Jalen Brunson does not possess the physical talents of many other NBA players. Not a leaper, certainly not the tallest and not the quickest. But he is the best prepared and the hardest worker. It’s his footwork – so practiced for every move and he seems to add to his repertoire every off season.

SU did feel he was taking too many shots over the first 3 games of the series with the Spurs and that perhaps San Antonio was perfectly happy with that. But Brunson figured something out the last 2 games and carried the Knicks to the championship. Especially in game 5 where KAT had 2 points and the bench produced almost nothing. 45 points is Jordan-like and the Knicks needed every one of them. You wonder if the Spurs regretted not sending 2 defenders at him for the entire 4th quarter to make him give up the ball? Brunson is truly the finisher and the closer.

SU had a few observations on this series:

1. Wemby is a generational player and the NBA will build around him going forward. Unique talent, international, only 22. He is what the doctor ordered. However, he is a bit of a dirty player. Some of that is having defenders lean on him constantly and getting frustrated. But he also likes to flail his arms and elbows and the League needs to control that.
2. You can say that the officials let the players play in game 5 and swallowed their whistle in large part. SU would say they missed so many calls and allowed things to get too physical. Even the announcers were commenting on that. For the NBA, you want the free flow of movement and the high scoring. SU does too. But you need to maintain that level of consistency in the playoffs. There was a play in the last minute where Brunson was hounded moving sideways at half court. Harper fouled him 2-3 times and there was no call. Almost had a back court violation. Harper in particular as well as Castle are excellent defenders but their actions crossed the line and were fouls. Refs allowed that all series. The NBA needs to clean that up for next season.
3. Wemby got away with throwing Brunson to the ground in game 3 and then stepping into his landing area in game 5. Both were non-calls. If there had been a game 6, he should have been suspended and that play reviewed to upgrade it to a flagrant. SU was curious if they would have had the backbone to do that.
4. The Spurs are young and super talented. It’s easy to say that they will win it all next year – maybe they will. But no guarantees and they need to figure out who is the “man” at the end of games. They led in the 4th quarter every game. They were great in the 1st quarter but really fell short late.

Just a great playoff run for the Knicks who are a true team. No doubt off season free agency will weaken this roster but hopefully any new additions will buy into what they are doing there. Mike Brown deserves tremendous credit. He was not close to their first choice as coach but the Knicks brass lucked into getting him. He used the regular season to figure out who could excel in the playoffs and got the players to check their egos at the door. In the today’s NBA, well, no one is doing that.

SU has never blamed the refs for wins or losses. It’s an easy trap to fall into when your team is losing or you fall short in a big game. The Knicks lost game 3 in New York and yes, you can certainly point to the free throw disparity in the 2nd half (24 for the Spurs vs. 8 for the Knicks). To Mike Brown’s credit, he did not say that the Knicks were not fouling. But he was wondering if the Spurs somehow were not fouling in a game where they played very physical defense. What is going on here? SU has the answers for you:

1. Apparently, the way it works is that different refs are used for each playoff game. I believe they are paid a bonus for being selected to work the finals and therefore, it’s financially rewarding for multiple refs to work the games. SU wonders if having so many different refs creates different environments for calling fouls as let’s face it: a foul in one game is not always a foul in another game. Might it be different if the same refs called the entire series? Something to consider.
2. The Spurs have been playing very physical defense in all 3 games as SU has pointed out. Their guards pick up at half court or even full court on Brunson. He is bumped, grabbed, pushed – no calls. What happens in basketball is that the aggressor is rewarded for being aggressive with no fouls called. It’s wrong, it’s not fun to watch and in the end, the teams that play motion offenses are hurt. It makes the games unwatchable and it’s not what we see in the regular season. And Wemby gets away with flailing elbows and no calls. He tossed Brunson to the ground at one point – no call. Mike Breen even said in the 2nd quarter that the refs had to get the game under control as it was so physical. We all see it. A foul in January is a foul in June.
3. But here is the bigger issue for the Knicks. Brunson is taking 25 – 30 shots a game, and KAT is marginalized on offense. In fact, the Spurs are putting a smaller player on KAT to prevent him from getting the ball up high and being able to orchestrate from there. To do that, they grab and hold him – no calls ever. BUT… the problem for the Knicks is that Brunson is just dribbling out the clock at mid-court and then going one on one. The Knicks only had 18 assists last night. Way too much of this offense. Way too Brunson-centric and they are going to lose the series if it continues. He is getting his points but they come at the expense of his teammates who are not getting in any type of rhythm. SU expects this to change in game 4 which now becomes a very crucial game for each team.
4. The playoffs are all about adjustments game to game. Brown will surely do that now and the refs will start to call fouls on the Spurs in the 1st quarter for the grabbing and holding. SU is old and I have seen it before. Ask Phil Jackson.

