Wolves Notes: Conley, Finch, Towns, Edwards

Mike Conley will have a chance to make a new Game 7 memory on Sunday, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. The Timberwolves‘ veteran point guard is still bothered by how the series ended when he and Rudy Gobert faced the Nuggets as members of the Jazz in a 2020 seventh game in the Orlando bubble. Conley had an opportunity to give Utah a dramatic victory, but his three-point shot at the buzzer misfired.

“I’ve replayed it a lot,” he said. “Having that opportunity to win a Game 7 like that and not be able to make the shot was tough. Now here we are in a similar situation, where we get to play the same team, a lot of the same guys. So for me, it’s just something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. Hopefully this will turn out different.”

Conley plans to be ready despite being listed as questionable with a right soleus strain that kept him out of Game 5. He was able to return for Thursday’s contest and said he feels better now than he did that night. He wants to be on the court so he can put to rest the bad memories from four years ago.

“It’s hard to escape it,” Conley said. “You find that clip every now and then. Sometimes it comes across the phone. I don’t actively search it — I don’t want to bring up that memory too much. But at the same time, it’s something that I’ve thought about at workouts and I think about if I’m having a tough day in a workout missing a certain shot. I’m like, ‘Nah, I got to make this because I might be in this situation again.'”

There’s more on the Wolves:

  • Injured head coach Chris Finch said he and lead assistant Micah Nori have developed an effective system as the series has worn on, Hine adds in the same piece. Finch can’t roam the sidelines after suffering a ruptured patella tendon in the first round, so he and Nori have to be selective about when they communicate. “Couple games ago, he was looking at me or to me a lot,” Finch said. “I just said, you can’t do that, we’re losing some possessions maybe here and there. Just trust your gut. He’s got 30 years of experience. So use it.”
  • Karl-Anthony Towns only scored 10 points in Game 6, but he sparked Minnesota’s blowout by doing all the things his critics say he can’t do, observes Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune. Towns served as the primary defender against Nikola Jokic, grabbed seven rebounds by the end of the first quarter and made the right passes in the offense.
  • Teammates raved about Anthony Edwards‘ maturation int0 a leader after Game 6, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. As the Wolves pulled away, Edwards implored the team to avoid any letdown that would allow Denver to get back into the game. “Just the way he’s grown from, I always say my second year, his rookie year, just from the way he’s grown as a basketball player and that person,” Naz Reid said. “It’s completely night and day.”

Central Notes: Pacers, Allen, Mitchell, Garland, Grimes

Sunday afternoon will mark the first experience with a Game 7 for most of the Pacers‘ roster, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Indiana extended the series with a convincing win in front of a home crowd Friday night, but a much different atmosphere will await the team at Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks have won all three matchups.

“It’s the ultimate game,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “It’s a great opportunity. … This team has been through a lot of new experiences over the last 3 1/2 weeks and this will be another new one. We’ll do everything possible to get them ready. In Game 7s, it comes down to compete level and how well you’re tied together.”

Dopirak notes that Pascal Siakam and T.J. McConnell faced each other in a Game 7 in 2019 when Toronto topped Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Myles Turner and James Johnson also have Game 7 experience, as does Aaron Nesmith, but he only played two total minutes in a pair of seventh games with Boston.

“The team that exerts the most energy and plays to exhaustion comes out on top and it’s win or go home,” McConnell said. “It’s something that I feel like every player plays for, a Game 7. Excited for the opportunity, but we have to be more dialed in than any of have ever been before. … If you’re not playing to exhaustion in this next game, why even go?”

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • The Cavaliers may explore trade opportunities involving center Jarrett Allen this offseason, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst stated on his Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link). “I would just say that while there’s extreme interest and excitement probably from certain fanbases to go to the trade machine and work out Donovan Mitchell trades, and maybe those will be needed in a month, we’ll see,” Windhorst said. “I would think the Cavs are going to be spending more time in this next month looking at possible Jarrett Allen trades, and what that could bring.”
  • On his latest Lowe Post podcast (YouTube link), ESPN’s Zach Lowe speculates that the Pelicans could be among the teams with interest in Mitchell and that the Spurs might pursue Darius Garland if the Cavaliers decide to break up their backcourt. “I will be surprised if Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland are both on the Cavaliers next season,” Lowe said. Which guard is more likely to land on the trade block will depend on whether or not Mitchell agrees to an extension.
  • A sprained knee limited Quentin Grimes to six games after the Pistons acquired him from New York at the trade deadline, but he should enter training camp with a chance to earn significant playing time, according to Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Grimes is eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer.

