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Nikola Jokic, Jalen Brunson Named Players Of The Week

April 15th, 2024 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been named the Western Conference’s final Player of the Week for the 2023/24 season, while Knicks guard Jalen Brunson has won the award for the Eastern Conference, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).

It’s Jokic’s second Player of the Week win of ’23/24 — the first came all the way back in October. The Nuggets star put a bookend on what will likely be his third MVP season by averaging 26.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and 3.0 steals in 35.5 minutes per game as Denver enjoyed a 3-1 week and secured the West’s No. 2 seed. Jokic shot an eye-popping 68.8% from the field, including 83.3% on three-pointers, for the week.

Brunson, who figures to earn MVP votes this spring as well, won his fourth Player of the Week award of the season, matching Luka Doncic for the most by any player in 2023/24.

In Brunson’s final four games of the regular season – all Knicks wins – he averaged 38.5 points, 7.5 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in 37.5 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .510/.500/.917. Since the week ran from April 8-14, those figures don’t include the 43-point game he had against Milwaukee on April 7.

Bradley Beal, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, LeBron James, CJ McCollum, and Jokic’s teammate Jamal Murray were also nominated for the Western Conference award, according to the league (Twitter link). Brunson beat out fellow nominees Jarrett Allen, DeMar DeRozan, Tyler Herro, and Myles Turner in the East.

Knicks Notes: Thibodeau, Robinson, Achiuwa, Brunson

April 15th, 2024 at 7:57am CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks had a chance to create a more favorable first-round matchup for themselves by losing on Sunday, but coach Tom Thibodeau didn’t consider it, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Coming down the stretch of a tight game with Chicago, the team’s choices were clear: a loss would mean the three seed and opening the playoffs against the inexperienced Pacers, while a win would put the team in second place and set up a matchup with either the Sixers, who closed the season with eight straight wins, or the Heat, who went from the play-in tournament to the NBA Finals last season.

Thibodeau opted to play for the victory, and he didn’t understand why anyone would second-guess his strategy.

“Really? I mean the object is to win,” he said in response to a question at post-game meeting with reporters. “Put everything you have into winning. That’s the bottom line. … I think everything does matter. That’s just me personally. And so when we talk about, from the start of the season, we want to be our best at the end. And that’s something we strive for. Every day.”

New York, Milwaukee and Cleveland all entered Sunday afternoon with a chance to claim the No. 2 seed. Only the Knicks won, and they had to fight off a feisty Bulls team in overtime as Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart all logged more than 40 minutes. DiVincenzo endorsed his coach’s fearless attitude.

“We don’t care what they’re doing,” he said of the other Eastern teams. “We’re focused on our locker room. Whatever they decide to do, that’s their team, their organization’s decision. Our decision was to play. Everybody played and we won the game.”

There’s more from New York:

Thibodeau wasn’t able to provide an explanation for why center Mitchell Robinson was ruled out for the second half on Sunday, Bondy states in a separate story. Robinson, who returned in late March after missing 50 games following ankle surgery, played just seven minutes, with Thibodeau saying, “They just told me he was unavailable.” Thibodeau speculated that the decision might have been “precautionary,” as Robinson played 25 minutes on Friday, his highest total since the operation.
With Robinson unavailable and Isaiah Hartenstein reaching his minutes limit, the Knicks got valuable minutes from Precious Achiuwa, Bondy adds. The backup big man played nearly all of overtime and made a game-saving defensive stop on Chicago’s final possession. “[Achiuwa in OT] was huge, it was huge,” Thibodeau said. “(Nikola) Vucevic is a load to deal with. And when teams go small, what Precious gives you is the ability to switch. So I think that’s important for us as well.”
Brunson reached 40 points for the 11th time this season, moving him into a tie for second with Patrick Ewing in the franchise record book, Bondy notes in another piece. Thibodeau said Brunson’s work ethic is similar to Ewing’s, telling reporters, “As soon as we signed Jalen, he was immediately in the gym. You could come in any day in the summer, and he’s in at the same time. Full speed, great concentration, there’s no fake-a-gram or Instagram or whatever they call it.”