SU fully expects the Knicks to win game 4. If you think about it, the Knicks played poorly for 3 of the 4 quarters last night and still almost won the game. The Spurs cannot play much better. On the other hand, the Spurs have outplayed the Knicks for the majority of minutes across the 3 games, and the Knicks are fortunate to be up 2-1. Change the Brunson-dominant offense and all will be well.

Thoughts? Or did the Knicks get jobbed and Brunson is the star and needs to be the focal point? The floor is open.

SU was emotionally prepared to see the Knicks lose game 1 of this series as a week and a half layoff is ridiculous for athletes who are used to playing every other day. Predictably, their shooting was way off most of the game, and the rust showed. Jalen Brunson took 31 shots (more on that later) with only a third finding the mark. But they rallied from a 14-point defiicit in the 3rd quarter (hey, this is the NBA where no lead is safe ever) and executed better down the stretch. Here is what stood out to SU:

1. The Spurs are really young – certainly for the guys that play. They are fast, athletic and some love to trash talk (looking at you Harper and Champagnie). Btw: I know it’s the NBA and there is a lot of trash talking all the time but please shut up. Champagnie had a lot to say in the 1st half when he was red hot from 3 but not as much yapping in the 2nd half when he scored 1 point and did not hardly even shoot. One thing about the Knicks: they go about their business for the most part. SU does not see much trash talking from this team. I know: I am old school and a dinosaur but just play the game the right way. Not so much to ask.
2. Who is the Spurs’ go to guy down the stretch in a close game? Wemby is a superstar who is still learning but not sure you clear out to let him do his thing just yet. Something to watch in this series.
3. SU hated Brunson taking 31 shots. This Knicks’ team is at its best when the ball is moving and they are running. Sure, he was Captain Clutch in the 4th quarter although at one point you could see him shooting them out of this game when he missed 4 in a row.
4. KAT and Hart were outstanding. Hart is so good rebounding, defending and pushing the ball up the court. The points are a bonus although if he can hit a few 3’s, the series is over. KAT played a complete game and avoided racking up the dumb fouls.
5. Note on refs: SU knows this is incredibly hard. These guys are flying all over the place and the game is so fast. But… in the 1st half the Knicks were driving to the basket regularly – including Brunson – and had 1 foul shot for most of the half. Ridiculous. Call the game evenly. SU will never blame a win or loss on the refs but they seem to be influenced by the home crowd sometimes.
6. I know physical play is the norm in the playoffs but as a fan, do I enjoy guards being bumped and held at mid-court on offense? Rarely are fouls called and it slows down the offensive game so much. I mean, who wants to watch that? It’s actually a foul – so call it and players will stop doing it. Btw, the WNBA allowed that so much last year that they changed how the game is called this year as it was also unwatchable. The NBA should do the same. We are 30 years removed from the Pat Riley era in NY when playoff games were in the 70s.
7. Wemby is a freak. No doubt about it. Incredible talent – especially on defense with the blocks. Teams try to muscle him and he does lash out sometimes on his blocks. Is he a dirty player? SU doesn’t think so but keep an eye on that. He was ejected in a game earlier in the playoffs as he can get frustrated. Definitely some follow through going on with his arms.

Finally, you have to tip your hat to Coach Mike Brown. Win or lose this series, he played a lot of guys during the regular season. His rotations often varied but the net is that he can slot in different players in the playoffs who had meaningful minutes during the regular season. Tom Thibodeau did not do that – great coach but he had his guys and not much more than that. Brown also has the luxury of changing up the flow of a game by subbing and not every team can do that.