Pistons Have Four Frontrunners In Search For President Of Basketball Operations

Four candidates stood out in the Pistons‘ first round of interviews as they look for a new president of basketball operations, sources tell Vincent Goodwill and Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon, former Knicks GM and current ESPN analyst Scott Perry, Mavericks advisor Dennis Lindsey, and Magic senior advisor John Hammond were all impressive in their meetings with the firm that’s conducting the initial search, according to the authors’ sources. They are considered frontrunners to meet with owner Tom Gores, who hopes to hire someone in advance of the draft.

Goodwill and Fischer suggest that Detroit might be waiting to see if Timberwolves president Tim Connelly becomes available before making a final decision, echoing a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic earlier this week. Connelly’s contract includes an opt-out clause at the end of the season, and he may be tempted to leave Minnesota, given the franchise’s unstable ownership situation.

Whoever takes over the Pistons’ front office will determine whether general manager Troy Weaver and head coach Monty Williams will remain with the team. There are several other important decisions upcoming this offseason, including a possible rookie scale extension for Cade Cunningham and how to spend up to $64MM in cap room.

Several of the top candidates have previous ties to the Pistons organization, the authors note. When Langdon was a player, his agent was Arn Tellem, who now serves as the team’s vice chairman. Perry is a Detroit native who got his first executive job with the Pistons in 2000 and served as vice president of basketball operations from 2008-12. Hammond was formerly an assistant coach and assistant general manager in Detroit.

Mavericks Notes: Irving, Doncic, Gafford, Hardy, Kleber

After the Game 5 win at Oklahoma City, Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving called the matchup with the Thunder “one of the hardest series I’ve ever played,” according to a Dallas Morning News article (subscription required). It’s a significant statement for a player who holds a championship ring and has made three trips to the NBA Finals, but Irving explained why OKC has been an especially difficult opponent.

“It’s just really just the pace and just the physicality,” he said. “And last series was physical too, and the pace was a little different. But I think just this series, it’s challenged me physically, mentally, emotionally. I’ve accepted that and I’ve focused on the things that I can control and focused on getting my guys going early. And however the game plays out, it’s going to play out. But I’m really laying my hat on the defensive end and giving a lot of effort and and just trying to make the right plays offensively. They’re putting three on the ball at times for me and I could obviously take a lot of tough shots and I think that’s coming in the near future when it’s needed. But for right now just reading the game and allowing the basketball gods to shower me with a lot of love when you’re playing the right way.”

Irving also discussed the increased focus that Luka Doncic brought to Game 5. Doncic told his teammates before the contest that he wasn’t going to complain to the officials and was focusing on playing basketball and having fun.

“I think he’s just being smart and taking advice from the guys that have been in situations like this before and trusting that we have his back,” Irving said. “Some of the times when he’s going to the refs, he really feels like that’s an individual thing, and I think he could speak on it, too. He’s just in the moment and he’s very emotional as we all are as competitors. But the bigger picture is what matters. And him focusing his energy on the right places and specifically focusing on his shots and also doing the little things for us on the defensive end, getting rebounds like he’s doing and he’s been doing all season, it works well for us.”

There’s more from Dallas:

  • The Mavericks have virtually remade their roster over the past 20 months, surrounding Doncic with a much better defensive team, observes Zach Lowe of ESPN (subscription required). Lowe suggests that the Thunder might be regretting the role they played in helping the Mavs acquire Daniel Gafford, who has provided an interior anchor for the defense. OKC traded a 2024 first-round pick to Dallas in February in exchange for the right to swap first-rounders in 2028. The Mavericks sent that pick to Washington as part of the Gafford deal.
  • Second-year shooting guard Jaden Hardy appears to have replaced Dante Exum in the Mavericks’ playoff rotation, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Hardy played nearly 15 minutes in Game 5 and although he shot just 1-of-5 from the field, coach Jason Kidd was impressed by his overall game.
  • Kidd indicated that injured big man Maxi Kleber has a chance to return if Dallas reaches the conference finals, Townsend adds in a full story. Kleber suffered a right shoulder AC joint separation in a May 3 game and was scheduled to be reevaluated after three weeks. He was able to do some light shooting during Friday’s practice, Townsend adds.

