Coaches will always coach, particularly during trying moments.
Following the Warriors’ season-ending 121-110 Game 5 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday at Target Center, coach Steve Kerr shared some motivational words with guard Brandin Podziemski.
Podziemski, who underwent a historic shooting slump through the first four games of the Western Conference semifinals, led Golden State’s scoring with 28 points on 11 of 19 shooting while adding six rebounds, four assists and two steals in Game 5.
Even though Podziemski’s revival was too little too late, Kerr acknowledged the 22-year-old culminated his postseason run by becoming a more seasoned player.
“This was a great experience for him,” Kerr told reporters after the loss. “There were times in this series where he was hesitant to shoot, even tonight he was 4-for-6.
“I thought he could’ve gotten 10 or 11 threes off, and we needed those. And I told him that after the game, I said, ‘When we get back here next season, you are not going to turn down a single shot.’”
In hopes of keeping the season alive and giving star guard Steph Curry an opportunity to return to action, Kerr leaned heavily on Podziemski.
Outside of wing Jimmy Butler’s team-high 42 minutes, Podziemski followed with 39 minutes, responding positively to a series that challenged him physically and mentally.
“And that’s part of the playoffs. I lived it as a player. It’s a mind game,” Kerr continued. “I call it something more profane, but the playoffs are a mind game.
“It’s really easy to lose your confidence, teams throw different schemes at you. You had a bad game, and everyone is talking about your shooting percentage. You feel like you’re on an island. I’ve been there. It’s great for Brandin to go through that and then finish the series with a great game because he has to understand this is what it feels like.”
As Kerr emphasized, the pressures of the NBA playoffs are incomparable to those of the regular season.
Podziemski’s slump, for one, is proof of that.
“Nobody cares in January if you’re 4-for-20, but in the playoffs, everyone is writing about it, everyone is talking about it,” Kerr concluded.
“You feel exposed, and that’s a big part of the playoff experience is understanding you got to keep firing, you have to stay aggressive [and] keep your confidence any way you can.”
Kerr will be expecting more of that from Podziemski next season.
MINNEAPOLIS – From the moment Stephen Curry limped off the floor after playing 13 promising minutes in Game 1, the Warriors were crawling uphill in mud against the Minnesota Timberwolves. They had to know winning even one more game, perhaps creating a jolt of post-Steph confidence, would require an extraordinary performance.
No such thing occurred. The Warriors were not extraordinary enough. Not in Game 2 or Game 3 or Game 4, all losses with similar characteristics.
It was no different Wednesday night in Game 5, facing elimination in the Western Conference semifinals, which ended with the Warriors being thumped into the offseason by a 117-110 loss that was much more decisive than the score indicates.
The better team won Game 5 and the series, sweeping the last four games.
“I thought Game 3 was the key to the series,” coach Steve Kerr said. “We’re at 1-1, and we got a six-point lead in the mid-fourth [quarter], and they made huge plays down the stretch. That was the one we needed to get.
“And then I thought the last two games, they broke free offensively. And they shot 63 percent tonight. We couldn’t stop them.”
There is no shame or dishonor about Golden State’s effort before a rollicking sellout crowd at Target Center. The Warriors accomplished their No. 1 defensive priority, doing a marvelous job of preventing the redoubtable Anthony Edwards from shooting them off the floor. Doubling and trapping, they forced Edwards to move the ball.
Edwards quickly caught on and improvised, turning the game over to his teammates, who did a terrific job of shredding Golden State’s formerly respectable defense. The Warriors in the first half limited Edwards to six points but went into the locker room trailing 62-47.
“We threw a lot of stuff at him,” Kerr said of Edwards who finished with 22 points and a game-high 12 assists. “Box-and-one on one possession, a lot of zone-trapping in the back court. But they’re a hell of a team. They’ve got shooting everywhere. And that’s the name of the game in the modern NBA.”
The Timberwolves shot 62.8 percent from the field, including 41.9 percent from deep. Six different players scored in double figures, led by Julius Randle’s 29 points. Golden State’s top-five offense was no match.
“They moved the ball incredibly well, got into the paint,” Jimmy Butler III said. “I don’t feel like we took too much away from them. We talked about what we wanted to do. We did it in some spurts, but not the entire game – which we needed to do. They played well. You’ve got to give them that.”