For the Knicks, game 2 would be nice but they did what they had to do last night in a game, given the layoff, was a steal.

Quick comment on the Yankees before I go. They are not competitive vs. teams with a winning record. Pretty obvious at this point. 3-10 for the season. True, a small sample size but they fail the eye test.

You have to tip your cap to the Spurs who won a game 7 on the road against the defending NBA champions. Now the Thunder were a bit undermanned with some injuries but they are a deep team and can slot in reserves for significant minutes more easily than most teams. But the Thunder became a bit too SGA-centric in this series. He showed up for game 7 but did not get much support.

If nothing else, it shows how hard it is to repeat in the NBA. The Spurs are incredibly young and of course, very talented. Is it too soon for them to win it all now? They have home court advantage for the finals. Are their young players ready to take the next step?

It’s an interesting contrast with the Knicks who have dominated the Eastern Conference playoffs although against one could say were inferior matchups. They avoided both Boston and Detroit but as the saying goes, you can only play who is on the schedule. SU does not like the long layoffs as it can adversely impact your shooting and rhythm. The Knicks should be glad that game 1 is on the road as there is less concern if you drop that one. The Spurs could be tired from a grueling and pressurized series against the Thunder but they get 3 full days of rest now. SU says not a factor.

SU did notice how emotional Wemby was to win this series. That tells me that he might actually be a little emotionally spent heading into this series and it’s possible he might be “glad to be there” as they say. The Knicks are much more playoff tested and have experienced the disappointment of losing to the Pacers last year. You learn from that for sure and that is a factor.

The pinky injury to Mitchell Robinson is a factor in a non-basketball event by the way. But he wants to play. SU says tape the pinky to his 4th finger and it certainly won’t hurt his foul shooting. Time to break out the underhanded foul shot? As long as he can dunk, he should be good to go. They definitely need him for this series.

The series goes 2-2-2-1-1-1 which works in the Knicks’ favor to have game 6 on their home court. SU says experience wins out in this series and predicts the Knicks in 6 games. They should have had enough time to figure out how to defend against Wemby and let the other players beat them. He is a generational talent as they say. It’s amazing how he never turns an ankle the way he flies around the court and drives to the basket. Something to watch there.

Anyone care to weigh in with their own prediction for this series?

Full transparency from SU: in the first quarter last night, I was not a fan of Josh Hart potentially taking 25 shots in the game. They were not covering him at all on the outside, and the big men were collapsing on Brunson on every drive. Hart missed his first 4 3-pointers and it did feel like Kenny Atkinson was outcoaching Mike Brown.

Well, Brown stuck with Hart and his usual rotation and Hart found a way by driving to the basket and then taking the 3-balls and making them – especially in the 3rd quarter. It’s a smart strategy and SU thinks Cleveland will tee it up again in game 3 tomorrow night. The Knicks’ bench really struggled to the point that Brown put the starters back into the game with 10 minutes left to protect the big lead which was shrinking quickly in the 4th quarter.

Brunson became a playmaker last night and did not force the offense which was huge. SU believes KAT has another gear he will show in this series and look for him to pick up the scoring in game 3. If he can hit some 3-pointers, it will open up the lane for Brunson. Harden is a huge liability on defense.

Mikael Bridges has been huge in the last 9 games in the playoffs. He is a versatile defender and they need his offense. SU believes Cleveland will show up in game 3 and you know Strus and Merrell will shoot better at home. A long way to go and as Pat Riley says, no playoff series really begins until one team loses at home. Amazing that the Knicks are on a 9-game winning streak in the playoffs.

Have you watched SGA on Oklahoma City in the playoffs? He flops to the ground on almost every shot trying to draw the foul call. He already gets favorable treatment from the refs but this is over the top. Hopefully the refs are wise to this tactic – something to watch tonight in game 3 vs. San Antonio. Those are both great teams.

SU knows it’s early but the Yankees are actually now down 6 games in the loss column to Tampa Bay. Big series starting tonight with Gerrit Cole making his return. The starting pitching is solid but the offense is so uneven – something that is exposed when Judge goes through a dip that we are seeing now. Brian Cashman is looking to prove that you can win a championship starting 6 position players who hit .210 or lower. Guess he is just showing off. The bullpen is still missing pieces but rest assured, that will get addressed. Not sure if the offense will even with Stanton returning at some point.

You have to give credit to the Rays who are putting up amazing numbers with a roster of relative no names. Guess you can do a lot without tying up $35 million a year in players like Stanton who play 80 games each season.

SU is still waiting for the Mets to show some sustained signs of life. You have to figure they have 4 weeks or so until ownership becomes sellers in July. Wondering if Juan Soto signed up for this?

SU says the Yankees are overrated. Their record year-to-date is not reflective of the talent on the roster, and they are in the process of “regressing to the mean.” Stated another way, over a period of time, a team’s record will move closer to where they were expected to be at the start of the season.

SU checked the Yankees’ record against teams who are .500 or better this year. It’s 1 win and 8 losses. Not only is it the worst record in MLB, but it’s also the fewest games against teams with a better than .500 record – by a lot. Now, part of that is explained by the awfulness of the American League so far this season. And yes, the Yankees are comfortably positioned in the Wild Card and it’s way too early in the season. All true. So, some would say, “what are the entitled Yankee fans complaining about?” I get all that.

However, SU has watched its share of games so far and you can see the holes. The bullpen is pretty terrible. Bednar has been a rock but he is now showing cracks. Boone does not have a #2 reliever that he really trusts – you could see that Friday night where he had Bednar pitch the 9th inning with a 4-run lead. As SU has pointed out previously, that is all on Cashman who felt last year’s roster was SO great that there was no need to upgrade.

The lineup has no production after Jazz batting 5th. I mean, Ryan McMahon is batting 6th now. They are rolling out Spencer Jones and Jasson Dominguez but as we all know, Yankee prospects are always overhyped. Jones, in particular, is a free swinger.

And extra inning games? Jeez, somehow teams that go to the plate looking for home runs all the time do not produce in extra innings. And that same issue occurs in the playoffs.

SU will not get overexcited as it is early and the team is projected to win 97 games. But they have not played the better teams as of yet. And yes, Stanton is injured but every team has injuries – look at the Mets who by the way, are only 6 games below .500 now.

The Knicks have been off for over a week since taking out the Sixers in 4 games. SU has major concerns about the long layoff although certainly good for Anunoby who got more rest for his hamstring. Game 1 vs. Cleveland is tomorrow night and you have to expect the Knicks’ long-range shooting to be off. The Cavs can definitely steal one for home court although that may be overrated in this round given the quality of both teams. The Knicks have won 7 in a row in the playoffs – very impressive. They get a break as Detroit was a tougher matchup for them – especially if the refs allowed the grabbing and holding. If nothing else, this should be a more pleasing series to watch offensively. Knicks in 5 games.

The Knicks are now on a 7-game winning streak in the playoffs. The series with the Sixers was a walk in the park except for game 2 which is where, interestingly, Embid did not play. It was clear to SU that Maxey is way too deferential to Embid on offense when he is in the lineup. For Philadelphia to compete, Maxey needs to be the focal point of the offense as he is almost unguardable with his quickness, long range shooting and creativity. Paul George had a couple of decent games but he is 36 now and no longer a consistent threat on offense.

For the Knicks, they will now rest at least a week which for SU, is typically not a good thing. Yes, players with injuries like OG Anunoby get to heal but the shooters who sit that long always have a hard time adjusting in game 1 of the next series. If the Knicks play Detroit, that may actually be OK as they will be on the road for that one and better to get your cold shooting out of the way on the road and not lose home court advantage.

Assuming Detroit advances to the next round, that would be an entirely different series from the Sixers. Detroit grabs and holds – Pat Riley in the 1990s would love this team. They dare you to call fouls on every possession. And once they get away with it in the first few minutes, the games become rock fights. Borderline unwatchable unless you like the wrestling matches. Brunson will get bumped all over the court. For NBA fans, they like the free flowing games and higher scoring. But we won’t see that in this series. Playing Cleveland would be a more open affair.

SU watched an WNBA game on Saturday – Fever vs. the Wings. Looks like the WNBA has changed its foul calling rules this year to eliminate the grabbing and holding from last season and allow talents like Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers to move a bit more freely. Bravo. Basketball is a game meant to see players cut, move, run and pass. When players cannot even run without being grabbed and held, well, that is unwatchable.

The Yankees got swept in Milwaukee over the weekend and you can see the flaws in this year’s team. SU is not complaining about the record of course but they are not beating anyone over .500. The American League is really bad. The bullpen is still lacking, and other than Bednar, hard to trust anyone. It’s a long season and SU will not worry for now. Surely Cashman will restock the bullpen (which, of course, he should have done in the off season). Anything short of getting to the World Series this year is a failure given how bad the AL is in 2026.

The Mets are a quarter way through the season now and firmly in last place at 15 – 25. SU says it is still early but to be honest, their roster is unimpressive. That does not mean that they can’t get hot but unfortunately, the National League features most of the decent teams this year so it may take a while – or not at all and they become sellers in July. Wonder if Juan Soto ever has 2nd thoughts about playing for a winning team? But as long as his family is happy in their luxury suite for home games, guess all is good in Soto-land.

Anthony Volpe is a Brian Cashman favorite – going back many years now. He was very good in his rookie year but has taken a step back – at least in 2025 when he was dealing with a sore shoulder. Caballero has been very good in his place and the team is winning.

Can a player lose his starting position due to injury? Many say no. Keep in mind that Volpe is very good friends Aaron Judge. SU says it makes sense to give him more at bats in AAA to be able to hit the ground running when he does come back. The complicating factor is that the Yankees’ top prospect, Lomabard, is a shortstop and was just promoted to AAA. He is being moved around the infield to get experience.

Stanton is on the IL but won’t be there forever. They already cut Grichuk. Goldschmidt could be expendable but he is the back up first baseman – can anyone else play there? Maybe Rosario? Caballero can play multiple positions. Dominguez is now up and he is playing well.

There are no obvious solutions here. They could trade Volpe but he is young and on a low salary. SU says not going to happen. A good problem to have for sure. Maybe someone is traded for a top reliever? That is the major need for this team.

The one interesting observation here is that Stanton is an afterthought now. They will need him in October but he is not critical during the regular season.

RIP John Sterling. A true Yankee legend. SU always enjoyed his calls and it did not bother me that he was a “homer” announcer. Towards the end of his announcing career, he had trouble seeing the ball and that was a bit annoying to be honest (“it is high, it is far, it is caught in front of the warning track”). But hey, we all get old and it was fair that he had the chance to decide when to stop calling his games. Dave Sims is a far cry as a replacement. Sterling had a good run. Good man and we will miss him greatly.

The Knicks are looking good! Really pushing the ball up the court and playing at a fast pace. Smart. Embid is a load but he is not going to be sprinting up and down the court. The Sixers have no bench: that is a huge advantage for the Knicks in this series. More players who can come in and influence the game. Brunson was great last night but they don’t need him to be great to win. He needs to watch his shots volume. SU notes that Embid is hardly jumping on his shots. Defenders should not go for the fakes. Just play straight up. They need KAT and Robinson to avoid the silly fouls.

A long way to go of course and we all know about game 2 at home.

The New York sports talk radio listeners must surely be experiencing whiplash this morning. After the game 3 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, everyone was calling for Mike Brown to be fired and envisioning a first round playoff exit and a rebuild in the off-season. What a difference a week makes!

SU is not a Mike Brown fan but one thing he accomplished during the regular season was establishing a core of 10 players that he can mix and match depending on the opponent. And he has shown that he is not averse to banishing a player to the bench, e.g., Landry Shamet, if he feels they are not right for that series. Even starter Mikal Bridges saw his minutes reduced for a few games before breaking out last night. SU says competition for playing time is always a good thing in any sport. Brown pulled it off – at least for this series against the Hawks. He was smart enough to run the offense through KAT and have someone other than Brunson bring up the ball to reduce his burden. The Knicks are so, so much better when the ball does not stick in Brunson’s hands and really moves. However, every playoff series it seems to take Brunson a couple of games to realize that.

Did you see that Mitchell Robinson had a +29 points plus/minus last night in only 9 minutes of court time? That has to be some type of record.