Suns Notes: Budenholzer, O’Neale, Eubanks, Gordon, Okogie

New Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer vows to be demanding with the team’s three stars, writes Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. Among the topics Budenholzer addressed Friday at his introductory press conference is how he plans to get the most out of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal in their second season together.

“I think they know that I’m gonna have high expectations of them,” Budenholzer said. “I’m gonna coach ’em, I’m gonna hold ’em accountable. But that’s what I’m gonna do with everybody. And so it’s not any different. That’s kind of been my roadmap for coaching, whether it’s the best players or the entire roster.”

The Suns were criticized this season for not having a traditional point guard to create easier scoring opportunities for their Big Three. Budenholzer told reporters that’s an area that needs to be looked at this summer as part of the larger picture of creating a more versatile team.

“We need to be able to play different ways, bigger, smaller,” he said. “But I think the point guard position has a place, and we’re gonna talk about it and figure it out. But I just know we’re gonna need to be able to play lots of different ways, including without a point guard.”

There’s more from Phoenix:

  • The competitive nature that Budenholzer showed during his interview helped him land the job as the Suns moved quickly to find a replacement after dismissing Frank Vogel, Bourguet adds in the same piece. “I’m a competitive guy, and we talk about this too: Throughout that process, Bud must have said ‘compete’ 95 times in two minutes,” general manager James Jones said at the press conference. “Compete at everything, compete in practice, compete with each other, against each other. Compete against your opponent, but more importantly, compete with yourself.”
  • Because the Suns are subject to second apron provisions, they might benefit from re-signing free agent forward Royce O’Neale to more than his market value, Keith Smith of Spotrac suggests in his offseason financial look at the team. Phoenix is prohibited from taking back more than it sends out in a trade. Smith states that if O’Neale’s actual value is around $10MM per year, the Suns can increase their trade options by paying around $15MM or by giving him the exact amount of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which currently projects to be $12.9MM for 2024/25.
  • Drew Eubanks, Eric Gordon and Josh Okogie are all good bets to decline their player options for next season, according to Smith, who recommends trying to re-sign Eubanks and Gordon to veterans’ minimum contracts this summer with a new player option for the following season. Phoenix holds Early Bird rights on Okogie, so Smith sees a new contract in the $5-8MM range as another way to create tradable salary.

Josh Hart, OG Anunoby Both Listed As Questionable For Game 7

Knicks swingman Josh Hart suffered an abdominal strain during Friday’s loss at Indiana, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Hart will attempt to play in Game 7 on Sunday afternoon, Charania adds.

New York could also have OG Anunoby back in its lineup on Sunday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who notes that the versatile forward has been upgraded to questionable on the team’s official injury report. Anunoby has been sidelined since Game 2 with a strained hamstring, and Wojnarowski – having previously reported that the 26-year-old was expected to miss Game 7 – hears that he’ll likely go through shootaround before his status is determined.

Hart, who has been an iron man throughout the playoffs, was limited to about 30 minutes in Game 6. He asked to come out of the game in the first quarter, and even though he was able to return, he was clutching his abdomen during play stoppages.

Hart appeared to get injured while boxing out Pascal Siakam on a missed free throw, according to Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News. Hart grabbed at his abdominal area after the play and bent over in pain. The Knicks have listed him as questionable for Sunday as well.

Hart has been an indispensable part of New York’s postseason success, averaging 14.9 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists through 12 games. He has also been a fiery leader and has embodied the team’s “next man up” approach through a long series of injuries. He played all 48 minutes in the first two playoff games against Indiana and was logging 40.4 minutes per night in the series before Friday.

Coach Tom Thibodeau wasn’t able to offer any insight into Hart’s condition after Friday’s game, telling reporters “we’ll see” when asked about his availability for Game 7 (video link from New York Post Sports).

