The New York Knicks host the Atlanta Hawks tonight at Madison Square Garden in Game Five of their first-round playoff series, tied 2–2. The winner takes command, while the loser will return to Atlanta pondering an elimination game.

Need it be said? The Knicks are the better team. They have led for 92% of the series, not counting their stumbling in Game Three. And even in that troubled tilt, they still rallied to take a lead in the final minute and lose by a single point. If not for two one-point losses, the series would have been yesterday’s news by now.

The book on Atlanta says they play fast, distribute the ball well, generate a lot of turnovers, and make a healthy percentage of three-pointers. Our heroes handled Atlanta easily in Game Four by disrupting their perimeter shooting, limiting it to 24% (10-of-41), while making 45% of their own longballs. The Knicks kept their giveaways to 15 while forcing 19, plus outrebounded (43-38) and out-dimed (23-20 assists). Big surprise, New York had their greatest success yet when they incorporated Karl-Anthony Towns most completely. The big fella chewed up the paint, made the most of his physical advantage over Atlanta’s diminished frontcourt, and finished with a 20-10-10 triple-double (a postseason first for him). More of that, please, Coach Brown.

The longer the series goes on, the more Atlanta’s deficiencies are exposed.

CJ McCollum has averaged 24.5 points in the series while shooting 51% from the field and 33% from deep. He also has made 58% of his free throws (and we give Mitch a hard time about it? This guy’s a guard). The 34-year-old vet is a fine player and delivered some great highlights in the series. His talent is insufficient to carry his team to the promised land—and the league knows it. Remember, he was traded to the Washington Wizards (yes, throwing some shade here) last off-season.

Meanwhile, “Mr. Triple-Double” (13 this season) Jalen Johnson has averaged 19.5 points, seven boards, and 4.8 dimes this series while shooting 29% from deep. He’s totaled a -34 plus-minus. New York’s wings, especially Josh Hart and OG Anunoby, have done an excellent job guarding him. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has averaged 13.8 points across the four games, making just 18 of his 52 field goal attempts.

Atlanta’s 6’10” center Onyeka Okongwu has averaged 13.8 points and 7.3 rebounds through the series, totaling a -27 plus-minus. Off the bench, Jonathan Kuminga has averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and almost 29 minutes. Continuing a narrative of inconsistency, the former Warrior helped his squad in Games Two and Three, but fizzled in One and Four. When he’s focused and playing well, he can be impactful. You just never know which version you’ll get. Can you imagine what it must have been like to have both this guy and Jordan Poole on the same team? Yikes.

There’s a fair amount of hand-wringing going on about Jalen Brunson’s performance in the series. To a degree, it’s warranted. Captain Clutch has markedly looked less clutch at times against the handsy Hawks defense. Nonetheless, he’s averaged 25.5 points and 5.3 assists in the four contests and has had a positive plus-minus in each game. He’s shooting 39% from deep this postseason, which is actually two ticks higher than his season average. So, maybe a little slack is warranted? Whattayasay?

And I’d be remiss not to highlight Anunoby, averaging 20.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals this postseason. He’s been a cold-blooded beast against the Birds. Meanwhile, Mikal Bridges—who’s deserved much of the ire he’s received for a poor series (7.3 points, 1.5 assists)—might have turned a corner in Game Four with better shooting and more focus in his 32 minutes. We hope he’s on the upswing. New York will need solid contributions from all its starters to make it to the Finals.

But first, they have to get past the Hawks. ESPN gives the Knicks a 73% win probability tonight. That tracks. Prediction: New York enjoys a bellyful of home cooking, slaps the Peaches silly in Game Five, and wins by eight.

Game Details

Who: New York Knicks (2-2) vs Atlanta Hawks (2-2) 
Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Time: 8:00 PM ET
Place: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NY
TV: Peacock / NBC
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky

In Monday’s Brotherhood Playoff Action, Orlando took a 3-1 lead over Detroit with a 94-88 win, Oklahoma City knocked Phoenix out, 131-122, and Denver whipped Minnesota, 125-113.

Paolo Banchero racked up 18 points, 8 boards, and 4 assists for the Magic, while Wendell Carter had 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Jared McCain got off the bench for the Thunder, but barely. He played just one minute and took one shot, which he missed.

Tyus Jones got 14 minutes for Denver, and scored 3 points and dished out 2 assists.

