Pat Spencer can’t help but be amazed by Steph Curry’s astounding shooting and workout routines.
As one of the newest members of the Warriors squad, Spencer was asked what has impressed him the most about being teammates with Curry this season.
“I think you just become a little bit numb to the shooting,” Spencer said on “The Young Man and the Three” podcast. “I think you just expect the ball to go in, that’s the craziest part for me. Just watching him work out is the most eye-opening.
“Steph works out the way he plays. He’s the kind of guy who, how he’s shooting in games is how he’s shooting at practice. He’ll start on one side of the court, sprint to the other side and get one shot. I don’t know too many NBA guys who are doing full-court shooting drills on a daily basis.”
No shooter in NBA history has come close to Curry’s incredible shooting performances, and the rest of the league has tried to adjust. Now, teams play aggressive defense on the 37-year-old from the moment he gets the ball, trying to slow him down and prevent him from making long-range shots. Even when playing off the ball, Curry faces an onslaught of defenders trying all they can to stop him.
Spencer then was asked for his thoughts on Curry’s unreal physical conditioning, allowing him to sprint down the court and easily make wild shots.
“Just the ability to run nonstop and still be as precise as he is as a shooter,” Spencer said. “His endurance is off the hook. To be able to deal with all of that [aggressive defense] and still be a 44-percent shooter or whatever his numbers are is just absurd.”
Spencer and the rest of Golden State will need to figure out how to replace Curry’s production, as the latter is out with a hamstring strain for at least a week.
In what could be a tough matchup in the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Warriors will need Spencer and company to channel their inner Curry to win three more games and advance to the next round.
Utah quarterback Cam Rising is giving up football — at least for the foreseeable future — because of his struggle to recover from a hand injury early last season.
The Conn Smythe Trophy does not get awarded in the first or second round of the playoffs. But less than three weeks into the post-season, it's already clear that some players have emerged as early MVP favorites.
Here's a look at five who are leading their teams to what they hope will be an eventual Stanley Cup — that is, if they can advance to the third and final rounds.
Mikko Rantanen
What else is there to say about the man called Moose?
Rantanen, who singlehandedly brought the Dallas Stars back from the dead in Game 7 against the Avalanche with a hat trick in the third period, followed it up with another “hatty” in Game 1 against Winnipeg. He now leads the playoffs with eight goals — two of which are game-winners — and 15 points in eight games.
Maybe he’s still motivated by the ugly trade that sent him from Colorado-to-Carolina-to-Dallas. Or maybe he’s trying to justify the eight-year, $96-million contract extension he just signed.
Either way, the league’s most underrated superstar is no longer underrated anymore.
Some players shrink when playing under the bright lights of Toronto. Others feed off the pressure.
“Willy Styles” is in the latter camp.
You can say what you want about the Maple Leafs’ inability to get over the hump in the playoffs. But before you lump Nylander with the other members of the Core Four, keep this in mind: in the past six years, Nylander has scored 23 goals and 45 points in 42 games.
This year, Nylander is once again producing when it matters the most.
After leading all Toronto players with 45 goals in the regular season — his third straight 40-goal season — the 29-year-old has a team-leading eight goals and 13 points in eight games. In the process, he has helped the Leafs to a 2-0 series lead against Florida, while also helping veteran linemates’ John Tavares (three goals and five points) and Max Pacioretty (two goals and six points) turn back the clock.
A year ago, McDavid led the playoffs in scoring with 42 points in 25 games. So it’s not exactly surprising that the Edmonton Oilers captain already has 13 points in seven games. What might be noteworthy is that 12 of those points have come in even-strength situations.
That’s more than anyone has scored in 5-on-5.
As opponents know, you can’t stop McDavid. All you can really do is limit his production. Even then, good luck.
After going without a point in Game 2 of a first-round series against the LA Kings, McDavid has been riding a six-game point streak, with nine points during that span. So what if he only has two goals. When you’re on a team that also includes Leon Draisaitl (four goals and 12 points), you don’t need to always be the one scoring.