The Warriors were appreciably outplayed by a team that is bigger, faster, deeper, more athletic and more skilled. Quite simply, superior. The Timberwolves, for much of this series, and surely in clinching Game 5, looked as if they were from a higher league.
“They got a chance. They’ve got a real shot,” Draymond Green said of the Wolves. “Anytime you got No. 2 [Randle] that can just go get it, you give yourself a chance at the go make it happen and get a ring. The way Julius has been playing … he’s been lights out.”
Game 5 was such disaster that the arena DJ turned to soundtrack that practically mocked the Warriors and the Bay Area, blasting such artists Too Short, Mac Dre and E-40 on what felt like a rotational loop.
Golden State’s veteran starters – Butler, Green and Buddy Hield – never mounted much of a threat in Game 5, combining for 35 points on 10-of-31 shooting from the field, including 1 of 13 from beyond the arc. Butler was minus-17 over 41 minutes, Green was minus-9 over 36 minutes and Hield finished minus-13 over 30 minutes.
What little offense Golden State stirred during the heart of the game came mostly from Brandin Podziemski (a playoff-career high 28 points in by far his best game of the series) and Jonathan Kuminga (26 points, his third consecutive productive outing).
This always was going to be a tough series, but there is no doubt Curry’s presence could have made it more competitive. Whether that would have been enough to tip the balance toward the Warriors is questionable. Once Curry was sidelined, the Warriors needed to win at least one of their home games to give themselves legitimate hope. Dropping both games and returning to Minnesota facing elimination put them in position to get smacked.
Two-plus months of quality basketball took the Warriors this far. About as far as they could go, considering their compromised roster. Even through the disappointment, they can hold their heads high.
While Derrick White (34 points) and Jaylen Brown (26 points) led the Jayson Tatum-less C’s in the scoring column, Luke Kornet was the difference-maker in Wednesday’s 127-102 rout. The big man recorded 10 points, nine rebounds, and a career-high seven blocks in 26 minutes off the bench.
“He was great. Just both ends of the floor,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “His presence was good… He made some big-time plays for us.”
The Celtics took control of Game 5 in the third quarter, outscoring the Knicks 32-17 after being tied at the half. It’s no coincidence that Boston’s dominance began when Kornet replaced Kristaps Porzingis.
Porzingis, who started in Tatum’s place despite an ongoing battle with a mysterious illness, struggled mightily in his 12 minutes. He logged only one point and was a -12, making him the only Celtic to finish in the negatives.
According to Mazzulla, Porzingis didn’t play in the second half because he had difficulty breathing. The setback is concerning for the already shorthanded Celtics, but it opened the door for Kornet to give Boston a much-needed spark with its season at stake.
“He was unbelievable,” White said of Kornet. “He came in and just seemed to always be in the right position. “Seven blocks is crazy. He was unbelievable tonight and stepped up when we needed him.
“Yeah, I was barking with him,” White added. “It’s just fun seeing him do that.”
It was more than just a career night for Kornet. The 29-year-old made NBA history, becoming the first player with at least 10 points, nine rebounds, seven blocks, and a perfect shooting performance (5-5 FG) in a playoff game. Anthony Davis (2023), Robert Williams (2022), and Draymond Green (2016) are the only other players to notch at least 10 points, nine boards, and seven blocks in a postseason game in the last 10 years.
“Luke was huge tonight, defensively and offensively,” Brown said. “He was stellar, and that’s the type of performance we need in the playoffs.”
After the win, Kornet credited Brown and veteran big man Al Horford with helping the team reset after Tatum’s Achilles tear.
“Understanding the situation and understanding that we have a game to play, and to go out and represent ourselves well and play hard,” he said. “I feel like those two led the way in that.”
Winning the final two games of this Eastern Conference semifinals series without Tatum is a tall task, never mind making it through another two rounds. But if Kornet continues to provide a significant boost, and both White and Brown step up in starring roles, the reigning champions can’t be counted out.
With Porzingis’ status uncertain, Kornet will likely be asked to give the C’s more big minutes in Friday’s do-or-die Game 6 at Madison Square Garden. Coverage for the matchup begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston with Celtics Pregame Live.