Brunson, Anunoby Produce When They Play Together

April 14th, 2024 at 9:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The combination of Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby has been dazzling, Zach Braziller of the New York Post notes. The Knicks are 19-2 when both have played. Entering Sunday’s game, an overtime win over the Bulls, the team had a net rating of +24.7 and an offensive rating of 125.8 spanning 599 minutes when the duo shared the court. Brunson poured in 40 points on Sunday while Anunoby added 11. They also combined for 11 assists and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who enter the postseason as a No. 2 seed.

Eastern Conference’s Top Six, Play-In Tournament Set For 2024

April 14th, 2024 at 3:23pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

It came down to a blown DeMar DeRozan overtime buzzer beater attempt, but the Knicks finally clinched the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed by winning a nationally broadcast ESPN clash against the Bulls this afternoon.

Earlier in the day, several other East playoff and play-in clubs wrapped up their 2023/24 regular seasons, thus cementing the conference’s top 10 heading into the postseason. Six teams won between 47 and 50 games, with three clubs sporting identical 47-35 records.

Obviously the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds will be determined by the play-in tournament, which will tip off mid-week. That will thus dictate the 1-8 and 2-7 matchups of the first round.

Here is the finalized order of the Eastern Conference’s top 10 for the 2024 postseason:

Boston Celtics (64-18)
New York Knicks (50-32)
Milwaukee Bucks (49-33)
Cleveland Cavaliers (48-34)
Orlando Magic (47-35)
Indiana Pacers (47-35)
Philadelphia 76ers (47-35)
Miami Heat (46-36)
Chicago Bulls (39-43)
Atlanta Hawks (36-46)

Two matchups are now locked in, while two are yet to be determined.

The No. 3 Bucks will square off against the No. 6 Pacers. Indiana owns a 4-1 season record against Milwaukee (they faced off during the semifinals of this year’s inaugural in-season tournament). Milwaukee’s two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out the team’s final three games of the regular season due to a left calf strain, and his status for the beginning of the playoffs is unclear.

The No. 4 Cavaliers will play the No. 5 Orlando Magic. Those two teams have split their season series, 2-2.

Per the NBA, here is the breakdown of this year’s Eastern Conference play-in tournament schedule, slated to start this Wednesday, April 17 via ESPN:

No. 7 Philadelphia will host No. 8 Miami at 6 p.m. CT. The victor will advance as the No. 7 seed to play the Knicks, who will be without All-Star power forward Julius Randle for the duration of the playoffs.
No. 9 Chicago will host No. 10 Atlanta at 8:30 p.m. CT. The winner will advance to play whichever team loses the 7-8 matchup.
The loser of the Sixers/Heat matchup will host the winner of Bulls/Hawks on Friday, April 19. That contest’s winner will move on to play the Celtics as the East’s No. 8 seed.

The first round of the playoffs will officially tip off on Saturday, April 20.

Mitchell Robinson Able To Play Entire Fourth Quarter

April 13th, 2024 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson was able to play the entire fourth quarter Friday, which is a significant milestone in his return from ankle surgery, observes Steve Popper of Newsday. “Mitch makes plays that no one else can just in terms of impacting shots, pick-and-roll coverage,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “So I thought he was terrific. Mitch can cover a lot of ground and I thought that was huge for us.”

Knicks Notes: Brunson, Randle, Anunoby, Bogdanovic, Seeding

April 12th, 2024 at 11:37pm CST by Rory Maher

The Knicks have some big decisions coming this offseason beyond OG Anunoby potentially hitting free agency, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post, as both Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle will be extension-eligible.

Offering Brunson the maximum extension they’re able to is pretty straightforward, but he can earn significantly more money on his next contract if he declines his 2025/26 player option and hits free agency next year, so he might not be interested in locking in a new deal quite yet.

Still, as Bondy details, there are reasons why Brunson may accept the extension. For starters, he would be eligible for another deal sooner, potentially closing the earnings gap down the road — similar to what Giannis Antetokounmpo did just before this season started. Long-term financial security is another factor that might work in the Knicks’ favor, Bondy adds.

