Category: Sports News

The 2026 NBA Draft is set to be held from June 23-24 in Brooklyn, New York. The Michigan Wolverines are set to be well represented in this year’s draft, as a trio of prospects are currently being projected to go in the first round. While Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara could still withdraw from the draft and return to Ann Arbor, both are increasingly unlikely as time goes by.

Despite the NBA playoffs still going on, mock draft season is off and running. Here’s where Yaxel Lendeborg, Mara and Morez Johnson are being projected to go in some of the latest mock drafts. Keep in mind the NBA Draft Lottery has not yet occurred, so which team will be in which draft spot is still in flux.

F Yaxel Lendeborg

Bleacher Report (Jonathan Wasserman): No. 13 to the Oklahoma City Thunder

Wasserman compares Lendeborg to Aaron Gordon thanks to his positional versatility and size. He also views his competitiveness and determination displayed during the Final Four as endearing qualities.

His offensive versatility has been on NBA radars for years; after starring at UAB, he transferred to Michigan and helped the Wolverines win a national title, validating his production against the highest level of competition.

An improved shooter and defender who passes and rebounds, Lendeborg should look highly adaptable and easy to fit for most NBA teams.

USA Today (Bryan Kalbrosky): No. 6 to the Memphis Grizzlies

By far the highest we’ve seen him on a mock draft, Kalbrosky of USA Today sees Lendeborg as easily a Top 10 pick. He cites how prone Memphis is to not be worried about the age of their draft picks, with a recent example being Purdue’s Zach Edey.

Keep an eye on the Grizzlies as a potential suitor for Yaxel Lendeborg, who showed on his way to winning the national championship that he is perhaps the most NBA-ready player in this draft class. The Big Ten Player of the Year offers a bit of everything on both sides of the ball and has silenced skeptics who were unsure how his game would scale after transferring from mid-major UAB to high-major Michigan.

ESPN (Jeremy Woo): No. 12 to the Oklahoma City Thunder

Woo points out that Lendeborg would fit perfectly on a team like the Thunder, who in a normal year wouldn’t be in the lottery at all. The Thunder are clearly in their championship window, so taking a player who is NBA ready and on the older side is right up their alley.

The Clippers falling out of the play-in means the 64-win Thunder, who own this pick, have a long-shot opportunity on lottery night. The Thunder also own the 17th pick and will have an incentive to try and consolidate some of their assets, with minimal roster-spot wiggle room in the offseason. Lendeborg would be a ready-made addition to their frontcourt, and his size and versatility would be valuable immediately on a contender.

CBS Sports (Adam Finkelstein): No. 16 to the Memphis Grizzlies

Like USA Today, Finkelstein has Lendeborg falling to the Grizzlies. He has Lendeborg falling behind a handful of younger power forwards who are being drafted more on potential than immediate production like Tennessee’s Nate Ament and Arizona’s Koa Peat.

CBS Sports (Cameron Salerno): No. 9 to the Chicago Bulls

Salerno disagrees with his CBS counterpart, as he has Lendeborg going well before the developmental bigs. In fact, Salerno has Lendeborg as the first non-underclassmen to be drafted. The Bulls could certainly use his plug and play potential from day one.

C Aday Mara

Bleacher Report: No. 14 to the Charlotte Hornets

Wasserman has Mara going just one pick after Lendeborg. He compares Mara to Andrew Bogut as situational-type center.

Michigan’s NCAA tournament run shone a light on Aday Mara’s defensive impact, advantageous finishing tools and unique skill level. Aside from the constant shot-contesting around the paint and rim, he provided the lineup significant offense as a lob target, low-post player and passer.

Turnovers, limited switchability and dreadful free-throw shooting will turn teams off, but he’s established himself as too rare of a player, even if he winds up being more of a situational center.

USA Today: No. 12 to the Oklahoma City Thunder

While Lendeborg is the more popular pick to go to the Thunder, USA Today has Mara joining the juggernaut. Oklahoma City certainly enjoys having monstrous centers, as Chet Holmgren and Mara both possess excellent court vision and passing ability for big men.

Opponents only attempted 20.4 percent of their field goals at the rim when the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year was on the court, per CBB Analytics, which ranks near the lowest among all NCAA players. He can also pass well, finding some awesome outlet looks in transition and at the rim.