Kyle Connor
It was Winnipeg's Cole Perfetti who forced overtime in Game 7 against the St. Louis Blues, and it was Adam Lowry who scored the eventual series winner. But in a playoffs where Mark Scheifele has battled injury and Connor Hellebuyck has battled the ghosts of post-seasons' past, Connor has been the steady leader.
All he does is produce. And he tends to produce when it matters the most.
Connor, who led the Jets with 41 goals and 97 points in the regular season, has four goals and 12 points in eight playoff games. Two of his goals have been game-winners.
And yet, where would Carolina be without Svechnikov? The Russian winger only had 20 goals in the regular season, but in the playoffs he's enjoying a sort of coming-out-party with five goals and six points in six games. Those aren't Rantanen-like numbers.
But on a team where everyone is expected to chip in, Svechnikov is chipping in a little bit more than everyone else. It's why the Hurricanes rolled over the Devils in the first round and also why they grabbed a 1-0 series lead against the Capitals in the second round.
Meanwhile, Montreal Canadiens’ coach Martin St-Louis has been nominated for the Jack Adams Trophy alongside Scott Arniel and Spencer Carbery. Meanwhile, Pascal Vincent, who’s at the helm of the Laval Rocket, has been named coach of the year in the AHL.
Before joining the Rocket, Vincent coached the Columbus Blue Jackets. He was put in a less-than-ideal position, leading the Ohio outfit to a 27-43-12 record with a .402 points percentage and finishing dead last in the Metropolitan Division.
A year later, he’s in charge of the Canadiens’ affiliate in the AHL and had his team winning the regular season championship and currently coasting to the third round of the playoffs. Canadiens GM Kent Hughes has already said he won’t stand in Vincent’s way, if a team wants to speak to the Laval coach, they’ll be allowed to, and it will be up to Vincent to decide when they can do that.
Speaking to the media, Vincent explained:
If an (NHL) team wants my services, they will have to be patient. Usually when you really want someone, you can wait one week, two weeks, three weeks or even a month…Just to be interviewed for a head coaching job in the (NHL) is an immense privilege…But for now, my focus is on the boys (in Laval).
- Pascal Vincent on teams being interested in his services.
While it's reassuring to hear the coach is entirely focused on the Rocket’s destiny right now, it certainly doesn’t sound like a man who’s not interested in making the jump. It would be a shame for the Canadiens to lose him, but you can’t stop a man from moving up in the world.
Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.
BOSTON - It was only fitting that it ended this way, with Mikal Bridges and OG Anunobysuffocating Jayson Tatum on the baseline Wednesday night.
"Great feeling," Bridges said late Wednesday.
He and Anunoby were the face of the Knicks’ struggles against the Celtics in the regular season. But in the final seconds of Game 2, Anunoby and Bridges forced Tatum into a turnover to seal another improbable win.
You’d think that that kind of moment would lead to wild celebrations in the Knicks locker room. They had come back from 20-point deficits in back-to-back road playoff games against the defending champs.
But there was no party in the visitor’s locker room at TD Garden on Wednesday.
Instead, the Knicks sounded like a team that knew it needed to play better to finish off the defending champs.
"We’ve got to watch the film, see where we can get better," Anunoby said. "…. I don’t think we’ve played as well as we can."
Josh Hart echoed those thoughts.
"We have to continue to build. We have to continue to put together a full game. I think that’s something that we haven’t done during the course of these playoffs," he said after scoring a game-high 23 points. "We get leads. We surrender leads. We come back from big leads. We’ve got to figure out (how to put together) a complete game."
The Knicks will have the chance to do that on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
"I’m scared to see when we put it together on defense and let that push the offense and get dangerous," PJ Tucker said.
Even though they’re the lower seed, the odds are heavily in New York’s favor at this point. Ninety-three percent of the 463 teams who had 2-0 series leads in the NBA playoffs went on to win that series.
May 7, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges (25) defends against Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) in the last seconds of the fourth quarter during game two of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. / David Butler II-Imagn Images
They don’t get to this position without another remarkable performance from Bridges.
For the second straight game, he shook off poor shooting to play a significant role in the Knicks’ comeback.
