Category: Basketball

After sweeping away the hapless Philadelphia 76ers last Sunday, the Knicks were able to spend the last week in a rare spot as spectators, watching the seven-game clash between the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers while resting, practicing, and rehabbing for the series. Ultimately, it was Cleveland that prevailed on Sunday night in the Motor City, finally finalizing our Eastern Conference Finals clash.

It’s the No. 3 seed New York Knicks (53-29) against the No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30) for a spot in the NBA Finals, kicking off on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Here’s everything you need to know about this matchup.

Season Recap

You know how the Knicks’ season has gone. After all, you’re reading this on a Knicks site, but just to sum it up.

After firing Tom Thibodeau, engaging in a long coaching search, and keying in on Mike Brown, the Knicks mostly ran back the same team, albeit with new faces Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele, while drafting Mo Diawara. It was supposed to be a deeper, offensive powerhouse, and, for the most part, it was. The Knicks started 23-9 and even got some hardware along the way, beating the Spurs in the NBA Cup Final in December. Everything was coming up New York as 2025 turned into 2026.

And then everything fell apart. Starting with a New Year’s Eve collapse in San Antonio, the Knicks lost nine of their next 11 games, capped off by a terrible effort on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at MSG against the tanking Mavs. The sky was falling, we had podcasters saying he couldn’t wait to blow up this core, we had loud calls for Mike Brown’s job, the defense was abhorrently bad, and the season was in a tailspin.

Then, they mollywhopped the Nets by 54 and everything calmed down. After going from 23-9 to 25-18, the Knicks won 28 of their final 39 games, powered by the NBA’s second-best defense over the final 2.5 months of the season. They swapped the disappointing Yabusele for Jose Alvarado and finished the season strong. After struggling through three games with the feisty Hawks, they made the last three games look like varsity playing JV. They then proceeded to make a talented Sixers team look just as helpless, sweeping them in uncompetitive fashion.

Coming off a tremendous 64-win regular season, expectations were high for the Cavaliers with both Boston and Indiana diminished. They were considered co-favorites in the East alongside the Knicks, even amidst the shakiness of prior postseason failures and the increasingly worrying health of Darius Garland’s toe.

A 12-6 start bled into an alarming 17-16 record shortly after Christmas, and the discourse surrounding the team was getting louder. Evan Mobley wasn’t properly progressing, the depth was in and out of the lineup, and Garland was struggling badly when he wasn’t in street clothes. Aside from Donovan Mitchell, this was a concerning operation.

All that changed as soon as January hit, as Cleveland got hot. They were 29-21 entering February, but fully sent things into hyperdrive after a blockbuster move to flip Garland to the Los Angeles Clippers for James Harden, pushing all of Cleveland’s chips into the middle for an all-in push right now. The move was a big success, as the Cavs pushed for the No. 3 seed with a 23-9 finish to the year. They lost more games before New Year’s than they did afterwards.

It hasn’t been easy for them in the playoffs. A tougher-than-expected seven-game battle with the Toronto Raptors took a lot out of them, but they were fortunate to run into a similarly beaten-up Pistons team that they similarly battled to seven games, prevailing on the road despite a blowout home loss with a chance to close it out on Friday.

Regular Season Series

10/22/2025: Knicks win 119-111 (H)
12/25/2025: Knicks win 126-124 (H)
2/24/2026: Cavs win 109-94 (A)

Two of the three meetings with Cleveland had the eyes of the entire world on them on big days. The first matchup came all the way back in October to open the season, where both teams were banged up (no Garland, Mitchell Robinson, or Josh Hart).

The Knicks took two separate 15-point leads, but the Cavs had a response to both, ultimately taking the lead early in the fourth quarter. Despite seeming to have all the momentum, a 14-0 run early in the fourth spearheaded by OG Anunoby and Deuce McBride buried Cleveland to open the season. Jalen Brunson struggled, but Anunoy picked up the slack with an impressive 24/14 performance, while Donovan Mitchell scored 31.

The next meeting on Christmas could not have started worse for the Knicks, as Cleveland burst out to a 19-5 lead early in the first before the Knicks’ second unit slowly ate away at the deficit. The home team somehow managed to take the lead at the half, but once again was blitzed in the third quarter and trailed by as much as 16 with just eight minutes to go.

A Blue Christmas quickly shifted into a White Christmas at MSG, however, as a fourth-quarter avalanche by Tyler Kolek dragged the Knicks back into the game until Brunson brought it home by finishing off a 34-point gem. Kolek and Jordan Clarkson combined to score 41 points on 14-for-26 and 9-for-15 from three, while they survived another big game by Spida (34/7/6) and a big game by Jaylon Tyson.

The third meeting came underway in different circumstances. Harden was in, Garland was out. As the season series shifted to Cleveland in late February, the energized Cavs dominated action for 48 minutes and stifled the Knicks’ offense that couldn’t buy a shot. Mikal Bridges and Brunson combined to go 12-for-36 as a balanced attack from Harden, Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, and Dean Wade proved just enough for a commanding win.

Playoff History

(Cavaliers)

1978 East 1st Round: Knicks won 2-0
1995 East 1st Round: Knicks won 3-1
1996 East 1st Round: Knicks won 3-0
2023 East 1st Round: Knicks won 4-1

Key Stats (Regular Season)

Cavaliers:
Offensive rating: 118.3 (6th)
Defensive rating: 114.1 (15th)
FG%: 48.2% (8th)
3pt%: 36% (13th)
FT%: 77.6% (19th)
Pace: 100.7 (13th)
OREB%: 30.7% (9th)
TOV%: 13.8% (9th lowest)
Points in the Paint: 52.0 (T-10th)
Opponent PITP: 45.6 (5th)
Opponent 3pt%: 37.2% (26th)
4th Quarter Net Rating: +6.8 (3rd)
Clutch Record/Net Rating: 24-18, +14.5 (5th)

Knicks:
Offensive rating: 118.7 (T-3rd)
Defensive rating: 112.3 (7th)
FG%: 47.8% (11th)
3pt%: 37.3% (4th)
FT%: 79.2% (T-10th)
Pace: 97.5 (25th)
OREB%: 32.8% (7th)
TOV%: 13.9% (T-10th lowest)
Points in the Paint: 47.8 (22nd)
Opponent PITP: 43.4 (3rd)
Opponent 3pt%: 36.2% (20th lowest)
4th Quarter Net Rating: +11.7 (1st)
Clutch Record/Net Rating: 21-13, +20.5 (3rd)

