Well, here we are. Detroit Pistons face an elimination game against the Orlando Magic. Winner goes to the second round to face either the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Toronto Raptors. The loser’s season is done. No pressure. A win at Little Caesars Arena adds a little more myth to what has been, for lack of a better word, a magical season. A loss ends a season a starts a critical offseason where this team must determine how to turn promise into contention. We will soon know which path this team is taking. But it’s never been an easy path, so expect 48 minutes of misery and hope it ends with a bit of exhilaration.

Game Vitals

When: 3:30 p.m. ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Watch: ABC
Odds: Pistons -8.5

Projected Lineups

Detroit Pistons (3-3)

Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Orlando Magic (3-3)

Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bane, Jamal Cain, Paolo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr

Round two of the NBA playoffs starts tomorrow, and the Minnesota Timberwolves are once again the underdogs. Whether that’s rightfully so or just another time the public narrative is disrespecting the Wolves, we’ll find out starting Monday night. Even though this is on short notice, there’s still time to hear from you and give you a chance to write some receipts.

It’s time for Canis Pulsus Vol. 49 – Playoff Round 2 Predictions!

Welcome to Canis Pulsus Vol. 49!

For those of you who have been ignoring this series since the 2021 season — Canis Pulsus is designed to give our Canis Hoopus community a published voice.

A pulse, if you will.

We all know that if CH occupied all seats of the Minnesota Timberwolves front office, we would be celebrating our 36th consecutive championship this year. But for now, it’s time for us to exercise our right vote. How would you grade the performance of our pups?

It’s a simple concept, really. Just submit your vote as honestly or sarcastically as you would like. All individual submissions will remain anonymous so no one will know if you were the one voter who picked Spurs in four Once the polls close, the results as a whole will be published on Canis Hoopus and (in theory) be posted on ESPN’s front page next to all the naysayers.

Canis Pulsus Vol. 49 – Playoff Round 2 Predictions

Vote link:
https://forms.gle/SupyvNtQ593MQtuZ6

*Voting ends Sunday, 5/3*

1. What will be the result of round two vs San Antonio Spurs matchup?
2. The key for the Timberwolves to defeat the Nuggets is…
3. My hot take from the Wolves-Nuggets series is…
4. The Timberwolves season will be a success if…
5. With the first round of the playoffs over, my feelings on the direction of the Timberwolves are…

Link to previous Canis Pulsus results

After playing 36 minutes of solid basketball, the Sixers found themselves in a position all too familiar at the end of a playoff game. As dominant as Joel Embiid was offensively, he was showing signs of running out of gas down the stretch. To check off all the boxes, he had already gone back to the locker room with an injury scare.

With 3:49 left in the game, the Celtics again cut the Sixers lead to one as deja vu sank in: a winnable playoff game had turned into immense heartbreak as no one other other than Embiid could get the Sixers over the finish line. Just like Game 7s in 2019 and 2021, the Sixers rested their hopes on Embiid’s broken body carrying them across the finish line.

Tyrese Maxey’s last field goal had come at the end of the third quarter. He only had two points from the line in the fourth and, to make matters worse, he had just smoked a wide open layup a few possessions ago.

After both teams clanked a couple jumpers off the rim, Maxey found himself with the ball at the top of the key. A screen came for a pick-and-roll, and with it the switch Maxey was looking for on Neemias Queta.

The Sixers would come up with another stop and Maxey hunted the same matchup again, zooming by Queta and Jaylen Brown to make it a two-possession game.

After another stop and Maxey took the ball again. This time his midrange pull-up didn’t fall, but he would contribute to their next and most important stop of the series.

The Celtics had killed the offensive glass when they were in control of this series. They got a second attempt to cut it a two-point game thanks to an offensive rebound. When Derrick White’s shot went off, Maxey skied up to get it, securing his ninth rebound of the game.

With 16 seconds left, all that was left was hitting his free throws. That was still an important hurdle to clear — the Sixers lost multiple season games, like one in Toronto and another against Atlanta, because Maxey wasn’t able to hit free throws to seal the game.

He hit all four attempted, completing his 10-point fourth quarter and putting the Boston Celtics away for good. Maxey finished with 30 points (on an efficient 11-of-18 from the field), 11 rebounds and seven assists.

“I just really wanted the ball,” Maxey told reporters at the podium after the game. “Early in the fourth, we went to Joel, and I just felt like it was time for me to step up, make a play.”

By doing so, Maxey and Embiid put themselves in elite company, as far as Game 7s go. Per ESPN’s stats’ department, they became the first duo to put up 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a Game 7.

Embiid is plenty responsible for shortcomings of Sixers playoff runs in the past, but he’s been let down by his supporting cast just as many — if not more — times.

This series they got over the hump not just because of Embiid’s brilliance, but his co-star finally rose to the moment as well.

First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who went through the grind of reviewing all 18 players on the Phoenix Suns roster and placing each one into a tier. That kind of buy-in is what makes this exercise worth it. It gives us real data points, helps us start forming some assumptions, and gives us a clearer picture of where each player belongs within their tier as we begin to sort out who is “best.”

Everyone has their own definition of what “best” means, and by taking the time to go through the SunsRank survey, you help compartmentalize these players in a way that makes the next step easier. Did you put someone in the ‘Pillars’ category based on who they are relative to the team’s roster construction moving forward? Or did you put them there because of the statistical impact they had on the team this season? All points of view are welcome in SunsRank. It’s the one time I deviate from my personal method of avoiding terms like “best”, “worst”, or “greatest”.