Arizona forward Carter Bryant will remain in the NBA draft, where he could be a lottery pick. Bryant told ESPN on Wednesday he's “completely in" on the draft process following workouts at the NBA draft combine. A 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward, Bryant had a solid freshman season at Arizona after being a McDonald's All-American in high school.
Paul Goldschmidt hit a home run to lead off the seventh and Aaron Judge a homer to lead off the eighth as the Yankees completed a comeback win over the Mariners, 3-2, on Wednesday afternoon in Seattle.
New York improved to 25-18 on the year and took two out of three in Seattle (23-19).
Here are the takeaways...
- The Yanks got traffic on Mariners starter Luis Castillo with a Judge single and Cody Bellinger double with two down in the first and a pair of singles in the third. But New York would strand all four runners as the Seattle starter got five big strikeouts, including Judge and Bellinger in the third.
Castillo settled into a solid groove and kept the Yanks out of creating anything until there were two outs in the fifth when Anthony Volpe cracked a double off the wall in right on a 3-2 fastball up and over the plate. Jasson Dominguez put the Yanks on the board by blistering a first-pitch double just over first baseman Rowdy Tellez's glove for an RBI double. Batting as a lefty, he took the down and in slider and rocketed 112.1 mph off the bat.
- Goldschmidt came on as a pinch-hitter to start the seventh and launched the first pitch thrown by Mariners reliever Gabe Speier to tie the game. The lefty's 94 mph fastball was in the perfect spot for Goldschmidt to turn on and drive 377 feet down the line in left (107 mph off the bat). He added a single in the ninth to finish 1-for-2 off the bench, raising his average to .346 on the year.
- Judge singled on a line drive his first time up, but went down swinging the next two times against Castillo. Carlos Vargas wasn't so lucky as his 1-1 slider went right down the plite and Judge clobbered it: 444 feet and 117.7 mph off the bat for his 15th home run and 41st RBI of the year to put the Yankees ahead for the first time of the day. With the 2-for-4 day, Judge boosted his slash line to .412/.497/.782 for a 1.279 OPS.
- Will Warren, coming off his best start of the season, looked in fine form, retiring seven of the first eight batters he faced with six strikeouts. But an error and a one-out single to right led to a third-inning mound visit from pitching coach Matt Blake. The righty got a swinging bunt for the second out, but walked the bases loaded on four straight out of the zone to the dangerous Jorge Polanco.
Unfortunately, Julio Rodriguez laced a first-pitch sinker on the outside corner down the right field line for a two-run double on a ball that just stayed fair. Cal Releigh hit the next pitch even harder, but it just hung up on center for Trent Grisham to end the inning.
Warren found the groove again, retiring five of the next six with three more strikeouts to give him a new career-high. A two-out single by Polanco led to another visit from Blake as Rodriguez dug in. The Mariners’ star put a charge into a 3-2 sweeper that hung over the plate, but Dominguez camped under the high fly to make the catch on the warning track for a 374-foot out.
His final line: 5 innings, two runs (both unearned), three hits, one walk, one HBP, and nine strikeouts on 92 pitches (53 strikes).
- Out of the bullpen, Tyler Matzek put himself in a spot of bother, allowing a leadoff walk and a one-out four-pitch walk in the sixth. But, after Blake paid a visit, the lefty got Leody Taveras swinging before Ian Hamilton closed the inning. The righty added a pair of strikeouts in a clean seventh.
Fernando Cruz, the first Yankee to pitch with a lead on the day, got the eighth, and allowed a one-out single that one-hopped the wall in right that Bellinger played well to hold Raleigh at first. And after getting ahead of Randy Arozarena 0-2, he hit him with a 2-2 sinker to put the go-ahead run on base. But, after another Blake mound visit, a first-pitch sinker to Dylan Moore resulted in a room service 6-4-3 inning-ender.
Luke Weaver, who threw 21 pitches over two innings on Tuesday night, needed just 15 to strike out the side and earn his fourth save of the season.
- DJ LeMahieu got the start at second and was charged with a throwing error in the third, but wasn’t really at fault. He threw right to the bag, but confusion between Ben Rice and Warren about who was covering led to neither catching the ball.