“I mean, obviously that’s a thing that you want to have, security,” said Brunson — who, even if he makes All-NBA, is not eligible for a super-max extension because he signed with the Knicks as a free agent. “But I’m just focusing on finishing the season, doing the best we can to make sure everyone’s back healthy and just doing my part. That’s at the forefront of my mind and I’ll worry about that stuff later.”

Bondy argues it wouldn’t make sense to extend Randle, given the injuries the three-time All-Star has sustained over the past year and Brunson’s stellar play in his absence. It would also limit the club’s flexibility moving forward, something the Knicks have been heavily focused on since president of basketball operations Leon Rose took over in 2020.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

While Boston didn’t have much to play for on Thursday, having locked up the East’s No. 1 seed a long time ago, New York’s dismantling of the NBA’s top team was impressive, led by another dominant performance from Brunson, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic. “The way he plays, the things he can do, it’s definitely special,” Anunoby said of Brunson. “He’s one of the best in the league. He’s playing like an MVP; (he) should win MVP.” Brunson finished with 39 points on 15-of-23 shooting in 30 minutes against the Celtics’ second-ranked defense.
In the closing seconds of a chippy game, Nets guard Cam Thomas shoved Brunson to the ground out of frustration in Brooklyn’s loss to New York on Friday, prompting Anunoby to stand up for his teammate, per Andrew Battifarano of The New York Post. “It means a lot,” Brunson said (Twitter link via Ian Begley of SNY.tv). Both Thomas and Anunoby received technical fouls for the incident.
Bojan Bogdanovic‘s transition to New York hasn’t gone smoothly, but he’s been strengthening his case for having a rotation role in the playoffs with his recent play, Bondy writes for The New York Post. “I’ve been confident, even with a lot of ups and downs that I’ve had with the Knicks,” said Bogdanovic, who was acquired at the trade deadline from Detroit. “I’m feeling more comfortable in my role right now. Kind of adjusting a little bit because it’s not the same. I’ve been a starter for 10 years, but here going into the playoffs, I hope that I’m starting to play way better and keep my level up.”
It wasn’t their best performance on a second of a back-to-back, but Friday’s victory secured a top-four playoff seed for the Knicks, as Peter Botte of The New York Post relays. Many of the final seedings in both conferences remain up in the air — New York can still finish anywhere from No. 2 to No. 4.

Knicks Notes: Playoff Berth, Anunoby, Hartenstein, Randle

April 11th, 2024 at 7:45am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks weren’t in action on Wednesday, but it was still a big night for the franchise, which clinched a playoff spot for the second consecutive year as a result of Miami’s loss to Dallas, as Peter Botte of The New York Post writes.

Although the Knicks are assured of avoiding the play-in tournament now that they’ve locked up their playoff berth, much is still to be determined in the final four days of the regular season — New York could finish anywhere from second to sixth in the Eastern Conference, depending on how the team’s final three games play out. Jalen Brunson indicated on Tuesday that the Knicks don’t plan to take their foot off the gas.

“I just think as we get close to the end of the season, we’ve been talking about not jogging to the finish line, just sprinting to it,” Brunson said. “So making sure we’re playing as hard as we can, getting better every single day. And we got to make sure our minds are ready to go.”

The Knicks are in Boston on Thursday before wrapping up the regular season with home games against Brooklyn on Friday and Chicago on Sunday. Even if they don’t lose any of those three contests, they’d need some help from Milwaukee to move up to No. 2 in the East, but they’d finish no lower than No. 3 by winning out.

“We want to win every game, so we play every game to win,” OG Anunoby said after Tuesday’s victory. “We don’t really worry about anything else. Just try to win every game.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

After missing an extended stretch of games due to an elbow injury, Anunoby looked like his old self on Tuesday vs. Chicago. He scored 24 points and made four three-pointers while registering a +12 plus/minus mark in an 11-point victory. As Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post writes, the three-and-D standout is rounding back into form at the perfect time for the Knicks, who are 17-3 when Anunoby has played.
After receiving all three of his contract bonuses a year ago, Isaiah Hartenstein has achieved the feat again in 2023/24, earning a total of $1.05MM in incentives, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Hartenstein’s bonuses are for playing at least 1,350 minutes, his team winning at least 40 games, and his team making the playoffs. Since all three were considered likely to be earned entering the season, his cap hit of $9,245,121 remains unchanged.
Knicks forward Julius Randle underwent successful surgery on his injured right shoulder on Tuesday, a source tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link). He’ll be reevaluated in September, as the team announced last week.