So let’s get into it. We’re moving into the lowest tier, ‘The Depth Pieces’. I define this tier as “The supporting cast. The ones who fill minutes, plug gaps, and sometimes win a game or two that no one expects. They may not grab headlines, but every season leans on players like these.”

The community put these players here, and the bottom tier consists of six players. So we’ll be ranking players 13 through 18 on the Phoenix Suns’ roster.

The Depth Pieces

Jamaree Bouyea

Jamaree Bouyea, the guy who started the season playing in the Spurs’ G League system who came to Phoenix and forced his way into a two-way contract situation. Respect. 75% of the community voted him into the Depth Pieces tier. Shout out to the 3 people who thought he was worthy of being a Pillar.

Koby Brea

Koby Brea’s rookie year was one of development in the G League, as he saw only 12 games at the NBA level. The kid has a shot on him, and he is certainly somoene who we hope rises from the Depth Piece tier to somethign more meaningful and impactful in years to come.

Let’s look at some Valley Suns numbers, seeing as he spent most of the season in the G League.

Amir Coffey

Coffey arrived in Phoenix from Milwaukee in the trade that sent Nigel Hayes-Davis and Nick Richards out. His playing time wasn’t ample this season with Phoenix, and he didn’t make the impact many believed he would. Not surprisingly, 74% of the community classified him as a Depth Piece. Chances are, as an unrestricted free agent, he won’t be with the team next season.

Haywood Highsmith

Highsmith was a buyout market acquisition and, for someone coming off a meniscus tear, someone we didn’t expect to see much of. And we didn’t. Still, it was a close race to determine which tier he belonged in. 53% voted for the Locksmith to be a Depth Piece, while 40% believbed he was a Wildcard.

CJ Huntley

The rookie who played five years at Appalachian State was a two-way contracted player. Then he wasn’t. Then he was. We didn’t see him much at the NBA level, but he put some work in down in the G.

Let’s look at some Valley Suns numbers, seeing as he spent most of the season in the G League.

Isaiah Livers

I think we all had higher expectations for Livers, but ultimately, we did not see him as much as we expected due to injuries this season. Therefore, he finds himself in the Depth Piece tier.

Now, the fun begins. This is SunsRank comes to life. Fill out the survey and decide who ranks above whom using your interpretation of the words “best” and/or “better”.

BOSTON — Late in the fourth quarter, as Derrick White’s fifth three-pointer of the night sailed through the net, Jayson Tatum turned his back to the TD Garden parquet and emphatically punched the Celtics bench with both fists.

He badly wanted the Celtics to do the improbable, to pull out a come-from-behind victory in Game 7 against a Philadelphia 76ers team that was peaking at exactly the right moment.

He badly wanted the Celtics to advance to the next round, so that he could come back and continue what was an incredible comeback story, so that he could return to the same Madison Square Garden where his season last ended in heartbreak.

But, almost a full year after he suffered the worst injury in basketball, Tatum was once again sidelined, let down by his body, ruled out of game action by his medical staff.

This time, it wasn’t season-ending, and he wasn’t writhing on the floor in pain. On Saturday morning, Tatum simply woke up with some back-of-knee stiffness that appeared to begin in Game 6, a likely side-effect of returning to action in just 10 months, quickly ramping up minutes, and battling in physical, postseason action.

“It was just unfortunate timing,” Tatum said. “But, it’s a little bit to be expected, right? I was away for 10 and a half months, and I came back, and I’m playing every other day, and I was playing 36 to 40 minutes — so it’s not unusual that something would come up. It was just kind of tough because rehab was going so well the entire time. I guess it was inevitable at some point that I was gonna have to deal with something, and it just kind of came at the worst possible time.”

Tatum said that he was day-to-day and expected to return at some point in the second round, had the Celtics advanced in Game 7.

But, as the team went ice-cold down the stretch of the fourth quarter, all he could do was watch, just as he did for the first 62 games of the season.

“It was tough,” Tatum said. “I was upset, I was sad, I was disappointed all day.”

Part of what made it so painful was how seamless his rehab had been up until that point. He came back in 10 and a half months. He averaged 23.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 6.9 assists in the series’s first six games, shooting 47.5% from the field — the best mark of his playoff career.

Everything was going exactly to plan.

Then, just like that, he was back to the sidelines.

“It just kind of really never crossed my mind,” Tatum said of the possibility of not being there for the final game of the year. “Once I came back, everything was just going so well, so to have to sit yesterday in the biggest game of the season, and just not being able to be out there and be a part of that… it was just tough.”

In the end, the Celtics’ season ended as it started, with three straight losses, and with their best player in street clothes.

Still, for myriad reasons, Tatum said he had zero regrets about doing everything possible to make his return, and that making the push to return this season was “100%” the correct decision.

In large part, that’s because going into next season, he knows that he is capable of being exactly who he was before the injury — if not an even more improved version.

“I’m very happy that I came back to be a part of this team, get back to doing what I love, to help give us a chance to compete for a championship, to prove to myself that I can get back to being the guy who I was, and hopefully better,” Tatum said.

“I was able to prove to myself that I can still play this game at a very, very high level, even not being 100% of myself. I know what I’m capable of. So, checking that box off mentally, because that was a question in my head. There was doubt. Will I be able to be the same player? Will I be able to play at a high level after this injury? Now I have proven it and shown that — even at 85% of myself. So you know, now getting an extended period of time to deload and take some time off and come back next season 100%, 110% ready, get my right calf bigger compared to my left one. So I’m excited about that.”