He finished the day 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Grisham, who hit two homers in the first game of the series, made a bid for a leadoff shot and had it over the wall in center, but Rodriguez ranged back and, with a leap, pulled the ball back in play for a 397-foot out. (It would have been a homer in 13 ballparks, but not Yankee Stadium.) He finished the day 0-for-4 with a walk and three strikeouts.
Game MVP: Yankees pitchers
New York's quintet totaled 15 strikeouts and limited the hosts to just five hits as they went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base.
BOSTON — Kristaps Porzingis’ struggles to stay on the court continued Wednesday night, and it sounds like his health issues were more pronounced this time around.
The Celtics big man logged just 12 minutes in Game 5 of Boston’s second-round playoff series with the New York Knicks at TD Garden and didn’t play at all in the second half. He finished with just one point on 0 for 3 shooting with one rebound and one block.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla shared a concerning update on Porzingis when asked about the big man’s limited minutes.
Porzingis started the game and played 7:38 minutes in the first quarter. He was used sparingly in the second quarter, however, and came to a mutual agreement with Mazzulla at halftime.
“That was just a decision between me and him,” Mazzulla said of Porzingis’ absence in the second half. “He was having difficulties breathing. But he wanted to be out there, and if we absolutely needed him, we would have been able to go to him and rely on him.”
“I’ve had ups and downs up until this point, and just now had a big crash,” Porzingis said after Game 2. “My energy, my everything hasn’t been good.”
Porzingis played just 13 minutes in Game 1, 14 minutes in Game 2 and 19 minutes in Game 3 before delivering his “best” performance of the series in Game 4: a seven-point, four-rebound effort in 24 minutes. It’s clear the 29-year-old is very far from full strength, however.
Fortunately for the Celtics, Kornet stepped up in a huge way in Game 5, racking up 10 points, nine rebounds and a career-high seven blocks in 25 minutes of action. Kornet’s efforts were a big reason why Boston out-rebounded the Knicks 44-40 on Wednesday night after getting killed on the glass in Game 4.
With a must-win Game 6 set for Friday night in New York, don’t be surprised if we see more of Kornet going forward, with Porzingis only being deployed on an “as needed” basis.
Tip-off for Game 6 is set for 8 p.m. ET on Friday, with NBC Sports Boston’s coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET with Celtics Pregame Live.
The series finale between the Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field is delayed due to inclement weather.
Originally a 7:10 p.m. start time, the Mets announced a new tentative 7:25 p.m. first pitch.
Mets starter Clay Holmes has been great in his first season as a starter in Queens, pitching to a 2.74 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 42.2 innings over eight starts. Wednesday will be Holmes' first start on regular rest since he made the transition from closer to starter.
The Pirates are looking to salvage a game in this series, and they'll have Bailer Falter on the bump to try and do so. The left-hander has pitched to a 2-3 record and a 4.36 ERA across eight starts this season.
New York will look to sweep this series ahead of an off day on Thursday and before they start a highly-anticipated three-game set against the Yankees this weekend in The Bronx.
As the Buffalo Sabres' off-season continues to unfold, there are many voices arguing the team should be doing what many NHL teams are doing -- namely, augmenting their front office with a veteran voice who has many years as a successful GM in hockey's top league. And the Los Angeles Kings are the latest organization to do exactly that, hiring former Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland Wednesday as the Kings' new GM.
To be sure, Holland's incredible experience as a Stanley Cup winner and team-builder was behind L.A.'s decision to insert him as replacement for longtime GM Rob Blake. The Kings have been a solid regular-season team for many years, but Los Angeles' inability to win a playoff round in Blake's tenure led to the decision to replace him with Holland. It was time for a change for the Kings, and L.A. went with a proven winner in Holland.
And while there are no guarantees Holland will guide the Kings to playoff success, the Sabres need to heed the example set by L.A. and figure out which experienced and available management member will at the very least help current Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams, and at the very most serve as Adams' replacement if and when Sabres ownership chooses to pink-slip Adams.
Indeed, there's no salary cap limit on front office members, so Sabres ownership can hire as many experienced hands as they can get. And while there is such a thing as too many cooks in the kitchen, adding someone who knows the terrain of the NHL leadership landscape can only help Buffalo.