Bridges missed his first eight shots in Game 2 but then hit six of 10 in the fourth quarter. His 14 points in the final frame helped spark New York’s comeback.
What kept Bridges locked in during the first three quarters?
"Just everything with my teammates, man… It’s really, truly been them just holding me together and keeping me mentally right and just telling me to keep going," said Bridges, who hit a huge three-pointer late in Game 1 after missing 10 of his first 12 shots."And I think coach also is just trusting me — coming out in the fourth, running a play for me, putting that confidence in me. But man, it’s really my teammates and my coaches, man. They really held me up."
Bridges and Anunoby forced Tatum into the game-sealing turnover on Wednesday. But the play doesn’t materialize without fantastic defense from Mitchell Robinson.
Robinson stayed in front of Tatum while guarding him one-on-one off of a switch. He forced Tatum to his right and Anunoby and Bridges took over.
Just like the Knicks wings, this was a fitting ending to a great night for Robinson. The team’s longest tenured player finished with eight rebounds and three steals in Game 2, wrecking the game again and again for the Celtics. Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla was intentionally fouling Robinson again to try to get him off the floor.
"That makes me feel like a threat," Robinson said afterward.
The Knicks could have traded for a veteran center at the 2024 deadline. Robinson was still rehabbing from offseason foot surgery at the time. But they chose to stick with Robinson, betting that the homegrown center could make it all the way back from his injury.
It was a risky bet, but it’s certainly paid off.
"Mitch was all over the floor," Tom Thibodeau said after the win. "Guarding, switching – just a great impact."
Régis Le Bris’s side have lost five in a row before meeting with Frank Lampard’s resurgent Sky Blues
Sunderland’s players are unlikely to forget Monday 28 April any time soon. Régis Le Bris’s squad were in Portugal, settling into a pre-playoff training camp when the lights went out as one of Europe’s biggest power cuts plunged the Iberian peninsula into chaos.
Although Le Bris made light of the inconvenience and emphasised that the Algarve sunshine had been “re-energising” no one is quite sure whether he has managed to fix his team’s own worrying electrical faults.
The first reason is that Rantanen is the third player in NHL playoff history to record hat tricks in back-to-back games. The other two players to do it were Jari Kurri during the 1985 playoffs and Doug Bentley in 1944.
The second reason is Rantanen's involvement in all of the Stars’ goals. He has factored in each of the Stars’ last 12 goals, the longest streak in playoff history. Heading into Wednesday night’s game, he was tied with Mario Lemieux for the longest streak (nine goals).
Finally, Rantanen broke some Stars’ records. He became the first Stars player to record a natural hat trick in a playoff game. He scored his hat trick within eight minutes during the second period to lead his new team to a 3-2 victory.
His recent playoff accomplishments leave a bittersweet taste in the mouths of Avalanche fans. On the one hand, it's great for him to have success with his new club. On the other hand, it’s with a different team.
While the Avalanche contemplate what went wrong this season, at least Rantanen is experiencing a new, rejuvenated life in Dallas.
Add us to your Google News favorites and never miss a story.
The Boston Celtics came into their Eastern Conference semifinals series versus the New York Knicks as heavy favorites. And it made sense — Boston is the defending champ and dominated the regular season series versus New York with a 4-0 record.
The Knicks struggled beating good teams all season and were just an OK road team.
But the Knicks shocked the basketball world this week by winning both of the first two games in Boston, including a 91-90 victory Wednesday night in Game 2. Now they have a chance to take a commanding 3-0 lead Saturday afternoon when the series shifts to Madison Square Garden.
How can the Celtics get back in the series after two crushing losses in which they blew leads of 20-plus points?
Here are four areas of emphasis:
Don’t worry about Mitchell Robinson
There are times when “Hack-a-Robinson” is a good strategy. Robinson is an atrocious free throw shooter. He’s 4-for-11 in the series and shooting 26.7 percent from the free throw line in the playoffs.
But it doesn’t make any sense to put your team on the verge of being in the penalty just to put him on the line or get him off the floor. That’s what the Celtics did late in the fourth quarter of Game 2. The C’s had two fouls to give with 2:41 left in the game and they committed two take fouls on Robinson. The second one was the Celtics’ fourth team foul, which meant the next foul would put the Knicks at the free throw line.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau was going to sub out Robinson after the first take foul, but kept him in to see if the C’s would foul him again, which they did. Then he took out Robinson.