ESPN: No. 14 to the Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets have developed rapidly in recent years with the emergence of Lamelo Ball and Kon Knueppel. However, they lack true size, as former Wolverine Moussa Diabate is their starting center. While Diabate himself is a great story, he stands just 6-foot-10. Adding five inches in Mara would help anchor the Hornets defensively for years to come.

CBS Sports (Finkelstein): No. 23 to the Denver Nuggets

Finkelstein has Mara the lowest of any of the mocks, but the Nuggets may just be the ideal fit. With Jonas Valanciunas set to be a free agent, Denver could use a center to backup Nikola Jokic. While Mara is obviously more slender than Jokic, they both play with size and excellent passing.

CBS Sports (Salerno): No. 14 to the Charlotte Hornets

Like ESPN, Salerno has Mara going to the Hornets at 14. He credits Mara with one of the largest rises in draft projections during the NCAA Tournament.

F Morez Johnson Jr.

Bleacher Report: No. 23 to the Atlanta Hawks

Wasserman comps Johnson to Montrezl Harrell, which seems spot on in my opinion. He harps on the role that Johnson will have in the NBA and how his skillset is already exactly that of a rim-running, defensive-minded power forward.

At 6’9″, 250 pounds, his combination of strength, leaping and coordination should continue to work well finishing rim runs, lobs, putbacks and low-post opportunities.

There should be equal expected value (or more) tied to his defensive projection, given his toughness inside and foot speed away from the basket.

USA Today: No. 25 to the Los Angeles Lakers

Kalbrosky credits Johnson as being the key piece to Michigan’s identity during the title run. I can’t say I disagree.

Johnson’s shooting form at the free-throw line looks good, and he scores well near the rim, especially when cutting to the basket. The former FIBA U-19 Team USA standout and All-Big Ten big man is a trustworthy defensive playmaker, too, and should carve out minutes at the next level. 

ESPN: No. 20 to the San Antonio Spurs

Like the Thunder, the Spurs are blessed with a higher draft pick this offseason thanks to a trade with Atlanta. The Spurs are loaded with guard talent and obviously have Victor Wembanyama playing center. An athletic power forward like Johnson would pair perfectly in the San Antonio front court with Wemby.

CBS Sports (Finkelstein): No. 21 to the Philadelphia 76ers

Johnson had been a center at Illinois before transferring to Michigan. In Ann Arbor, Dusty May had him predominantly play the 4 with Mara at the 5. Finkelstein loves Johnson’s versatility next to Joel Embiid. He projects Johnson to be Embiid’s backup center and a jumbo 4 when Philadelphia wants to play big. The fit is extremely neat with the 76ers.

CBS Sports (Salerno): No. 21 to the Detroit Pistons

Like Finkelstein, Salerno has Johnson going 21st overall. However, he projects the Pistons to have that spot. While Detroit doesn’t need a backup center, the power forward spot has been a revolving door after Tobias Harris. With Harris aging, it would behoove Detroit to take a young, long-term option in this draft.

With the offseason underway for the Phoenix Suns, there are numerous pending roster decisions to be made. The fan base has already voiced their opinions, clamoring on social media and expressing who they would like to see this team add. Even if Mat Ishbia promised continuity and the core of this team will remain, some changes will follow. The Suns do need more size, as that was a clear issue against most of their Western Conference foes.

Yet the question of who should be that piece to bring some size here remains unknown. Speculation has been rampant across the Suns’ land, and in recent news, another name has popped up as a possible trade candidate.

That is right, ladies and gentlemen, it is Anthony Davis! The big man who was traded in arguably the worst deal of all time is reportedly gaining some traction from Suns fans to target after the latest intel. It is stated that AD may want a trade-out of Washington, as it was not his desired destination. This would then leave the star forward on his third team in three years, as he looks for an extension.

Does this make sense for the Suns, and if so, how could they get it done?

How could it get done?

Unlike the other two renditions of this series (which, if you missed, check them out), AD makes significantly more than either Aaron Gordon or Jrue Holiday. Davis has 2 years and $121 million remaining on his deal, with a near-$63 million player option next year that he will certainly pick up. With him also wanting a long-term extension, if the Suns were to acquire him, this would be something they would have to consider alongside the Dillon Brooks extension that is expected to happen, too.

To get this deal done, the Suns would have to send either Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks or Green with Royce O’Neale and Grayson Allen to get close to a salary match, as Davis is owed $58.5 million in 2026-27.

Which would make the most sense?

