Category: Basketball

Josh Hart redeemed himself for his Game 1 blunders by being the main offensive factor for the Knicks in their Game 2 victory over the Cavaliers.

Hart put up 26 points (a playoff career high), seven assists, four rebounds and two steals in 10-of-21 shooting from the field and 5-for-11 from beyond the arc in the Knicks’ 109-93 win.

Hart was benched down the stretch during the Knicks’ overtime 115-114 Game 1 win over the Cavaliers on Tuesday, posting a team-worst minus-23 rating in 30 minutes.

Hart said his “feel for the game” helped him in a big way Thursday.

“I’m never a huge analytics guy. At some point, they’re a lamppost to a drunk person,” Hart said. “You can lean on them. But they won’t get you home. So at a certain point, you got to have a good feel for the game.”

He struggled from beyond the arc on Tuesday, going 1-for- 5, with four of his deep balls barely hitting the rim.

Knicks head coach Mike Brown opted for Landry Shamet at the end of Game 1.

Shamet hit the game-tying 3-pointer in the final minute of regulation.

“That’s always difficult, watching it on the bench,” Hart said Wednesday. “Obviously, I want to be out there. I want to help my guys win, but at the end of the day, for me, I don’t have an ego to it. I approach this game with extreme humility.

“I’m here to serve these guys … [to] make sure they’re in the best position to be successful. I put the success of the team over the success of myself any day.”


A magical Game 1 win brought the Knicks’ most famous fans out for more.

Celebrity Row at Madison Square Garden was packed as always, with regulars and Knicks superfans Timothée Chalamet and Ben Stiller leading the charge alongside Tracy Morgan and Spike Lee for Game 2 against the Cavaliers.

Stiller’s hype for the second game of the Eastern Conference began well before he entered the World’s Most Famous Arena.

“LETS GO KNICKS,” he posted on X before 10 a.m.

Jason Sudeikis, Jason Bateman and Chris Rock were also in attendance.

What would a Knicks playoff game be without some of the franchise’s own?

A cadre of alumni took in the action, with John Starks, Patrick Ewing, Stephon Marbury and Walt “Clyde” Frazier watching the current generation of stars — sometimes a little too close, as Starks and Marbury nearly took their courtside celebrations onto the parquet during Monday’s series opener.

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Game 1 featured the likes of rock star Lenny Kravitz, actor Michael J. Fox and his wife, actress Tracy Pollan, “Sopranos” stars Michael Imperoli and Steve Schirripa, iconic actor Dustin Hoffman, comedian John Leguizamo and “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon.

Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg sat courtside as well.

Current mayor Zohran Mamdani sat up high alongside public advocate Jumaane Williams as concerns over a potential curse loomed over his presence following an appearance at a Mets game that preceded an 11-game losing streak, NY1 reported.

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals was a disaster for James Harden. 

He was hunted by the Knicks and Jalen Brunson, a major culprit in the Cavaliers blowing a 22-point fourth-quarter lead. 

Walt Frazier believes how Harden performs the rest of the series, however long it lasts, will be remembered for a long time. 

“This is where Harden is now. He’s come to the fork in the road. Which way is he going to go? His legacy is on the line,” the legendary Knick said on The Post’s “Schein Time” with Adam Schein on Thursday afternoon. “If he gets torched again, he’s done. His career is over. This is all people are going to remember, this series. Not what he did in the regular season, but what he did in the playoffs.” 

Harden has only reached the NBA Finals once, back in 2012, and he may not get another chance, at age 36.

Frazier does think that Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson is making the right decision by sticking with Harden despite his struggles. 

“So if I’m Kenny Atkinson, I put Harden back in the game [in crunch time]. I don’t punish him, I encourage him,” Frazier said. “When we were in the playoffs and we were playing the Bullets, Red Holzman pulled me in the corner [and said], ‘Hey, Clyde, forget about offense, just focus on defense on Earl [Monroe]. Forget about offense. Don’t think about offense.’

“If I'm Kenny Atkinson, I put Harden back in the game."

Clyde Frazier joins @AdamSchein on today's show!