Atlantic Notes: Brunson, Bridges, Oubre, Porzingis

April 10th, 2024 at 10:35am CST by Luke Adams

Jalen Brunson isn’t going to be named this season’s Most Valuable Player, but the Knicks point guard deserves real consideration for the award, or at least a spot on voters’ five-man ballots, writes Steve Popper of Newsday (subscription required).

Brunson eclipsed the 40-point mark for a second consecutive game on Tuesday in Chicago, racking up 45 points and eight assists in a victory that gave the Knicks sole control of the No. 3 seed in the East with three games left to play. Asked about the star guard placing sixth in ESPN’s final MVP straw poll, head coach Tom Thibodeau joked that he wanted a recount.

“He’s earned that. It’s not like some hype,” Thibodeau said, per Popper. “If you look across the board, I think it’s a byproduct of the winning and what he’s done. More importantly they’re not empty stats. It’s impacting winning in a great way. And so to be a leading scorer in the league, to do it with the amount of pressure that he’s had on him in terms of double teaming. We’ve had a lot of guys out, got a number of guys with minute restrictions and everything else and this guy has delivered night after night.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Nets forward Mikal Bridges admits that it’s “not fun at all” to be missing the postseason for the first time since 2020, but he’s still looking forward to a future in Brooklyn, as Peter Botte of The New York Post relays. “Yeah, 100 percent. I don’t think I look at anywhere else,” Bridges said. “I don’t think about my contract at all. Just try and come back, and my biggest thing this summer is to be better than I was this year. Take a lot from what I learned. Obviously it was not what I wanted and what we wanted as a team, but you can’t really sulk about it.”
Kelly Oubre has significantly outplayed the one-year, minimum-salary deal he signed with the Sixers last summer and put himself in line for a raise in free agency, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required). After averaging over 20 points per game in Charlotte last season, Oubre has been more of a two-way force this season, Pompey writes, making more of an impact defensively while still being a threat on offense. “Kelly has been phenomenal the last two months since I’ve been here,” teammate Kyle Lowry said. “He’s been phenomenal shooting the ball, driving the ball, making aggressive takes to the rim. He’s just been phenomenal.”
Jay King of The Athletic takes an interesting look at how big man Kristaps Porzingis has transformed himself into a far more efficient post-up player than he was during his days in Dallas and how Porzingis’ post-up ability could be a difference-maker for the Celtics‘ offense this postseason.

Mavs Notes: Washington, Williams, Luka, First-Round Pick, Kyrie

April 10th, 2024 at 8:48am CST by Luke Adams

Two months after being traded from the Hornets to the Mavericks, P.J. Washington returned home on Tuesday night, relishing the opportunity to see his family and to play in front of the fans in Charlotte, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

“It was great, just being able to cheer for me one last time in this arena,” Washington said. “It meant the world to me. Being drafted here and obviously (having spent) my whole career here. So, it just meant a lot for sure.”

It has been a whirlwind couple months for Washington, who is still adjusting to playing for a new NBA team after spending the first four-and-a-half seasons of his career with the Hornets. But he has no complaints about getting the opportunity to play alongside stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving for a Mavericks team that clinched its spot in the playoffs with Tuesday’s blowout victory over Charlotte.

“It’s been great,” Washington said. “It’s two of the best to ever play the game, so it makes it a lot easier for me. They bring so much attention, which opens up the game for a lot of different people. So, they’ve made it a lot easier for me for sure.”

Head coach Jason Kidd appreciates what Washington has brought to the club: “(He has) the ability to play both sides — offense and defense. You could see when one of the guys are out — Luka, Ky — he’s stepped up for us. He’s given us an offensive spark. And then when you look at the defensive end, he’s been able to guard 1-5. He’s helped us here since March 7 be the No. 1 defensive team in the league. And he’s a pro. He comes to work every day, never complains, and he’s one of the few that when he runs out, comes out of the game, he gives you five. And that’s just a character thing that he has. He’s about the team and he just wants to win.”