Since the Suns are expected to extend Brooks and keep him on the team, his inclusion in trade rumors makes little to no sense. It would be the deal with Allen, Green, and O’Neale that is over $60 million in salary. The Suns would then save some money on this deal to re-sign key free agents, but would have no more ammo for other moves. This would be the big kahuna, adding AD to bolster the front court.

For Washington, they would be taking a flyer on Green, hoping he can transform into the guard he could be there while also getting two veteran deals to help their depth. They could eventually move those pieces if they look a bit worse than expected, but having O’Neale as a mentor to Kyshawn George could be very beneficial for their development.

Why does it not get done?

It seems both teams are reluctant to do this one. For starters, Phoenix is basically flushing all its value out in this one deal. The only other way they could make a move is if Mark Williams were signed and then traded in restricted free agency, which would handicap a team that wants financial freedom.

Not to mention that AD wants an extension, like I keep mentioning. One that is a max contract worth at least $50 million for the next few seasons. For a 33-year-old big man who has had injuries throughout his career, this would scare me if I were the Suns’ front office. If we are already invested in Booker long-term and want to be in this core, we cannot pay another max contract, especially given all the dead money on this roster from Bradley Beal’s stretch and Nassir Little’s waivers in the previous offseasons ($23.2 million).

The Suns won’t be able to escape the aprons long-term if they pursue this move, and with an aging AD, that is not a good look. I mentioned in my last piece in this series that even if you are healthy and come to Phoenix, you may still get injured. Well, for AD and the Suns, that would not be pleasant, as they would have invested so much in someone who might not play. Davis has played above 60 games twice in the last 5 years. A complaint fans had about Mark Williams this year would certainly stick for AD during his time here.

Now, there are positives to the big man that the Suns could definitely value, as he’d be a great mentor for Khaman Malauch and Oso Ighodaro. With age, Davis has gotten a bit slower on the offensive end, forcing him to play center more than power forward, which is also what the Suns need him for. His three-point has regressed, and the spacing he used to provide has not been as impactful in past years. After shooting above 30% from three for 5 straight years, he has yet to hit that mark since the 2019-20 season.

I also think the Wizards would not want to do this deal. Even if his value is at an all-time low, the package the Suns give does not really help the Wizards. Yes, it gives them proven veterans and pieces to improve their bench, but how much? Does it stunt their internal growth as well? Does Jalen Green even fit with Trae Young and Tre Johnson there? Those are real questions that have to be addressed when evaluating this, and, truly, I do not think the Wizards would want Green. Maybe it has to be a three-team deal to get done, but that makes it too complicated for a piece that I just illustrated is not worth it.

What do you think, though? Do you think the Suns should pursue Anthony Davis, and if so, what would you offer?

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid has been ruled out for Game 2 against the New York Knicks due to multiple injuries to his hip and ankle.

ESPN's Shams Charania reports that Embiid was "unable to participate in the team's shootaround this morning." That lack of availability prompted the Sixers to remove Embiid from Game 2, Wednesday, May 6.

Embiid was unable to participate in the team’s shootaround this morning after experiencing increased soreness in both his ankle and hip, sources said. He had been receiving around-the-clock treatment in efforts to play. https://t.co/IUY2HK77KE

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 6, 2026

Embiid, 76ers on/off court splits

Joel Embiid garnered a net rating of 5.6 during the 2025-26 season, making him a very high-end talent. However, with his mobility issues, Embiid could be considered a liability right now and perhaps his absence will be beneficial in the short term.

Without Embiid on the floor, the Sixers still managed a postive, albeit low 0.2 net rating on the season, making them a slightly above average team without Embiid on the floor. That likely will not be enough to handle the New York Knicks though, who are already a game up in the series.

76ers updated NBA title odds

Prior to Embiid's injury news, the 76ers already had the lowest odds of winning the NBA title, per BetMGM. Now, with Embiid considered day-to-day and the Sixers facing a potential 2-0 series deficit, their odds have decreased even further to +8000.

Those odds rank last of all remaining teams and twice as much as the sixth and seventh-ranked teams — the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers (+4000).

What changes for Knicks with Embiid out?

Contrary to what you might think, the absence of Philly's former MVP might not be as beneficial as you might expect for the Knicks. In Game 1, Embiid put up a miserable performance. He shot just 3-of-11 from the floor and only gathered 14 points in the loss.

But it wasn't just on the offensive end where Embiid struggled. The Knicks had an obvious gameplan on Monday, which included targeting Embiid's lack of mobility.

