Category: Basketball

The NBA has not seen a reigning champion take its title defense as far as the conference finals, let alone hoist a second consecutive Larry O’Brien trophy, since the Golden State Warriors were cut off at the ankle and calf by the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 Finals. That’s seven straight seasons in which parity has ruled supreme, for better or for worse, and dynastic runs seem fated to be a thing of the past.

Not if one team in America’s heartland has anything to say about it. The Oklahoma City Thunder embark on these 2026 playoffs in search of historic greatness, trends be damned. And less than two weeks before the first game of the postseason tips off, you’d be hard pressed to find substantive evidence to believe their goal won’t be achieved.

Related: NBA playoff predictions 2026: the winner, key players and dark horses

Oklahoma City will be the No 1 seed in the bloodbath that is the NBA’s Western Conference for the third consecutive year this season. The last time a team has accomplished this particular feat, three straight years atop their conference? That aforementioned Warriors outfit (in 2017). And it’s rarefied air in NBA history in general: the only other teams to hold down the top spot that long, respectively, are the creme de la creme: the Celtics and Lakers’ top rosters in their storied histories, and the Jordan Bulls. Every team with this accomplishment finished with the ultimate accomplishment: an NBA championship.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, MVP frontrunner for the second consecutive year, also exists in rarefied air at the moment. He has the potential to receive both league MVP and NBA Finals MVP honors in consecutive years. If he does, he’d be the first to do it since LeBron James in 2012 and 2013. A big part of Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP case – and why he’s heavily favored to win the award again this season – comes down to his hyperreliable efficiency, something of which even James himself has taken note. Of the Thunder star on the most recent episode of his Mind the Game podcast, James said: “That’s one of the things I love about Shai – for him to play on the perimeter as much as he does, in the midrange as much as he does, and still be as super efficient as he is? It’s Jordan-esque, for sure.”

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But there’s a reason, of course, that no team has successfully mounted a title defense since the 2017-18 Warriors. It’s really difficult to do, and increasingly so as the league has become more and more talented, and as the ability to weather the war of attrition nature of the playoffs has become paramount. The mental and physical toll of an 82-game regular-season grind certainly doesn’t get any easier to muddle through after a championship, and the only Thunder with experience in that particular arena, veteran guard Alex Caruso, knows that all too well. I ask him what advice he had, if any, for his younger compatriots this summer, heading into a title defense.

“Really just trying to stay present. Each year is a different team in the league,” he says. “I tried to tell them just stay present, enjoy the moment with the team we have now, because it’s not guaranteed that you get to try and play for a championship or play on a great team every single year.”

What about the natural lag in urgency that seems almost inevitable once you’ve submitted the mountaintop?

“You fight human nature a little bit through the regular season,” he tells me. “But once the postseason starts, it’s kind of do-or-die, and that mentality, that feeling, is pretty easy to chase again.”

It’s worth noting that another notch in the “Oklahoma City will repeat” column is that, by all accounts, the young bucks on the team didn’t even really need much cajoling when it came to maintaining their focus throughout a long, arduous season. I ask head coach Mark Daigneault about the unique challenge that a championship defense presents, and how he’s steered his troop through it.

Related: Great Barrier Thief: Dyson Daniels emerges as key to unlocking Atlanta Hawks' NBA playoff hopes

“This team, to be honest with you – it is a long season and it is a grind, but this is a team that truly enjoys being around one another,” he says. “The minute they get together on the bus, it seems that their energy goes up. When they’re together in practice or shoot-around, their energy goes up. Even in games, they gain energy by being around each other, and they’ve kind of always been like that. So, that’s been a quality that’s existed independently of context.”

Daigneault also emphasizes that he encourages players not to even consider the season a “defense”, per se. “We’ve tried to look at it as a new season, that started from scratch,” he tells me in Los Angeles. “Last year was great, no one’s taken that away from us, but it’s also over. And we’ve tried to look at this season as a new blank canvas that we’ve had to paint on, or whatever you will. So, they’ve done a great job of that, and we’ve been able to play pretty consistent basketball throughout the season as a result.”

The Thunder aren’t repeat champions yet – that’s why you play the games, as they say. But between their level heads, stellar leadership, youth, athleticism and skill, they are as primed as any team in recent NBA history to get the job done.

The Lakers limped painfully into the playoffs Saturday night only to delightfully discover a miracle salve.

An opponent as mangled as they were.

Yes, the Lakers are beginning this tournament seriously hampered by the indefinite absences of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

But — surprise, surprise — the Houston Rockets showed up with a bad leg of their own, a recently suffered knee contusion that sidelined leading scorer Kevin Durant for at least the first game of this first-round series.

The result? Check out the wide-mouthed scream unleashed by the Lakers' Luke Kennard midway through the fourth quarter.

The Lakers: Loud and surprising and inspiring.

Read more:Shorthanded Lakers knock off Durant-less Rockets in playoff opener

The Rockets: None of the above.

No Durant meant no Laker problem, a potentially tough battle never appearing in doubt, the Lakers earning a 107-98 victory at Crypto.com Arena that represented the triumph of connection over confusion.

The Lakers were connected, apparently having had time to adjust to the loss of their two leading scorers, LeBron James acting as a brilliant playmaker for scorching hot shooters like Kennard, who hit all five of his treys in scoring a career playoff-high 27 points.

The Rockets were confused, Durant being a late scratch and their attack being lost without him, Reed Sheppard and Amen Thompson combining for 38 shots and a bunch of misses.

At one end, the Lakers were perfectly executing, the 41-year-old James becoming the oldest player to have 13 assists in a playoff game, Deandre Ayton missing only two of 10 shots inside, so much nifty passing, so many open looks.

On the other end, the Rockets were a complete mess, dissolving in two whining technical fouls in the third quarter that sealed their fate.

The Lakers might be missing Doncic and Reaves but, man, the Rockets really, really, really missed Durant.

The Lakers were good enough to win despite being outrebounded 21-3 on the offensive glass. They were good enough to survive despite committing 20 turnovers.

They were so efficient despite their obvious deficiencies, one has to wonder … could this one game blend into several games? Say, as many as three more wins in this best-of-seven series?

Could the Lakers actually steal this first round?

At first glance, this result could mean nothing, just one fortunate win by an injured team against another injured team, the Lakers underdogs again in Game 2 if Durant returns as expected.