In addition to overcoming that mental hurdle, Tatum also feels a level of pride regarding what he was able to pull off — even if it did not result in the outcome he desired.

He knows that he blazed a trail for other NBA players with the same injury to follow, players like Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard, who have yet to return following Achilles ruptures last Spring, and more recent examples like Donte DiVincenzo.

That, in and of itself, meant a lot.

“Not necessarily from a standpoint of, ‘I’m great, look at what I was able to accomplish,‘ but to give other guys hope,” Tatum said. “Obviously, I don’t want anybody to have to go through tearing their Achilles, but in the unfortunate event that it does happen, that I can be sort of inspirational: if you attack rehab a certain way if you follow these guidelines, or do it a certain way, that it’s not, like, a career-ending injury, that you can come back, that you can be yourself, that you can be better, that it won’t take 18 months, that you can come back whenever is right for you.”

“So, I’m happy and proud of the fact that I was able to do that, and unfortunately, if somebody else has to deal with this, they can look at what I was able to do and have some hope and inspiration that it’s not what people used to think it was,” Tatum said. “And, you can come back from this, and be who you were and hopefully be better.”

For now, it will be a long offseason in which Tatum will get some much-needed rest.

At the podium, it was evident that Tatum tried tirelessly to look at the positive view, burdened by the disappointment of a first-round exit and his unexpected Game 7 sidelining.

“I get a long offseason to really get back to 110%,” he said. “I guess that’s the silver lining of it all.”

Despite growing up a half-hour from Shea Stadium as a 1980s Mets fan, I didn’t hate the Yankees. No reason to. They were in a whole other league; they never played the Mets, other than in spring training. Don Mattingly was awesome. Dave Winfield was a freak. Willie Randolph seemed nice. Their third baseman was nicknamed Pags. What wasn’t to like?

I didn’t hate the Yankees until 2000, when Roger Clemens, unable to get Mike Piazza out legally, knocked him out with a heater straight to the gulliver . . . and Don Zimmer said of the victim: “Piazza made a little man out of himself. I don’t care who knows it, I lost a little respect for Piazza.” The same Zimmer who had to have three holes drilled into his skull after taking a curveball there in 1963. Who had two seasons ended by beanballs. Who suffered a concussion in 1986 when he fell down in the clubhouse. Who brought a playoff game to a screeching halt in 1999 when a line drive off the bat of Chuck Knoblauch went into the dugout and hit Zimmer’s ear and jaw. One can only imagine the kind of poor choices a bloke with a litanty of brain injuries might make later in life (photo credit: Reddit).

Until two years ago, I never hated the Philadelphia 76ers. Growing up, they were like the Nets to me, geographical cousins of the Knicks who weren’t the Celtics, and the enemy of my enemy was my friend. Charles Barkley was a force of nature. Jeff Hornacek may not have done anything for me coaching the Knicks, but I loved watching him play. Hersey Hawkins coupled smoothness with alliteration. Everybody knows Shaquille O’Neal, and some remember Gary Trent Sr., “Shaq of the MAC,” but the original Shack was one of the great NBA names of all-time, one Charles Edward Shackleford.

So when the Knicks met the Sixers in the 2024 playoffs, after a lifetime of playoff series with Indiana, Miami and Chicago, I was looking forward to watching the most stressful games of the year against a team I had no beef with. That didn’t last long.

The 2021 series versus Atlanta was the first time I encountered another team’s chronically online fans. Hawks Twitter is probably on the low end of offensiveness, but they were so gross and rude that stuck with me more than Trae Young. Thankfully there didn’t seem to be much of a “Hawks Bluesky” scene this postseason.

Sixers Twitter is just one of several factors that curdled my affection for one of the NBA’s flagship franchises into something slightly toxic. Maybe you share some of my reasons; maybe you hate them for reasons all your own. My hypothesis: however much you hate the 76ers today, it will sink to fathomless depths by the end of this series. Why? I could give you reasons.

Reason 1: KAREN NURSE

You know what’s amazing about J.B. Bickerstaff? Besides having coached four NBA teams and won Coach of the Year by age 46? He’s faced the Knicks twice in the playoffs, lost both times, and never kvetched once. Something to be said for someone who can face adversity with a kind of quiet dignity.

Contrast that with two years ago. After Karen Carlisle’s Pacers lost the first two games of their series with the Knicks, they sent the league office a list of 78 calls they claimed the refs got wrong in those games. Then Little Ricky doubled down on the lowest and hoariest conspiracy theory.

“Small-market teams deserve an equal shot,” he said after Game 2. “They deserve a fair shot no matter where they’re playing.”

Every bleeping CBA of my lifetime has been about screwing over “big-market” teams and their fans in order to better serve the poor, tired, huddles masses out in Flyover Country. It’s infuriatingly specious. It’s dumb as shit. It’s the sports version of the NY Times sending reporters out all the time to find out what “real Americans” think of things, when those “real” Americans are always white Midwesterners who not only don’t live in cities, but actively fear them. I’m not any less real than them!

If I wanna go to Game 1 of this series and don’t have the money for a ticket, no one cuts me a break. If Miles McBride wants to make $50 million per on his next deal and nobody offers it to him, no one thinks he’s a victim. You want something you can’t have? Figure out how to make it happen or get over it, right? Yet always, the propaganda regarding what is/isn’t fair to alllll the poor wittle billionaires who aren’t quite Steve Ballmer-level.