Embiid struggled to guard anyone on the perimeter, and struggled to get around pick-and-rolls, making it very easy for New York to get the matchups they wanted. Karl-Anthony Towns shot 4-of-5 when guarded by Embiid, while Brunson went 3-of-4 in the same situation.

Without Embiid in the mix, Philadelphia will now employ a mix of Adem Bona and Andre Drummond, each of whom bring different skills, but solid defense, which could help stifle New York's offense. Although neither Bona nor Drummond is at Embiid's level offensively, the improved defense should be more than enough to give Philadelphia a better chance at evening this series.

What changes for 76ers with Embiid out?

Official starting lineups have yet to be revealed. However, the 76ers will likely start either Andre Drummond or Adem Bona in Embiid's stead. Perhaps the team would be wise to choose Bona.

Alongside Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Paul George, with Drummond, the team was -1.0 points per 100 possessions. With Bona instead of Drummond, the team was +12.1.

Philadelphia had 454 non Joel Embiid possessions this postseason per Cleaning the Glass.

The 2 most used:

Maxey, VJ, George, Oubre, Drummond: -1.0 per 100

Maxey, VJ, George, Oubre, Bona: +12.1

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) May 6, 2026

Knicks get odds boost after Embiid news

Prior to the Embiid news, the Knicks were just 7.5-point favorites, per BetMGM. Already, the Knicks have jumped to 10.5-point favorites in wake of Embiid's absence.

Was Joel Embiid expected to play vs Knicks?

Embiid was initially listed as probable for Wednesday night's contest. ESPN also reports that Embiid had been receiving "around-the-clock treatment" in an effort to get him ready for the game.

Despite the treatment, Embiid experienced increased soreness in his hip and ankle, making him unable to work with his team Wednesday morning, and prompting the 76ers to take extra precaution with their superstar.

With the Lakers down 1-0 in the Western Conference semifinals, Luka Doncic has not yet ramped up to on-court contact drills while recovering from an injured left hamstring that had an initial eight-week timeline for his return.

Doncic, speaking to reporters for the first time since he hobbled off the court at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center on April 2, said Wednesday he has improved enough to begin running but he has not progressed to on-court contact drills. After suffering a left hamstring injury earlier this season, Doncic said the latest Grade 2 strain to the same area is unlike any he’s experienced because of its severity.

But it has not stopped him from trying to come back as soon as possible.

“I'm just doing everything I can,” Doncic said. “Every day I'm doing stuff I'm supposed to do. Obviously recovery, now I'm working … just going day by day, and I feel better every day.”

Soon after his injury, Doncic went to Spain and received platelet-rich plasma injections with hopes of helping his recovery. He stayed for roughly two weeks because he needed to wait four days between each injection. He received four in total.

Without their leading scorer, the Lakers fought through a six-game, first-round series against the Houston Rockets, playing four of those games without Austin Reaves, who was also injured in the same game as Doncic. The fourth-seeded Lakers lost 108-90 to the defending champion Thunder in Game 1 of the conference semifinals on Tuesday.

Doncic had dutifully cheered from the bench during the playoff games, offering as much advice to his teammates as he can.

“It's very frustrating,” Doncic said of the injury. “I don't think people understand how frustrating it is. All I want to do is play basketball, especially at this time. It's the best time to play basketball. It's very frustrating seeing what my team is doing, I'm very proud of them. It's been very tough just to see and watch them play.”

Doncic’s injury came at “the worst moment,” he said. The Lakers were coming off a magical March during which they went 15-2 and announced themselves as a potential championship contender with a healthy Doncic, Reaves and LeBron James together. Doncic was chosen Western Conference player of the month after he joined Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to score 600 points during March. 

After Doncic and Reaves were injured, the Lakers shifted their focus to extending their season long enough for the leading scorers to return. It worked for Reaves, who made a miraculous comeback from a Grade 2 left oblique muscle strain one day shy of four weeks. But the Lakers aren’t putting pressure on Doncic to come back as quickly. 

“It’s very simple,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said of getting Doncic back and protecting him from further injury. “It’s ‘when he’s ready to play, he should play.’ That comes with the athlete having confidence. It’s no different from Austin.” 

Doncic is five weeks into what doctors predicted was an eight-week timeline. Frustrated with missing the most important part of the season, Doncic is also mindful of being cautious about his future. 