Denver came into this one down 3-1, and Minnesota is really vulnerable: starting guards Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo are both out with injuries, and Naz Reid hurt an ankle in this game.

Comebacks when teams are down 3-1 are rare, but Denver has a reasonable shot at it.

• Desmond Bane, left, scored 22 points and Paolo Banchero, right, added 18 for the Orlando Magic in an NBA playoff victory over Detroit
• How Paolo Banchero, Magic powered past Pistons in Game 4
• Desmond Bane, Paolo Banchero lead Magic past Pistons for statement Game 4 win
• Paolo Banchero Shows that a Future #1 Pick Can Play Multiple Sports in High School
• Wendell Carter Jr. flies in for the alley-oop slam, 04/27/2026
• Jared McCain Joins Thunder Rotation Amid Jalen Williams Injury
• Thunder fan and wife overwhelmed by cost of IVF find creative way to raise money
• Thunder’s greatest Jared McCain wish is already coming true at the perfect time
• Jared McCain Could Continue to see Elevated Role with Thunder Injury Troubles
• Jared McCain had the worst flop attempt of the NBA playoffs
• Grayson Allen beats the shot clock with a rainbow three
• What does a successful rookie season look like for Khaman Maluach?
• Nuggets take big step toward another 3-1 comeback with 125-113 win in Game 5
• Mark Kiszla: Nuggets shut yap of Howlin’ Wolf Jaden McDaniels in blowout victory

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When Marvin Bagley III came to Dallas from in the trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards as the 2025-26 NBA Trade Deadline approached, he represented pure salary cap relief.

He was a letdown second overall draft pick who came off the books when the season was over. He was a key part of the Mavericks’ ticket to getting off Davis’ albatross of a contract for its remaining two years. He was an underachiever who had been done no favors with the talent surrounding him in his seven-plus NBA seasons.

The reaction to Bagley’s arrival in Dallas was a resounding “meh,” and rightly so.

But what if there’s something there? Bagley showed a budding talent for stretching the floor and the ability to finish on the break and execute at the dunker position in his 22 games with the Mavericks. He also showed off a budding 3-point stroke, shooting 48.5% from beyond the arc on his final 33 attempts. The Mavericks’ broadcast crew repeated the talking point that the coaching staff was encouraging Bagley to shoot more from the outside after he arrived. All the while, Daniel Gafford, his mate in the Mavericks’ frontcourt, was a man in the throes of full-on decline throughout Dallas’ season in the wilderness.

It all adds up to Bagley being an interesting name as the NBA offseason approaches.

Season in review

After averaging 10.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game with the Wizards for 38 games to start the year, Bagley increased his production to 11.0 points and 4.4 rebounds after being traded to the Mavericks. Modest gains, to be sure, but he turned some heads in his first few games with the team and throughout the rest of the season with his knack for knocking down timely 3-pointers.

Bagley has been good from the outside for stretches at a time during his eight years in the league. When he got to Washington for the last part of the 2023-34 season, he shot 8-of-17 from deep in his first 24 games with the lowly Wizards. He was shooting just over 42% from 3-point land in the first 38 games of 2025-26, albeit on fewer attempts per game than he saw once he arrived in Dallas.

It’s at least plausible to view his stunted development as a byproduct of being on bad teams for the entirety of his career. Dallas, as currently constructed, is no world beater, mind you, but what if this situation is a better fit for Bagley, and what if he could take the next step with Dallas on what should be an affordable next contract?

Bagley played 24 minutes, scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in his first game in a Mavericks uniform, in a 138-125 loss at the San Antonio Spurs on Feb. 7. Three games later, it was 15 and 13 in 24 minutes during a 122-111 loss at the Minnesota Timberwolves. Two games after that, Bagley scored 22 on 10-of-13 shooting in a 123-114 win at the Brooklyn Nets.

It’s hard to know what to make of these kinds of performances during the NBA Silly Season of February-April. But Bagley was a spark off the bench, where Gafford, hampered by various injuries including nagging ankle issues throughout the year, was largely a bump on a log.

Bagley wrapped up the season by scoring 20 or more points in three of four games as his minutes increased when March turned to April. He didn’t turn the ball over when it came to him, and on a team that finished the year 18th in the NBA in turnovers per game (14.5), that’s a point in his favor, too. He recorded more than two turnovers only once in his 22 games with the Mavericks to finish the year.