Here is Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla’s explanation for fouling Robinson twice wth under three minutes to play:
"He was a +19, all their starters were in the negative"
Joe Mazzulla was asked about fouling Mitchell Robinson and getting him off the floor late in the game: pic.twitter.com/GYlsJ4mXbO
When Robinson exited, OG Anunoby came in. Anunoby is an elite defensive player and capable of hitting 3-pointers. The Celtics should want Robinson on the floor over Anunoby at all times.
Robinson is a very good defensive player. He’s a strong rebounder and the best shot blocker on the Knicks. He makes an impact, there’s no doubt about that. But he’s mostly a non-factor offensively, which allows the Celtics to double and put more pressure on other Knicks players on defense.
Robinson also is someone the Celtics can hunt on the perimeter by getting him matched up on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on pick-and-rolls. Tatum and Brown are both quicker than Robinson and can drive to the basket against him.
Hack-a-Robinson works in the right situations. But not late in the game when it puts you close to the penalty. The Celtics need to worry about their own offensive issues and less about whether Robinson is on the floor.
Switch OG Anunoby off of Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum played like a superstar in the first round against the Magic. He scored an average of 31.3 points with 11.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. He’s played nowhere near that level in the second round.
Tatum is averaging 18 points on 12-for-42 shooting (5-for-20 on 3-pointers). In Game 2, Tatum scored just 13 points on 5-for-19 shooting.
After an awful 3-point shooting display in Game 1, Tatum attempted more of his shots from two-point range in Game 2. But even then, he settled for too many contested mid-range field goals (see shot chart below). He didn’t get to the basket enough, evidenced by his two free throw attempts.
One reason for Tatum’s lackluster scoring in this series is OG Anunoby. The Knicks forward held Tatum to 4-for-16 shooting in the regular season, and he’s continued that success in this series. Tatum is shooting 1-for-7 versus Anunoby through two games.
Anunoby spent 8:26 as the primary defender on Tatum in Game 2 and Boston’s superstar attempted only one shot. Anunoby was all over Tatum on the final play of the game, forcing a turnover that sealed the Celtics’ loss.
Mikal Bridges guarded Tatum a bunch during the four regular season matchups and Tatum scored 35 points on 13-for-19 shooting versus the Knicks wing. The Knicks made an adjustment going into Round 2 to make Anunoby the primary defender on Tatum, and it’s working great for them.
The Celtics must do everything they can, whether it’s the pick-and-roll or something else, to get Anunoby away from Tatum as often as possible. They’ve done it a few times in the series, which resulted in Tatum getting Jalen Brunson or Mitchell Robinson in a switch.
That’s the kind of matchup hunting the Celtics must do in Game 3.
Lean on road success
The Celtics were a historically great road team this season, setting a franchise record with 33 victories. In fact, their 33-8 road record was tied for the second-best in league history.
Boston ranked No. 2 in offensive rating, defensive rating and net rating away from home during the regular season.
Furthermore, the Celtics are 13-6 in New York since 2016, and they’ve won four straght and five of their last six at MSG. Boston’s last loss in New York came in the 2022-23 season.
Meanwhile, the Knicks are 1-2 at home in the playoffs.
The Celtics are a great road team, and that should give them plenty of confidence entering Game 3 despite the rough start to the series.
Knock down 3-point shots
Seems obvious, right? It’s a make or miss league, and unfortunately for the Celtics, they’ve missed a ton of open shots in this series that they normally make.
They made only 10 3-pointers on 40 attempts in Game 2. It was a huge outlier for them, because during the regular season, the C’s made 10 or fewer 3-point shots in just three of their 82 games.
Through two games against the Knicks, the Celtics are shooting 25 percent (25-for-100) from beyond the arc. That’s 11.8 percent worse than their regular season average, which is a huge dropoff. The Celtics are shooting at least 10 percent worse in the playoffs compared to the regular season on pretty much every type of 3-pointer imaginable.