However, this result could also mean everything, the Lakers gaining the confidence they need to defeat the Rockets even with Durant, this being a game that could create the kind of rich belief that could result in a deeper spring run.

Think about it. This game could be a springboard to a series win that would lead to a Western Conference semifinal series in two weeks. By that time, even though the odds are against it, let’s say Doncic and Reaves attempt to play and, even though the likely opponent would be the NBA-best Oklahoma City Thunder, who knows what happens?

It won’t happen. It can’t happen. It was recently written in this space that it should never happen, that the Lakers shouldn’t risk further injury by rushing back Doncic or Reaves, that they should forget about this season and focus on next October.

Then again … who knew Kevin Durant would bang his knee? And who knew the NBA would stretch out this first-round series long enough to give Doncic and Reaves more healing time?

Enough, enough. Let’s put a pause on all this speculation and just enjoy what Saturday’s playoff opener wrought.

For the first time since the two injuries, the Lakers were fun again. For the first time since they went 15-2 in one stretch this spring, they seemed actually really good again.

After they blew a distraction-filled, first-round series against Minnesota last season, coach JJ Redick has long preached to them about ignoring the noise and creating a singular playoff mentality. That mentality was in full effect Saturday as they played as if they were at full strength, and the Rockets were at full strength, and they were just the better team.

“You can’t worry about who is in or out of the lineup,” said Redick. “Its our game plan, our standards, it’s how we play, we’ve built toward that.”

And thus bulldozed the hapless Houstoners.

“Our guys … met the moment,” he said.

So did Redick, who deserves credit for reacting to the late news of Durant’s absence, as he and his esteemed coaching staff drew up effective adjustments on the fly.

“There’s a lot that you have to do with Kevin,” Redick acknowledged. “You scrap that and move on to all the other stuff.”

Meanwhile, the Lakers showed some seriously good stuff early, coming out firing in the first quarter, scoring on their first three shots, eight of their first nine, and eventually 16 of their first 20.

James was everywhere, moving the ball, setting up his teammates, recording an amazing eight assists in the first quarter, his best single assist quarter among his 294 playoff games. All that, and during the quarter he flew into the baseline seats striving for a loose ball.

“He displayed great vision throughout,” Redick said of James, who scored 19 points in 38 minutes and was a team-high plus 11. “We talked all week about being connected offensively. He led us there.”

The tone had been set … and continued to be set after James made a flying pin-against-the-backboard block of Thompson in the second quarter … and then he really got loud after Houston took advantage of all those Lakers turnovers to take a brief lead early in the third.

James barked at Rui Hachimura, who screamed back, ‘What?'”

Play better, that’s what. And that’s exactly what they did, Hachimura hitting a three, Kennard hitting a three, James scoring twice on back-in layups and then making a great steal at midcourt. The ferocity of the Lakers answer rattled Houston such that the Rockets were hit with two technical fouls on unbridled anger from Jae’Sean Tate and coach Ime Udoka. Then they absorbed further insult on a soaring blocked shot by Jake LaRavia.

By the fourth quarter, this game was over, leaving it to Kennard to send the crowd howling into the night by supplying three fourth-quarter treys on three attempts and making a Game 1 MVP out of Rob Pelinka.

The Lakers embattled basketball boss smartly acquired renowned shooter Kennard from the Atlanta Hawks in early February for Gabe Vincent and a second-round draft pick and … are you kidding me? Kennard was making half of his three-point attempts at the time of the trade. How did Pelinka acquire him so relatively cheap?

“I liked that he was aggressive,” said Redick of Kennard’s Saturday showcase. “There’s a snowball effect to that.”

Before this series, the Lakers had a snowball in hell’s chance of winning it.

Now? Bundle up.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

At a certain point, you have to stop circling possibilities and just make a call. Nobody enjoys that part, because it means putting something on record and living with it for the next two months.

The Celtics enter the playoffs as one of the most difficult teams in the league to pin down. They’ve shown enough to believe in a deep run, but also come with questions that leave the door open for doubt. So we asked the CelticsBlog staff to do the thing everyone eventually has to do this time of year: make a prediction and stick with it.

What is your Celtics playoff prediction?

Jeff Clark: C’s over Philly in 4, C’s over the Knicks in 5, C’s over Pistons in 6, C’s over Thunder in 7.

Bill Sy: Ultimately, I think the Celtics lose to the Spurs in six and there’s no shame in that. It’ll be a resounding endorsement of everything that Mazzulla and Stevens have built and the franchise will reload in July.

Rich Jensen: I hate predictions even more than I hate hot takes. I will, therefore, go the safe route. The Celtics are going to win another championship. I don’t think that we’ve seen all that this team is capable of. This is quite different from 2024, where the C’s showed the whole league what they were during the regular season. 

Here, the Celtics have evolved before our very eyes into a team that is peaking at the right time. They are the great unknowns heading into the playoffs. None of the other contenders have played the Celtics at full strength, they are deep and multifaceted, and they present challenges to defenses at every position on the court.

Now if the C’s don’t win, that’s fine with me because this team is still very much a work in progress, and I think there’s every reason to expect that they’ll be even better next year.

The San Antonio Spurs were projected to win 44.5 games. They won 62

Which NBA team had the most surprising season? pic.twitter.com/Rv09RCn89D

— Lev Akabas (@LevAkabas) April 13, 2026

Ian Inangelo: My playoff prediction is that the Celtics have the talent to make it all the way to the finals and have a chance to beat any team out of the west once they get there. I’ll say Celtics beat the Thunder in 7.

Mark Aboyoun: Boston gets to the Finals. I’m not sure whether they’ll win it or not, and I don’t want to jinx the team, but I feel they have enough to get back. If Tatum can stay healthy and Brown continues to play at an MVP level, they’re a hard team to beat, especially at TD Garden.

Nirav Barman: This is incredibly tough, again because of my superstitious self. I see the Celtics in the Finals this year. I leave it up to fate from there.

Mike Dynon: In 2024, we expected the ultimate high, and the Celtics delivered. Dominant regular season, never threatened in the playoffs, cue the duck boats. This year’s team was the opposite because we expected little – but Celtics culture proved all the doubters wrong. No doubt, it will be very difficult to reach the pinnacle again. 