Best game

Bagley’s best performance for the Mavericks came as part of that four-game stretch late in the season against another Western Conference playoff contender. He poured in 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range and pulled down nine boards in 27 minutes in a 100-93 win at the Portland Trail Blazers on March 27. The opponent matters here because Portland still had hopes of securing the seven-seed in the west at the time with the dreaded play-in games looming. This was not a bottom-feeder with nothing to play for. As he showed earlier in the year in games at San Antonio and Minnesota, Bagley is up to the task against better than average competition.

He made three 3-pointers again three games later in a 112-107 loss at the Phoenix Suns. Bagley shot a collective 31-of-43 from the field in that four-game span. If he can be an efficient scorer playing with an effectively empty guard room running with him, is there even another step up he can make with better guards on the roster?

Contract status

Bagley is an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. Retaining him after a few raised eyebrows to close out the 2025-26 season is by no means guaranteed. He made just over $3 million last year on his previous one-year deal. Even after showing improvement, he’s a guy you could get for under $10 million per year on another one- or two-year deal this offseason.

Looking ahead

Bagley’s potential return to the Mavericks may seem like a no-brainer, but with Dereck Lively II coming back after missing most of the year with swelling in his foot and with Gafford’s 3-year, $54-million contract extension kicking in next year, the Mavs may find it easier to chalk up Bagley’s improvement to Silly Season shenanigans and let him walk in free agency.

You want versatile bigs on your roster, though, and with the injury-prone Lively and a guy Luka Dončić made look a lot better than he may actually be in Gafford as the only two big ahead of Bagley in the Dallas pecking order, it may pay dividends to kick the tires on a guy like Bagley.

If a 15-point-per-game guy is hiding somewhere under all Bagley’s unmet expectations, why not try to be the team that solves the riddle of his first eight years in the league?

The 2026 NBA Draft class has been hyped for years. The big pay off is finally coming on May 10 with the drawing of the draft lottery, and now the odds for the ping-pong balls have been finalized.

The Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, and Brooklyn Nets earned the top odds with a 14 percent chance at the No. 1 overall pick. The Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings each have an 11.5 percent chance at No. 1, while the Memphis Grizzlies have the next-best odds at nine percent. The Atlanta Hawks have a 6.8 percent chance at winning the top-pick thanks to their brilliant trade with the New Orleans Pelicans, and then Atlanta also has another three percent chance at the top pick thanks to swap rights with the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Dallas Mavericks have a 6.7 percent chance at No. 1, the Chicago Bulls have a 4.5 percent chance at winning the lottery, and the Golden State Warriors have a two percent chance at the first pick. The Thunder (1.5 percent thanks to a swap with the Clippers), Heat (1 percent), and Hornets (0.5 percent) round out the lottery.

This draft class has already lost some talent to NIL money. UConn’s Braylon Mullins, Duke’s Patrick Ngongba, Florida’s Thomas Haugh, Arizona’s Motiejus Krivas, and Baylor’s Tounde Yessoufou were all projected first-round picks in our previous mock draft before deciding to return to school. Only Yessoufou left himself the option to still enter this draft.

The best thing about this draft class is you don’t need the No. 1 pick to find a future franchise player. Just landing in the top-4 should get the job done. Here’s our latest 2026 NBA mock draft using the lottery standings as the order.

Let’s dive into one of the biggest themes to watch on lottery night.

NBA Draft 2026 lottery odds to land a top-4 pick

It feels like every team in the lottery would be thrilled just to land in the top-4. Here are the odds each lottery team has to land in the top-4, via Tankathon:

Caleb Wilson might be rising into the top-3 — or higher

Caleb Wilson didn’t play in the 2026 NCAA tournament for North Carolina after suffering a broken bone in his left hand in February and then a broken thumb in his right hand in March. Those injuries shouldn’t and reportedly haven’t dulled NBA interest. In the last few weeks, there have been reports that some teams value Wilson more than Duke forward Cameron Boozer, and that he could even be the second player taken on draft night.

Wilson has the single best highlight reel in the class for my money. Sit back and enjoy:

There’s a compelling sales pitch for the UNC forward. He’s a freak athlete at 6’10 who dunks everything (67 dunks in 24 games), he’s a high-motor defender who guards all over the floor, he’s a good passer, and he has an ability to create scoring opportunities for himself away from the rim with excellent mid-range shooting touch. The two big knocks on him are his outside shooting and ball handling. Wilson is not a good three-point shooter right now after making 25.9 percent of his 27 attempts from deep in college. He also isn’t really a viable on-ball creator because his lack of handle refinement limits where he can get on the floor. For now, he’s an electric play-finisher on offense and a buzzsaw on defense who should be an absolute terror in transition from day one.