Plenty to lament with Boston's play but so much boils down to shot making. Even beyond the 3s, double-digit dips in almost all shooting categories: pic.twitter.com/oyfgXMkDdp
Despite missing a record amount of 3-pointers, the Celtics still only lost Game 1 by three points and Game 2 by one point. If they missed 72 3-pointers instead of 75, they could easily be up 2-0 in the series.
The Celtics are a much better outside shooting team than they’ve shown against the Knicks. It’s hard to imagine these 3-point shooting woes extending much longer. There were only four instances in the regular season in which Boston made 15 or fewer 3-pointers in consecutive games.
The turnaround needs to happen ASAP, though. No team in league history has overcome an 0-3 series deficit.
MINNEAPOLIS – Warriors superstar Steph Curry has a long history of rehab and injury recovery. This season alone, Curry has dealt with issues to his knees, neck, right thumb and pelvic area. His latest injury is the land of the great unknown.
Curry, in the second quarter of the Warriors’ Game 1 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday in the Western Conference semifinals, grabbed at the back of his left leg and was ruled out for the rest of the game with a strained hamstring. An MRI the next day revealed a Grade 1 strain, with the Warriors announcing Curry will be re-evaluated in one week.
"I'll do everything in my power to get back as soon as possible."
Having never dealt with a hamstring injury, not even tightness, the 37-year-old says he doesn’t have a target date at the moment for his return.
“This is new and from all that I’m learning about how quickly you can get back, there has to be a healing process,” Curry said Thursday at Warriors shootaround before Game 2. “It’s just the way the body works. You can’t accelerate more than what it’s telling you.”
After a week of rest and rehab, Curry and the Warriors’ training staff will re-evaluate his hamstring every day to know when it’s safe to even think about playing, let alone thinking about how hard he can push it, which seemingly should keep him out for Game 5 – and possibly longer.
Eventual conversations will be had with teammates who have dealt with hamstring injuries in the past, such as Gary Payton II. Not quite yet, though.
“I will, for sure,” Curry said. “I’ve been in my feelings a little bit.”
Curry scored eight of the Warriors’ 18 points in the first quarter, and then looked to be heating up after making a high-arching step-back three on Jaden McDaniel three minutes into the second quarter. But on the other side, Curry felt something wrong playing defense. He jumped out to help on Mike Conley and almost immediately grabbed at the back of his left leg after planting and pivoting.
Still, he initially stayed in the game and made a floater on the Warriors’ next offensive possession. Jogging back to defense with a clear limp, Curry motioned towards the Warriors’ bench to get him out of the game.
After making a deep 3, this appears to be when Steph Curry felt something wrong with his hamstring on defense pic.twitter.com/uCVGJeEoVs
There weren’t any warning signs. Curry felt great up until that point, and even said so prior to Game 1 after playing 46 minutes just 48 hours earlier in Game 7 of the Warriors’ first-round win against the Houston Rockets.
What he first felt didn’t appear to be anything too bad. Curry thought he could go to the locker room, get it released and come back, but with a soft tissue injury like a hamstring, he quickly learned he could have done more damage if he tried to play through it.
The natural healing process is all that Curry can rely on right now. He isn’t even entertaining thoughts of rushing back and what that might do to him. Hamstrings are tricky, and Curry could be fooled by the gray area these injuries bring.
While the injury is new to Curry, this isn’t the first time he has missed games in the playoffs. When he missed six games in 2016, the Warriors went 4-2, and they went 5-1 when he missed six games to injury in 2018. Those teams also were much different in the heyday of the Warriors’ dynasty.
Curry has all the trust that his teammates can right the ship until he returns. The Warriors went 7-5 in the regular season in games he didn’t play. His experience of dealing with prior injuries in the playoffs, however, doesn’t exactly add a sense of comfort in Year 16.
“It’s more frustrating,” Curry admits. “When you’re 27, you feel like you’re obviously in your prime. Every opportunity I have now, you don’t want it to be wasted on an injury. I’m thankful it wasn’t worse and I’m very aware of and appreciative that I even have a chance to come back. There’s been injuries around the league that you’ve seen guys don’t have that option. I’m just trying to stay in that midframe and hopefully things work out where I can come back and we have a chance to keep doing something special.