Despite their amazing season, the reality check was a 1-3 record versus both the East’s first and third seeds (Pistons and Knicks) and a combined 1-5 against the West’s top three (Thunder, Spurs and Nuggets). However, most of that was without Jayson Tatum. And after seeing the Celtics trample all expectations over the past 82 games, this is no time to be rational. The only possible prediction is: Banner 19.

Ryan Paice: I think the Celtics either lose to the Knicks or make a run to the Finals. The Knicks have been a thorn in the team’s side since last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals. I think the C’s have more than enough firepower to take NY down, but it will be a battle. New York has the wings to slow down the Jays and performs well in clutch time, something Boston has struggled with at times in the Jays era. If Boston can overcome that challenge, they’ll ride the high right through the Pistons and to the Finals.

Gio Rivera: The Celtics reach the NBA Finals and meet the Spurs (not OKC). Officiating won’t be nearly the nuisance it was for JB back in January, and by then, Garza will have delivered several key moments/performances up to that point to earn a player’s tunnel reception reminiscent of KP’s in Game 1 against Dallas two years ago.

Grant Burfeind: I’m going Celtics…losing in seven to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a full-on Brothers Grimm ending. OKC looks like the next machine, and as much as I trust this version of Boston, I’m not totally convinced Jayson Tatum has had enough runway to get all the way back to peak form after everything he’s been through.

And if they do win it all, you’re welcome, Celtics Nation, for the anti-hex I’m casting with this prediction.

Tyrese Maxey may not be on the level of a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, or even Jalen Brunson, but in a first round series against Philadelphia, the Celtics will get an opportunity to test their top-5 defense. When going up against a great player, there are two schools of thought: let them get theirs and shut everybody else down, or cut off the head of the snake and the body will die.

For Boston, they might be able to do both.

When asked about defending Maxey, head coach Joe Mazzulla said, “He can score at all three levels. He can get layups. He can get pullup twos. He can get great separation on threes. We have to be disciplined on what we’re taking away and what we’re willing to live with and we gotta be great at the things we can control, and we need elite individual defense throughout games which our guys are capable (of).”

In four games against the Celtics, the 76ers’ All-Star averaged 30 points and nearly nine assists.  He’s a shifty guard that can surprisingly score the ball in the restricted area at such high speeds. With a pullup trigger behind the arc and a float game against rim protectors, he represents the type of player that gives Boston the most difficulty and the largest threat to upset them in Round 1.

The Celtics and 76ers split the first two meetings of the regular season with Maxey going off in both, shooting 52.5% from the field (61.1% from three). However, he benefitted from Joel Embiid’s presence on the floor. After appendectomy surgery, the big man is unlikely to play in the series, so Maxey becomes the de facto engine of Philly’s offense.

In the final two regular season games, Mazzulla seemed to change tactics a bit. In what became a common theme throughout the year, he tasked one of his young wings — Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, or Ron Harper Jr. — to take on the opposing team’s best player. At times, that meant covering any of the topflight MVP candidates, including Victor Wembanyama.

Mind you, this is a team that fields Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White.

Maxey’s counting stats didn’t change much (26 points and seven assists per game), but his efficiency dropped dramatically. He made just a third of his shots and his free throw attempts dropped.

In that November showdown, Jordan Walsh had a breakout game defending Maxey. The Celtics would ultimately lose 102-100, but that would start a 19-game stretch with Walsh in the starting lineup. He’s had a late season renaissance in March and April, so don’t be surprised if he’s the first line of defense against the 76ers point guard.

What Walsh might give up in slight of frame, he makes up for in length and measured pursuit. Maxey hit just 5-of-17 — 1-for-9 with Walsh as the closest defender — in that November tilt with the Celtics playing predominantly in drop covering and Walsh recovering off screens and using his 7’2 wingspan to disrupt Maxey’s driving game.

In the most 76ers-Celtics regular season finale in March, Scheierman took the Maxey matchup in one of his final games as a starter before Tatum’s return. Again, Maxey shot an inefficient 12-of-34 and 3-of-10 with Scheierman as the primary defender.

Scheierman has undoubtedly improved as a one-on-one defender, but Maxey’s off night might be more a victory of team scheme over individual accomplishment. As CelticsBlog’s Nik Land pointed out earlier in the week, in Boston’s fourth meeting with Maxey, they opted to ice pick-and-rolls in order to maintain their defensive shape of protecting the rim and being ready to rebound:

While Philadelphia’s offensive identity is driven by rim pressure and isolation creation from Maxey, Boston’s defensive structure has consistently shown the ability to absorb that pressure, disrupt driving lanes, and tilt the possession battle in their favor. The Celtics’ emphasis on rebounding, physicality, and versatile perimeter defenders has repeatedly translated into control over both tempo and shot volume.

Neither Walsh or Scheierman are expected to start in Game 1 and undoubtedly, Boston will throw a myriad of coverages against Maxey to keep him on his toes. You have to imagine that Derrick White will get his healthy share of reps. With their size and strength, Brown and Tatum will also match up with Maxey from time to time.

As the perceived weakest link in the starting five, Sam Hauser will probably get targeted a few times during the series and he understands the difficulty in containing him.

“He’s a really good player obviously. He’s getting close to 30 a game. What makes him really good is that he’s super fast and he can stop on a dime. That’s hard to guard,” Hauser said. “He creates a lot for his team, but we’ll do our best to make it as difficult on him. It’s not going to be perfect every time — he’s definitely going to score some buckets — but if we’re making him work for it, that’s a win for us.”

That work starts in Game 1 at 1 pm EST.

The San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trailblazers took very different paths on their way back to the playoffs after prolonged droughts. San Antonio far exceeded expectations, a 62-20 season that no one saw coming, built on the talents of a young core that appears to have skipped a step or two in just Victor Wembanyama’s third season. Portland on the other hand had a challenging season, the most profound challenge being a head coaching change in just the 2nd game of the season following Chauncey Billups being put on indefinite suspension by the NBA following his arrest in a federal gambling investigation. Billups was replaced by none other than former Spur and 2014 NBA champion Tiago Splitter. The rookie Splitter, who had only joined Billup’s staff in June and had never been a head coach before this season. has been credited with holding down the fort in Portland, leading them to both a 6-game improvement from last season and their first playoff berth since 2021. That playoff trip was sealed with a clutch victory on the road in Phoenix in the Western Conference 7/8 seed game.