I’ve been consistent that Boozer is my top player in the class. Boozer and Wilson were teammates on the Nike EYBL circuit for Nightrydas, and there was never any question who the best player on the team was (it was Boozer). Wilson did arguably out-play him in the first Duke vs. North Carolina game this season, which was one of the best prospect matchups we got all year in college hoops.

I have liked Wilson for a while, even putting him on my 2023 list of the best NBA prospects in high school hoops. I’m considering sliding him up to No. 2 on my board, and I would not be shocked if he’s eventually picked in the top-3. Just moving up to No. 4 in the lottery — likely in position to draft Boozer or Wilson — would be an incredible boon for teams like the Bulls, Warriors, and Bucks, who all have long-shots odds entering the drawing. Wilson is so much better than the No. 4 overall prospect in a typical draft, and that’s a big reason why this class is so highly-touted.

Who moves up after the college basketball early entry deadline?

I thought Braylon Mullins and Patrick Ngongba were lottery-caliber talents. Instead, both are going back to UConn and Duke respectively. Thomas Haugh was considered a lottery pick on ESPN’s big board, but he’s going back to Florida for arguably the biggest NIL bag in college basketball history. Flory Bidunga’s decision to transfer to Louisville rather than enter the draft (though he is on the early entry list) is another hit to the depth of the class. It’s possible players like Tyler Tanner, Allen Graves, Juke Harris, Alijah Arenas, and Ebuka Okorie — who could all be drafted in the first round — eventually decide returning to school is their best decision. I named Graves as the best available player in the transfer portal, and there are some whispers that he could end up at Duke if he doesn’t enter the draft.

Here’s full early entry list, via Jeremy Woo:

The list of returners undeniably impacts the second half of the first round and the entirety of the second round. Expect plenty of seniors to hear their names once we get into the 20s, and new prospects are already emerging in pre-draft camps like the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. I enjoyed this YouTube breakdown from Ben Pfeifer on the biggest winners of the PIT.

I have Henri Veesaar moving up into the first-round in this mock draft thanks to all the players slated to return to school. The North Carolina center was one of the my favorite potential second-rounders in this class for his interior scoring efficiency and three-point shooting improvement, but now he might move up by default. It feels like Christian Anderson is likely staying the draft too, but there’s only so many potential landing spots for smaller guards. I’ve also projected Spanish guard Sergio de Larrea as a first-round pick at times during the year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts to generate buzz again in the lead up to the draft. Arkansas big man Trevon Brazile — an athletic play-finisher with floor spacing ability — was my pick for the senior who sneaks into the end of round one due to so many players being lured back to college by NIL money.

The withdrawal deadline is only 10 days before the draft on June 13 at 5 p.m. ET. The draft board will continue to evolve until then.

Michigan’s 3 stars all end up in the lottery

The Wolverines were a wagon on their way to a college basketball national championship. While I would expect Elliott Cadeau to return to school, I think Morez Johnson will be joining Aday Mara and Yaxel Lendeborg in the draft.

• I spent March Madness following Michigan and reporting out a feature on how Yaxel Lendeborg grew up into a potential lottery pick. He told me about the NBA’s feedback at the combine last year, how he views his pro translation, and what this year at Michigan meant to him. I think you’ll like what he had to say:

• I also spent a lot of time chatting with Aday Mara throughout Michigan’s March Madness run. Read my feature on how Mara developed into a lottery pick after two years on the bench at UCLA.
• Morez Johnson is a Chicagoland kid who didn’t leave the area for a prep school like so many of his highly touted peers. In this mock, Mara and Johnson are reunited with the Chicago Bulls, who earned a second top-15 pick via the Portland Trail Blazers thanks to their 2021 Lauri Markkanen trade.

NBA Draft 2026 lottery date, TV time, and streaming

Here’s what you need to know about this year’s draft lottery drawing:

Date: May 10

Time: 3 p.m. ET

TV: ABC/ESPN

Streaming: Watch ESPN

The Philadelphia 76ers’ 2025-26 season could be approaching its swan song, with the Boston Celtics just one win away from closing out the first-round playoff series and eliminating the Sixers.