“He seems like he’s feeling better now,” Miles McBride said of Hart following the loss. “I’m not sure about the whole situation, but obviously for a guy like that who’s pretty tough, asking out is not a good sign, but I think he’ll bounce back.”

2024 NBA Offseason Preview: Toronto Raptors

The Raptors held their own without Kawhi Leonard following their championship season, winning 53 games in 2019/20 after the star forward departed for Los Angeles. And they remained solidly in the Eastern Conference playoff picture after losing Kyle Lowry two years later to the Heat, winning 48 games in ’21/22.

Eventually though, bleeding talent – including former Coach of the Year Nick Nurse last offseason – caught up with the Raptors, who decided during the 2023/24 season to take a step back by trading away impact forwards Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby for packages heavy on young talent and future draft picks.

Having moved on from nearly every player who was part of that 2019 championship team (Chris Boucher is still hanging around, for now), the Raptors bottomed out, losing 19 of their final 21 games to close out the 2023/24 season and finishing with a 25-57 record, their worst mark since 2011.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to salvage their 2024 first-round pick, which they traded to San Antonio at the 2023 deadline in a package for Jakob Poeltl. The pick, which was top-six protected, had about a 46% chance to stick with the Raptors, but it ended up slipping to No. 8 on draft lottery day, so it’ll be controlled by the Spurs.

Not having the opportunity to add a potential cornerstone using that lottery pick is discouraging, but president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri has shown in the past that he’s capable of quickly turning around a team’s fortunes, and the Raptors’ roster is hardly devoid of talent. Former Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes is a future star; Immanuel Quickley looks like the club’s point guard of the future; Canadian forward RJ Barrett played some of the best basketball of his career after coming over in the Anunoby trade; 2023 first-rounder Gradey Dick looked much better in the second half of the season than he did in the first; and the duo of Poeltl and Kelly Olynyk makes for a perfectly serviceable NBA center rotation.


The Raptors’ Offseason Plan

The good news about the Raptors giving up their 2024 first-round pick is that all of their first-rounders going forward will be unencumbered — if they had kept this year’s pick, they still would’ve owed a lightly protected 2025 first-rounder to the Spurs.

That means that if Toronto wants to lean further into its rebuild and aim for a top pick in the 2025 draft, that’s an option. But given the level of veteran talent already on the roster, it may not be the most viable option unless the Raptors follow up their Anunoby and Siakam trades by continuing to sell off vets for long-term assets.

That approach probably doesn’t make sense. Barnes isn’t going anywhere; Quickly and Barrett probably aren’t either. And it’s not as if the Raptors would get a significant haul back if they put solid but unspectacular players like Poeltl, Olynyk, Bruce Brown, and Boucher on the trade block. So it seems safe to assume that Toronto will use its cap room and its draft picks to attempt to move the retooling process incrementally forward, without skipping steps forward or taking another step backward.

That doesn’t mean no veterans will be dealt though. Boucher, who received inconsistent playing time under first-year head coach Darko Rajakovic last season, is an obvious trade candidate entering a contract year. The Raptors should be able to get a second-round pick or two for him if they take back a less favorable expiring deal (perhaps someone like P.J. Tucker). It’s hard to envision them getting a first-round pick back for Boucher even if they’re willing to take on an onerous multiyear contract, but they could potentially land a more productive player in that scenario.

Brown is another trade candidate worth watching. His $23MM team option for 2024/25 is an overpay, so Toronto will have to decide whether or not it makes sense to pick it up at all. Brown is a useful role player who would have significant value if he was earning about half that price, and the Raptors won’t want to lose him for nothing, but they’ll have to scout the market and make sure they extract positive value for him in a trade before they decide to exercise his option.

For what it’s worth, declining the option doesn’t necessarily mean Toronto won’t get anything back for Brown. Non-Bird rights aren’t worth much for a player coming off a minimum or near-minimum salary, but due to his oversized 2023/24 cap hit, Brown’s Non-Bird rights could accommodate a starting salary worth up to $26.4MM. The versatile wing had plenty of suitors in the range of the full mid-level (approximately $12-13MM) last season — it’s possible the Raptors could use their Non-Bird rights to give him a multiyear deal in that neighborhood and sign-and-trade him to an over-the-cap team intent on using its MLE on someone else.