Which brings both teams to San Antonio tonight for the final game of the 2026 Playoff’s first weekend. While San Antonio won the season series 2-1 and come into this series as a heavy favorite, there are still some unknowns. Most notably, Victor Wembanyama missed all 3 regular season meetings between the two squads, with San Antonio winning both games at the Frost Bank Center. With Wemby in the fold for the first time all season against Portland, in San Antonio’s first home playoff game of the Victor Wembanyama era, the Blazers will really have their work cut out for them if they want to steal Game 1.

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San Antonio Spurs (0-0) vs Portland Trailblazers (0-0)
April 19 2026 | 8:00 PM CT
Watch: NBC | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Line: San Antonio -10.5

Spurs Injuries: None

Blazers Injuries: None

What to watch for

• Tonight will feature plenty of players getting their first taste of the postseason, but Victor Wembanyama’s first ever playoff start is the main reason everyone is interested in this one. The French phenom has been everything fan’s hoped they were getting when he was drafted in 2023 and more, both as a franchise player and as a human being, so it’s not too surprising to see him leading San Antonio back to the playoffs so quickly into his career. He and Portland’s frontcourt have yet to see one another, but you can be sure that Wembanyama will make it a point to both get acquainted with fellow 7-footer Donovan Clingan early and that San Antonio’s defense is locked in from the jump.
• Tonight’s game will feature 13 players making their playoff debuts, with 7 coming from the Spurs and 6 for the Blazers. That means there could be some chaos early on as both teams look to settle the butterflies that presumably come from playing in an NBA playoff game for the first time. Being at home for Game 1 should go a long way in making sure that San Antonio is the one who settles in first. Notably for the Spurs, tonight is current longest-tenured Spur Keldon Johnson’s first ever playoff game!
• Deni Avdija has been a breakout player for Portland this season. The 6’8 small forward had a career year in his 6th season, averaging career-best marks in points (24.2), field goal attempts (16.1), assists (6.7), and both free throw attempts (9.2) and percentage (80%). It was his 41 point outburst during the Play-In game in Phoenix that kept Portland within striking distance in a tough environment. Avdija’s and-1 on a layup with 15 seconds left put the Blazers up for good.

• 2-time NBA champion Jrue Holiday might be on the back-9 of his NBA career, but the 16-year vet was a key contributor in steering the ship in Portland this season. He missed a stretch of 27 games in November and December with a calf injury, but has been on the court more or less consistently since making his return in January. Long known as one of the NBA’s premier wing defenders, Holiday’s influence on that end went a long way for the Blazers in the second half of the season, as they finished just outside the top 10 in defensive efficiency for the year. It’ll be a treat getting to see Spurs’ guard Stephon Castle face off with the experienced veteran and champion Holiday in his first postseason action.

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If you’d like to, you may follow along with the game on our Twitter profile (@poundingtherock) or visit our Game Thread!

CJ McCollum delivered a low blow to Jalen Brunson on the court at Madison Square Garden. He then delivered another one after the game.

During the second quarter of the Knicks’ 113-102 Game 1 win over the Hawks on Saturday night, McCollum was given a technical for kicking Brunson right in the midsection while taking a jump shot (he was also called for a travel on the play). Brunson stayed down on the ground in pain for a few moments.

McCollum accused Brunson of milking it.

“I shot a jumper, and Jalen thought we were at a Broadway show,” McCollum said. “He acted it out until they reviewed it. It’s a normal jump shot. Nothing there. Unnecessary, and I look forward to getting my $2,500 [fine] back.”

CJ McCollum kicked Jalen Brunson right in the midsection

McCollum received a technical foul following the review.

Good or bad call? pic.twitter.com/YPKvb2pxsG

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 18, 2026

There was clear contact from McCollum, who kicked out a bit as he took his shot, on Brunson. And Brunson appeared to be in legitimate pain.

For his own part, Brunson didn’t make much of the play.

“It wasn’t purposeful,” Brunson said, “so we move forward.”

McCollum was actually the Hawk who most hurt the Knicks, finishing with 26 points.

The Los Angeles Lakers shrugged off their injury worries to make a winning start to the NBA play-offs.

The 18-time champions were without key players Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Maxi Kleber but 41-year-old LeBron James produced another fine display in a 107-98 win over the Houston Rockets.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks were the other winners on day one of the play-offs, while the Phoenix Suns and Orlando Magic won the play-in tournament to book their places.

James controlled the floor while racking up 19 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds against a Houston side who lost key man Kevin Durant to injury just before play started.

"It's just our play-off mentality," Lakers coach JJ Redick said.

"You can't worry about who's in or out of the line-up. It's our gameplan. It's our standards. It's how we play, and we've built towards that.

"I thought our guys just responded well and met the moment. That's the biggest thing. You've got to meet the moment in every game, and we were able to do that."

Luke Kennard continued to step up as a starter with a career play-off high 27 points as the Lakers took the opening game in the best-of-seven series.

Durant, 37, has a bruised knee and could return for game two on Tuesday night.

Defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder begin their campaign on Sunday night against the Suns.

NBA results

Playoff Round 1 (Game 1)

Houston Rockets 98-107 LA Lakers

Toronto Raptors 113-126 Cleveland Cavaliers

Minnesota Timberwolves 105-116 Denver Nuggets

Atlanta Hawks 102-113 New York Knicks

Play-In Tournament Final

Golden State Warriors 96-111 Phoenix Suns

Charlotte Hornets 90-121 Orlando Magic

Orlando Magic (45-37, eighth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Detroit Pistons (60-22, first in the Eastern Conference)

Detroit; Sunday, 6:30 p.m. EDT

LINE: Pistons -8.5; over/under is 219.5

EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Pistons host first series matchup

BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Pistons host the Orlando Magic in game one of the Eastern Conference first round. Detroit and Orlando tied the regular season series 2-2. The Magic won the last regular season matchup 123-107 on Monday, April 6 led by 31 points from Paolo Banchero, while Daniss Jenkins scored 18 points for the Pistons.

The Pistons are 39-13 against Eastern Conference opponents. Detroit is the top team in the Eastern Conference averaging 57.9 points in the paint. Jalen Duren leads the Pistons scoring 14.6.

The Magic are 26-26 in Eastern Conference play. Orlando is ninth in the Eastern Conference with 26.5 assists per game led by Banchero averaging 5.2.