Watch live NOW https://t.co/Q5v04w9iiXpic.twitter.com/Vbw62eC3kx

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) May 21, 2026

“If I’m Kenny Atkinson, I go to Harden, and say, ‘Hey, man, I’m putting you back in there. This is why we acquired you. Look at your career. I know what you’ve done, you can do it.’ I leave it all up to him. This is what coach [Mike] Brown did to [Mikal] Bridges. Remember when Bridges was floundering? Everybody said take him out of the lineup. He didn’t take him out; [he] put him out there and now look at what Bridges is doing.” 

Harden was the goat of the series opener, shredded by Brunson in the Knicks’ wild comeback.

It was also the sixth different playoff game in which Harden committed more turnovers than made field goals.

Atkinson has defended Harden and hasn’t second-guessed his decision to stick with him. 

The Liberty open their seven-game homestand Thursday against the Golden State Valkyries.

But as that game tips off at Barclays Center, the Knicks will simultaneously start Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers across the East River at Madison Square Garden. 

Talk about a good time to be a New York basketball fan. 

“They deserve it,” Liberty coach Chris DeMarco said after shootaround. “My dad’s from New York, I lived in Long Island, I like the teams he likes so I’ve grown up, I know what it was like some close calls, being able to win one in New York, so New York deserves it, for sure.”

DeMarco, of course, is keeping an eye on the basketball action happening in the other borough.

The longtime Warriors assistant and hoops junkie attended Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Tuesday and witnessed Jalen Brunson help the Knicks mount an improbable 22-point comeback to force overtime, where New York ultimately won.

DeMarco, who’s worked alongside both Knicks head coach Mike Brown and Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson on the Warriors staff, won’t publicly pick a side in this series, but he lauded both of his friends and former coworkers. 

“I’m watching the series closely,” DeMarco said. “It’s pretty cool to watch, they’re battling to go to the Finals.”

Brown and Atkinson overlapped on Steve Kerr’s staff for only the 2021-22 season, the same campaign the Warriors won their fourth championship in eight years.

DeMarco was along for all six of the Warriors’ NBA Finals runs during his 13-year tenure. The longtime assistant coach worked his way up from roles in the video room and player development to eventually be in charge of the team’s defense. 

The Knicks on Tuesday were successful at slowing down Harden, something DeMarco is familiar with doing.

Obviously the current version of Harden is far different from the bearded man who led the Rockets a decade ago. DeMarco aided the Warriors in figuring out a plan to wear down Harden over the course of a seven-game series, and Brown divulged that “secret” after Tuesday’s win. 

“When I was at Golden State, we played Houston in the playoffs, we counted James Harden’s dribbles,” Brown told reporters. “We told our guys, ‘He’s dribbling close to a thousand times… Keep picking him up full court, keep making him dribble because at the end of the series, at the end of games, it’s going to wear him down.’ 

“And did it? Probably not,” Brown continued, “but you say stuff like that to help give your guys a psychological advantage.”

DeMarco recalled tracking Harden when the Warriors faced the Rockets in the postseason. He said examining those details to create a game plan is one of his favorite parts of the playoffs. 

“In that specific series with Houston, it was about having James heavily handle the ball, and one, what that would do to his fatigue or… just his overall being able to produce through a seven-game series and then what it did to the others if he’s dribbling the whole game so you look at all of that stuff,” DeMarco said. “Houston was always one of the most competitive teams we played and those were always battles.” 

The Warriors were quite successful against Harden, beating the Rockets in the 2015 Western Conference finals, the 2016 first round, the 2018 Western Conference finals and the 2019 second round. 

Golden State went 16-7 in the playoffs against the Rockets during Harden’s era. 

Harden’s ballhandling responsibilities aren’t as consuming with the Cavaliers thanks to Donovan Mitchell. But that mentality of wearing an opponent down to eventually pounce held true for the Knicks.

The Phoenix Suns have numerous decisions ahead of them this upcoming offseason, including multiple restricted free agents, unrestricted free agents, and players with trade value. The following series will examine those decisions as our writing team presents both a point and a counterpoint for each.

Grayson Allen arrived in Phoenix right before the 2023 season in that three-team deal involving Deandre Ayton, Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, and Toumani Camara. He has been a steady force, whether off the bench or in a starting role, for Phoenix over the past three seasons; he’s fit right in like a glove.

Grayson has been a low-maintenance role player who has more to his game than you’d think once you get a closer look. He is not “just” a shooter. He is a legitimate athletic downhill threat and secondary playmaker.