“It's a tough one for me because I came back from injuries before too soon, and it wasn't the best result,” said Doncic, who fought through a calf injury last season that lasted for months and predicated his shocking trade to the Lakers. “But like I say, this is the first time I have [this] hamstring injury.

"It's not the same like other injuries. You have to be very careful, and I'm doing everything to come back. All the recovery, the chamber, cold tub, everything I can to come back, but it's obviously very different than other injuries I had.”

Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things Lakers.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

A day after the Minnesota Timberwolves upset the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of their second-round matchup, I got a follow-up text from JR Wilco at Pounding the Rock — our Spurs sister site — asking if I wanted to have another one of these conversations about what we’re seeing within our own teams and ask about the opposition.

It’s always fun to have some extra insight on what’s going on from the perspective of other beats, and Sun Tzu said “know thy enemy,” so here we are, knowing our enemy.

J.R. Wilco

What a game! Of course, I would have preferred a different outcome, but this is what Spurs fans have been missing for the last 9 years: a high level of competition, important games, high stakes, pressure, and … relevancy. 

Here’s what we know about this series after Game 1. It’ll be a shame if this doesn’t go the distance. That might sound weird, so I’ll clarify. As a Spurs fan, of course, I want it to end in five games with San Antonio completing the Gentleman’s Sweep and running the table – no matter how unrealistic that is. But as a basketball fan, I’d love nothing better than to sink my teeth into 336 minutes of these two teams trading haymakers. 

I mean, come on now, Monday night’s first three plays were all blocks by tall French dudes! The game was tighter than the lid on a 10-year-old jar of grandma’s strawberry preserves. Neither team ever got a double-digit lead? Every time I thought the Spurs were going to get some breathing room, someone in a white jersey did something laughably athletic and timely to end San Antonio’s run. 

Example #1: The Spurs like to end quarters on at least a mini-run by setting up a two-for-one, such that they take a shot, giving the other team the ball with about 30-ish seconds left on the clock. Well, Minnesota not only knows this, but they’re also aware that Fox is often the player taking the last shot, and even as he works around the Champagnie screen and gets free for a paint jumper that’s so in his sweet spot it’s in danger of giving him diabetes, Hyland leaves Julian, blocks Fox from behind, and Randle gets a dunk at the buzzer. Example #2: End of the 2nd quarter, Conley and Clark mess up Vassell and Fox’s pick and roll, and even though De’Aaron ends up getting into the lane with just Randle in front of him, he’s not fully in control and loses the ball. 

In neither quarter of the first half were the Spurs able to even get a shot off in their final possession. And people were criticizing Mitch Johnson for not calling a timeout at the end of the 4th. But I think it would have been foolish to allow the Minny defense to get set when they’ve already shown the ability to blow up your usual end-of-quarter offense during the flow of the game. Anyway, that’s the kind of defense that needs to be put under a microscope to understand it so that it can be better attacked, and that’s precisely what I believe San Antonio’s coaching staff is doing right now. 

Which brings me to Finch and Co’s job prepping their team, and the expectation of the next game. With the Wolves getting to the Western Conference Finals two years in a row, you’ve been through long postseason runs. What kinds of adjustments are you used to seeing? What do you expect them to do next, and how much fun are you having? 

Thilo

That was certainly something. While you guys may have missed that, I don’t think Wolves fans will ever get used to it. I mean, we used to have to sell first-round picks for cash considerations so we could fire our coach! We’re that team!! And we just upset a two-seed that was only +400 or so to sweep us!

There’s always that element of surprise with these Wolves. I try to be realistic, only to have them blow those expectations out of the water, only to let me down the second I start believing. This happened during Game 7 against the Nuggets in 2023-24 and during Game 4 of the Suns series in 2024-25. I can’t wait for it to happen again now that I believe.

On the point of adjustments, I will give myself a quick pat on the back for calling that Fox would be the target, the supposed weakest link, named by the coaching staff. That has always been the first change Chris Finch and the rest of the bench have made in the playoffs.

Finch understands, as most coaches do, that while regular-season games are about how much you can keep your formula intact, the playoffs are all about how well and how quickly you can change while preventing the opposing team from getting what they’re most comfortable doing.

From the outside looking in, the Spurs seem like they want Fox, Harper, and Castle to get to the paint alongside Wembanyama to absolutely bully opposing teams inside the arc offensively while funneling everyone inside towards Wemby defensively.

Well, they certainly did the latter half. The only issue? The Minnesota Timberwolves are a team of psychopaths.