The Pistons average 11.0 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.1 fewer makes per game than the Magic allow (12.1). The Magic average 11.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.0 fewer made shot on average than the 12.7 per game the Pistons give up.

TOP PERFORMERS: Duren is shooting 65.0% and averaging 19.5 points for the Pistons. Jenkins is averaging 14.5 points over the last 10 games.

Banchero is averaging 22.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists for the Magic. Desmond Bane is averaging 18.2 points and 3.6 assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pistons: 8-2, averaging 119.9 points, 44.8 rebounds, 32.1 assists, 10.2 steals and 7.0 blocks per game while shooting 51.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.1 points per game.

Magic: 7-3, averaging 116.4 points, 43.5 rebounds, 27.3 assists, 8.1 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 47.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.5 points.

INJURIES: Pistons: Jalen Duren: day to day (knee).

Magic: Jonathan Isaac: day to day (knee).

___

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

Toronto Raptors (46-36, fifth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30, fourth in the Eastern Conference)

Cleveland; Monday, 7 p.m. EDT

LINE: Cavaliers -8.5; over/under is 223.5

EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Cavaliers lead series 1-0

BOTTOM LINE: The Cleveland Cavaliers host the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference first round with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Cavaliers won the last matchup 126-113 on Saturday, led by 32 points from Donovan Mitchell. RJ Barrett led the Raptors with 24.

The Cavaliers are 33-19 in conference matchups. Cleveland is second in the Eastern Conference scoring 119.5 points while shooting 48.2% from the field.

The Raptors are 33-19 against Eastern Conference opponents. Toronto is third in the league with 29.5 assists per game led by Scottie Barnes averaging 5.9.

The 119.5 points per game the Cavaliers score are 7.7 more points than the Raptors allow (111.8). The Raptors average 114.6 points per game, 0.8 fewer than the 115.4 the Cavaliers give up to opponents.

TOP PERFORMERS: Mitchell is averaging 27.9 points, 5.7 assists and 1.5 steals for the Cavaliers. James Harden is averaging 15.7 points and 6.2 assists over the past 10 games.

Brandon Ingram is averaging 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Raptors. Barrett is averaging 19.6 points and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 48.6% over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cavaliers: 8-2, averaging 124.1 points, 44.3 rebounds, 28.9 assists, 8.1 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 51.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 118.3 points per game.

Raptors: 5-5, averaging 119.2 points, 39.1 rebounds, 31.6 assists, 9.5 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 52.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.6 points.

INJURIES: Cavaliers: Thomas Bryant: day to day (calf).

Raptors: Immanuel Quickley: day to day (hamstring).

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

Atlanta Hawks (46-36, sixth in the Eastern Conference) vs. New York Knicks (53-29, third in the Eastern Conference)

New York; Monday, 8 p.m. EDT

LINE: Knicks -5.5; over/under is 216.5

EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Knicks lead series 1-0

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks host the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference first round with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Knicks won the last matchup 113-102 on Saturday, led by 28 points from Jalen Brunson. CJ McCollum led the Hawks with 26.

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

The Hawks are 27-25 in Eastern Conference play. Atlanta is third in the league scoring 18.1 fast break points per game. McCollum leads the Hawks averaging 5.0.

The Knicks are shooting 47.8% from the field this season, 0.4 percentage points higher than the 47.4% the Hawks allow to opponents. The Hawks are shooting 47.4% from the field, 1.4% higher than the 46.0% the Knicks' opponents have shot this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds for the Knicks. Brunson is averaging 19.9 points over the last 10 games.

Dyson Daniels is scoring 11.9 points per game and averaging 6.8 rebounds for the Hawks. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is averaging 21.3 points and 2.9 rebounds over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Knicks: 6-4, averaging 110.4 points, 40.7 rebounds, 26.2 assists, 8.4 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.9 points per game.

Hawks: 5-5, averaging 117.2 points, 43.5 rebounds, 27.7 assists, 8.4 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 47.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.0 points.

INJURIES: Knicks: Tyler Kolek: day to day (oblique), Mitchell Robinson: day to day (ankle), Karl-Anthony Towns: day to day (elbow).

Hawks: Jock Landale: out (ankle).

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

Across the regular season, the crowd at Lakers games does not rank among the best in the league.

The lion’s share of the blame falls on ownership for pricing out the common, diehard fans and replacing them with fans who too often view the game as a status symbol rather than a chance to root on a team they’re a fan of. LA is still capable of drawing crowds that generate fervor, especially in the playoffs.

Saturday was a prime example. With the team squarely viewed as an underdog, the fans got behind the underdog Lakers and created a great environment. I would still say they need to put on the damn shirts given out to make the atmosphere even better, but I’ll settle for them creating a real homecourt advantage on Saturday.

So, let’s dive into the win. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.

LeBron James

38 minutes, 19 points, 8 rebounds, 13 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 9-15 FG, 1-2 3PT, 0-2 FT, +11

From the opening tip, LeBron was locked in. His eight assists in the first quarter and 10 assists in the first half both were career highs. He wasn’t the highest scorer, but he absolutely controlled this game from start to finish for the Lakers.

Grade: A

Rui Hachimura

42 minutes, 14 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 6-10 FG, 2-4 3PT, +7

This was a bit of an adventurous one for Rui. He had a couple rough moments, including late in the first half. But he also had some very timely buckets, including a three in the third quarter and a contested pull-up midrange jumper early in the fourth quarter.

His 42 minutes probably aren’t a big surprise. Considering how much size the Rockets have and the role LeBron is playing, he’s going to need to play big minutes.

Grade: B+

Deandre Ayton

35 minutes, 19 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 8-10 FG, 3-3 FT, +7

What a fantastic game for Ayton and, hopefully, a real tone-setter for him this series. The Lakers need him to win this series and they got a great game from him on their biggest stage yet.

They need him to do it many more times to win and stringing together strong performances hasn’t always been easy for him, but it really feels like he’s a good space right now.

Grade: A

Marcus Smart

34 minutes, 15 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 5 turnovers, 4 fouls, 5-12 FG, 1-5 3PT, 4-8 FT, -5

Boy, what an experience Marcus Smart can be. He certainly had his fingerprints all over this game, both negatively and positively. He led the team in free throw attempts and got to the rim repeatedly. He also had some incredibly bad turnovers.