“Injuries are already hard emotionally, just because you know none of this is guaranteed to be back in this environment and the playoff experience and have an opportunity like that. When you get hurt, you have to be intentional in what you focus on.”
Despite the injury, Curry was at shootaround dressed like he was ready to drop 30 points on the Timberwolves in Game 2. Instead, he served as a rebounder and fed passes to Buddy Hield over and over and over again. Curry said he’s still “a little ways away” from doing any type of stationary shooting himself.
He hasn’t given any type of inspirational speech and doesn’t plan to. His guys have his back, and that’s all Curry can ask for.
“No, they talk to me,” Curry said. “This is a great vibe in our locker room in terms of them trying to hold the fort down. We have a lot of confidence that we can still win the series. Guys will step up, no matter how it looks. It’s obviously a situation where you want to think positively and optimistically that we can win games and buy me some time to get back and hopefully have another series after this and be in a position where I can get back out there safely, where I’m not putting too much risk on the body if it’s not ready.
“They understand the task. We all are in it together.”
Anthony Edwards helped the Timberwolves past the Lakers in the first round of this year’s playoffs. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Welcome to Act III of the 2024-25 NBA season. It was a rough start for the league this year. People came out of the woodwork to criticize it, offering wild solutions, and pointing out the low early season TV ratings. But then the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers and things got real interesting in Act II.
Now, though, we’re in the third portion of the season and it couldn’t be more exciting. Indeed, we seem far away from those calls for sweeping change. Let’s look at five players who have wowed us and taken us to the edge of our seats in this third act.
Jalen Brunson
For the entire postseason so far, Brunson and the New York Knicks have been walking a razor’s edge. To the surprise of many, it took New York six games to send Detroit packing and none of those games were easy. But the Knicks keep finding ways to win. Just ask Boston, a team the Knicks were 0-4 against during the regular season. So far, in back-to-back games on the road, New York have come back from 20-point deficits to beat Boston by a total of four points. Now, the series is headed to the Big Apple. For the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year (and former second-round pick), who had 29 points in Game 1 and 17 points with seven assists in Game 2, a shocking sweep of the reigning champions is still on the cards.
Tyrese Haliburton
What you saw Tuesday night when the Indiana Pacers’ star point guard, Tyrese Haliburton, got his own rebound off a free-throw miss and, with just a few seconds on the clock, hit a step-back three-pointer to win the game was not a mere basketball play. It was the end of a video game where one character reaches into the chest of another and rips their still-beating heart out. Indeed, the No 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been led by a prolific Donovan Mitchell, lost at the buzzer in a game the entire world (besides Haliburton) thought they would win. Like Boston, Cleveland are now down an unthinkable 0-2 (and both teams are nursing significant injuries). For Haliburton, who was recently voted the most overrated player in the NBA, victory must taste sweet. (Even if his dad isn’t allowed to watch.)
Stephen Curry
What is it about big sporting events – we love seeing our aging stars have one more run. Like Jimmy Connors reaching the US Open semi-finals at 39 years old, the Golden State Warriors and their two veterans, Steph Curry and Draymond Green, are enjoying one more deep run. Or at least they’re trying to. The Warriors hung on and beat the up and coming Houston Rockets in the opening round. Next, they took the first game from the Minnesota Timberwolves. But it was costly. Curry went out of that game with a pulled hamstring. He’ll be out at least a week. Can new acquisition Jimmy Butler help his team hold on against Minnesota? Will we see Green throwing pocket passes to Curry again this year? Well, that leads us to our next player …
Aaron Gordon
How many incredible buzzer beaters is a team allowed to have in the playoffs? Last year, the Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray hit two to beat the Lakers. This year, his teammate Aaron Gordon boasts two of his own. The first came on a tip-in dunk with .01 seconds left against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round. The next came in Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a double-digit-point comeback. The No 1 seed Thunder are led by presumptive MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But it’s the Nuggets who have the best player in the world in Nikola Jokić. He proved that against the Thunder on Monday, leading his team expertly, and giving Gordon the opportunity for his second game-winner. OKC came back big in Game 2, though, officially making it a series.