If you can’t afford to compete with Ballmer, James Dolan and that anti-labor twat who owns the Rockets, sell the team. You don’t have a birthright to the endless profit machine that is pro sports just because you want it. For Carlisle, of all people — a former Knick and Celtic — to trot that dead horse outta the barn isn’t just offensive to us, it demeans him. Seems he’ll sell out anybody from his past just to get a little ahead today. Maybe Rick’s wealthier than I thought.

Not one to be outdone, Coach Nurse and the Sixers literally FILED A GRIEVANCE after the first two games of their last tussle with the Knicks. What happens if they fall behind this time? An amicus brief to the Supreme Court, requesting the Knicks be kicked out of the NBA? A donation to the White House Hitler’s bunker ballroom, to curry favor with the pedo in power? That may sound extreme, but the next time someone loses to New York without crying foul will be the first. Well, third. Thank you, J.B.

Reason 2: JOEL EMBIID

Like the Yankees, I was totally cool with Embiid right up until I wasn’t. He’s the greatest scoring big man I’ve ever seen (yes, over Shaq). His performance against New York in Game 4 in 2024 was up there, if not better, than anything I ever saw Michael Jordan do to them. There, I said it.

I didn’t like him trying to hurt Mitchell Robinson and various other Knicks in 2024, but I understood. I grew up watching the Knicks clothesline Dream Teamers; I can handle a little physicality (particularly when I’m not the one suffering it). It’s the narcissism I can’t stand.

Clemens could’ve stood up and owned what he did; instead he hid behind teammates making asses of themselves trying to justify assault. That Embiid could pull what he did on Mitch and walk away healthy tells you all you need to know about how much the NBA has changed. If he’d tried that s#$% on Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley or Anthony Mason, Embiid’s career would already be over.

Look at this asshole.

He attacked Mitch ‘cuz he didn’t like a non-call on the other end. He didn’t like something a reporter wrote about his dead brother, so he shoved him. If Karl-Anthony Towns was the type to mess with people, this would be the time for head games. But KAT doesn’t roll like that. So we’ll just have to wait and see what annoys Mr. Process the next couple of weeks, and pray he doesn’t injure anyone while he’s letting off steam. And if he does, maybe this time the league bothers to notice.

Reason #3: CHRONICALLY ONLINE SIXER FANS

I’ll spare you a deep-dive into this Mariana Trench of misery. Suffice it to say this lot think the 76ers were screwed two years ago and “should’ve” beaten the Knicks. They ignore the ignominy of being the only East Coast metropolis whose fans somehow FAIL TO SELL OUT THEIR OWN ARENA for a playoff game. And now Charlie Brown is all fucking full of himself ‘cuz he finally kicked the football, coming from 3-1 to beat Boston. My advice: if you’re still on Twitter (why??), leave. Now. Otherwise, hold your nose and hope from the best. But expect the worst.

Reason #4: CALLIE RIVERS

Once upon a time, the daughter of Doc Rivers (OAKAAKUYOAK), Callie, was dating Paul George. George cheated on her, impregnating a dancer. Admittedly, I’d rather bring up something George did to hurt the Knicks in the postseason to reference here. And George ended up marrying the dancer and making a family, while Callie married Seth Curry. Not quite on the same villain-level of Tristan Thompson. But the Knicks have rarely reached the postseason during George’s career, and he’s spent most of his years in the Western conference, so there wasn’t much opportunity for intersection. Then again, George was the star of the 2013 Pacers. So there’s no shortage of reasons to not like him — professional or personal.

Reason #5: VJ EDGECOMBE*

This isn’t actually a beef with Edgecombe, who’ll be All-Rookie First Team when it’s announced. He’s a fantastic, exciting player, and in interviews he seems cool. No, this is a beef with how/why Edgecombe is a 76er.

A year ago, the Sixers fell apart after being oddly praised by everyone for an offseason centered on giving 34-year-old injury-prone Paul George a max extension. Completely unpredictably, George missed a ton of time with injuries. So did Embiid. And things got ugly.

After Maxey, their leading scorers last year were Kelly Oubre and Guerschon Yabusele. So Philly embraced tanking and fell all the way to the third pick in the draft. This was a year after Dallas gave up trying the last week of the season to keep New York from their lottery pick that year, and a year before Washington traded for two All-Stars they preferred never to play, rather than continue the upswing their youngsters had them on before the trades and risk losing their lottery pick to New York this June.

The Sixers didn’t really tank unethically, the way a third of the league did this year. I’m just sick of the Knicks getting screwed by teams tanking. And don’t let the league fool you: the latest anti-tanking proposal will fail, just as have all attempts. Because you can’t fix injustice with injustice. Wanna abolish tanking once and for all? Abolish the draft!

Ahh, I know; the small-market soothsayers will cry it’s unfair, that somehow in a league with a hard cap they can’t possibly compete with bigger teams who generally hunt and staff big-name stars. Yes, if we abolish the cap, why, the Knicks and Lakers would sign 10 All-NBA players and the top five rookies available. Anarchy, eh? Could be worse. Imagine a league full of Karens.

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The Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers wrap up their series tonight in a winner-takes-all Game 7.

In addition to our Raptors vs. Cavaliers predictions, we've got the computer working overtime to provide the best NBA player prop projections.

Round out your NBA picks on Sunday, May 3, with these data-based statistical projections.