Allen missed 32 games, but even with a down year relative to his three-point shooting, he showcased why he is one of the best value contracts on the team, posting career highs in scoring and assists.

Expanded Role, Not Regression

Let’s address the elephant in the room right away. Allen’s 2025-26 season naturally leaves you a bit cautious. Missing 32 games and watching his usually lethal three-point efficiency dip to 34.9% (alongside a 40.3% overall field-goal percentage) are some yellow flags of caution to monitor. That said, he did average a career-high in PPG (16.5), APG (3.8), and 3PFGA (8.9) this season.

The increase in volume, along with a couple of rough shooting stretches and injury woes, is more than likely the culprit for the dip in efficiency. In his expanded role, the volume was there, the aggressiveness was there, and the defense remained mostly steady. On a guard-heavy roster where every single contract matters, a down year from your premium floor-spacer triggers concern; that’s only fair.

Let’s not forget he dropped a career-high 42 points to go with a franchise-best 10 three pointers in a win over the Pelicans in November!

Grayson Allen is an easy player to take for granted. Plenty of teams could use an efficient floor-spacing guard that competes on both ends and makes the right play more often than not. He is athletic and has excellent footwork and deceleration skills on the move.

3 Reasons the Suns should keep him

With the Suns’ sudden influx of guard depth, it is incredibly easy to fall into the trap of viewing Allen as expendable. But trading away a high-IQ, plug-and-play volume shooter just to balance out a positional spreadsheet is how good teams accidentally slide back into mediocrity.

1. Perimeter Gravity + Downhill threat

Even in a self-described “down” shooting year, Allen still canned 3.1 triples a night. Opposing coaching staffs don’t look at his season percentage on a scouting report and decide to leave him open; they respect the quick release and the proven history.

When Devin Booker is hunting paint touches or running the offense, the floor geometry completely changes depending on whether Allen is standing on the wing. His gravity is far more than a luxury. It’s a necessity. And he can aggressively attack closeouts and put the ball on the deck. As mentioned above, he is not just a shooter.

2. Every Contender Wants This Exact Archetype

The modern NBA is defined by premium wing depth. Teams are constantly scouring the market, desperate to find players who can hit open shots, execute extra passes, and defend multiple perimeter positions without demanding heavy usage.

Grayson Allen is exactly what every contending front office is searching for. Having that piece already in-house is a massive competitive advantage.

3. The 11% Cap Bargain

Grayson Allen is still on a relatively friendly contract heading into next season at $18.1 million, which accounts for roughly 11% of the salary cap. He holds a player option for $19.4 million the following year. In an era where the second apron and tightening financial restrictions can paralyze a front office, having a highly productive asset locked in at roughly 11% of the cap is an incredibly team-friendly, movable contract sitting right in a mid-tier sweet spot.

And for that same reason, it’s why he’s come up in potential trade talks, which I’m not against if the RIGHT deal comes along that addresses their weaknesses. Trading him just to trade him is a mistake.

Closing Thought

Guard depth is a position of strength, not a flaw that requires a panicked correction. Unless a landscape-altering frontcourt piece becomes available via a consolidated package, keeping Allen’s spacing, elite perimeter gravity, contract flexibility, and competitive fire in the Valley is the smartest path forward.

If the perfect deal comes along that moves the needle, I’m okay dealing from a position of strength. Otherwise, let’s welcome Grasyon back to the Valley with open arms.

Mitchell Robinson plans to reveal a whole new version of himself.

“Last post before I delete this app,” Robinson wrote on Facebook on Thursday afternoon, just a few hours before Game 2. “I finally have changed my number for many reason [sic] … as I fight through and keep fighting in this playoffs run my focus have to go to another level. This is the start of a new chapter in my life. Love and will miss y’all … Mitch out.”

Robinson has never been shy in letting his thoughts be known on social media.

He has opened up about his mental health and at times complained about his role in the Knicks offense.

On the lighter side, he constantly posts pictures and videos of his trucks.

It’s also hurt his wallet.

Both he and the Hawks’ Dyson Daniels were fined by the NBA for their roles in a heated fracas during Game 6 of their first-round series earlier this postseason.

But Robinson was docked $50,000 — twice the penalty Daniels received — because of a vulgar video shared afterward as an Instagram story.