Trends:
Knicks since 1/20: 118.5 ORtg (6th), 108.2 DRtg (2nd), +10.3 net rating (3rd)
Cavs since Harden trade: 22-9, 120.8 ORtg (4th), +5.7 net rating (9th)

Coaching Breakdown

Mike Brown (NYK):
Season with team: 1st
Season as head coach: 12th
Career teams coached: CLE, LAL, SAC, NYK
Career record: 507-333 (.604)
Career playoff record: 54-42 (.563)
Best finish: 2007 Cavaliers (Finals appearance)

Mike Brown is entering the postseason as the head coach of a third different team. He’s never won a game past the Eastern Conference Finals, but he’s certainly experienced deep playoff runs as an assistant under Gregg Popovich from 2001-03 and an assistant under Steve Kerr from 2017-22, winning four championships as an assistant coach.

Brown’s philosophy is a stylistic change from former head coach Tom Thibodeau, in that he prioritizes ball movement, spacing, and a drive-and-kick to open shooters (which he calls “sprays”). He was mostly unsuccessful in increasing the Knicks’ pace, showing that the team’s slow play is rooted in the way their captain operates in the offense, rather than the scheme. His biggest success has been increasing three-point attempts, but those have slowly decreased as the season has gone on.

Defensively, Brown has been flexible in his scheme. While Thibodeau always required a true rim protector on the floor, Brown has been more willing to mix up lineups in certain areas. After starting the season with a scheme that funneled the ball towards the middle of the floor into the help, Brown switched the scheme to look to send the ball towards the sidelines after the Knicks endured a month-plus stretch of abhorrent defense, powered by other teams driving and kicking to open shooters.

Kenny Atkinson (CLE):
Season with team: 2nd
Season as head coach: 6th
Career teams coached: BKN, CLE
Career record: 234-248 (.496)
Career playoff record: 14-14 (.500)
Best finish: 2026 Cavaliers (ECF and counting)

Atkinson got his start in NBA coaching with the Knicks, serving as an assistant under Mike D’Antoni from 2008-12 before D’Antoni’s spats with Carmelo Anthony wound up leading to a coaching change. After four good years, he latched onto Mike Budenholzer’s staff in Atlanta in 2012, where he helped groom a future No. 1 seed with four all-stars. It eventually led to him being hired by the Brooklyn Nets in the midst of their deep rebuild.

That deep Brooklyn rebuild finally bore fruit in 2018-19, when a fun collection of players spearheaded by All-Star D’Angelo Russell emerged as a playoff team in a soft Eastern Conference. The tremendous progress that Brooklyn made as a franchise made them a desirable landing spot for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving that summer in the “Clean Sweep”, but Atkinson never saw them through. He was canned midway through the next season while Durant recovered from Achilles surgery.

He rehabilitated his coaching prospects as a lead assistant under Tyronn Lue in LA with the Clippers, and later joined Steve Kerr’s staff and won a championship in 2022. After JB Bickerstaff was canned in Cleveland in 2024, he has spearheaded a balanced Cavs attack for the last two years, winning NBA Coach of the Year in 2025.

Projected Rotations

Knicks:
Jalen Brunson
Mikal Bridges
Josh Hart
OG Anunoby
Karl-Anthony Towns
–
Jose Alvarado
Deuce McBride
Landry Shamet
Jordan Clarkson
Mitchell Robinson

Situational: Mo Diawara, Ariel Hukporti, Jeremy Sochan

Cavaliers:
James Harden
Donovan Mitchell
Max Strus
Evan Mobley
Jarrett Allen
–
Dennis Schroder
Sam Merrill
Jaylon Tyson
Dean Wade

Situational: Thomas Bryant, Keon Ellis

Injury Report

For the Knicks, it’s all centered around OG Anunoby. He missed the last two games of the second-round series in Philadelphia with a balky hamstring, but all signs point to him suiting up on Tuesday night. Will it look like Game 7 against Indiana two years ago, or will the eight-day layoff heal all wounds?

For the Cavs, they are pretty healthy, but are surely aching from playing 14 high-intensity playoff games in a little over four weeks. The only concern right now is that there’s a stomach bug running through the locker room, but no major player has missed time.

Broadcast Schedule

(The full schedule has yet to be released, this will be updated)

Game 1: Tues, May 19, 8 pm (ESPN)
Game 2: Thu, May 21, 8 pm (ESPN)
Game 3: Sat, May 23, 8 pm (ABC)
Game 4: Mon, May 25, 8 pm (ESPN)
Game 5*: Wed, May 27, 8 pm (ESPN)
Game 6*: Fri, May 29, 8 pm (ESPN)
Game 7*: Sun, May 31, 8 pm (ESPN)

I don’t know if there is a way to write this article on a Spurs site without it coming off automatically as sour grapes, but I am going attempt to do it anyway.

First, I will say congratulations to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He’s an incredible player who has had an incredible year. For those who remember, he was traded in 2019 from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Oklahoma City Thunder with Danilo Gallinari, five first-round draft picks, and the rights to swap two other first-round picks.

The trade is considered one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history. And the picks the Thunder acquired still haven’t fully conveyed, but the addition of Jalen Williams via the 2022 pick has been an essential piece of their success.

I will also add if I was a fan of any of the other 29 teams, I’d probably be more supportive of SGA picking up the MVP for the second year. Alas, I am a Spurs fanatic and a Wembanyama devotee and have to admit he is my choice for MVP.

But Victor Wembanyama did not start the year with MVP statistics, and the trophy is based on the entire season. I believe Maxime Aubin, who covers the Spurs and Wembanyama for the French publication L’Equipe, said it best. (See translation below.)

“Now that Shams has spoiled the news, I’m revealing my vote for the MVP award:

1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

2. Victor Wembanyama

3. Nikola Jokic

Victor Wembanyama experienced an incredible surge over the course of the season—to the point where, in my view, he became the best player in the NBA during the final few weeks. However, I believe the MVP trophy is meant to reward the best player over the entire regular season, and SGA demonstrated exemplary consistency, in addition to finishing with the best team record in the league.“

SGA was the favorite all year, and Wemby made his case in the latter half of the season. It was an uphill battle to get the voters to change their minds. I believe his making the top three was a win in an of itself.

The other difficult selling point for Wemby was his playing time. He averaged under 30 minutes compared to SGA’s 33.2 or Jokic’s 34.8. While I believe Victor does more with less time, voters often see the MVP as the player running most of the game.

So maybe Wembanyama wasn’t truly in a position to entice the voting reporters to chose him this year, but should it have been Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?

These stats suggest Jokic should have earned his fourth MVP award.

Bottom line, the league was not ready for Wemby to be MVP in the same way they weren’t ready for the Spurs to be title contenders.

And yet, here the Spurs are, walking into the Western Conference Finals against the reigning NBA champions, and the reigning two-time MVP.

How will Wemby respond? Will the stats between SGA and Victor Wembanyama in these Western Conference Finals tell a different story?

We know Wemby takes these things very seriously.

Game 1 of Western Conference Finals begins tonight. Expect a fast-paced, competitive, and often heated series.

Nothing else to say, but-

GO SPURS GO!

Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.

Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language.

Former NBA sixth-man of the year winner Jamal Crawford has been a star for NBC and Peacock on their NBA coverage this season. After spending a season with MSG contributing to their coverage of the New York Knicks, Crawford joined one of the major networks and has shined all season long.

It’s been reported that Crawford has been offered an assistant coaching position on Mark Pope’s staff and reports on Sunday led to the fact that Crawford has yet to turn down the offer — leaving the door open for him to join Kentucky for the upcoming season.

Pope and the Wildcats lost both Alvin Brooks (NC State) as well as Jason Hart (USC) so bringing Crawford fills an immediate need but also gives the Cats a likely edge in recruiting.

The problem is, though, Crawford’s son is the No. 1 recruit in the 2029 class and is currently located on the west coast. As he’s entering his peak high school years, a move to Kentucky would be tough.

IF Crawford were to join Pope at Kentucky, he would be the second former NBA player to join recently as Mo Williams was added to the staff this off-season.

Tweet of the Day

SGA!

Headlines

No. 1 recruit CJ Rosser talks fishing with UK and his MVP chase in the NBA – KSR

Could be the first big fish.

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander repeats as NBA MVP – ESPN

Mightily impressive.

MKG hid is stuttering at Kentucky; now he’s speaking to Congress – KSR

Love him.

Aaron Rai pulls away from loaded field to win PGA Championship – ESPN

Impressive win.

Jamal Crawford still mulling Kentucky assistant job – KSR

Would be pretty cool.

Scores and updates from the NCAA softball regionals – Yahoo!

The latest.

Men’s Golf Tees Off at Bermuda Run Regional on Monday – UK Athletics

Good luck CATS!

Eli Manning reveals why he refused to play for Chargers – CBS Sports

Deep dive.

Going into the 2025-26 NBA season, there were a ton of people saying that it was a gap year for the Boston Celtics. Luke Kornet, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Kristaps Porzingis all left the team in the offseason and Jayson Tatum was expected to miss most of the season with a torn Achilles. This left Jaylen Brown to carry the load as the number one option, a position that he never experienced going into his 10th season in the NBA.

Brown knew that he had to take on a leadership role from his first press conference at Media Day, making a concerted effort to mention that he had to help integrate the new players into the Celtics system to try and expedite chemistry and trust building. People were skeptical if he could lead the way for Boston but he proved all of the doubters wrong with the best regular season of his entire career.

I thought we could go down memory lane and take a look at the season Jaylen Brown called his “favorite season of his career.” This was the year we saw Brown come into his own as a leader and as a number one option, a disappointing playoff ending, and now, questions of the future loom large going into the offseason.

Regular Season Highlights

Brown finished with personal career highs in almost every statistical category in 71 games this season, averaging 28.7 Points, 6.9 Rebounds, and 5.1 Assists. He led the NBA in field goals made (736), field goals attempted (1543), two-pointers attempted (1139), and two-pointers attempted per game (16.0) while shooting 48% from the field and 35% from three point range. Brown made his 5th All-Star game of his career, is in line to make 1st or 2nd Team All-NBA, and is a finalist for the NBA Social Justice Champion.

The season didn’t start out great as the Celtics fell to 0-3 after a loss to the Detroit Pistons on October 26th, 2025 where Brown dropped 41 points. It was Boston’s worst start to a season in 12 years and Brown put out a call to action to the team after the loss in his postgame interview, talking about how they needed to be better on the glass and that the results will come with time. He also said, “It’s not an excuse, but it takes time,” when referring to the chemistry being built.

The Celtics would win 11 of their next 17 games to finish November and wouldn’t lose three games in a row for the rest of the regular season. Brown finished the first 20 games of the season averaging 28.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.8 assists but didn’t get any Player of the Week or Month awards, potentially due to Boston’s record but that would change once December hit.

Brown won Eastern Conference Player of the Week for both Week 7 (Dec. 1-7) and Week 10 (Dec. 22-28) of the season as he put on one of the best December’s we have seen. Brown tied Larry Bird for the Celtics franchise record with 9 straight 30-point games. He finished with averages of 31.7 Points, 6.5 Rebounds, and 5.4 Assists on 54% shooting from the field and 43% shooting from three, but lost the Player of the Month Award in December to Jalen Brunson. Brown voiced his displeasure on a livestream saying he deserved Player of the Month, but this was just a warning shot for what he would do in January.

Brown’s 30-point streak snapped on New Year’s Day in a loss to the Denver Nuggets, but he bounced back in a big way on January 3rd, 2026. Boston was set to face off against the Los Angeles Clippers who were one of the hottest teams in the NBA at that point. Brown came out with no fear against Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers, tying his career high with 50 points on 18-26 shooting from the field and 6-10 shooting from three.

Brown proclaimed to be the “best two-way player in the game” and he was just trying to lead his team to a win on the last day of a west coast road trip. His hot shooting from December tapered off a little bit, but Brown continued to put up big performances, including a 41-point game in his hometown against the Hawks on January 17th. Brown finished January with averages of 29.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 4.6 assists on 44% shooting from the field and 33% shooting form three.

February saw the Celtics trade Anfernee Simons to the Chicago Bulls for Nikola Vucevic as well as a ton of other depth guys at the deadline, but Brown didn’t skip a beat. He continued his high level of play with a couple big performances. One came in Dallas on February 3rd with a 33-point performance in a duel with Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks while the other came on February 22nd with a 32-point performance in a blowout of the Los Angeles Lakers.

March saw the return of Jayson Tatum on March 6th and with it, questions of “can Brown and Tatum work together” came back into the media-sphere. It seemed silly to still be talking about that point after all these years and nothing was out of the ordinary until the Celtics faced off against the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder on March 10th and 12th. These were the games that looked to determine if Boston was going to be able to look like real contenders for the title.

Against the Spurs, we saw Brown start off hot but after a non-foul call in the second quarter, he was ejected after arguing with the officials. It was an awful ejection and Brown voiced his displeasure in the moment on X saying: “This the sh*t I be talking about” and the Celtics lost to San Antonio 125-116.

The next game in Oklahoma City saw Brown put up one of his best performances of the season without Tatum and Derrick White. He dropped 34 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds on 10-25 shooting but Boston once again lost to a Western Conference powerhouse, this time on game-winning free throws by Chet Holmgren to give the Thunder a 104-102 win.

Boston was able to shake off those tough losses and start to find their form just in time for a rematch against OKC on March 25th in TD Garden. Brown put on an MVP level performance of 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists on 9-17 shooting to lead the Celtics to a 119-109 win. This game really was the moment that the NBA world thought the Celtics were going to be legitimate title contenders coming out of the Eastern Conference. Jaylen Brown proved he could lead a team even with Tatum there as Boston geared up to face the Philadelphia 76ers in Round 1 of the Playoffs.

Playoff Disappointment

When Boston was matched up against Philadelphia, it felt like it was going to be a somewhat easy matchup. The Celtics looked like they were going to steamroll the 76ers through the first four games of the series and Brown was a big part of that. In Games 1-4, he averaged 26.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists on 49% shooting from the field and 48% shooting from three as Boston took a 3-1 lead in the series.

With a 13-point lead in Game 5, Boston was primed to face off against the New York Knicks for a second round matchup, but the wheels completely fell off from here. The Celtics missed their last 14 shots in the fourth quarter to drop Game 5 and got blown out in Game 6 back in Philadelphia to force a Game 7 back in TD Garden. Jaylen Brown was going to have to carry the load by himself in Game 7 because Jayson Tatum was ruled out.

This was arguably one of the biggest games of Brown’s career and he put up a great effort, dropping 33 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks on 12-27 shooting from the field, but it wasn’t enough. Boston missed 10 shots in a row down with five minutes left in the game while Tyrese Maxey hit multiple daggers to lose Game 7 and officially blow the first 3-1 lead in Celtics franchise history.

Brown’s future in Boston?

Going into the offseason, there are a ton of potential question marks on what the Celtics will do with Jaylen Brown. On one hand, they could trade him to the Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo. They would sell high on the peak of his value for another star that could play alongside Tatum. Brown could also request a trade at some point this offseason and want to be the number one option somewhere else. The Celtics could also just keep him around and continue to retool the team around Brown and Tatum to gear up for a potential title run next season.

Trading for Giannis has so many potential draw backs for the Celtics. He would be an unrestricted free agent after the 2027 season, so Boston would have to give him an extension and I don’t think they want to spend all of that money for a player who has been injury-prone in the last few seasons going into his late-30’s. When it comes to Brown requesting a trade, he hasn’t expressed any desire to leave Boston in his most recent comments and out of all the possible places he could go, the Celtics would be his best chance at winning another championship.

Brown has ingratiated himself within the fabric of Boston with all of his charity events, pop-up shops, and other endeavors that I don’t see him or the Celtics wanting to go their separate ways. Jaylen will be turning 30 years old next season and has been the longest tenured Celtic for a couple of years now. I don’t see his stint ending with Boston anytime soon and I am excited to see what he and a healthy Jayson Tatum can do next season.

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is losing his patience with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.

On Sunday night, Brown took to his FCHWPO Twitch channel to address Smith directly over comments the $40 million talking head made about Brown’s post-Game 7 livestream. And it only took three words to get a feel for where Brown’s response was heading.

“F*ck Stephen A,” Brown said during his Twitch stream Sunday night.

Smith spoke critically of Brown on ESPN’s “First Take” after Boston surrendered a 3-1 first-round series lead to the Philadelphia 76ers, primarily focusing on the 2024 NBA champion’s comments that the year, despite its finish, was his “favorite.”

“This is why, respectfully, a lot of people say, ‘f*ck Stephen A,’” Brown said. “Because this is the type of stuff he does, and then he doesn’t recognize it. But he’s creating a narrative saying that the reason why I’m saying that I had my favorite season is because, selfishly, I had a best-performing year — not the fact that we outproved expectations. Not the fact that everybody expected us to be nothing, and we had to fight, and we showed up, and we competed every single day, and had to fight for every victory.

“Not the joy of watching our teammates grow, or not the growth of watching guys who are unproven start to solidify themselves as well through leadership, through chemistry. He maybe doesn’t understand that because maybe he’s never had to fight for nothing in his life. Maybe anytime adversity has hit, he’s rolled over, or he’s gave in.”

Smith immediately jumped on the airwaves of the worldwide leader in sports to vocalize his interpretation of Brown’s comments, portraying him as a selfish teammate. Brown averaged a career-high 28.7 points as Boston’s primary scorer this past season and finished sixth in the league’s Most Valuable Player voting, behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Dončić, and Cade Cunningham.

It was the first time Brown had ever received MVP votes, but, as the five-time All-Star reiterated, that wasn’t the motivating factor behind calling this past season his favorite.

Brown also took issue with Smith’s remarks that he should “be quiet” unless he’s “trying to get traded” from Boston.

“Did he just say I need to be quiet? Be quiet for who? Man, f*ck Stephen A. Stephen A, Stephen B, Stephen C. My offer still stands. You want me to be quiet and stop streaming. Well, I want you to be quiet and get off these networks because you’re not using your platform to do real journalism. You’re using your platform to use clickbait.”

Once Smith’s ESPN commentary hit Brown’s radar, he offered the longtime personality to stop streaming under the condition that Smith retire. Brown, most notably in recent years, isn’t the only NBA star Smith has clashed with from his multi-million-dollar throne. Last year, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James took issue and confronted Smith courtside at Crypto.com Arena after Smith used Bronny James’ struggles as an NBA player benefiting from nepotism to challenge LeBron’s abilities as a father.

Smith ran with that incident like a Taylor Swift summer tour to drive social media engagement and ESPN segments long past the expiration date, encapsulating the broader issue athletes have raised with members of the media and the current landscape.

Smith continued toeing the line and moving the goal posts, speaking with what appeared to be rift-creating undertones by highlighting Tatum’s appearance on “First Take” while questioning why he never joined his running mate Brown on his Twitch channel. Brown caught that right away and called it out, questioning why the face of ESPN, rather than breaking down the game and his performance specifically, was instead fixated on speculating about the relationship between Brown and Tatum.

That especially rubbed Brown the wrong way.

“That last statement took the cake,” Brown responded. “Like, you’re talking about JT coming on my stream. What did that have to do with anything? It’s the same conversation we had before. You’re supposed to be doing journalism. You’re supposed to be talking about the game and sports — my performance. Cool. We blew a 3-1 lead. I understand, I can take accountability for that. That’s fine. But when you start bringing this other stuff up, and you don’t see how that line is getting crossed, when you talk about other people’s families, and you talk about other people’s character, and you talk about other people’s personal lives, etc., and you cross that line, and you don’t think somebody gonna cross that line back? Boy, you crazy as hell.”

For years, Smith and ESPN have moved away from traditional sports coverage — and its standards — leaning instead on hot-take fodder by using the biggest teams and athletes for debates, most of which aren’t rooted in anything beyond social media chatter. Smith has been a central figure in that shift, frequently using athletes such as Brown to drive viewership for clips in a way similar to a YouTuber, while pushing most of journalism’s rules of thumb to the side.

In 2024, before Brown and the Celtics won the NBA Finals, Smith stated that Brown was “not liked” among his NBA peers due to issues with his ego and attitude. Brown responded on X, calling for Smith to “state (his) source,” before the two later had a sit-down interview to clear things up.

“You ain’t nothing but a cozy fire in a burning down house,” Brown added.

Brown doubled down on his offer to Smith and the proposal of removing him from his seat to restore “integrity” within journalism as a whole.

“Tell this motherf*cker to retire, because he’s the face of clickbait media,” Brown said. “And maybe with his retirement, we can spark a movement to get the rest of these motherf*ckers outta here or to also have some type of — forget journalistic integrity — actual integrity.”

The basketball world has been expecting the San Antonio Spurs to meet the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. Both teams took care of business in the first two rounds to face off in one of the most highly anticipated matchups in recent memory.

For the first time in the playoffs, the Spurs will start the series on the road. San Antonio split their games in OKC this year. The Spurs were 4-1 against the Thunder in the regular season. You can essentially throw out the regular-season matchups between these two teams, as most of them were not played at full health, and both teams are a lot better since the last time they played each other. The Thunder are undefeated in the playoffs so far, and the Spurs have been at another level since February.

San Antonio has played well on the road in the playoffs, going 4-1. Stealing a game in Oklahoma City is going to be a tall task, but this team has stepped up to every occasion so far this postseason. Winning Game One in this series would be a major feat and would signal that the Spurs can seriously win this series.

San Antonio Spurs (0-0) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (0-0)

May 18th, 2026 | 7:30 PM CT

Watch: NBC / Peacock | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)

Spurs Injuries: De’Aaron Fox – Questionable (ankle), Luke Kornet – Questionable (foot)

Thunder Injuries: Thomas Sorber – Out (knee)

What to watch for:

Limiting turnovers

The Thunder’s best offense is their defense. When OKC can turn teams over, they get a lot of open shots in transition. They forced 16.7 turnovers in the regular season. They are excellent at playing physical at the point of attack and getting into passing lanes to force steals. They’ll want to do this a lot against San Antonio, because scoring in the half-court against Victor Wembanyama will be difficult. Producing easy looks in transition will be a priority for OKC.

The Spurs can be susceptible to turnovers, primarily when facing extreme physicality on the perimeter. Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama can do a bit too much with the ball when pressured, leading to turnovers on the other end. When they beat OKC in the regular season, the Spurs kept the turnovers low. They’ll need to take care of the ball to give themselves a chance to win this series.

Three-point shooting

The recipe for beating the Thunder in the regular season was not letting them get easy looks inside and forcing some of their so-so shooters to beat you from deep. If Alex Caruso or Lu Dort took a lightly contested three, that was a win for the Spurs. If those players are hitting shots, defense becomes much harder for the Spurs. Alternatively, San Antonio will need to hit their three-point shots to keep OKC honest. The Thunder will direct a lot of defensive attention to Wembanyama in half-court offense. Guys like Julian Champagnie and Devin Vassell can provide some relief if they hit shots.

Wemby vs. Chet

It’s the rivalry that everyone says isn’t a rivalry. Wembanyama wants to destroy Chet Holmgren every time he steps on the basketball court. Anyone watching can understand that, no matter what they say off the court. This is the highest stakes competition Wembanyama has faced Holmgren in since FIBA play. It’s going to be interesting to see how that chip on Wembanyama’s shoulder manifests itself in this series.

Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30, fourth in the Eastern Conference) vs. New York Knicks (53-29, third in the Eastern Conference)

New York; Tuesday, 8 p.m. EDT

LINE: Knicks -6.5; over/under is 216.5

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Knicks host first series matchup

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks host the Cleveland Cavaliers to start the Eastern Conference finals. New York went 2-1 against Cleveland during the regular season. The Cavaliers won the last regular season matchup 109-94 on Wednesday, Feb. 25 led by 23 points from Donovan Mitchell, while Jalen Brunson scored 20 points for the Knicks.

The Knicks are 35-17 against Eastern Conference opponents. New York has a 9-4 record in one-possession games.

The Cavaliers have gone 33-19 against Eastern Conference opponents. Cleveland is second in the Eastern Conference scoring 119.5 points per game and is shooting 48.2%.

The Knicks' 14.2 made 3-pointers per game this season are the same per game average that the Cavaliers give up. The Cavaliers are shooting 48.2% from the field, 2.2% higher than the 46.0% the Knicks' opponents have shot this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Brunson is averaging 26 points and 6.8 assists for the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 17.4 points over the last 10 games.

James Harden is averaging 23.6 points and eight assists for the Cavaliers. Mitchell is averaging 26.2 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 44.4% over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Knicks: 8-2, averaging 120.4 points, 44.7 rebounds, 26.2 assists, 8.5 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 51.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 101.0 points per game.

Cavaliers: 6-4, averaging 111.1 points, 42.4 rebounds, 22.5 assists, 7.7 steals and 5.9 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.6 points.

INJURIES: Knicks: OG Anunoby: day to day (hamstring).

Cavaliers: Larry Nance Jr.: out (illness).

___

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

The Cleveland Cavaliers thrashed top seeds the Detroit Pistols 125-94 in their series decider to secure a place in the NBA Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2018.

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points, Sam Merrill and Jarrett Allen 23 and Evan Mobley 21 for the Cavaliers, while Daniss Jenkins was the Pistons' highest scorer with 17.

Cleveland, who lost the first two games of the series, raced into a 20-point lead in the first half before wrapping up a 4-3 series win at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

The fourth seeds will face third seeds the New York Knicks for a place in the NBA Finals, with game one at Madison Square Garden in New York at 01:00 BST on Wednesday.

"This is fantastic. But we've got to be more disciplined," Mitchell said.

"We shouldn't have to wait to get hit, to get punched in the mouth and face a go-home situation."

Detroit, who finished the regular season with a 60-22 record, have not reached the Eastern Conference finals since 2005.

The Cavaliers or Knicks will play the Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.

The Western Conference finals begin at 01:30 BST on Tuesday in Oklahoma.

Gilgeous-Alexander wins second straight MVP

Oklahoma guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the 14th player in NBA history to win back-to-back Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards.

The 27-year-old is the first player to do so since Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic in 2021 and 2022, and the first guard since Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry in 2015 and 2016.

"It's special - not really for me personally but more so for the city and organisation," Gilgeous-Alexander said.

He received 83 first-place votes and won with 939 points in a ballot of 100 voters.

Jokic finished second and Spurs centre Victor Wembanyama third.

After signing a four-year contract extension worth a reported $285m (£214m) in the off-season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.1 points, 6.6 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 68 games as Oklahoma finished the regular season with a 64-18 record.

• NBA fixtures & results

DETROIT — One game changes everything.

Judgment day has been delayed as the Cleveland Cavaliers ran the Detroit Pistons out of their own building in a lopsided 125-95 Game 7 victory.

For the first time since 2018, the Cavs are heading to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Cavaliers went all-in on this core when they traded Darius Garland — who admitted after the season that his toe still wasn’t right — for a decade-older James Harden. It’s too early to say the gamble has completely paid off. We can at least say they’ve reached the minimum for this season not to be labeled a disaster.

This team took a step forward this postseason.

Going into training camp, head coach Kenny Atkinson wrote 11-15 on a whiteboard. That was the Cavs’ postseason record in the previous three seasons.

The current version that won tonight was comprised mostly of the same players as those previous teams, but this group is different.

They faced adversity and responded in a way that we simply haven’t seen before. After falling behind 0-2 against a 60-win team, they strung together three impressive victories that showcased different skills. And then, after a demoralizing Game 6 loss that was all too reminiscent of previous postseason collapses, they responded with a win that showed that this team is, in fact, not the same.

That difference starts with their star player.

“It’s been almost a decade of running into the same issue,” Donovan Mitchell said after Game 7 when asked what it means to get to the conference finals. Some of those issues were self-inflicted. Some weren’t.

Before the game, Kenny Atkinson said that Mitchell being more of a playmaker has been an emphasis this postseason, even though this hasn’t come to fruition yet. He wanted Mitchell to “hit singles” and make the easy pass.

Mitchell did that. He picked up three helpers in the first three minutes of the game by easily reading where the help defense was coming from and then making the pass to the open man.

When he’s doing that, the game opens up for him and everyone else — especially the bigs.

Atkinson had dinner with Dan Gilbert on Saturday night, and he gave Atkinson some advice: “The spark for this is Jarrett Allen.”

This resulted in Atkinson drawing up the first play for Allen, and the rest is history.

Allen finished off a few easy dump-offs in the paint in the opening three minutes, two of which came from Mitchell.

The more you feed Allen, the more force he plays with. We saw that as he continually attacked the basket in the short roll and around the rim. And when he’s playing with that energy level on offense, he carries it over to the defensive end as well.

“His energy, his effort, rebounding, drawing contact wherever he played like that,” Evan Mobley said. “It’s a whole different team for us.”

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Allen played with an edge that we don’t typically associate with him. He repeatedly took it to Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart, and Paul Reed, pushing them off their spots. Allen was the aggressor until he finished with 23 points and seven rebounds.

After being the star of two straight Game 7’s, maybe it’s time to bury the notion that Allen can’t come up big in the playoffs.

“This is just who he is,” Mitchell said. “He was phenomenal for us, even before I got here. I’m glad people are starting to see how he really is.”

Once one big is attacking inside with that much force, it makes it easier for the other one to get going.

Mobley has consistently elevated his game this postseason. That continued as he was forceful in his attacks on the basket both as a roller and off-the-dribble. He did this while keeping his eyes up and looking for his teammates, which allowed him to finish with six assists.

The Cavs are an inside-out team. If they’re able to get to the basket, the three-ball opens up.

Sam Merrill was the biggest beneficiary of this as he knocked down four triples in the first half when the game was still up for grabs. That took the life out of a building that was already on oxygen at that point in the game.

“He was unbelievable,” Atkinson said. “We weren’t rolling until he came in the game.”

Merrill ended the night with 23 points on 5-8 shooting from three.

This was an all-around impressive team performance that was made possible by Mitchell’s approach.

He didn’t punch the ticket to his first-ever conference finals by dominating the ball scoring at an impressive clip. Instead, it was because he did all the little things he hadn’t done at a high level in any of his previous postseason runs with the team.

This was the most complete game we’ve seen from Mitchell, considering the moment. He was helpful in every facet of the game.

Mitchell’s willingness to move the ball only made it easier for him to score. He had a playoff-high eight assists. The threat to pass to one of the bigs or kick it out to a shooter in the corner forced Detroit’s defenders to stay home, which opened up driving lanes to the basket, as evidenced by his 26 points on 10-22 shooting.

This was paired with Mitchell being a disruptive defender. He was forceful at the point of attack, and he held up well when switched onto Cade Cunningham or one of Detroit’s forwards. This was in addition to being helpful off-ball as he picked up a steal and a block.

This performance was fitting. Mitchell has been the steadying force all year. He’s the reason why the Cavs were in a position to do anything in the first place.

“He kept this thing together,” Atkinson said. “When things weren’t going great, he was the beacon, the light, his leadership carried us on the court. … And when things weren’t going great, he was the person everyone looked to his positivity. I would have said this even if we lost.”

Mitchell has all the talent in the world, which typically only shows through in his incredible scoring. However, games like this show you that he could be the best guard in the league if he consistently made an effort like this on all aspects of the game.

The New York Knicks will be a formidable matchup, but not an impossible one. If you can get this version of Mitchell, the one that’s locked in defensively and trying to find his teammates for open looks, the Cavs have a good chance of winning the conference.

The Golden State Warriors will have a decision to make after securing the No. 11 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

The organization appears to be on the backend of its championship run years, with aging players such as Stephen Curry and Draymond Green on the roster.

The Warriors could either use the pick to address a need or focus on their future.

If the Warriors use the pick, it will be the first time the organization has drafted a player since 2023, when the team picked Brandin Podziemski.

Green and veteran center Al Horford will have player options to return to the team. Forward Kristaps Porzingis and guard Gary Payton II will be among the top unrestricted free agents.

Here are predictions from sports experts in their mock drafts for the Golden State Warriors:

NBA MOCK DRAFT: Whose stock is rising, falling after scouting combine?

Jaylen Brown’s ongoing feud with Stephen A. Smith isn’t going anywhere — and the Celtics star only added to it Sunday night.

Brown, who was streaming to Twitch his followers, analyzed a clip where Smith talked about him on “First Take” and doubled down on his call for Smith to retire.

“F–k Stephen A,” Tatum said, according to video clips from the stream. “Stephen A, Stephen B, Stephen C. Like my offer still stands: You want me to be quiet and stop streaming, well I want you to be quiet and get off these networks. Because you’re not using your platform to do real journalism.”

The beef between the two high-profile names in sports and sports media dates back to the end of Boston’s season, when Brown — tasked with being the Celtics’ anchor for most of the year until Jayson Tatum returned — called it his “favorite” of his career.

Smith then said Brown “needs to be quiet” and “go on vacation” unless he was trying to get traded, which then prompted Brown to write in an X post that he’ll be quiet when Smith retires.

Warning: Adult Language

Celtics star Jaylen Brown goes OFF on Stephen A Smith for questioning why Jayson Tatum wasn’t on his stream and making his own narratives about why the 2025-2026 Celtics season was JB’s favorite

“What type of journalism is this?… F*CK Stephen A… My offer still wants. You… pic.twitter.com/XAqaJ6YJYZ

— Slime (@ItsKingSlime) May 18, 2026

“Tell this motherf–ker to retire because he’s the face of clickbait media at the point,” Brown said Sunday while streaming, “and maybe with his retirement we can spark a movement to get the rest of these motherf–kers out of here — or to also have some type of … forget journalistic integrity, actual integrity in order to hold themselves accountable to the bulls–t takes they put out.”

Brown collected a career-best 28.7 points per game during the regular season and made a fourth consecutive All-Star Game, but the Celtics, even with Tatum back in the lineup, were bounced in the first round by the 76ers.

He was also fined $50,000 for criticizing referees while on his livestream following their season-ending loss to Philadelphia, claiming that the officials have an “agenda.”

So instead of another deep playoff run, and instead of another chance to win another championship with the current core, Brown’s saga with Smith began.

And after the latest exchange Sunday, it doesn’t seem to be something that’ll disappear quickly.

DETROIT (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points, Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill each added 23 and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons 125-94 on Sunday night in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

The fourth-seeded Cavaliers ousted the East’s top seed and will face the third-seeded New York Knicks. Game 1 of that series tips off Tuesday in New York.

Evan Mobley had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 2018 and the ninth time in team history. It’s their deepest run since LeBron James’ final season with the franchise.

“We didn’t just come here just to win a goal,” Mitchell said about making the conference finals for the first time in his career.

“Even last year. when we lost to Indiana, we had our goals set on getting to the (NBA) Finals. We’re just one step closer. It’s been almost a decade of running into the same issue. … As a team, we can breathe a little bit, but the same token, we can only breathe for about 12 hours, and then get right back to it.”

Daniss Jenkins scored 17 points, and Cade Cunningham and Duncan Robinson each finished with 13 for the Pistons, who fell one win shy of their first conference finals appearance since 2008 after forcing the deciding game with a Game 6 victory Friday night.

“That game sucked,” said Cunningham, who was held 16 points under his playoff average. “Being back home, wanted to get this win in front of our fans. It reminded me of last year, losing on home court. It’s not a great feeling.”

The Cavs dictated the pace from the opening tip and never allowed the Pistons to gain traction, then blew open a convincing Game 7 performance when Mitchell scored 15 in the third quarter.

Detroit was outscored in the paint 58-34 and made only 35.3% of its field goal attempts, compared to Cleveland’s 50.6%

“When we play with force, it’s really a key. Like, force on both ends with our talent, we’re really hard to beat,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. “The question we got to answer, we talked about it a lot, is we can’t have force letdowns like Game 6, where we were not the forceful team. But tonight we were, that was a whole difference, our force on both ends.”

Cleveland capitalized on cold shooting by the Pistons in the opening quarter, turning missed shots into transition baskets while building an early advantage. The Cavs led 31-22 going to the second, and after Detroit had the first two baskets, Cleveland quickly seized control with a 24-9 run. The Pistons’ offensive struggles only deepened and the Cavs continued to shoot efficiently as they built a commanding 64-47 lead into halftime.

The Cavs kept rolling in the second half and led by as much as 35 points. The closest the Pistons were able to get in the half was within 17 in the third quarter.

“We knew that start was monumental, the start that they knew that we were here, and that we were going to give them some problems,” Atkinson said. “The beginning of the game, that was key, and then coming out of halftime was the same message: ‘We got to win this first five minutes to put them on their on their heels.’”

The Cleveland Cavaliers watched the Fro dominate another Game 7, beating the Detroit Pistons and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.

All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.

Donovan Mitchell

26 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 0 turnovers

I said it in my recap. I repeated it in winners and losers. And, I’ll say it one more time.

I think we just watched the best and most mature game of Donovan Mitchell’s playoff career.

He didn’t unload the clip and go down swinging like years past. No, Mitchell started the game with three straight assists, working his way downhill and giving it up to his teammates to set the tone. The Cavs’ offense flowed methodically through Mitchell as he weaved in and out of possessions without ever dominating the ball.

Mitchell was a playmaker, only until the perfect moment for him to seize full control arrived. He scored 15 points in the third quarter, building a huge lead and slamming the door on any realistic chance of a Pistons comeback.

Grade: A+++

James Harden

9 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 turnover

This is the first game of the series where I didn’t notice Harden. That’s… actually a good thing.

Harden shot 2-10 from the floor and 0-6 from downtown. That could be frightening in other circumstances. But he only turned it over once, and dished out 6 assists while comfortably playing without the ball. The process was better than the results, and the Cavs finally gave him enough support to where this type of performance can somehow register a plus-30 in the boxscore.

Grade: C+

Evan Mobley

21 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks

Evan Mobley has grown up quite a bit in this postseason. He gradually found his stride versus Toronto and showed every bit of that growth in Game 7 against the Pistons.

Mobley once again dipped his hands in every cookie jar tonight. He did a little bit of everything, dominating the paint, dishing out assists, and shutting down numerous Detroit possessions with his defensive versatility. The numbers from his last four games of the series say it all.

Grade: A+

Jarrett Allen

23 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block

What more can I say?

The lights don’t get brighter than Game 7. Allen has seemed totally unbothered by the stakes this postseason, matching or exceeding any physicality that’s thrown at him. He muscled Jalen Duren out of bounds and forced a jumpball at one point in this game — only to later punish the rim with consecutive dunks in the third quarter.

The Cavs play their best basketball when Allen does stuff like this. Let’s keep that going and officially exorcise some demons in Madison Square Garden.

Grade: A+

Dean Wade

5 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist

Wade was moved out of the starting lineup in favor of Max Strus. That worked out well for the Cavs, and Wade himself. He looked more comfortable with less pressure on him coming off the bench. Wade nailed his first three-point attempt and then cut to the rim for a tough finish shortly after.

Grade: B+

Max Strus

9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals

This grade is vibes-based. Nothing I tell you about his box score will accurately represent the impact Strus had. I’ll focus on the way he battles for every loose ball, getting his hand on nearly every available rebound, even if he doesn’t secure it himself.

Grade: A–

Dennis Schroder

2 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 turnovers

This is the type of game you want from Schroder. Obviously, being part of a 30-point win makes that easy to say. But Schroder was steady through the night, keeping the offense flowing while being a pest defensively. He didn’t step outside of his comfort zone, and that’s worth a lot.

Grade: B

Sam Merrill

23 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal

Merrill finally found his groove, burying the Pistons in Game 7 with his three-point shooting. He connected on four triples in the first half and bent Detroit’s defense out of shape the rest of the way. His shooting forced them to stay attached, and that opened the floodgates for everyone else.

He also took a TOUGH charge on Ausar Thompson in the first half. He earns credit just for getting back up after that.

Grade: A+++

The Cleveland Cavaliers did it again, capping off a thrilling series by crushing their opponent in Game 7. Credit to the Detroit Pistons — but the Cavs are all winners tonight.

Let’s go over today’s winners.

WINNER – Donovan Mitchell

The best players in the league aren’t immune to criticism — they respond to it.

This game started with a good omen. Donovan Mitchell drove downhill twice in a row, using his gravity to draw multiple defenders before throwing a pair of dimes to Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. In just a handful of minutes, Mitchell exceeded his assist total from the previous game and showed a ‘pass first’ mentality that hasn’t been present throughout the postseason.

Mitchell had 6 assists by halftime, already more than he’d collected in any game this postseason. He’s taken flak for his process in the playoffs. He hasn’t always struck the correct balance between scoring and playmaking. That wasn’t an issue tonight. He set the table throughout Game 7, and his teammates had a feast.

There’s value to hitting singles. Safe plays that get a runner on base and apply pressure on a defense can turn into runs. Mitchell took that approach tonight, giving up the ball early and trusting the offense to flow into a quality shot. That made all the difference.

The Cavs had a comfortable lead going into halftime, but the game was far from over. We’ve seen the Pistons claw back to avoid elimination four times already this postseason. I think Mitchell understood what was at stake — and promptly stepped on their throat to close it out. He erupted for 15 points in the third quarter, getting to the basket and making sure there’d be no more resurrections.

Mitchell entered this game with his legacy on the line, and left it with arguably the most sustainable version of a masterclass that we’ve seen from him in the playoffs. Spida ends with 26 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, and 0 turnovers.

WINNER – Sam Merrill

Detroit let the wrong one in.

The Pistons had managed to avoid a full-on Sam Merrill invasion throughout the previous six games of this series. He’d been kept in a box, unable to break free and do any significant damage from behind the arch. Detroit probably wishes that it could have remained true for one more game.

Merrill started the game by burying his first three-pointer from the corner. A moment later, he drilled another one from the same spot. Add two more three’s, including a four-point play, and Merrill had conjured a game-high 15 points in the first half on 4-6 three-point shooting.

Sammy finished with 23 points.

Take that, Ausar Thompson.

WINNER – The Bigs

Physicality? We got that. Toughness and mental resilience? Check. The Cavs bigs have taken your narratives, crumpled them up, and stuffed them into the trash over Jalen Duren’s head

Allen and Mobley aren’t your typical bruising bigs. But the idea that they can’t handle playoff physicality has been thoroughly debunked in two rounds. They bested an immensely physical Raptors team in the first round, then did it again to a Pistons team that prides itself on toughness.

Cleveland’s bigs set the tone immediately in Game 7, combining for 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists in the first half. If you remember, Allen had 22 points and 19 rebounds himself in Game 7 versus the Raptors. Dominating multiple games where the lights are brightest should earn Allen (and Mobley) a ton of goodwill moving forward.

Allen finished tonight with 23 points and 7 rebounds. Mobley added 21 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

Mobley racked up 20 stocks in the final four games of the series. Monster.

Of course, all of that charitability can be erased quickly. This is a ‘what have you done for me lately’ type of business. But we’d be mistaken not to congratulate the bigs for stepping up to the challenge multiple rounds in a row. The season would be over if it weren’t for them.

Mitchell Robinson provides the ultimate test on Tuesday.