Multiple times, he rushed the ball upcourt either on a fastbreak where he didn’t have numbers or in early transition. He turned the ball over in both situations.

But he also is one of the most reliable ball handlers the team has right now. They ran plenty of two-man game with him and LeBron and Houston is going to play off of him and force him to make them pay from deep. He did not on Saturday. If he can have a game where he knocks down multiple 3-pointers, it could pay huge dividends in a later game this series.

Grade: B+

Luke Kennard

38 minutes, 27 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 9-13 FG, 5-5 3PT, 4-6 FT, +7

What a night. In one game, Kennard did more for the Lakers than Gabe Vincent, the man he was traded for, did across multiple postseasons.

Luke Kennard (27) has passed Gabe Vincent (21) on the Lakers' all-time playoff scoring list

— pickuphoop (@pickuphoop) April 19, 2026

Coming into the series, the Lakers knew they needed Kennard. The Rockets knew the Lakers needed Kennard. And yet, no one could stop him. It’s hard to overstate just how impressive he was against some top-tier defenders. To have a career night in the context of being a top option offensively after years of being a role player is incredible.

Grade: A+

Jake LaRavia

18 minutes, 6 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 1-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, 4-4 FT, +9

Much as the Lakers need Rui to play big minutes, they’re going to need LaRavia if for no other reason than to be a ballhandler at times. At times, he had Reed Sheppard on him and was able to initiate the team’s offense.

It isn’t always pretty and there were moments he turned the ball over, but the Lakers are down to about their fifth and sixth options for ballhandlers at times in this series, so it’s not going to be pretty.

Grade: C+

Jarred Vanderbilt

18 minutes, 3 points, 5 rebounds, 5 fouls, 1-2 FG, 1-2 3PT, +4

Vanderbilt could have a decent-sized role in this series because of his defense, but his minutes are going to rely on him being able to do enough offensively to stay on the floor. He hit a corner three in the first quarter that was the exact type of shot the Rockets are going to give him.

When he isn’t spotting up in the corner, he’s a bit lost and was getting in the way. The Lakers either need to find more creative ways to use him or he’s going to need to knock down threes.

Grade: B

Jaxson Hayes

13 minutes, 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 1-1 FG, 2-3 FT, +2

Well, this was bad. That first shift from Hayes was straight out of the 2025 playoffs against the Wolves. He was biting on pump fakes from Şengün at the 3-point line and playing really undisciplined. They got away with it because Ayton was great, but he has to be better.

Grade: F

Bronny James

It wasn’t a terrible first shift from Bronny, but it wasn’t great.

JJ Redick

What a game from Redick, who pushed all the right buttons and got lots of little things right.

He had a couple of quick timeouts that stopped the Rockets’ momentum before it started, one coming in the first quarter and one in the fourth after a Tari Eason three. He also got LeBron in the game for the final offensive possession of the first quarter to try to steal a bucket.

Big picture, though, the Lakers were moving all around the court and creating quality, sustainable offense against a great defense.

tip of the cap to the Lakers for their movement and flow. lot of off ball screens, pindowns, LeBron at the Elbow and just working to play out of it. Real balanced and intentional effort offensively.

— Steve Jones (@stevejones20) April 19, 2026

Most importantly, he played more than five players in the second half.

Grade: A

Saturday’s DNPs: Maxi Kleber, Dalton Knecht, Nick Smith Jr., Adou Thiero

Saturday’s inactives: Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves

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

Mike Brown won 53 games in his first year as Knicks coach. His Knicks finished No. 4 on offense, No. 7 on defense and No. 5 in net rating. Strong numbers, solid results.

But Brown knows his regular season accomplishments don’t mean much.

We all know that these Knicks – and their head coach – will be judged on what happens over the next few weeks.

So far, so good.

Brown and his staff made some decisions that were crucial to New York’s Game 1 win on Saturday.

Under Brown and associate head coach Chris Jent, the Knick offense looked strong early on. Yes, part of it was Jalen Brunson’s brilliance (19 first-quarter points, 8-for-11 shooting). But the Karl-Anthony Towns-Brunson actions also resulted in some great looks. The Knicks shot 60 percent in the first quarter and 49 percent in the half.

But they were having issues on the other end of the floor. Atlanta’s guard-guard screens produced some open threes (Hawks were 5-for-8 on threes in the second quarter). They allowed Atlanta to get out in transition.

The Knicks dominated stretches of the first half but went to the locker room with just a two-point lead.

Brown and his staff seemed to push nearly all the right buttons coming out of halftime.

The Knicks outscored Atlanta in transition, 11-0, in the third quarter.

After facilitating in the first half, Towns started to put the ball in the basket after halftime. He had 14 points in the first 18 minutes of the half, helping the Knicks push their lead to 16 with six minutes to go.

The Knicks also cleaned up their defense on the Hawks perimeter screening. Atlanta missed seven of its nine three-point attempts in the decisive third quarter.

Another good call by Brown? His counterpart, Quin Snyder, started to intentionally foul Mitchell Robinson in the third quarter. They fouled Robinson four times in a 1:03 stretch of the third quarter. Robinson missed three of four free throws; New York’s lead was down to six with 4:51 left in the third.

Brown took Robinson out at that point. But he didn’t keep him on the bench. Brown had Robinson back on the floor to start the fourth quarter. Atlanta wasn’t going to intentionally foul Robinson early in the fourth and get the Knicks in the bonus. With Robinson on the floor, the Knicks extended their lead to 12 with 9:34 to play.

Brown also went to Jordan Clarkson to start the fourth. Clarkson delivered; his reverse layup with six minutes to play put the Knicks up 16.

Clarkson, you’ll remember, was out of the Knick rotation for several weeks in the middle of the season. Instead of burying him, Brown went back to Clarkson shortly after the All Star break. He gave the Knicks an immediate lift and has remained in Brown’s rotation ever since.

Brown is Clarkson’s sixth coach in 12 NBA seasons. So Clarkson knows good coaching when he sees it. He knows bad coaching when he sees it. What does he think of Brown?

“Intense, smart, challenges us as players. Makes some really good adjustments,” Clarkson said. “His communication throughout the year has been really good with us. From meetings, talking to us, finding out what we see, doing different things (based on player feedback). He’s done an amazing job.”

Brown passed his first Knick playoff test on Saturday. His next exam is Monday night at 8 pm.   

TOWNS/BRUNSON PAIRING

The Brunson/Towns actions on offense continue to produce good results.

“The longer we’re obviously  on the court together, our chemistry is better. I think we’ve grown as teammates, we’ve grown as friends, and it’s contributing to the way we’re playing,” Brunson said.

SECOND HALF PHYSICALITY

Both Josh Hart and Miles McBride said the Knicks played with a high level of physicality throughout the game. That picked up in the second half; Atlanta missed 15 of its first 23 shots to open the third quarter.

"I feel like they were getting out and they were winning a space battle (in the first half), getting open, getting to their spots and I feel like in the second half, we really cut that off,” McBride said. “We made catches difficult, and we got to loose balls.”

ANUNOBY'S IMPORTANCE

OG Anunoby left the game briefly in the second half due to an ankle injury. With Anunoby on the bench, Clarkson went to work. Just as he did late in the regular season, Clarkson performed some spiritual healing on Anunoby. Robinson and Jose Alvaradojoined as well.

“We need OG out here, so we’re gonna make it happen,” Clarkson joked after the game. “He came over to the bench and asked me if I could do (the spiritual healing) for his ankle; then he sat over there for a second, came back in the game and finished the game.

“Like I said, we need him on the floor so whatever I gotta do to keep it going… sprinkle a little magic on him.”

The score of this one might suggest that the Rockets weren’t in fact spanked, by the Lakers. They were. This was a wire to wire win for LA, and at no point did it seem like the Rockets were going to push past LA, take a lead, and keep it. The Lakers held the Rockets to 16pts below their season average for points allowed for this 9 point win. It could have been more. The final four minutes saw something of a Rockets garbage time scoring flurry, and they narrowed the Laker lead, slightly. The Lakers for their part seemed mostly interested in turning the scoreboard over enough that the Rockets never got close enough for discomfort.

The Rockets were, of course, missing Kevin Durant, the expensive painting that mostly covers the hole that is the Rockets offense. The Lakers, of course, were missing Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, and had a 41 year old LeBron James leading the charge of… Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton. That turned out to be plenty for Los Angeles.

There are two ways of looking at this. One is, the Rockets probably won’t shoot this badly, again. LeBron won’t be playing with a week off, again. Kevin Durant is far more likely to play again soon than Doncic or Reaves. So, it’ll be fine. After all, the Rockets shot 93 times to the Lakers 66 and lost by 9. That really shouldn’t happen. A team has to miss a lot of shots for it to happen, and the Rockets certainly did. There’s really not a good offensive line anywhere, except for Tari Eason. Tari didn’t miss at all, and the rest of the team missed a ton. Unfortunately Tari only took 7 shots.

So one view is that the Rockets probably won’t shoot that badly again, and that Kevin Durant might well be back for the next game, and that will help, too.

If that’s where you come down on things, it’s fairly safe to stop reading now.

This is another view. The Rockets had a week to prepare to play a Lakers team without their two best players. The Lakers had the same. One team came out with a fairly clear plan to win this game, despite injury woes. The other came out looking almost exactly the same as the rest of the season.

The Lakers, evidently, made a plan to win this game despite obvious talent limitations. The Rockets seemed flummoxed by everything LA did, while LA seemed to know exactly what the Rockets would do, all the time.

Sometimes it is worthwhile to put yourself in the shoes of your opponent. To think about what you might do in their situation.

If your team is playing the Rockets, you know certain things about them on offense.

1. They do not run any sort of coherent offense, with plays and actions that reliably work for them, or even ones that don’t. There’s usually a dribble hand off, a perhaps a badly set pick, and then a player trying to find a shot. This sometimes leads to passes out to shooters, but more often leads to difficult, or at least congested, attempts fairly close to the basket. This was confirmed, once again, by outside observers. This time it was Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith saying the Rockets don’t run an offense, they just sort of attack one on one from the same spots. At this point, pretty much every national media former NBA player who has covered a Rockets game has said as much. It certainly matches what I’ve seen, and I think it’s true as well.
2. Three of the Rockets offensive mainstays require access to the paint to be most effective. These players are: KD, Sengun, Amen.
3. KD can shoot it from deep, well, but he mostly doesn’t in any volume. Sheppard is a threat from deep who must be covered, the rest of the Rockets can be guarded on 3pt shots largely by run outs on defense from the paint, or near it. Or by the two players who aren’t in the paint (see below) covering half the arc each. The Rockets rarely move, or overload, a side, so that’s straightforward.

So knowing that, what would you do? Pretty much what every intelligent, non tanking, opponent has done, right?

Try to gum up the initial dribble handoff and desultory pick attempt, and have the two defenders up at that action point try to soft trap the ballhandler to prevent a pass out. Such a pass is easy to defend, as the Rockets are largely stationary off ball. After that, play way back on the dribbler/initiator, if it’s anyone but Sheppard, or Durant. We won’t address defending Durant, as he didn’t play.

Will the Rockets patiently work pick and rolls to call up a weak defender, or matchup they want on offense? They will not. Or almost never do. They will attack whomever is guarding them. Would they, say, try to get Luke Kennard, not the swiftest of foot, on Amen Thompson? Nope. They wouldn’t.

So not having a weak defender called up on the pick, which is rarely good enough to peel a defender off the ball handler, or even allowing a switch to a stronger defender, say swapping Kennard for Smart or James, the Rocket will then try to attack the rim, or at least get closer to it.

Two more defenders, ostensibly guarding the corners or wings, collapse into the paint as Sengun, Thompson, or really any other Rocket, gets closer to the basket. These defenders stand on either side of basket, which cuts off both Thompson getting to the rim, and denies Sengun his superior mobility close in, to get easy shots. There’s literally nowhere for either player to go, a defender is standing there. They are forced to take a shot over the center, or another big, or pass out. As this usually happens at the end of the shot clock, because it takes so long to move close to the basket, there’s only one run out on a shooter called for in most cases. There isn’t time for more passes around the perimeter most of the time, and there isn’t anyone cutting, or screening for a shooter anyway.

The Lakers simply did a variant of the standard defense on the Rockets. The Rockets response to this was: nothing.