Raptors vs Cavaliers computer picks for Game 7

Raptors	Cavaliers
Murray-Boyles o12.5 points -135	Mitchell o3.5 assists -165
Barrett o1.5 threes -105	Allen o11.5 points -105
Barnes u8.5 assists -130	Harden o19.5 points -120

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Raptors Game 7 computer picks

Collin Murray-Boyles Over 12.5 points (-135)

Projection: 14.77 points

Collin Murray-Boyles has seen his role in the Toronto Raptors offense expand in the postseason, clearing this 12.5-point line in five of the six games against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Raptors will likely see a spike in possessions today when squaring off against the 10th-speediest home team in the NBA over the last five games (the Cleveland Cavaliers). This will result in an easy Over for CMB.

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RJ Barrett Over 1.5 made threes (-130)

Projection: 2.27 made threes

The Raptors check in as the second-best offensive rebounding offense in the NBA over the last five games. Offensive rebounds help maintain possession and can therefore create added scoring chances.

RJ Barrett will be a primary beneficiary, as he's also hit two or more treys in four of the six games in this series.

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Scottie Barnes Under 8.5 assists (-130)

Projection: 7.33 assists

While Scottie Barnes has been a coin flip on this line during this series, the Raptors star is projected to finish comfortably Under 8.5 dimes tonight.

He also finished the season going Under this number in five of his last six games before setting up shop against Cleveland.

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---

Cavaliers Game 7 computer picks

Donovan Mitchell Over 3.5 assists (-165)

Projection: 5.32 assists

Some books are offering the baseline of 4.5 assists, and while Donovan Mitchell projects to go Over that number as well, we're getting a better cushion for the projections here at 3.5.

The number is likely lower because Mitchell has hit the Under 4.5 in four of five games this series, but he averaged 5.7 assists in the regular season.

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Jarrett Allen Over 11.5 points (-112)

Projection: 12.93 points

The Cavaliers grade out seventh-best in the NBA, with 11.9 offensive boards per game over the last 10. Jarrett Allen can turn those rebounds into points, as Cleveland can retain possession when standing tall over the Raptors.

Overall, Allen has 13+ points in six of his last 10 games.

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James Harden Over 19.5 points (-120)

Projection: 21.2 points

James Harden has been right around this number on a nightly basis. While he came up short with just 16 points in Friday's loss, he had scored between 18 and 28 in nine straight, dating back to the regular season.

He's also averaged 24.4 points per game over the last five home games.

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How to watch Raptors vs Cavaliers Game 7

Location	Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH
Date	Sunday, May 3, 2026
Tip-off	7:30 p.m. ET
TV	NBC

Not intended for use in MA.
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Averaging 20.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, Alpern Şengün was the most impactful player for the Rockets against the Lakers this postseason.

So, slowing him down and disrupting what makes him effective became critical for the Lakers in Game 6.

In previous contests, the Lakers tried to double Şengün, which led him to find open shooters and give Houston offensive advantages they capitalized on.

The counter the Lakers went with in Game 6 was to trust their bigs to handle him in one-on-one situations. It worked as the Lakers went on to win and close out the series.

“Jaxson and [Ayton], with the adjustment we made going into Game 5, made a small tweak to some Şengün stuff this morning, those guys were just phenomenal defensively and really did a great job of protecting the rim,” head coach JJ Redick said postgame. “The adjustment we made was [Ayton] was going to guard Şengün one-on-one and we were going to crossmatch if [Ayton] was not on the floor. That allowed us to keep our big at the rim on most possessions.”

Thanks to Redick’s adjustment and the player’s execution, Şengün struggled. He had just one assist, turned the ball over four times and had a game-worst plus-minus of -27,.

Containing Şengün isn’t an easy task, and it’s even harder to do alone on an island, but Ayton did well, and Hayes also was able to defend without fouling. With no doubles, there were no open players for Şengün to find and he couldn’t score over the Lakers centers enough to force another adjustment.

“I went up to him right after the game and told him he was one of the biggest factors in us winning tonight,” Austin Reaves said of Ayton. “His physicality guarding Şengün, the way he rebounded the ball offensively, defensively. Sixteen rebounds is a big number. Just his presence and his physicality and the way that he can guard in the post one-on-one and if we’re getting hurt with something else, he can switch one through five.”

Ayton overall did a great job defending Şengün. The latter had his moments, but for the most part, Ayton got the better of him.

The key in Game 6 was Ayton handling Şengün and Jaxson Hayes matching that intensity. Ayton can’t play every moment, so with Hayes holding his own, the Lakers got good defensive minutes at the five for the entire contest.

The credit goes to Redick for making the adjustment and his players for being good enough to get it done.

This was in stark contrast to last year’s playoffs, when it seemed Redick didn’t trust any bigs and the ones who played did a poor job.

Fast forward a year later, and Ayton is thriving and the Lakers are moving on to the second round thanks to their efforts.

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

Luka Garza, Ron Harper Jr. and Baylor Scheierman started a combined 29 games all season.

2026 Coach of the Year finalist Joe Mazzulla began the Boston Celtics’ season-ending Game 7 loss Saturday night with all three of them in the starting lineup once All-NBA staple Jayson Tatum was ruled out prior to gametime with a calf injury.

Tatum, who returned in March after rupturing his Achilles almost exactly one year ago to the date, injured his other leg during Boston’s Game 6 loss on April 30, forcing him to be day-to-day.

Mazzulla decided, without Tatum, that the team would also bench starting center Neemias Queta for Garza, and add Harper Jr. and Scheierman on the wings in place of Tatum and sharpshooter Sam Hauser.

“I thought it was a couple things we saw tactically we wanted to test out,” Mazzulla said in defense of his bizarre starting five in Game 7. “Obviously, give the series a little bit of a different feel and take advantage of the roster that we had, and take advantage of the guys that can impact plays and whatnot. So that was great by the guys, and we came up short.”