Poeltl is one more trade candidate to keep an eye on, though I suspect he’s more likely to be dealt at the 2025 deadline or the ’25 offseason unless a really favorable offer emerges this summer.

Quickley and Gary Trent Jr. are the Raptors’ two key free agents. Quickley is restricted, which makes his free agency a little more straightforward, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll come at a team-friendly rate. While offer sheets have become increasingly rare, all it takes is one rival suitor to put pressure on Toronto and jack up Quickley’s price.

It’s safe to assume Quickley’s agents will point to deals signed within the past two years by young guards like Tyler Herro (four years, $120MM), Jordan Poole (four years, $123MM), and Devin Vassell (five years, $135MM) as references for Quickley, who finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting a year ago. The Raptors will argue that Quickley’s résumé isn’t as decorated as that of Herro (2022’s Sixth Man of the Year) or Poole (a key contributor on the Warriors’ 2022 championship team) when they signed their respective extensions, but it’d still be surprising if the young guard gets less than $25MM per year.

Trent is a trickier case. On paper, he looks like an obvious keeper as a 25-year-old who makes three-pointers (38.6% for his career) and has defensive upside. But Trent’s on-court impact has been inconsistent, and depending on his asking price, it’s unclear if it makes sense for the retooling Raptors to invest in him long-term.

As is the case with Brown, Trent is a valuable enough asset that Toronto won’t want to let him go without getting any form of compensation, so perhaps he re-signs with the Raptors at a market-value rate and becomes a potential trade chip sooner rather than later, following in the footsteps of guys like Kyle Kuzma and D’Angelo Russell last year.

While the Raptors don’t control their own lottery pick, they do have a couple selections in the top 31 of this year’s draft, by way of the Pacers (No. 19) and Pistons (No. 31). This year’s draft class may not be elite at the top, but it has solid enough depth, and Toronto will get a couple chances to try to strike gold on a low-cost prospect.

Ujiri and the Raptors often deviate from consensus – most memorably in 2021 by drafting Barnes over Jalen Suggs – so it will be interesting to see how they use those picks. Given how far away they are from contention, they can afford to roll the dice on a younger player rather than going after one who can contribute right away. French forward Tidjane Salaun, Kansas wing Johnny Furphy, Miami swingman Kyshawn George, Pitt guard Carlton Carrington, and G League Ignite forward Tyler Smith are among the players in that range who fit the bill.

Finally, while it may be the most important move the Raptors make this summer, signing Barnes to a rookie scale extension should be fairly straightforward. The step toward stardom that the 22-year-old took in his third season warrants a maximum-salary investment, and no player has ever turned down a max rookie scale extension, so that negotiation shouldn’t be a particularly long one.


Salary Cap Situation

Guaranteed Salary

Non-Guaranteed Salary

  • Javon Freeman-Liberty ($1,791,857)
    • Partial guarantee. Rest of salary noted above.
  • D.J. Carton (two-way)
  • Mouhamadou Gueye (two-way)
  • Total: $1,791,857

Dead/Retained Salary

  • None

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

Restricted Free Agents

Two-Way Free Agents

  • None

Draft Picks

  • No. 19 overall pick ($3,475,200 cap hold)
  • No. 31 overall pick (no cap hold)
  • Total (cap holds): $3,475,200

Extension-Eligible Players

  • Scottie Barnes (rookie scale)
  • Chris Boucher (veteran)
  • Gary Trent Jr. (veteran)
    • Extension-eligible until June 30.

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, these players are eligible for extensions beginning in July.

Unrestricted Free Agents

Other Cap Holds

  • Will Barton ($2,093,637 cap hold)
  • Total (cap holds): $2,093,637

Note: Barton’s cap hold is on the Raptors’ books from a prior season because he hasn’t been renounced. He can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.

Cap Exceptions Available

Note: The Raptors project to operate under the cap, though they’ll have the option of remaining over the cap if they retain Brown and Trent. If they were to operate over the cap, they’d lose the room exception and would have access to the mid-level exception ($12,859,000) and three trade exceptions (worth $10,171,292, $1,607,916, and $1,379,527).