The Sabres are going to be under incredible pressure just to make the playoffs next sesaon, let alone win a round or two. So having someone on board who's handled that kind of pressure and thrived in spite of it is exactly what the doctor ordered for this franchise at this point in Buffalo's history. The Sabres need someone whose temperature won't be in fever territory when things get difficult, and that almost assuredly means they need someone who's seen just about everything there is to see as they try to construct a year-in, year-out winner.
You can argue that Adams deserves another kick at the can as Sabres GM -- and while we don't necessarily agree with that perspective, you can't convince us that Adams should be charting a course for Buffalo without the assistance and feedback of someone who's achieved something as an executive that Adams hasn't yet achieved.
Time will tell how the Sabres flesh out the rest of their management team, but one thing is for certain -- if all they do in this off-season is hire Staal to help Adams out, they haven't done nearly enough to give themselves a bona fide opportunity to finally break their now-14-year playoff drought. And the blame for that will fall squarely at the feet of Buffalo ownership.
There should be no expense too rich for the Sabres to turn things around at the management level, and hiring someone like Holland to help reverse the team's fortunes is the very least they can do. Holland's hiring in L.A. is the latest instance of an NHL team hedging their bets with a GM who's seen and done it all, and Buffalo needs someone very similar to him in order to end the playoff-free streak and get the Sabres back on the winning track.
Unfortunately for Miller, he did not make the cut after he finished a 4-over-par 76 in the initial round of local qualifying, falling four strokes back of the cut line in the one-day, 18-hole event at Quicksilver Golf Club.
“It was hard,” Miller said via NHL.com. “It got windy. I thought it would be harder with the rain. ... I had a month to practice. So, I felt good coming in here. Typically, it always comes down to making putts. That’s what those guys are a lot better at doing.”
Regardless of the result, Miller is still happy he at least attempted to qualify for the U.S. Open and he has no regrets.
“I had an opportunity to play for one day,” said Miller. “I know who I’m playing against out there. I’m a competitive guy, so I just kept the expectations realistic. I’m happy with myself.”
It’s safe to say Miller hopes to be competing for a Stanley Cup with the Rangers next year as opposed to playing golf.
“The goal is not to be available to play in this,” Miller said. “Unfortunately, that’s what happens.”
Coaching is an essential part of hockey, especially in the NHL. Every successful team has a head coach who puts his players in the best position to succeed. Right now, the Chicago Blackhawks have a vacancy in that role.
After Anders Sorensen completed his interim head coaching stint, replacing the fired Luke Richardson, it became obvious that Kyle Davidson and his staff would conduct a widespread search for the next bench boss.
A few high-end candidates have come and gone. David Carle, who was at the top of Chicago’s list, will remain the head coach of Denver in the college ranks. Mike Sullivan was fired by the Pittsburgh Penguins and hired by the New York Rangers just a few days later.
On Wednesday, two more coaching vacancies filled up. Rick Tocchet, who left the Vancouver Canucks on April 29th, was hired by the Philadelphia Flyers. There had been speculation for weeks that Tocchet would go to Philly, and it finally came to fruition.
A few hours later, the Vancouver Canucks announced that Adam Foote, their assistant coach, would take over as the bench boss in place of Tocchet. This move will be met with mixed reviews, but another team is off the market for a new coach.
The Blackhawks are left with the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Seattle Kraken as the only teams with a hole to fill behind the bench. Of the four, the Blackhawks have the best situation in terms of prospects and draft picks to build around.
The Bruins, Kraken, and Penguins have also all had their rumors and speculation. The Blackhawks, outside of Carle, have not. Kyle Davidson, outside of saying that Anders Sorensen is in the mix for the job, has not let anything leak. Nobody knows who he likes, who has interviewed, or has a sense of where they are in the process.
It won't be long before something happens. The dominoes are falling around the league now, and the options for candidates are dwindling. If a young team with a bright future is what an incoming coach wants, Chicago is their best bet of the four remaining.
The Warriors have never been swept in a playoff series with Steve Kerr as their head coach. For the first time ever, though, they lost four consecutive playoff games under him after dropping Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals, 121-110, against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night at the Target Center.
Steph Curry, because of a strained left hamstring, missed all four losses. The Warriors were 4-1 against the Timberwolves with Curry this season, and 0-5 without him.
To keep the season alive and the remaining hopes of Curry getting another crack at this, the Warriors needed a miracle. They instead laid an egg. When the Warriors cut the lead to nine points in the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves immediately pushed it to 14 and always had an answer.
Brandin Podziemski finished on a high note with his one strong game of the conference semifinals. The second-year pro was far and away the Warriors’ best player, scoring a team-high 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting, and had six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
But the Warriors sans Curry was supposed to be about Butler, the co-star they acquired at the trade deadline. For the second straight game, Butler did not live up to his Playoff Jimmy moniker one bit.
Butler only took 11 shots and made four on his way to 17 points, nine of which came at the free-throw line. Butler led the Warriors in rebounds (six), assists (six) and steals (three), but was a game-worst minus-17.
The two best players in the series were Timberwolves stars Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle. The duo outplayed Butler and Draymond Green. To cap it off, Randle scored a game-high 29 points, and Edwards had a 22-point, 12-assist double-double.
Minnesota’s offense found a lot of comfort in Golden State’s defense the past few games, and sliced the Warriors like melted butter to end their season. Whether it was inside the paint or behind the 3-point line, the Timberwolves like their looks. The Timberwolves shot 62.8 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from three, far better than the Warriors’ final shooting numbers of 43.3 percent overall and 28.2 on 3-pointers.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ season-ending loss.
Butler’s Bad Ending
The Butler who did his best Batman impression in Game 3 was nowhere to be found in Game 4. Everybody was looking for Butler to be far more aggressive in Game 5 after battling an illness and being held to 14 points on a lowly nine shot attempts Monday night. Then he took just one shot in the first quarter and was a minus-11.
Butler began forcing his way to the free-throw line and scored six points in the second quarter, bringing him to eight points on five shot attempts and five free throw attempts. And he also was down to a game-low minus-19.
Butler never got going. He went into the fourth quarter as a minus-19 with 12 points on nine shots. He took 26 shots when he scored 33 points in Game 3, and then scored a total of 31 points on 20 shot attempts in the final two games of the season.
He wasn’t close to Batman, nor Robin, once again. Butler looked tired and helpless. Maybe his illness was that big of a factor. Maybe his pelvic contusion still is bothering him more than we know. Maybe this is who Butler is at 35 when he doesn’t have a Curry to play next to.
Kuminga’s Up-And-Down Finish
Leaping over Randle, Jonathan Kuminga swallowed a rebound off a Jaden McDaniels missed shot, ran the floor and threw down a hammer dunk on the other side in the first quarter. That sequence right there is what the Warriors always envisioned, combining athleticism and true impact on the court.
Kuminga, for the fourth straight game, was aggressive the moment he came off the bench. In his first stint, Kuminga played eight first-quarter minutes and scored nine points on seven shots. He was beating his man to the basket, nailed a three and had words for both Naz Reid and the Timberwolves crowd.
As the Timberwolves had three players at halftime in double figures, led by 15 points by Randle, Kumiga was the lone Warrior in the club with 11 points. That rebound in the first quarter that led to a dunk also was his only board at the time.
Though he was up to 19 points, he still only had that one rebound to his name entering the fourth quarter, which is two fewer than how many he finished with on a night where he didn’t have one assist. Kuminga tallied 26 points off the bench of 11-of-23 shooting, and in the four games without Curry, again showed he can put up points, but again, his weaknesses were exposed.
The Steph Effect
Simply said, the numbers don’t lie. The Warriors could have been contenders if Curry remained healthy. They’re not even pretenders without him, they’re an afterthought.
It was astounding to be reminded how much Curry shifts the entire court. Curry, at 37 years old and in Year 16, completely changes an offense, as well as the mindset of the other team. As general manager Mike Dunleavy assesses his roster this offseason, the lack of scoring and shooting will have to be noted.
The Warriors, in their four losses against the Timberwolves, shot 31.9 percent on threes, going 38 of 119. The Timberwolves made 41.9 percent of their threes in that span, making 58 and taking 136.