After such an emotional Game 1, did the coaching staff have to talk about settling down and being ready again for Game 2?

“We have a veteran group,” coach Mike Brown said. “Any time you’re in the playoffs, you obviously need a little bit of talent, you need a little bit of luck and then you need skill. All those things came to play for us coming back from [22] points down with that little bit of time to go. I think our guys understand that we got away with one and we don’t want to put ourselves in that position again because Cleveland is a great team, they’re well coached and they have great players on that team. They’re not gonna let that opportunity slip through their hands again.

“We’ve talked about that but not necessarily about the emotional part.”

The Knicks were not in their normal home uniforms for Game 2 on Thursday night, instead wearing their Statement Edition jerseys.

Game 1 was fun, I guess. Let’s see what pain this one brings.

Share your thoughts as the game unfolds. If you aren’t a member of the community, sign up so you can talk to your fellow Cavalier fans and make your voice heard!

Go Cavs!

If you have children and they watch WWE, you know who Danhausen is.

In case you don’t, he is a professional wrestler who has gained fame for “cursing” opponents. He records copious amounts of YouTube videos in character, which you can view here.

Danhausen debuted back at WWE’s Elimination Chamber Premium Live Event. Since then, he has quickly risen to be the number 2 merchandise seller in the company.

He then went on to ‘curse’ Stephen A. Smith, and the Knicks promptly went down 2-1 to the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA playoffs. A Knicks fan bought a Cameo, which is a way for fans to pay for celebrities to create custom videos, to uncurse the Knicks and curse the Hawks.

He did it for the “human monies,” and now the Knicks haven’t lost, including in a game they were down 22 in the 4th quarter.

Anytime you can pair WWE with BBN, it probably means a successful business venture.

So, when Kentucky announced it would be pairing with Danhausen to create a new collaboration, the internet went into a frenzy.

Now, it may not mean a lot to some of you, and that’s okay. But if you are a wrestling fan, the shirt has already had a couple of restocks today, which means it is selling fast. See the design and get yours below. It comes as WWE SmackDown is live tomorrow night at Rupp Arena; you can get tickets for that here.

Maybe we can all get together and pay for a reversal of the Kentucky injury curse. It certainly can’t hurt.

The Eastern Conference Finals resume tonight at Madison Square Garden with the Knicks holding a 1-0 series lead after Tuesday’s astonishing comeback victory over Cleveland. Donovan “Spida” Mitchell remains fully capable of carrying Cleveland for stretches, but the Cavs were totally gassed late in Game 1, particularly James Harden, who shot terribly, committed a half-dozen turnovers, and was hunted by Jalen Brunson in crunch time. Tonight, Cleveland will either dig deep and come back with a big swing or roll over like dogs. (We predict some version of the former.)

Tip off is at 8 PM EST on ESPN. This is your game thread. This is Fear the Sword. Please don’t post large photos, GIFs, or links to illegal streams in the thread. Be cool and enjoy the ride. And go Knicks!

We’re deep into the NBA playoffs, and one former Husky hooper is still playing meaningful basketball.

Stephon Castle and the San Antonio Spurs are in the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2017. Castle has been the number-two option behind the breakout megastar Victor Wembanyama. Castle is doing a little bit of everything this postseason, averaging 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game while providing some highlight-reel dunks, including one over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in their Game 1 win that included a staredown.

As well as he has been playing overall, his turnover numbers in the first two games of the Western Conference Finals have been less than ideal, totaling 20, the most by a player over two postseason games in NBA history. After the Spurs mounted a late comeback in Game 2, Castle threw the ball directly out of bounds, which was the nail in the coffin for San Antonio.

Game 2 also saw one of the best dunks in recent memory. Midway through the second quarter, Wembyanyama fed the ball to Castle, who had an open lane to the rim. The 6 ‘6 guard drove the lane and levitated over the 7-foot Isaish Hartenstein, who had no chance at blocking the dunk. Even Wembyanyama couldn’t believe how thunderous the jam was.