  • Room exception: $8,006,000

Lakers Rumors: Mitchell, Redick, LeBron, Reaves, Bronny

As the Lakers weigh their offseason options, one path they will seriously consider is packaging players and draft picks to attempt to acquire a third star to play alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Within the last year, star guards like Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, and Zach LaVine have been mentioned as possible targets for Los Angeles, but Jovan Buha of The Athletic (YouTube link) says another name will likely be at the top of the team’s wish list entering the summer.

“If the Lakers go down the three-star path, and it’s still unclear — I think they’re going to kick the can down the road and see the possibility and see what the asking price is. There are teams that can outbid them if they get into a bidding war,” Buha said in an episode of Buha’s Block. “But if they do go down that road and at least explore it, (Cavaliers guard) Donovan Mitchell would be the preferred guy.”

There’s no guarantee that Mitchell will be available this summer, since the Cavs hope to sign him to a long-term extension. If Mitchell turns down that offer and ends up on the trade block, the Lakers would have plenty of competition for the five-time All-Star and wouldn’t necessarily be able to offer the best package, as Buha notes. L.A. would be able to offer up to three first-round picks alongside perhaps guard Austin Reaves, forward Rui Hachimura, and other salary-matching pieces.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

  • Echoing previous reports, Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times says people around the NBA view J.J. Redick as the favorite in the Lakers’ head coaching search. Opinions on Redick’s potential as a coach are split, with some high on his upside due to his understanding of the game and his ability to clearly communicate ideas, while others “see nothing but inexperience” or believe his business relationship with LeBron James would have a negative impact on the locker room, Woike writes. Sources tell The Times that one reason Redick is viewed as a frontrunner is a widespread belief that he’ll have “incredibly strong” interviews.
  • Within that same L.A. Times story, Woike explores the likelihood of LeBron remaining with the Lakers (his sources believe it’ll happen), discusses the team’s top trade targets (he says none of Young, Murray, LaVine, and Brandon Ingram were seriously linked to the Lakers at the combine), and mentions the team’s ongoing fondness for Reaves. According to Woike, the Lakers regard Reaves highly as a “prospect for the future” on a team-friendly contract.
  • Shams Charania of The Athletic is among the reporters to stress that drafting Bronny James won’t offer a team any assurances of having a shot at his superstar father. “It would not surprise me in the coming weeks if a team does reach out to (agent) Rich Paul – or anyone else around Bronny James, (including) LeBron James himself – and says, ‘Hey, if we draft Bronny James, would you come as well, LeBron?'” Charania said on the Up & Adams Show (Twitter video link). “And the answer to that is going to be no, as of right now. That’s not a given, that’s not something that’s going to be preordained.” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said earlier in the week that Paul has made a concerted effort to dispel the idea that his father-and-son clients need to play together.
  • The Lakers announced on Friday (via Twitter) that they’ll host three preseason games outside of Los Angeles in the fall. The Lakers will play the visiting Timberwolves on October 4 and the Suns on Oct. 6 at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs before facing the Warriors on Oct. 15 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Poll: Who Will Win Knicks/Pacers Game 7?

It will be an eventful Sunday in the National Basketball Association. Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Nuggets and Timberwolves, which we discussed on Friday, will be preceded by a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Knicks and Pacers. The winner will advance to face the Celtics in the Eastern finals.

Through the first six games of the Knicks/Pacers series, the home team has dominated. New York has a 3-0 record and a +43 margin at Madison Square Garden, but Indiana has been even better at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, posting a 3-0 record with a +50 margin.

The good news for the Knicks is that Game 7 will take place in New York. The bad news? At this point in the series, the injury-plagued squad is just looking to survive a battle of attrition. With Julius Randle and Bojan Bogdanovic already unavailable to open the second round, the Knicks have seen Mitchell Robinson go down with a season-ending ankle injury and OG Anunoby suffer a hamstring strain that’s expected to sideline him for a fifth straight contest on Sunday.

Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart have managed to play in every game of the postseason, but both players – who have had a major hand in the Knicks’ success to this point – are banged up, with Hart’s status for Game 7 still up in the air due to an abdominal injury. Even if he’s able to play, it’s unclear how close he’ll be to 100%.

The Knicks are still listed as two-point favorites, according to BetOnline.ag, but given the overall talent level of the roster and their success at home this series, that number should be higher — it would be, if they were a little healthier.

New York’s injury woes have opened the door for the upstart Pacers, who entered the season as a projected sub-.500 team, to make the Eastern Conference Finals. But to pull out the series, they’ll need to put forth a better defensive effort than they have in the first three games in New York.

The Knicks, who had a 117.3 offensive rating during the regular season, have posted just a 107.6 mark on the road in the series vs. Indiana but have a staggering 131.0 offensive rating in their second-round home games.

Indiana hasn’t actually been bad at all offensively at Madison Square Garden. While star forward Pascal Siakam (18.3 points per game) hasn’t matched his regular season scoring average and star guard Tyrese Haliburton has games of six and 13 points sandwiching a 34-point outburst, the club as a whole has converted on 49.4% of its field goal attempts and 42.5% of its three-pointers on the road. But the Pacers’ defense has been porous in those losses and they haven’t been physical enough on the boards, where the Knicks have grabbed nearly 60% of the available rebounds across their three home games.

With Game 7 just over 24 hours away, we want to know what you think. Can the Knicks’ remaining healthy players come through on Sunday and win the series, or will the deeper, healthier Pacers become the first team to win a road game in the series?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

Central Notes: Garland, Pistons Draft, Haliburton, Pacers

It might make more sense from a cost perspective for a team seeking a point guard to acquire Cavaliers guard Darius Garland rather than Hawks guard Trae Young if both become available this offseason. Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer says some teams are giving off the impression they’ll lean toward Garland in the event that both players end up on the trade block (Apple Podcasts link).

As has been widely reported this week, the Cavaliers may be forced to decide between Garland and Donovan Mitchell to keep long-term. If an extension is reached with Mitchell this offseason, Garland could be on the way out. The Hawks, meanwhile, are expected to seriously consider breaking up their backcourt of Young and Dejounte Murray.

Even though Young has been more productive in Atlanta than Garland has in Cleveland, teams may prefer Garland based on what they’d have to give up to acquire him, as well as his contract situation. Garland averaged 18.0 points and 6.5 assists per game, while Young averaged 25.7 points and 10.8 assists this season. Garland is under contract through 2027/28, whereas Young’s contract runs through at least ’25/26 with an early termination option for ’26/27.

We have more from the Central Division:

  • While James L. Edwards III of The Athletic believes the Pistons should trade their first round pick in this year’s draft, there should still be some intriguing options available when Detroit picks at No. 5. Stephon Castle, Alexandre Sarr, Donovan Clingan, Dalton Knecht and Reed Sheppard top Edwards’ list of desired prospects after the NBA Combine, though it’s likely one or more of those players are gone by the time Detroit picks.
  • The Pistons trading their No. 5 pick might make more sense as the team wants to get better and not necessarily younger, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press writes. The Pistons’ record has gotten worse in recent years as they’ve added more young first-rounders to their core, and pursuing veterans via the trade market might help Detroit improve sooner rather than later.
  • Tyrese Haliburton is under more scrutiny as he takes the Pacers deeper into the playoffs, but he’s always longed for the kind of pressure he’s feeling before Sunday’s Game 7, according to James Boyd of The Athletic. “He’s changed things for the better for this franchise and for this city,” teammate T.J. McConnell said. “When you got a guy, who’s your franchise guy, that really gets people involved … it’s easy for everyone to rally around a guy like that.
  • The Pacers responded well to harsh criticism from coach Rick Carlisle, who was upset by the team’s lack of aggression in Game 5, according to The Athletic’s Eric Nehm. On Friday, the Pacers upped their intensity and came away with a big win. Every player is anticipating a tight Game 7 on Sunday. “I expect probably the most unbelievable environment I’ve ever played an NBA game,” Haliburton said. “I think we’re all excited to go. There’s going to be a lot of energy in the building, from them and from us. And I think just weathering our emotions as much as we can.