Podziemski’s performance was too little, too late. His shooting in the first four games was historically bad. It’s great to end strong, but the Warriors needed more earlier.
Buddy Hield had a combined nine turnovers (four) and fouls (five) while scoring eight points in 30 minutes. The historically strong 3-point shooter missed all four attempts and was 2 of 9 from the field. Moses Moody showed fight in the fourth quarter, but he and Quinten Post were mostly out of the rotation in the most important games.
It’s the Steph Effect, and it’s a reality check. The Warriors made the big move. They still also live and die by one player.
Prior to Thursday’s series final with the Pittsburgh Pirates (weather permitting), Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns held his usual once-a-homestand news conference.
With the Mets owning a 28-15 record and holding a 2.5-game lead in the NL East, Stearns touched on the state of the team, as well as some of the organization’s top prospects.
Here’s what Stearns had to say…
On the state of the team just past the quarter-mark of the season
“I think we’re a pretty balanced team,” said Stearns. “We can always get better. We’re far from a perfect team and there are absolutely ways we can improve. I think some of that improvement comes internally. I think we can play better defense, and that’s an area where we can get better, and I think the players that we have are capable of playing better defense.
“In terms of external acquisitions, we’re always monitoring, but sometimes it takes a little bit deeper into the season to find the right fit, and I don’t see any specific glaring spot on the team right now that maybe we had last year at this time that we feel like we need to be extremely proactive about. But if there are areas where we feel like we can get better and players available, we’re certainly going to make a deal.”
“I think we have a variety of different players who are good defenders – very good defenders in certain cases – who have made some mistakes this year,” Stearns said. “That’s going to happen, and it gets magnified in smaller samples like we’ve had in the first six weeks of the season, but I would expect us to be a better defensive team over the next 4.5 months of the season than we have over the first month and a half.”
On Brett Baty’s MLB resurgence
“If you go to catch a week of Brett Baty at Syracuse, you could very easily just run into a week like we’ve just seen here in the big leagues,” said Stearns. “So why are we seeing it now at the big league level? I don’t know that I have the definite answer for that. If I had the definitive answer, we probably would have implemented that a long time ago to help get him to this point. He’s clearly seeing the ball well, he’s gotten some pitches that he can handle and he hasn’t missed them.”
On the plan for Ronny Mauricio when he completes his rehab
“Ronny continues to progress. He’s still in Double-A. We’ll get him up to Triple-A here pretty soon, and then it’s just play all three [positions] on the infield, continue to build up volume,” Stearns said. “He’s still got, I think, a little ways to go to get – he’s a healthy player, but to get back into that true baseball shape, ready to compete art a high level at the big leagues, I think we’ve still got a little bit of a ways to go. So, it’s continue to get him at-bats, continue to get him reps in the minor leagues.
“He’s a player who has options, so he’s going to stay in the minor leagues until we have a need.”
On Nolan McLean’s rise through the system
“I think the first thing with Nolan is he’s done a tremendous job in pro ball so far, and now he’s got his next challenge ahead of him, and that challenge is Triple-A,” said Stearns. “So, I’m not gonna start getting into timelines to a major league arrival quite yet. I think we’re going to let him perform at Triple-A. His first start was great, that was great to see, and looking forward to watching him continue that.”
On Matt Allan’s progress
“This is a special arm, so I think as long as he stays healthy, he’s a prospect,” said Stearns. “That’s why he was thought of as an amateur the way that he was. That’s why his draft stock was so high. That’s why this organization was so excited about him before he got hurt. So I absolutely look at him as a prospect.”
The Vegas Golden Knights are preparing for a must-win Game 5 with the possibility that their captain, Mark Stone, won't be with them, according to Sin Bin Vegas.
With Stone out, Cole Schwindt will likely check into the lineup as he did not stay after practice with the expected healthy scratches. If he does play, it'll be Schwindt's playoff debut.
Brandon Saad has been nursing a lower-body injury, which has kept him out of the lineup since Game 2.
Fortunately for the Golden Knights, Kaedan Korczak and Ben Hutton remained on the ice after practice, indicating that although Alex Pietrangelo and Brayden McNabb did not skate, they should be in line to play.
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