There was a stretch where Scheierman did start over Hauser during the season, so that change wasn’t as eyebrow-raising considering that the latter had been struggling — shooting under 35 percent from three over Games 2-6 — for most of the series.

Scheierman also shared 20 of the 29 starts mentioned above.

But Harper, who had 11 career appearances in three seasons before 2025-26, started three of his 29 showings during the regular season, and he only played in the first four minutes of Game 7.

Garza, who had six starts all year, averaged about eight minutes per game this series and logged just over eight in Game 7 while starting at center for Queta, who ended the series with a playoff-best 73.5 effective field-goal percentage and one of the most efficient rebounders with 8.6 boards in just 21.7 per contest.

Queta, in Game 7, had 17 points and 12 rebounds in just over 32 minutes, shooting 7-for-8 from the floor.

The Celtics, known primarily for their live-by-the-three, die-by-the-three style of play, shot 13-for-49 from deep, which Mazzulla also defended post-game.

“I love the looks that we got. I love the process that we had. Hate the result,” he said.

By virtue of the loss, Philly will take their momentum to Madison Square Garden for the Eastern Conference semifinals starting Monday for a seven-game series with the Knicks.

The 76ers, who lost to the Knicks in six games during Round 1 of the 2024 playoffs, haven’t made it to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2001, where they made it to the NBA Finals behind Allen Iverson and Dikembe Mutombo.

The Knicks are favored to go to back-to-back conference finals, which they haven’t done since 1999 and 2000.

First, the title says NBA playoffs, but we have a local team playing today so I’ll start with this. The Washington Mystics play their last preseason game today at 3 p.m. ET against the Atlanta Dream. Watch Monumental Sports Network for that game.

Now for NBA playoff games, there are two Game 7s all in the Eastern Conference. The Detroit Pistons play the Orlando Magic at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC (WJLA-TV in the DMV). And then at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Cleveland Cavaliers will play the Toronto Raptors. Watch Peacock or NBC for that game.

Enjoy the basketball!

Waking up this morning was not a dream for Sixers fans, but it sure feels like that. Philadelphia’s perennially maligned basketball team vanquished the hated Celtics, mounted a 3-1 series comeback and pulled out yet another victory on the road in Boston. I can’t believe I typed out all of that, but here we are!

Let’s get right to it with my first ever “5 Sixers thoughts” column following a Sixers playoff series win over the Celtics…

Celebrating a Game 7 victory felt like a weight off my shoulders

My wife and I moved into our first-ever house a couple of days ago. We’re still living out boxes a bit. I did, of course, make sure to immediately set up the TV(s) in our “sports cave” for these Sixers and Flyers playoff runs. That’s the most important thing!

As f-bombs bounced off the walls left and right for 48 minutes of basketball, I was left feeling completely relieved when that final buzzer hit. I did one of the most freeing Twitter scrolls of my life after, cracked a cold one and listened to a live performance of “Stars” by Hum on Late Night with Conan O’Brien from 1995. I felt entirely at peace with the world. I hope the faithful readers of this website that have been checking out my work since I was literally in college did so as well.

Do not let anyone tell you that this was “only” the first round. We all deserve to be happy and over the moon about this.

The Sixers stopped getting punished on the glass

The most infuriating thing about the Sixers’ three (and only three!) losses to Boston this series was the way they were getting destroyed when it came to rebounding. The Celtics were getting offensive board after offensive board before kicking it out to their stable of shooters for yet another back-breaking three. I shave my head a couple times per week because balding comes for us all eventually, but if I did still have a hair, I would’ve ripped it all out watching that unfold.

That flipped as the series progressed and turned in the Sixers’ favor.

The Sixers out-rebounded the Celtics in Game 6 and the margin was tied in Game 7. The Sixers were able to consistently control possessions and make good on their defensive stands. For a team that had lacked even an ounce of toughness for so long, they grinded and gritted these last three wins out.

Jaylen Brown is a sore loser

Jaylen Brown hasn’t even turned 30 yet and already has a Finals MVP to his name, but his clown show postgame presser was downright embarrassing. Brown, after the Game 7 loss, complained about the officiating and the calls that Joel Embiid received:

Aside from the fact that having guys like Hugo González guard Embiid is going to lead to a ton of fouls, that’s so rich coming from Brown. The dude throws forearm shivers every time he drives to the cup like he’s Deacon Jones. He hits the Heisman Trophy pose like he’s Desmond Howard. Look inward and contemplate on this before next season, Derrick Henry!

Quentin Grimes is the exact type of irrational confidence guy that contenders need

In Game 7, Quentin Grimes went up for a posterizing dunk on the Celtics that seemed ripped from a 2003 Tracy McGrady highlight reel. He didn’t connect. If this wasn’t a Game 7 against Boston of all teams, it would’ve been hilarious to watch.

Still, Grimes was a key cog in the Sixers’ upset win over the Celtics in the first round. He played the most minutes of any Sixers reserve. He shot 42.1 percent from deep. The Sixers needed him! They need one guy (just one!) who thinks he’s much better than he actually is, but is still nevertheless talented. Can Grimes be a diet version of 2016 J.R. Smith during this playoff run? A bigger, bouncier 2011 Jason Terry? I could see him having a 22-point heater off the bench at Madison Square Garden this week!

‘The king is gone, but he’s not forgotten…’

“We’ll all know.”

Joel Embiid finally beat the Celtics in the postseason — and Jaylen Brown is not happy.