So the Rockets offense was stymied, and while it dominated the offensive glass, those extra shots often seemed to be just as bad as the initial shot. That’s not everything, the Rockets also missed close in shots, put backs, you name it. They probably won’t miss as many of those. But this is the playoffs, so the defensive intensity isn’t going to slacken. The Rockets have shown little to no ability to adjust on offense. So it could be the bad shooting continues, as well. Still, plugging in Kevin Durant, and his career 29pt playoff scoring average, probably changes some results.

On defense, we saw the Lakers also use some fairly effective approaches. The first is to attack the rim, with almost whomever has the ball, very quickly, from a spread out offense. The Rockets, last season, would trap, send help, double, opponents very quickly, sometimes ahead of the actual play. Not all the time, but frequently enough to be very disruptive. They don’t do that as much this season. I think it’s due to not having Dillon Brooks and Fred VanVleet both calling defense, adjustments, and anticipating plays. Fred and Dillon were often available to help ahead of the play, or attack an offense, without much “reaction time” needed.

This season it appears the Rockets mostly send help later, after it’s clear that a defender has been beaten. It seems rare, for instance, that a help defender is already in place, ahead of a driver. That could be deliberate, as there’s risk involved there if the helper can’t recover to his man on a pass off. Or it could be the Rockets have no one with the experience to make that happen on defense. In general the Rockets play solid individual defense, but seem to be less aggressive, and less cohesive. Maybe they’re tried to reduce the risk profile from aggressive play, but there are downsides, mostly in losing transition offense, and far less frequent disruption of opponents. It now seems to be saved for desperation, as when the Rockets forced a number of turnovers late in the fourth.

Tonight the Lakers decided to feature a player who is an excellent shooter, in Luke Kennard, and of course, LeBron James. What I noticed was that the Lakers went to great lengths, of movement, passing or screening, to find Kennard space to shoot. Shoot he did, scoring 27 points on an astonishingly efficient 9-13, and 5-5 from three. The Lakers, as a team, shot 61%. That probably isn’t sustainable, but their shots were mostly easy, or open.

You might think the answer would be to double Kennard, but the problem was, James was usually nearby, and so the man doubling Kennard would have to come off James. Which, given his ability to pass, shoot, or drive, creates a problem. He’s not what he was, but he will find an open man. His 13 assists to 2 turnovers are evidence of this.

Overall, the Rockets were simply stymied on offense, and gave up too many easy looks on defense.

The best sign going forward is that a great shooting night still only produced 107 points for the Lakers. Kevin Durant should, individually, if healthy, paper over the inadequacies on offense, enough so that similar defense should produce wins.

The worst sign is that the Rockets had a week to prepare for a specific opponent, one missing by far its two best scorers, and there was no evidence they did so. A short handed Lakers team beat them handily instead.

I still think they’ll win the series, if Durant plays.

According to Fred Katz, the Cleveland Cavaliers will discuss moving Donovan Mitchell if they aren’t able to get an extension done this summer.

It’s now or never for this version of the Cavaliers.

Story: https://t.co/StSclOG58Qpic.twitter.com/dWjreEysu5

— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) April 17, 2026

From Katz:

However Cleveland fares over these next two months will mold its future. Harden has a $42 million player option for next season that he’s likely to decline, a league source said. But a longer-term deal at a lesser number still would not be cheap. With today’s rules, with the way high payrolls chip away at resources and wallets, teams can’t stay so expensive while continuing to lose in the second round. Meanwhile, Mitchell, who can hit free agency in 2027, becomes eligible for an extension this summer.

If he signs it, the Cavs can move forward with him at their core. If he doesn’t, the organization will discuss the possibility of moving him, league sources said.

Now, where have I heard this before? It appears that a lot is riding on these playoffs for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have an upcoming extension eligibility with Donovan Mitchell, and we’ll see if that happens. The Cavaliers have one of the highest payrolls in the NBA and appear very similar to Utah when they had to make tough decisions with Mitchell in the past.

For the Utah Jazz, this is the beginning of something great. Utah owns a pick swap with the Cavaliers in 2028 and a fully unprotected pick in 2029. If Mitchell is traded this summer, it’s hard to see the Cavaliers being good immediately, especially if James Harden leaves as well. According to Katz, Harden is expected to decline his player option this summer, and we’ll see if the Cavs give him a contract or if he’s also potentially gone.

This is something to watch really closely, and I can’t lie, I am rooting hard for the Raptors this round and, if the Cavs advance, the Detroit Pistons after that. There’s a world where Utah could get really lucky with its picks in the years to come, thanks to Donovan Mitchell.

It was only a matter of time.

Hack-a-Mitch has become a playoff staple with Knicks opponents given Mitchell Robinson’s well-documented struggles at the free throw line. And it predictably emerged again in the Knicks’ 113-102 Game 1 win over the Hawks on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

Robinson had been impactful on the glass and as a rim protector in the first half. Then, trailing by seven with 5:44 left in the third quarter, the Hawks began fouling Robinson intentionally.

He was 1-for-4 on free throws before the Knicks took Robinson out of the game.

“We’ll see how the game goes, and we’ll leave him in until we think we need to make a sub,” coach Mike Brown said. “And whenever we feel like we need to make a sub, we will. But we’re gonna give him a chance.”

Though it took Robinson out of the game, it also meant the Knicks got into the bonus with 3:19 left in the third quarter, giving them plenty of opportunity to get easy points at the line.

And then Brown countered by having Robinson start the fourth quarter, preventing the Hawks from fouling him unless they wanted to play the whole quarter with the Knicks in the bonus.

“If they wanna start fouling, then that would get us closer to the bonus,” Brown said. “So it’s a time for us to go back to him.”

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Karl-Anthony Towns’ father, Karl Sr., was in attendance for the first time since undergoing a medical procedure late in March.

“To have someone who I would say is the most important person in my life, it’s really awesome to be able to have him back and Madison Square Garden supporting me,” Towns said. “Any son out there that plays basketball or plays any sport, to see your father there, at your competition, you always have a sense of pride.“You wanna make him proud. It’s awesome that I get to see him on the baseline and be able to have some special moments with him.”

“To have someone who I would say is the most important person in my life, it’s really awesome to be able to have him back and Madison Square Garden supporting me,” Towns said. “Any son out there that plays basketball or plays any sport, to see your father there, at your competition, you always have a sense of pride.

“You wanna make him proud. It’s awesome that I get to see him on the baseline and be able to have some special moments with him.”