Wemby blocked everything, and it didn’t matter. Minnesota still got 50+ shots in the paint. That’s the funny realization that Finch came to. Blocks don’t always end possessions, and Wemby can only do so much.

The issue with the Wolves is that they seem to flame out as that third series approaches. Every team gets the crap kicked out of them, only for Minnesota to burn itself out. It’s why I still struggle to fully believe.
As far as what to expect, I assume that nothing will change as far as paint volume goes. The biggest change will be who is taking those shots. Ayo Dosumnu will be coming back and did the same to the Nuggets. I think the biggest difference will come with how Rudy Gobert is deployed. Maybe he isn’t a head-to-head matchup with Wemby (Randle did a better job, truth be told), and is instead used to overwhelm the Wemby-less minutes.

That’s where my first question comes in. Wembanyama was not the biggest letdown of the two main stars, but he is far more crucial than Fox. How do you think the approach changes, or do you think it’s just a question of hitting shots instead of missing them? Additionally, do Wemby’s gaudy blocked shot numbers actually hide the fact that his rebounding/defensive play finishing left a lot to be desired? How do you deal with that?

J.R.

First, when you’re talking about comparing one game to the next, it’s never just about one factor, even if it’s hitting shots. Let’s say that you look at the average score of a player and figure that he can be depended on to deliver that. Well, over a season he can, but in a single game, there are too many variables. It’s easy to say, “We’ll be fine on Wednesday because those outside shots will drop,” but maybe Minnesota gets to the line more and hits all of their free throws. Or San Antonio doubles their average turnovers and starts hemorrhaging transition points. There are just far too many factors involved in every game to imagine a single category improving and then expect everything else to stay the same. 

As for Wemby’s play, it’s wild to think that in a game when he tallied a dozen blocks and 15 boards, his defense and rebounding could have been better, but there it is. Wemby still leaves his feet for fakes when he’s around the basket, and I don’t think anything besides time and seasoning will cure it. I don’t know whether this is conventional basketball wisdom, but it’s my firm belief that jumping to challenge midrange or perimeter shots is fundamentally sound. But when it comes to big men around the basket, they should raise their arms to challenge but keep their feet to be available for the rebound. This goes doubly for Wemby because he’s so tall that he affects shots sometimes, even when he doesn’t make a move to block. Bottom line, the idea of defense is to get a stop, not to get blocks. I like it when he denies a guy, but I like ending an offensive possession even more. 

The Wolves decided that they’d just keep attacking regardless of how many blocks he got, and you can’t argue with the results. As to how you deal with that, I’m not sure, but it’s got to be a team thing. Funneling drivers to Wemby definitely works when Gobert is on the court, begging to be ignored, but when Minnesota goes small, you’ve got to find someone better than Shannon for Vic to guard. He’s so fast that the instant Victor gets hung on a screen, it’s over. 

But all is not lost. I don’t expect Fox to have two stinkers in a row, and some regression to the team’s mean for threes can be expected unless the Timberwolves have some magic potion that makes the team they’re playing forget how to shoot open looks from deep. That would sound laughable, but it seemed to happen to Denver, and we know what happened in Game 1. 

How about your take on Game 2: do you think it’ll be as close as Monday, and do you see the Spurs solving some part of what Finch has planned?

Thilo

I actually texted a boss at another gig (who among us does not have too many jobs?) about this today and said: “I’m expecting a 20-point win for San Antonio because anything else would set off alarm bells.”

So let’s just say, I think San Antonio will solve something; I just wonder what that will be.

It’s hard to win a game on the road, especially with how intense the Frost Bank Center looked to be during stretches of that fourth quarter. It’s even harder to win two games on the road. It’s impossibly hard to win the first two games in a series on the road in the second round against a higher-seeded team.

The last time I can remember away teams taking 2-0 leads regularly was during the bubble, and this is so vastly different.

I will say, though, I harped on about playoff experience during the first episode (?) of this series, and that is something that I think will continue to be relevant. Mitch Johnson is not Gregg Popovich. He has not been here. He likely wouldn’t be here if Pop had the health to stick around.

Yeah, it is hard to win on the road, but it’s probably easier to imagine winning on the road when you have a track record (which the Wolves now shockingly do) than when your rotation has 90% of its career playoff minutes coming from old man Harrison Barnes.

Maybe that’s too short or dismissive of an answer, but I truly think it comes down to that. Experience matters, and the Spurs – the dynastic, ever-relevant Spurs – lack that right now.