Though, to be fair, I think “swan songs” are supposed to be beautiful or brilliant. This feels quite far from that.

The Sixers trail the Celtics 3-1 in the first-round playoff series that has been a rollercoaster of emotions. Game 1, an embarrassing defeat. Game 2, a triumphant and somewhat unexpected level of turnaround, stealing a win in Boston. Game 3, putting up a fight but back making old mistakes in a close loss. Game 4, the excitement of Joel Embiid’s return quickly marred by yet another crushing defeat.

Like I said, a rollercoaster for sure. One that could come to an end with a loss in Tuesday’s Game 5.

The Celtics’ injury report remains clean as of Monday night. For the Sixers, only Embiid appears, currently listed as probable (post appendectomy surgery recovery). One can imagine that, based on history, it would take a hell of a lot to keep Embiid off the floor for a game like this. On Sunday, he had been listed as doubtful before being upgraded to questionable in the afternoon and then ultimately played 34 minutes (for a 26-point, 10-rebound double-double) in that contest — just 17 days after having his emergency appendectomy.

We’re at Game 5 of this now, there’s not a whole lot new to say in terms of the matchup. We have all seen what the Celtics are capable of. Not just their starters, but their bench too. On any given night, there’s someone to carry the weight for Boston. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were nearly inconsequential through the first two and a half quarters of Game 4, and yet the Celtics were still already carrying a comfortable lead when those two got going thanks to Payton Pritchard repeatedly punishing the Sixers for giving him space behind the arc.

The Sixers had just one game of ever looking like they were one step ahead of the Celtics, utilizing a high screen pick-and-roll on repeat. It earned Philly their lone win in the series, but Boston adjusted effectively between games and the Sixers were out of luck again. It’s not just one thing that seems to be the Sixers’ particular weakness in this series — it’s everything. Poor shooting, non-existent rebounding, being completely lost on defense, puzzling rotation decisions and not adjusting to or learning from mistakes. All of those errors facing a stacked, effective Celtics lineup is simply not going to cut it.

The reality is that, even if the Sixers steal away a game (or maybe even two) from the Celtics, Philadelphia as an organization is so far behind Boston at this point. The Celtics have big name stars performing in the big moments, an incredible supporting cast down the depth chart filling in the gaps as well as proactive coaching. The Celtics are everything the Sixers organization has tried to claim they are. But they’re the real deal, while the Sixers continue to kick the can on the same issues season after season. This is where that strategy has taken us.

This is truly not me just indulging in baseless negativity. We at Liberty Ballers would all love to be writing about games of scrappy fight and fire like Game 2 and even parts of Game 3. I personally would love to be proven wrong and have them come out tonight looking like a different team than they did on Sunday. But these issues have been the same, evident and obvious, season after season.

Don’t get me wrong, I think we all knew coming into this series that the Sixers didn’t realistically stand a chance against this Celtics squad. Like I said, these are simply two organizations in two very different places. I just think maybe my expectations were at least a little higher than what we saw in Games 1 and 4. It’s one thing to lose a game to a much better team, it’s another to — for example — not grab a single offensive board (on a night you’re not making any shots) until well into the third quarter. It’s one thing to get beat, it’s another to basically not even step in the ring.

An upset win on Tuesday night would keep the Sixers alive another day, forcing a Game 6 in Philadelphia that would be played on Thursday, but it’s going to take a major, complete 180-degree turnaround from that last contest. I’d love to see it, but it’s going to take a hell of a lot.

You’ll need Embiid moving and dominating even with lingering affects of the appendectomy. You’ll need Tyrese Maxey to find a way to produce even with Embiid on the floor, while also clearly still dealing with the pinky issue. You’ll need rookie VJ Edgecombe to sink some buckets and especially some threes. You’ll need a bench unit that isn’t going to only put up 10 points total. You’ll need to actually rebound the ball and not give the Celtics six shot attempts in the same possession. And that’s not even all the stars likely required to align, I’m just stopping myself before it gets too redundant.

But, hey, it would be very Sixers to extend this series another game just to drag things out a bit, right? Can we at least get one more fun Edgecombe performance to get excited about?

Game 5 tips off at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Game Details

When: Tuesday, April 28, 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: TD Garden, Boston, MA
Watch: ESPN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers