Knicks, Pacers advance, leaving Bucks, 76ers with big questions; Kentucky Derby picks

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Good morning everyone, but especially…

THE NEW YORK KNICKS AND THE INDIANA PACERS

They blew a 22-point lead. They overcame a 10-point deficit. Now, they are going to the second round and they did it their way. O Knicks surpassed the 76ers118-115, in a thriller emblematic of his series as a whole.

Jalen Brunson wished New York would reach the finish line, as it has done so many times in this remarkable season. The crafty lefty scored 41 points, 12 of which came in the final seven minutes. He is the first Knick to score at least 40 points in four consecutive playoff games since Bernardo Rei in 1984.

But he was far from alone. Donte DiVincenzo, a wonderful off-season acquisition, scored 23 points and made five 3-pointers. But Josh Hart hit the big 3 with 25.1 seconds left to put the visitors up for good.

At the same time, New York grabbed 20 offensive rebounds, turned 12 Philadelphia turnovers into 22 points and scored 113 of 118 points as a starter. They are tough as nails, unfazed by big moments, and relentless.

Now they get the Pacemakerswho sailed through Giannis Antetokoumpo-less and Damian Lillard-impaired Money120-98, for the first victory in the series since 2014, when a young Paulo Jorge was starring in Indiana.

This year’s team has another young star Tyrese Haliburtonbut it was his reserve who played the role of hero. TJ McConnell scored 20 points on just nine shots to fire up the hosts. He did it all when Indiana needed him most, explains Jack Maloney.

• McConnell: “He was an important part of the Pacers’ defensive game plan to pressure the ball from all 94 feet and speed up the game. The Bucks jumped out to the lead, but once McConnell checked in, he changed the game. In the Late in the first quarter, he grabbed back-to-back steals to set up easy baskets for the Pacers, including one on an inbounds pass… Offensively, McConnell was making his usual play, getting into the lane at will and breaking down the defense, but it also gave the Pacers a big boost in the scoring department.”

The plucky Knicks versus the towering Pacers will be fun.

Honorable mentions

And it’s not such a good day for…

THE MILWAUKEE BUCKS AND THE PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

It’s easy to think of the Bucks as the team they could have been. But that would mean ignoring the team that it was. And this team, frankly, fell woefully short.

Since the end of last season…

• The Bucks fired championship-winning coach Mike Budenholzer and hired Adriano Griffin, a first-time head coach put in a position to win now. They fired Griffin in January despite a 30-13 record after a litany of questions that ranged from bizarre to damning.
• Came in Doctor Rios, a coach best known for his recent playoff failures. He was 19-23, including the postseason. Antetokounmpo, Lillard and Chris Middleton playing together in just eight of 42 games didn’t help.
• After the Bucks made the bold and stunning decision to acquire Lillard (who had long been expected to go to the Warm), he went on to post his second-worst field goal percentage (42%) and 3-point percentage (35%) in a full season of his career.
• The Bucks knew how to acquire Lillard and lose Junior Holiday he would be harm your defense, but they realized the offensive improvement would more than cover that. Did not happen. Milwaukee improved from 15th to sixth in offensive efficiency, but dropped from fourth to 19th in defensive efficiency.
• Furthermore, in a true nightmare scenario, Holiday ended up in the Celts and helped elevate them to Eastern Conference favorites.

Eight of Milwaukee’s top nine players in terms of minutes per game are over the age of 30. Antetokounmpo, still in his prime, will turn 30 next year. Dollars are running out of time and resources to take advantage of this privilege and appease AntetokounmpoSam Quinn writes.

• Quinn: “There is nothing in the pipeline. There are no recent draft picks who appear poised to fill the gaps of declining players. The Bucks are just old and getting older. They are devoid of the assets they would need to trade for help, and They’re already hovering around the second apron of luxury taxes for next season, so they won’t have the money in free agency to sign younger players from this year’s teams with small moves around the edges.”

Jack Maloney, who covered the Bucks all year, adds perspective to another early exit.

The 76ers, meanwhile, have at least some flexibility. Joel Embiid It is Tyrese Maxey (technically a restricted free agent, but will almost certainly return) are the only key players returning. Sam talked about why LeBron James he must Join them. Regardless, Philadelphia will be a big player this offseason.

Still, it’s a very disappointing way to enter the offseason…again. Embiid is apparently never healthy when it matters most. Tobias Harris, earning nearly $40 million, didn’t even score. Maxey returned to Earth. Even a dazzling Friend Hield the resurgence was not enough. Still, the common denominator of postseason disappointments is Embiid, whose fourth-quarter struggles in such a tight series were great, Sam notes.

Not-so-honorable mentions

Kentucky Derby Preview, Expert Picks

The 150th Kentucky Derby is tomorrow, and although I know very little about horse racing, to do I know I’ll be watching.

Fortunately, we have a lot of people who know a lot more about horse racing than I do, so I’ll let them do the work.

First we have everything you need to know about each horse in the race, starting with favorite Fierceness (5-2). You can find the profile of all other horses here courtesy of Gene Menez…if you are a Sports Line subscriber.

And you should be, because our SportsLine experts are on a heater. Here are our expert picks:

Oh yes, and Jayson Werth There’s a horse running.

College Basketball Transfer Portal Winners and Losers

There really is no offseason in college basketball, with the coaching carousel spinning and the transfer portal swelling to nearly 2,000 participants.

But the carousel stopped spinning some time ago, as Wednesday was the deadline to enter the portal. And with the latest names becoming public on Thursday, that means it’s time to weigh in. winners and losers.

Kansas entered last season ranked No. 1 thanks to a strong transfer class, and that will likely be the case in 2024-25. The Jayhawks are one of the biggest winners of the portal cyclewrites David Cobb.

• Cobb: “A lack of perimeter depth and impact proved fatal for Kansas last season. There will be no such problems for the Jayhawks in the 2023-24 season. … KU has positioned itself for a return to Big 12 supremacy by landing a transfer highly successful transport. AJ Storr (Wisconsin), Rylan Griffen (Alabama), Riley Kugel (Florida) It is Zeke Mayo (State of South Dakota) are each in CBS Sports Transfer Ratings and will combine to give the trainer Own account a deep group of offensive weapons to go with an excellent returning core of Dajuan Harris Jr., KJ Adams Jr. It is Dickinson Hunter.”

Speaking of transfer ratings, David completed his top 80. Here are the best players available.

• 3.C Norchad Omier (Miami)
• 5.G Kadary Richmond (Seton Hall)
• 13. C Clifford Omoruyi (Rutgers)
• 15. DJ Wagner (Kentucky)
• 18. G Wooga Poplar (Miami)

What are we going to watch this weekend

Friday

Game 6: Cavaliers at Magic7pm on ESPN
Game 6: Canucks at Predators7pm on TNT
Game 6: Clippers vs. Mavericks9:30 pm on ESPN
Game 6: Stars in Golden Knights10pm on TNT

Saturday

Kentucky Derby6:57 p.m. on NBC
Game 1: Nuggets vs.7pm on TNT
Mets at Rays or Mariners at Astros7:15 pm on Fox
Game 7: Maple Leafs at Bruins8pm on ABC

Sunday

Game 7: Magic at Cavaliers (if necessary)1pm on ABC
Game 7: Golden Knights at Stars (if necessary)TBD
Game 7: Predators on Canucks (if needed)TBD
Game 1: Hurricanes at RangersTBD
Giants at Phillies7pm on ESPN
Game 7: Mavericks at Clippers (if necessary)8pm on TNT