Here’s more on the Mavs:

While there were some rumors that Hornets forward Grant Williams wore out his welcome in Dallas or rubbed Doncic the wrong way, Luka said he has no issues with his former teammate. “Grant is a great guy,” Doncic said. “We have a good relationship. Outside, some people say we don’t. But we have (one).”
Williams has been playing better in Charlotte than he did in Dallas, making the deadline deal a success so far for both the Mavericks and Hornets, writes Boone. “Yeah, I think when you look at the trade it is a win-win,” Kidd said. “Grant’s doing an incredible job here (in Charlotte), You look at playing the five or playing whatever position they’ve asked him to play. He’s shooting the ball, he’s making decisions, he’s posting up, he’s guarding the five on the other end. So, I think he’s done an incredible job since the trade.”
Having clinched a playoff spot, the Mavericks will send their 2024 first-round pick to the Knicks, closing the book on the blockbuster 2019 Kristaps Porzingis trade, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (via Twitter). Dallas’ pick currently projects to be No. 25 overall — a year ago the Mavs tanked their final game of the season to ensure they’d avoid sending their top-10 protected first-rounder to New York.
After last season’s second-half collapse, there were some questions about how the backcourt pairing of Doncic and Irving would mesh going forward, but the duo has thrived in 2023/24. According to Doncic, having Irving in Dallas has been a “blessing,” per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). “Obviously on the court everybody knows what kind of player he is,” Doncic said. “Off the court he helps me a lot — not just me but the whole team. He knows how to win the championship. He’s a very humble guy. Great guy.”

New York Notes: Knicks, Robinson, Watford, Clowney

April 8th, 2024 at 10:07pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA fined the Knicks $25K on Monday for an injury reporting violation (Twitter link). According to the league, New York originally listed center Mitchell Robinson as out for the March 27 contest vs. Toronto, but he wound up playing 12 minutes in his first game back from a lengthy absence.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York-based teams:

Speaking of Robinson, who missed most of the season with a fractured left ankle that required surgery, he has been quite rusty since he returned a couple weeks ago, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. In addition to having poor conditioning and timing, the 26-year-old says he still isn’t 100% confident in his ankle. “Pushing off. Absorbing contact through it. Stuff like that,” the Knicks big man said. “’Cause obviously no one wants this to happen again. I damn sure don’t. … It’s something I’ve gotta get back used to again.”
In another story for The New York Post, Bondy examines the Knicks‘ complicated playoff possibilities with four regular season games remaining. New York, which is currently 46-32, the No. 4 seed in the East, can finish as high as No. 2, but theoretically could drop all the way down to No. 8, though the latter is very unlikely.
Third-year forward Trendon Watford will be a restricted free agent this summer if the Nets give him a qualifying offer. He hasn’t been a rotation regular for much of the 2023/24 season, but he’s been trying to take advantage of an expanded role as Brooklyn deals with multiple frontcourt injuries, per Bridget Reilly of The New York Post. Watford is averaging 13.1 PPG on .571/.474/.696 over the past eight games (23.5 MPG).
Nets rookie Noah Clowney got his first career start in Sunday’s loss to Sacramento and the young big man got thoroughly outplayed by Kings center Domantas Sabonis, observes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Clowney had seven points, 10 rebounds and was minus-26 in his 35 minutes, compared to 18 points, 20 rebounds, nine assists and plus-18 in 35 minutes for Sacramento’s star big man. “He’s just gotta be in it, you know? This is good for him,” interim coach Kevin Ollie said. “He’s gotta be in it and experience it, learn from it, just as long as you don’t quit in it, and he’s not gonna quit in it. These guys have been around — Sabonis is an All-Star — so hopefully he watches the tape and maybe gets something from Sabonis to bring it in his game, go lift some weights, all that stuff.” Clowney became just the fourth teenager in franchise history to start a game for the Nets, Lewis adds.