Castle and the Spurs are even at 1 game apiece heading into a crucial game 3 back in San Antonio Friday night. Castle’s key for victory? Hold onto the ball and hit long-range shots. So far he’s 2-for-12 from the three-point range over the first two games. Castle hit his threes in the Minnesota series, going 5-for-7 in the closeout Game 6. Most importantly, the turnovers were the result in over half of the teams in the department. If they played the defending champs close in both games, the Spurs shouldn’t be alarmed. They have a great chance of finishing the series in six games.

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals are tonight. The Cleveland Cavaliers are at New York Knicks. Watch starting at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Enjoy the game!

After exiting Game 2 early in the second half following an awkward fall, Spurs rookie guard Dylan Harper is listed as questionable for Game 3 in San Antonio with a sore adductor. The play occurred when he collided with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander while going for a lay-up and came down awkwardly on his leg. While obviously not ideal, it’s a much better diagnosis than a hamstring pull, which was the fear after he appeared to grab it after the play.

The status of questionable suggests MRI’s were negative, and while it doesn’t confirm he will play tomorrow, it’s a brighter outlook than some may have feared. Adding to the awkwardness, he appeared ready to return as he jogged back from the locker room, only for someone to tell him to go back. That could also be a good sign.

As has been the case for both games so far in this series, De’Aaron Fox remains questionable with a high ankle sprain suffered in Game 5 against the Timberwolves when Ayo Dusunmo rolled into his legs while diving for a loose ball. Fox played in Game 6 but re-aggravated the injury and did not participate in Game 1 vs. the Thunder, which the Spurs won in double overtime. While Mitch Johnson has been adamant that he would play if he could, the win had many speculating that it bought him an extra game off. Related or not, he was ruled out of Game 2 about an hour before tip-off. Both Fox and Harper’s returns will likely depend on pain tolerance.

In other injury related news, Thunder star Jalen Williams has been ruled as day-to-day after he re-aggravated the same hamstring that had kept him out of the first two rounds of the playoffs. He only played seven minutes last night before exiting after playing 37 minutes in Game 1, which was his first game in a month.

While the Thunder have been used to not having Williams for much of this season, the same can’t be said for the Spurs. While Fox, Harper and Stephon Castle all missed time here and there, they’re used it having at least two of the three, and the Spurs need at least one of them to give Castle some relief from ball-handling duties. While his scoring has been on point in this series, he has struggled holding onto the ball with 20 turnovers so far. If both Fox and Harper can’t go, expect to see some relief minutes from Jordan McLaughlin.

This series had all the makings of an instant classic coming in and has lived up to the hype through the first two games, so it would be a shame if more injuries were to spoil it in any way. Despite last night’s loss, the Spurs still hold home court advantage heading into Game 3 in San Antonio after stealing Game 1.

Lakers President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka said that with Mark Walter as the majority owner, the Lakers would spend everywhere possible to improve the franchise. So far, that’s been true.

The franchise has hired a new President of Business Operations in Lon Rosen, and will hire two assistant general managers to help Pelinka with his front-office duties.

To help with all of these hires, the Lakers brought on Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi from the Dodgers as advisors.

In fact, Friedman and Zaidi have reportedly been present during interviews for the assistant general manager positions.

However, don’t expect Zaidi and Friedman to remain as involved once all new hires are put in place. According to a piece by Yaron Weitzman of Yahoo Sports, both Zaidi and Friedman are only focused on getting things situated for the Lakers.

That said, neither Friedman nor Zaidi seems interested in making a cross-sport leap. Their interactions over the past few months with NBA player agents, including those representing Lakers’ stars, have been minimal, according to league sources. “This isn’t like when one of these owners comes in and acts like they know everything,” said an agent who’s spoken frequently with Zaidi about the Lakers. “His focus seems to be much more on the building out of the organization.”

Since Friedman and Zaidi don’t seem interested in planting their roots in basketball, they can focus on helping where they can with front office hires and then move on once the right people are in place.

While basketball and baseball are completely different sports, this is more about the organizational front-office infrastructure, which is essentially corporate work wrapped in an entertainment package. So, their success with the Dodgers should be replicable with the Lakers.

The fact that they’ll likely be done once their work is finished should be a good indicator to Lakers fans that Walter will rely on experts rather than hire people he already knows.

We’ll better understand how Walter will run the team once these big transitions are further along and more new hires are revealed.

Until then, expect a lot of change with the Lakers this season, not just with their roster, but with everything involving the franchise.

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