To that point, it’s kind of hard to see who will lead the team in this series. It feels a little premature for Wemby to take that over alongside all his on-court roles, and Fox surely needs to play better for that to happen. Castle and Harper are not good enough to outdo their age in that regard, too.

People will laugh at this comparison, but the Pistons have Tobias Harris. The Wolves have Mike Conley. The Thunder needed Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein. Vets are important, and the Spurs don’t have a ton of them to unite behind. 

Every team needs that. Every single championship team stresses the importance of those guys. Who will be that underappreciated, often unutilized guy to step up? It remains to be seen how the game will turn out, but that’s what I’ll be watching for.

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

Game 2 has to be closer, right? The New York Knicks will not absolutely blow out the Philadelphia 76ers again, right?

These 76ers vs. Knicks props and NBA picks do not need to ponder that possibility before Game 2 on Wednesday, May 6.

Best 76ers vs Knicks props for Game 2

Player	Pick
Karl-Anthony Towns	3+ threes	+320
VJ Edgecombe	Over 12.5 points	-105
Josh Hart	10+ rebounds	+120

Game 2 Prop #1: Karl-Anthony Towns 3+ threes

+320 at bet365

Karl-Anthony Towns hit three of his five 3-pointers in Game 1 on Monday. More notable than that reality is the New York Knicks center took five 3-pointers in just 20 minutes of action.

If the Philadelphia 76ers can remain competitive, Towns should play 30+ minutes.

In that case, he could easily take seven or eight 3-pointers. Towns shot 36.8% from beyond the arc this regular season and is now at 47.8% this postseason. Either one of those rates would yield a greater likelihood than not that Towns hits at least three 3-pointers if attempting seven of them.

Sure, his Over 1.5 threes is priced at just +100, but when realizing a full game’s workload creates such ample opportunity, how can you turn down this added value?

Game 2 Prop #2: VJ Edgecombe Over 12.5 points

-105 at bet365

If the 76ers intend to be competitive, they should lean further into VJ Edgecombe. The rookie has regularly been their most postseason-ready player. And that was the case in Game 1, even if he scored only 12 points on 5-for-11 shooting.

Of Philadelphia’s genuine rotation, players who saw more than 20 minutes of action in that rout, only Edgecombe had a plus-minus better than -24.

While that can be a finicky stat, Edgecombe’s -15 in 28 minutes stood out for being nine points better than Joel Embiid’s and Quentin Grimes’s respective -24 in 24 minutes each.

More Edgecombe should be the 76ers’ most obvious adjustment in Game 2. Even his 20-point milestone at +575 may warrant some consideration.

Game 2 Prop #3: Josh Hart 10+ Rebounds

+120 at bet365

With no Joel Embiid tonight, the chances of a rout are clearly high, but if the 76ers manage to make this competitive, then Josh Hart should easily snag double-digit rebounds. He had eight in less than 26 minutes of action in Game 1.

Force Hart to play 35 or so minutes, and 10+ rebounds should be assured.

No, there is no guarantee that Game 2 will be competitive, but logic suggests Philadelphia will show some desperation, and while it will likely still lose, that desperation should force Hart to play a fuller game.

Realize, Hart’s rebounding prop is set at 8.5 with the Over juiced to -140. One more rebound is certainly worth 60 cents of value, right?

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

You have all seen the stat online; the Cleveland Cavaliers are rewriting the history books. At the time of this post, the Cavs have the most turnovers through eight games of the postseason since 1996, with 141.

Not exactly the type of notoriety one hopes for from their favorite basketball club. However, through eight games, it certainly has felt that the Cavaliers are their own worst enemy. Even in the games that they have persevered in, there have been long stretches of lapses in judgment and ill-advised passes.

With the way the Cavaliers currently run their offense, a lot of those possessions run through their two-star guards, James Harden and Donovan Mitchell. Both of which, to varying degrees, have been the main culprits as to why the turnover count is so high, and the offense looks so inept at times.

Donovan Mitchell, who is looking for another max extension this postseason, has frankly been far below what one would expect from a player who is the franchise’s star. Mitchell, more times than not this postseason, looks like someone forcing the issue. What makes this jarring is that Mitchell, in the regular season, was fantastic, looking like someone who could erase a lot of the team’s offensive woes with his ability to drop 30 points without even blinking.

Now that the defenses are scheming to neutralize him, Mitchell has looked about as mortal as we have seen him. Mitchell is shooting 44% from the field in the postseason, a nearly 5% drop in efficiency from the regular season. It’s not just the stats that show Mitchell is playing worse; it is the simple eye test of game to game. It often appears like Mitchell is trying to figure out his spots in the postseason.

Mitchell is often seen settling for floaters or pull-up threes rather than using his elite athleticism to get to the rim and force the defense to collapse to meet him. This has neutralized part of what made Mitchell so dynamic. We are also seeing this affect him getting to the line. Mitchell is currently averaging two free throw attempts a game, as opposed to the regular season, where he was getting there six times a game.

The best players in the league know, in the postseason, that defenses aim to take away what you are good at — so when they take your fastball, what other pitches are in your arsenal? I think we are seeing that Mitchell, when met with the team’s best defender, believes someone else has a more ideal matchup and attempts to play facilitator. Frankly, Mitchell, at best, is a slightly above-average playmaker when it comes to setting guys up. That’s why Mitchell is averaging nearly three turnovers a game.

Harden is the greater offender in this regard, currently contributing a nauseating 5.4 turnovers a game (43 total). With turnover numbers as high as eight turnovers in Game 3 against Toronto and seven turnovers in Game 1 against the Detroit Pistons, as well as Game 4 in Toronto.

This isn’t a case of being unlucky — this is just sloppy play from one of the league’s premier distributors. Harden admitted as much after Game 1 against the Pistons.

At times with his turnovers, they looked almost so casual that it appeared someone had slipped a Xanax into his Gatorade. The lack of urgency and importance on every turnover was just one kick to the crotch after another to the Cavaliers as they clawed their way back to an almost improbable comeback against the Pistons.

Harden has more positives than negatives in the postseason. While Mitchell has fluctuated in his impact, Harden — despite shooting the team in the foot and making up almost a third of the team’s turnovers in the postseason — has been a stabilizer on offense at his most efficient.

However, the issue with Harden is that when he is on the floor, he needs to be on the ball. Therefore, all of his impact is going to come from those on-ball opportunities, and right now, that comes with the lax nature of his turnovers. Time will tell whether Game 1 against Detroit was the wake-up call Harden needed to see that this team cannot overcome his lapses in judgment or sloppy ball handling.

The fact of the matter is that there is proof that Cleveland is talented enough to overcome their two best players faltering at the highest level. Cleveland is currently in the second round of the postseason with Mitchell and Harden not being at their best — something that would have sunk the prior iterations of the Cavaliers. The other guys are showing up to make up lost ground.

Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley have had their moments in the postseason. We are seeing Max Strus, Sam Merrill, Jaylon Tyson, and Denis Schroeder having their games as well.

This makes the lack of Mitchell and sometimes Harden all the more torturous. If Cleveland’s star backcourt both showed up in a game, the Cavaliers might look nearly unstoppable. As of now, they look as frustrating as any team remaining in the postseason.

With the condensed schedule of the NBA playoffs and the quick turnaround for the Philadelphia 76ers after their seven-game series with the Boston Celtics, it was frequently wondered if Joel Embiid was going to be able to make it through a series that would play as many as seven games in 15 days.

Well, just two games in, we have the answer to that. The former NBA MVP was just ruled out for Game 2 with lingering ankle and hip soreness, per Shams Charania.

Embiid didn’t look healthy in Game 1, just two days after a dominant performance to lift the Sixers over the Celtics in Game 7. In the blowout Knicks win, he scored just 14 points on 3-for-11 from the field with a turnover while being completely exploited defensively. He was minus-24 in 25 minutes.

He’s dealt with balky knees for the past several years, but has also suffered oblique, foot, and hip injuries this season, as well as an appendectomy that cost him several weeks. He had played five consecutive games since his return in Game 4 against the Celtics, but with the reality that he hadn’t played seven consecutive games since December 2023, this always felt like a possibility. The fact that it’s ankle and hip pain, though, is notable.

The Sixers might’ve been willing to sit Embiid today because of the dynamics of this series. With no extra rest days, the organization might’ve made the decision to risk going down 0-2 heading back to Philadelphia while allowing Embiid to get extra rest, rather than overexert him and risk a disastrous scenario of a hobbled Embiid in the same perilous situation.

With Embiid out, expect a stronger Sixers defense, even if Andre Drummond isn’t the most stout defender. One big advantage that the Knicks will have is that Mitchell Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns are now significantly less likely to get in early foul trouble, something that felt like a big key entering this series.