Anthony Edwards
It’s all on a platter for Ant-Man. Already he and his Minnesota team have knocked off the Lakers and their stars, Dončić and LeBron James. That seemed almost impossible at the start of the playoffs – most analysts picked LA. But now Edwards could knock off Steph, Dray and the Dubs. All this after trouncing Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns in last year’s playoffs and winning an Olympic gold medal in the summer. Edwards is charming, talented and accomplished. If he were to lead his team to the Western Conference Finals (again) or beyond, he could become one of the biggest sports stars in America. But he laid an egg in Game 1 against Golden State, even getting called out by his coach. It was a rare dud. If he wants to sniff the rarest of rarefied air, he can’t post another.
Jaylen Brown often is the critical voice that holds his teammates accountable following difficult losses.
But late Wednesday night, on the heels of a second consecutive crushing defeat, the Boston Celtics star sensed a different message needed to be delivered.
“Not an ideal situation, being down 0-2. But what’s done is done,” Brown said after the Celtics’ Game 2 loss to the New York Knicks, in which they became the first team in NBA history to blow 20-point leads twice in the same postseason.
“You’ve got to make sure we’re ready to come out — make sure my guys are ready to come out for Game 3. I think we’re due for a lot of makes. I think we had a lot of great shots tonight that, once again, didn’t go in.”
“We’ve just got to relax, take a deep breath, come out and play Celtic basketball,” Brown said. “Just like we’re down 0-2, we can tie this thing back up.
“Just be poised, take a deep breath, and just go out there and do what we supposed to do,” he added. “But we’ve got to be better to close games, and we’ve got to learn and respond fast. So, that’s the key.
“Shift your mentality, shift your focus. What’s in the past is over with; let it sting a little bit and then do whatever it takes in Game 3.”
The Celtics were one of the NBA’s best late-game teams during the regular season with a league-best 24-11 record in “clutch” games (score within five points; final five minutes). That makes their collapses to the Knicks in Games 1 and 2 all the more stunning.
So, what makes Brown confident that the last two games were just an aberration and not a potential death knell for a team with championship repeat aspirations?
“Resiliency. Toughness. We’ve got a great group that stays together through it all,” Brown said. “These are the moments when we need to show our resiliency. We need to show our toughness, our mental toughness because we can get back in this thing — no question.
“Obviously, being down 0-2, it sucks, but we’ve got a great group, and if I could select any guys that could get it done, it’s the group we have in the locker room. We’ve just got to come out, be a little more poised, take a deep breath, convert our opportunities.
“We missed layups, easy baskets. In two games, we (were) up twenty points and somehow (didn’t) end up with wins. It’s inexcusable, but we’re going to learn from it. We’re going to respond.”
We’ll find out of the Celtics can channel Brown’s mindset on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. ET, with NBC Sports Boston’s coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET with Celtics Pregame Live.
Its Thursday, May 8 and the Orioles (13-21) are in Minneapolis to take on the Twins (16-20).
Dean Kremer is slated to take the mound for Baltimore against Joe Ryan for Minnesota.
The Twins take the field looking for a sweep of the three-game series following their 5-2 win last night. Byron Buxton went yard for the third straight game and Harrison Bader also homered while six Minnesota hurlers allowed ten hits but combined to hold the O's to two runs.
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
Game details & how to watch Orioles at Twins
Date: Thursday, May 8, 2025
Time: 1:10PM EST
Site: Target Field
City: Minneapolis, MN
Network/Streaming: MASN, MNNT, MLBN
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Orioles at the Twins
The latest odds as of Thursday:
Moneyline: Orioles (+133), Twins (-158)
Spread: Twins -1.5
Total: 8.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Orioles at Twins
Pitching matchup for May 8, 2025: Dean Kremer vs. Joe Ryan
Orioles: Dean Kremer (3-4, 5.74 ERA) Last outing: 5/2 vs. Kansas City - 7IP, 0ER, 3H, 1BB, 2Ks
Twins: Joe Ryan (2-2, 2.93 ERA) Last outing: 5/2 at Boston - 6IP, 1ER, 4H, 1BB, 8Ks
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Orioles at Twins
The Twins have won 4 in a row
The Orioles have lost 4 in a row
Gunnar Henderson has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games (14-42)
Adley Rutschman is 3-19 through 5 games in May
Byron Buxton is riding a 7-game hitting streak (12-30)
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for today’s game between the Orioles and the Twins
Rotoworld Best Bet
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday's game between the Orioles and the Twins:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Minnesota Twins on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Baltimore Orioles at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 8.0.
Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
Its Thursday, May 8 and the Rangers (18-18) are in Boston to take on the Red Sox (18-19).
Jack Leiter is slated to take the mound for Texas against Brayan Bello for Boston.
The Red Sox evened the series at one game apiece with a 6-4 win last night. Alex Bregman and Wilyer Abreu each had three hits and drove in three runs to account for the offense.
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
Game details & how to watch Rangers at Red Sox
Date: Thursday, May 8, 2025
Time: 1:35PM EST
Site: Fenway Park
City: Boston, MA
Network/Streaming: RSN, NESN, MLBN
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Rangers at the Red Sox
The latest odds as of Thursday:
Moneyline: Rangers (+116), Red Sox (-137)
Spread: Red Sox -1.5
Total: 9.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Rangers at Red Sox
Pitching matchup for May 8, 2025: Jack Leiter vs. Brayan Bello
Rangers: Jack Leiter (2-1, 4.59 ERA) Last outing: 5/2 vs. Seattle - 4.1IP, 6ER, 8H, 2BB, 2Ks
Red Sox: Brayan Bello (2-0, 2.55 ERA) Last outing: 5/2 vs. Minnesota - 6.2IP, 1ER, 4H, 1BB, 5Ks
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Rangers at Red Sox
Rafael Devers is 1-9 over his last three games
Alex Bregman is 4-8 in this series and 7-22 in May
Wyatt Langford is 5-23 in May
Marcus Semien is 4-20 in May which actually has raised his average to .185
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for today’s game between the Rangers and the Red Sox
Rotoworld Best Bet
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday's game between the Rangers and the Red Sox:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Boston Red Sox on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Texas Rangers at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the under on the Game Total of 9.0.
Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
Its Thursday, May 8 and the White Sox (10-26) are in Kansas City to take on the Royals (21-16).
Davis Martin is slated to take the mound for Chicago against Kris Bubic for Kansas City.
The Royals have won the first three games of this series. Yesterday, Michael Wacha threw seven innings of three-hit, shutout ball and Bobby Witt Jr. doubled in a couple of runs as KC knocked off the Sox, 2-1.
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
Game details & how to watch White Sox at Royals
Date: Thursday, May 8, 2025
Time: 2:10PM EST
Site: Kauffman Stadium
City: Kansas City, MO
Network/Streaming: CHSN, FDSNKC
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the White Sox at the Royals
The latest odds as of Thursday:
Moneyline: White Sox (+200), Royals (-245)
Spread: Royals -1.5
Total: 8.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for White Sox at Royals
Pitching matchup for May 8, 2025: Davis Martin vs. Kris Bubic
White Sox: Davis Martin (1-3, 3.52 ERA) Last outing: 5/3 vs. Houston - 5IP, 3ER, 8H, 0BB, 5Ks
Royals: Kris Bubic (3-2, 1.98 ERA) Last outing: 5/3 at Baltimore - 5IP, 0ER, 4H, 1BB, 3Ks
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of White Sox at Royals
Bobby Witt Jr. is riding a modest, 4-game hitting streak (6-17)
Michael Massey has hit safely in 5 of his last 6 games (6-25)
Each of the White Sox's last 6 road games with the Royals have stayed under the Total
The Royals have covered in 4 of their last 5 games for a profit of 1.32 units
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for today’s game between the White Sox and the Royals
Rotoworld Best Bet
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday's game between the White Sox and the Royals:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Kansas City Royals on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Kansas City Royals -1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 8.0.
Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