Embiid poured in 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in Philly’s Game 7 win as the Sixers stunned the Boston crowd at the TD Garden.

And following the Celtics’ season-ending defeat, Brown accused the 2022-23 MVP of “flopping around.”

“Embiid put a lot of pressure on us, on all our bigs and our guards. We didn’t really have an answer for him, Brown told reporters.

“We tried a bunch of different things. He’s a big body. He also was flopping around. He got some extra calls and they rewarded him for that, but that’s the league we’re in.”

Brown did not reference a specific call that he had a gripe with, though Embiid shot 37 free throws in the series — including 11 on Saturday. He also missed the first three games of the series following an emergency appendectomy last month.

Brown, meanwhile, was tasked with shouldering the Celtics’ offensive load with Jayson Tatum out injured in Game 7.

He scored 33 points but needed 27 shots to get there, and also committed three turnovers.

Interestingly, Embiid and Brown were seen having a friendly embrace following the conclusion of the game.

The series win is the first time that Embiid has defeated the Celtics in the playoffs after defeats in the 2018, 2020 and 2023 postseasons.

Now, he’ll shift his focus to the Knicks after New York dispatched the Hawks in six games.

Thirty-two times. That’s how many times the Celtics held a 3-1 series lead and won. Until Saturday.

The Sixers hadn’t beaten Boston in a playoff series since 1982. On Saturday night they ended that too, taking down the secon- seeded Celtics in a series Philadelphia had no business winning on paper.

The Celtics were 32-0 all time when holding a 3-1 series lead. The Sixers were 0-18 in the same spot. Both of those numbers changed in one night. It’s 32-1 and 1-18 now.

But the franchise history is only part of the story.

Tyrese Maxey & Joel Embiid

Maxey and Embiid were the first duo in NBA history to each record 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a Game 7. They combined for 17 of Philadelphia’s 21 fourth-quarter points and essentially willed this team to a victory.

Per ESPN Insights, they’re also just the third pair in NBA history to each put up 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a Game 7. The only others were Elgin Baylor and Jerry West in 1963, and Baylor alongside Wilt Chamberlain in 1970. The last time two players put together that kind of production in a Game 7 was over 50 years ago.

Maxey’s series as a whole deserves its own recognition. He’s been grinding with a decimated roster all year, playing through a finger injury and a splint, and consistently drawing Boston’s best defenders. Derrick White and Jordan Walsh were primarily tasked with slowing him down. It didn’t work. His assist to turnover ratio across the series tells the story best: 46 assists to just 9 turnovers in 286 minutes of basketball at a 27.6% usage rate. Maxey showcased elite ball security in this series.

VJ Edgecombe

Edgecombe had a strong closeout game in his own right. The 20-year-old finished with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists with a game-best +19 in a nine-point victory. Per Statmuse, he’s now the first rookie in NBA history with 20+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ made threes in a Game 7.

What made his night more impressive was the defensive adjustment he made on White. White was cooking early, scoring in double figures and hitting threes. Postgame, Nick Nurse noted that Edgecombe called his shot: “‘I got White and I’m gonna do better on him.’” The tape backed it up. White shot 3-of-13 in the second half, 1-of-9 from three, and Boston’s offense largely devolved into Jaylen Brown isolations.

Paul George

George’s time in Philadelphia has been rocky, dealing with injuries and a regular season suspension. But he’s been an impactful player since his return and was a major part of this series. He took on the tough perimeter assignments and made guys work for every shot. Offensively, he was equally impressive, shooting 55% from three on 40 attempts while averaging 17.4 points per game through the series.

Joel Embiid

Even Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla acknowledged what changed things: “What changed the series is Joel Embiid came back and they’re a completely different team.” He averaged 28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists on 44.3% shooting across his four games. His scoring carried them through stretches, but his playmaking might have been the most underrated part. He finished the series with a 28-8 assist to turnover ratio, and the turnovers being down feels just as important as the assists being up.

The Sixers weren’t supposed to win this series. They did anyway. Next up is the Knicks in the second round, the second time in three years these two teams have faced off in the playoffs.

Could it get any better?

I bet it couldn’t.

New York Knicks. Philadelphia Numbers. Bring it on.

Mike Brown

On the Game 6 scuffle and his glasses:

“When I got in the middle of it, [those thoughts] all went out the window for some reason. And the only thing I could think of was [the fact that] all I had was one pair of glasses.

“I cannot — I can’t see anything. Like, I can’t even see if you’re smiling at me or not. I’m blind as a bat. So I was like, ‘My glasses! My glasses!’ Because I didn’t have another pair with me, and it was too long, too much of game left for me to coach blind. So [the altercation] helped me because now I will carry a second pair of glasses in my backpack.”

On Robinson’s fine and playoff physicality:

“The playoffs are a lot more physical than the regular season. Stuff happens. Everybody is human, we just have to keep making sure that for us we don’t do anything that costs us the rest of that game or the next game. I applaud all of our guys, our security guys . . . and then our players because again everybody is human and sometimes things happen and to get help from everybody else is huge. Then, even our assistants. When I went and turned and looked at the bench, I don’t know what Atlanta’s bench was but I know our entire bench was on the sidelines. It’s extremely important in that situation to not have anything result in a future suspension or anything like this.”

On the double-big lineup:

“They helped us get better. We had to continue trying to think of different ways to help put our players in the best possible position to win, and part of that is how can we try to throw the double-big out there — because both Mitch and KAT are starters on any team out there. And it’s — how can you try to get those guys on the floor? Because it makes us unique with the size. How can we get them out on the floor together? And as the series went along, we started to figure it out — and based on your opponent, it may change, I don’t know. But we do feel like Atlanta helped us get better, and we’re in a better spot now because of them.”

On the need for improving no matter the opponent:

“Well, you can always get better. It’s about us. And a lot of times, it’s about us even if we know who we’re playing. There’s plenty that you can work on without knowing who your opponent is because you’re trying to get better, or sharper, in the areas that make you who you are.”

On comparing this group to past Finals teams:

“The first thing is they’re resilient because in the playoffs you’re going to have a lot of highs and a lot of lows, which means you’re going to face some adversity, so when [that happens], can you stay connected? And this group can. So the connectedness that this group has is similar. The sacrifice that this group has is similar, the competitive spirit that this group has is similar and then the belief is similar as well.”

On Brunson’s screening being on par with some elite’s:

“Steph is good, but there’s one other person. John Stockton. He was good. Especially for a little guy, John.”

Jalen Brunson

On blocking out noise:

“I haven’t heard of it. And I don’t care.”

On potentially having home-court advantage through the ECF:

“I haven’t really thought about it. It’s one of those things where you can’t really worry about. You have to control what you can control. Focus on one day at a time and focus on the task at hand. Those things you try not to think about, because you just can’t control those things.”

On using the iPad during games:

“It’s reminding myself of technique stuff, for me. Small things can make a big difference when it comes to shooting or reads. Just being able to see things and learn from them quickly.”

On playing off-ball more:

“We had done it before. The frequency we were doing it, obviously, it was asked to do more of. Knowing if I get a good hit on somebody’s defender, it puts my defender in the position to switch. They were trying to keep bodies on bodies and not switch off me, and a good screen puts them in position to have to make a decision.”

On Robinson’s importance:

“He’s more important than I think we realize, hence why we had coaches and security and players doing whatever we could to try and stop him from doing any more damage than he did in Game 6. He’s very important to what we do on both sides of the ball. He’s way more important than I think a lot of people realize.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On Robinson’s value to the Knicks:

“I forgot he wrote that on his ankle tape. I mean, Mitch is a big part of our locker room. What he does on the court, obviously I know he impacts winning, and he does a lot of things that sometimes don’t end up on the stat sheet but makes us come out with a W. So, Mitch is very vital for our locker room, for our team, and we’re always going to support him. We’re always going to stand behind him when he wants to, I guess, quote unquote ‘Stand on business.’”

On the need for resetting before Round 2:

“Just resetting. Understanding that we got to get ourselves ready for the next series. Obviously, today we don’t know, so we watch tonight, like all of us. But just making sure that we get ourselves ready to be the best version of ourselves first.”

On blocking out the East-best talk:

“Nah, we not listening to no noise. At the end of the day, we just got to continue to work on being the best version of ourselves. When we step on that court and give ourselves a chance to win every night, the only thing we got to do is in our locker room, continue to believe in each other.”

“No, no. I know you really want me to say yes, but unfortunately for you, it’s a no.”

On his day off after the Game 6 win:

“[The off day is] not as exciting as I think fans think. Yesterday was a great day to just rejuvenate the soul and mental. I just spent the whole day with my family. I took my niece to the mall in Jersey and took her to the park, took them on a pizza day, my niece and nephew. So kinda really just spending time with the family. I didn’t really do anything that people would think is exciting or anything, but to me it was the greatest day. It was the greatest thing to do on a day off, especially after a big win. I would love to celebrate it with no other people than my family, my niece and nephew.”

On his cameo in The Devil Wears Prada 2:

“It was an honor. It was an honor and it was awesome to just see the masses of work at work in the acting world, and to be able to see them just do what they do at the highest level, it was such an honor.”

Nick Nurse

On facing the Knicks:

“Listen, I think they’re very good. I think their starting lineup’s incredible, I think they continue to bolster their bench… I think they’re very, very good. I think it’s going to be a tremendous challenge.”

Joel Embiid

On Knicks fans in Philadelphia:

“I just have a message for our fans. Last time we played the Knicks, it felt like [Xfinity Mobile Arena] was Madison Square Garden East. So, we’re going to need the support. Don’t sell your tickets. This is bigger than you. We need you guys. The atmosphere that we’ve had the last couple games in Philly, especially the last one, pushing it to Game 7. We need all of it. If you need money, I got you.

“Knicks fans, they travel. They’re going to buy the tickets and there’s going to be some people that need the money and are probably going to sell tickets. But don’t do it. We need you guys. We got a pretty good chance. We’re going to need our support. We’re going to need them to be extremely loud.”

On beating Boston once and for all:

“It feels good to win. Obviously we got a bigger goal in mind. But finally beating these guys feels pretty good.”

On his knee health after the Game 7 injury scare:

“I felt great, I feel amazing. I was faking it.”

On his team’s mindset:

“We have a lot that we want to accomplish. We have a lot of work to do. No shades to the guys that have played here, but this is different. The fight is just there. I’ve been a part of some of these teams, and this team is different.”

V. J. Edgecombe

On the Knicks:

“The Knicks are a really great team. A really great team. Obviously, they’ve played together for a minute. They have a lot of great chemistry. They have one of the best starting five groups in the league and they play really hard.”

On his thoughts on MSG:

“I’ve played at the Garden. I love the Garden.”

Tyrese Maxey

On the Sixers’ confidence:

“We’ve had this weird swag about us all year. We’ve had this confidence in that we know who we can be. And, we know who we are. We have never wavered. This group has always believed in each other. This group really likes each other, and we want to see each other succeed.”