peak on the horizon. Most agreed that avoiding the Play-In and defeating a first round opponent would be an acceptable and reasonable limit.

But now the Spurs are on the doorstep of a Finals appearance in Victor Wembanyama’s 3rd season, and facing a team they went 4-1 against in the regular season.

The rules have changed. All things considered, the Thunder are more flexible and more talented and healthier than the Timberwolves were, and just as (if not more) physical, with a habitually favorable whistle to boot.

The Spurs can’t count on them to stand on a soft 17. The Thunder are going to take the hit. They’re going to have home-court advantage. They’re the house, and the house has the odds in their favor.

It’s almost guaranteed that the Spurs will have to make the exactly right play at the exactly right time, and this time, they won’t be able to afford the lapses they had against the Trailblazers and the Timberwolves.

They are no longer playing with house money. The cost will be their own, and that of the city that supports them. A loss here might haunt them, and that can go two very different ways. They’re too young to know better, and I sincerely hope that they get to stay that way.

Playing in Vegas with my own cash at stake, I found myself second-guessing moves that I would never have thought about twice in the past. It was money that I had set aside for exactly that purpose, but the brain can have expectations in direct opposition to that of the nervous system in the same way that Spurs fans can intellectually hold reasonable perspectives about how this team has exceeded all expectations and still become unmoored by the not-unreasonable desire for more.

It’s strange to be experiencing this all over again at the age I am now. I’ve seen variations of this story play out before, and I can see most of the plot points before they arrive, and yet it’s somehow a new experience all over again, except that now instead of the youth being soothed by the experience of the adults on the court, I find myself carrying hopefully anxiety for the prosperity of youth. I wonder how much more of my life will become that way.

And yet, I find that the wonderful chaos of this season and postseason has revealed itself as an ace in a soft 17.

Hit me. I’m ready for whatever card is next.

Takeways

• We have to talk about the masterclass that Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell put on against Julius Randle in this series. Prior to the series, Randle was the obvious mismatch for a Spurs team that struggles with size at Power-Forward specifically. My thought was that the Spurs should let Randle shoot himself into a hole while the Spurs spent most of their time and energy on Ant Edwards. And there’s a reason that I’m not coaching in the NBA, because Sean Sweeney pulled out his previous playbook against the Wolves, and decided to alternate sending doubles at both of them. This was incredibly affective against Randle, who had lost his favorite passing target in Donte DiVincenzo against Denver, and his inability to anticipate these doubles seemed to shake him somewhat, as he was a turnover machine and forced some very ill-advised shots. But, most tellingly, he seemed to decline taking shots at all over the last two games, as Castle and Vassell smothered him in equal measure. This was, at least to me, a big, big deal, with teams in the Thunder and (potentially) the Knicks also being capable of exploiting what I was previously concerned would be a fatal flaw. Both of those teams are now going to have to figure out a way to deal with that when/if they face the Spurs.
• As it turns out, when the Spurs three guards combine for 68 points very efficient points, San Antonio becomes an absolute juggernaut. This game served as yet another perfect example of why all three of these guards are critical to what the Spurs can do, and how they can absolutely unravel defenses with some of the best rim-protectors and perimeter defenders in the league. All previous elaboration and hedging aside, if the Spurs do this regularly, it just will not matter who they’re matched up with. Wemby opens up everything for these guards, and each one is different enough to pose varying challenges for the defense in such a way that it opens it right back up for Wemby and the perimeter snipers. Stephon Castle was absolutely irresistible in this one, but the filthy varieties of perimeter penetration from the other two had Minnesota’s defenders seeing ghosts by the middle of the second quarter, and only a spate of turnovers and defensive mistakes really let the Wolves back in the game at all.
• Carter Bryant has this really funny thing going on, where when I see him on the court, he looks amazing even when his shot looks awkward, and then shows confusingly little in the box score, and then looks almost as amazing in the advanced stats. There are some thing about his game right now that don’t easily convey, but he’s been on Luke Kornet’s level when it comes to doing the dirty work and making the effort play, and he gave both Randle and Edwards trouble while gobbling up rebounds like Pac-Man after eating a power-pellet. If that shot comes along in the off-season, I’m willing to go out an a limb and say that he could transform into a reasonable facsimile of another forward who came to the Spurs with an awkward shot and staggering athleticism. The Spurs don’t even need to draft outside of best pick available at the rate that Bryant is improving. He’s overshadowed by the majestic poise and maneuvers of fellow rookie Dylan Harper (who I personally like to refer to as ‘The Left Hand of Darkness’), but he’s doing shocking work in the postseason for someone who got very little playing time comparatively-speaking, and I think this draft could go down as one of the best in Spurs history.

Playing You Out – The Theme Song of the Evening:

All I Wanna Do is Play Cards by Corb Lund

Whoever the Knicks face in the Eastern Conference finals, whether it is the Pistons or Cavaliers, will be a team coming off back-to-back seven-game series.

Both teams went the distance in the opening round and the two will meet Sunday night in a winner-take-all Game 7 in Detroit.

The Knicks, meanwhile, will have a nine-day layoff between games by the time the next series begins Tuesday night.

Is that an advantage?

Coach Mike Brown isn’t certain.

“I’ve been in both situations, playing while a team’s waiting and I’ve been waiting while a team’s playing,” the Knicks coach said after practice Saturday. “You can say a lot theoretically. You can say they’re going to be tired, but you can also say they have a competitive edge because they’ve been going at it for seven games and we’ve been off.

“You keep trying to do different things during the course of the downtime to keep them sharp, keep them focused and try to keep their competitive edge up as much as you can.”

The break has given the Knicks a chance to get healthy, especially OG Anunoby, who has been dealing with a mild right hamstring strain.

“I know you’re eager to go out there and play, but I think it’s just good to rest, get the body right and just keep working on your craft and working on what we have to do,” Mikal Bridges said. “So, obviously there’s positives, negatives in this situation, but I just try to look at the positives.”

Josh Hart isn’t backing down from his claim that he no longer considers Philadelphia a sports town after Knicks fans took over Xfinity Mobile Arena during the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

“You can’t be a sports town if another team’s fan base takes over your arena,” Hart said during the latest episode of “The Roommates Show.”

“You cannot be a sports town if that happens. Boston? Sports town.”

He also took a shot at Joel Embiid, who implored 76ers fans to show up prior to the start of the series.

“You will never see Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum sitting there saying, ‘fans, we need y’all to come out because if y’all don’t the Knicks are gonna take over.’ They’re never gonna say that because they don’t have to,” Hart said. “Because that’s one of the places that’s a sports town, and you will not take over that arena. I don’t think you’re gonna take over the arena in New York.”

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ entire season, and maybe this era of basketball, comes down to one night: Game 7 against the Detroit Pistons.

This has been a rollercoaster of a series. The Cavs started poorly, giving away Games 1 and 2 with a combination of untimely turnovers and wilting down the stretch of both contests. Then, they flipped the script in Games 3 and 4. They were the far superior team in nearly every aspect. Superstar performances from both Donovan Mitchell and James Harden helped as well.

Game 5 felt like the signature win of this era of Cavs’ basketball. They battled back from a nine-point deficit in the final three minutes on a night their best player didn’t have it going. The road overtime win showed a level of resiliency we’ve never seen from this group.

Then, Game 6 threw that all away. The Cavs didn’t come with the necessary focus or intensity to get the job done. Throw in a dreadful performance from Mitchell and a great showing from all of Detroit’s role players, and you get a 21-point loss for the Cavs.

Now, everything comes down to this. We’ll see which version of the Cavs show up in Motor City on Sunday.

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Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (3-3) at Detroit Pistons (3-3)

Where: Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI

When: Sun., May 17 at 8 PM

TV: Prime Video

Point spread: Pistons -4.5

Cavs injury report: Larry Nance Jr. – DOUBTFUL (illness)

Pistons injury report: Duncan Robinson – QUESTIONABLE (back), Kevin Huerter – QUESTIONABLE (abductor strain), Caris LeVert – QUESTIONABLE (heel)

Cavs expectedstarting lineup: James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Pistons expected starting lineup: Cade Cunningham, Daniss Jenkins, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Previous matchup: The Cavaliers dropped Game 6 by 21 points.

Here’s a look at both teams’ regular-season impact stats via Cleaning the Glass.