The Sixers and Celtics will wrap up a brusing series tomorrow and the Knicks get a few days off to rest up for the next opponent. They would have home court vs. Philadelphia but they have some tough players, i.e., Maxey, Embid, Geroge and Embid is a load in the playoffs drawing fouls. SU believes the Knicks may actually match up better vs. Boston but they have that championship pedigree. This will be another tough series.

For Knick fans, you have to make the finals this year. You don’t have to win it all but really do need to get there. OKC and San Antonio would be tough opponents in the finals but it sure would be fun to see how that went.

The Yankees are managing through the annual Giancarlo Stanton injury but it has opened the door for Jasson Dominguez to get a shot to play regularly. Of course, he was hit on the elbow this week so hoping he can get back in there and avoid any IL time. The reality is that the Yankees really don’t need Stanton until October as he is a proven post-season performer. They have plenty of offense assuming guys can hit according to the back of their baseball cards. Only 3 teams above .500 in the AL. Parity at its finest. Note to Aaron Boone: Ben Rice is the man. Don’t forget that.

The Yankees have back end of the bullpen issues but they will resolve themselves assuming Cole and Rodon can return and stay healthy. You move Weathers to the bullpen where he has pitched before and then one other starter (Warren?). Volpe will return and SU says he should have to earn his playing time as Caballero has played well. Caballero is versatile though and can also be put in the outfield. For the Yankees, it’s just a matter of tweaking.

For the Mets, man, we are beyond tweaking. David Stearns came to the Mets with a reputation for putting together high performing rosters with low cost budgets in Milwaukee. So, how does he do with big budgets? Not so much. Team can’t hit or pitch and did you really want to build your bullpen around ex-Yankee relievers? Weaver and Williams may be effective playing for middle market teams but hey, this is New York and they both showed cracks in 2025. The Braves have the best record in baseball but it’s still early. Do you fire Mendoza? SU says he is a good guy and a solid manager, and the issue here is not him but a crappy roster. What is the over/under date where Juan Soto starts to leak complaints to the media that he is not happy?

SU watched the Knicks’ game last night and clearly, Mike Brown screwed up with the lineups in the 4th quarter. He has the analytics to know that the Knicks are better with either KAT or Brunson on the court. Sitting both of them at the same time was not ideal and the lead that they had built after 3 quarters quickly evaporated.

Contrary to the NBC broadcast, they did not have a timeout at the end of the game and Bridges did well to advance the ball up the court but should have driven to the basket to get the foul call. But SU says you never blame a player for the game if he misses the last shot. Should not have come down to that – do not hate on Bridges.

But here is the issue for SU. In both game 1 and this game, they built a nice lead playing more or less a team style offense. However, in both games, they resorted to the hero ball, slow down offense with Brunson dribbling, dribbling, dribbling and then forcing up some high degree of difficulty shot as the 24-second clock ran down. They blew a big lead on Saturday doing that and same thing this game. Atlanta, to their credit, started to double him late in the shot clock and forced up difficult shots.

I know Brunson is “Captain Clutch” and all of that. He is a great crunch time player but mix it up please. Others are open and can play. There are stretches with the 2nd unit where the ball really moves and they are running. Atlanta certainly wants the fast pace.

This is the Knicks year to get to the finals. It won’t be easy as Boston in the 2nd round will be tough. Atlanta clearly has confidence now and they have some athletic, young talent. CJ McCollum has been good but SU says he can also put up a 5 for 24 game in game 3 – he has done that his whole career. Runs hot and cold. He has been killing Brunson and the Knicks have some good defenders – make the change there.

A long way to go but Knick fans still have PTSD from the Pacers loss in game 1 last year. Buckle up.

And speaking of bad, how about those Mets? Losing 11 in a row is pretty uncommon these days for any team. SU is sure they will right the ship and of course, we are still in April. Mendoza is a good manager and they should not think he is the reason they are losing here.

Finally, Ben Rice is the man. Surely Aaron Boone will see that and keep him in the lineup every game instead of overthinking the matchups with lefties. Of course, SU is not so sure. Yankees’ bullpen is not good but you have to figure Cashman was planning to move some starters into the pen once Cole and Rodon came back. Or maybe he just screwed up. The good news is that it’s always easy to pick up relievers at the trade deadline. The Yankees are not world beaters but the AL is medicore and no excuses this year.