The answers are: Maybe – at least for 2024; and man, could be.

Let me start with the Yankees. Great record, crazy good starting pitching and a bullpen that seems to be better collectively than they are as individual relievers. SU is not quite sure how they have been that good all year. And spare me the comments on being an overly entitled Yankee fan. I get the record is outstanding.

The issue for me is that the American League feels historically weak this year. Sure, Baltimore is really good (took 3 out of 4 from the Yankees) but then what? Cleveland, Kansas City, Minnesota – those are the powerhouse teams? We are only 1/3 of the way through the season and some teams may emerge at some point. But for SU, the Yankees’ 39 – 19 record is a direct reflection of the competition this year – not necessarily their greatness. Soto is a huge difference maker and Hal is already pleading poverty about signing him long-term after this season. The only saving grace is who else can afford him? You have to figure the Dodgers are tapped out now. Maybe the Red Sox? Cubs? Giants? Or will Steve Cohen go all in? SU can definitely see the Mets outbid the Yankees for Soto. Makes a lot of sense.

Clark Schmidt is now on the IL but Gerrit Cole may be back later in June so that takes care of itself. LeMahieu is back and that is big as he can play 1st base also. Gleyber Torres is either feeling the pressure of being a free agent after this year or his early years were just an aberration. There is no way the Yankees will re-sign him. SU note to Gleyber: please just run hard to 1st base. Once in a while – maybe once a week.

SU believes that Cashman will not stand pat at the trade deadline and will pick up some bench players and a reliever. They have plenty to make the playoffs – question is can they beat the Orioles in the post-season. The reality is that the best teams are in the National League: Phillies; Dodgers; and the Braves. Odd year.

Which brings me to the Mets. SU actually watched some of their games this week vs. the Dodgers. First of all, the Dodgers are not playing that well right now but they have some star players. The Mets were near .500 a couple of weeks ago but man, they look lifeless on offense right now. And when Ottavino is your closer well, you have big problems late in the game trying to hold a lead. They may get back to .500 if their schedule gets easier but they are not a good team. Sure, they have had some key injuries but this is a mediocre team that will be in a rebuild for a while. You have to figure they will be sellers at the deadline and will look to start over in 2025.

SU has been watching the Ranger playoff games. Very exciting. Florida is tough and seem to dominate the action for long stretches. The Rangers will be fortunate to get this to a game 7 but who knows? If you can get into OT, anything can happen.

The NBA finals will be interesting. The stars will be out. Boston is the clear favorite and they have the better roster but these games should be entertaining. The Timberwolves are not quite ready – they are probably one veteran short to getting over the hump.

The feel good New York Knicks (at least for Knick fans) just ran out of players this past week. At some point, you don’t have the players to make a stand. They fought hard to the end and you have to tip your hat to guys like Josh Hart who no doubt played through a tremendous amount of pain from his abdomen injury, and OG Anunoby who had his Willis Reed moment in making his first 2 shots but then just did not have the mobility from his hamstring to go any further.

This was a great playoff run against two high quality opponents in Philadelphia and Indiana. The Pacers shot close to 70% for much of the game yesterday and that was the difference. Of course, Brunson breaking his shooting hand in the 2nd half sealed the deal. But they were playing with 4 guards on the court most of the time and took this series to 7 games. As always, SU has a few observations and thoughts:

1. SU is rarely bothered by any sports announcers. I mean I can no longer listen to Dick Vitale, who, although a great guy, is just all schtick now. John Sterling had the same affect on me for the last 10 years. But for the NBA playoffs, Doris Burke finally got to me. SU has always liked her in past years but enough of Tyrese Halliburton “playing with such joy.” This guy is a top tier trash talker – that’s what he is. Great shooter – at least in this series – but does not stop talking out there. I like JJ Reddick and would prefer to hear much more from him and Mike Breen.
2. TJ McConnell is a veteran NBA player – 32 years old. He is the kind of guy you want on your team. Apparently, he is a free agent. Perfect fit for the Knicks and their style of play and MSG fans would take to him big time.
3. SU will be curious if the refs allow the Pacer guards to be all “handsy” and overly physical with the Celtic guards in this next series. Their physical treatment of Brunson was a joke. SU cannot remember any other NBA top tier player being manhandled like that. Can you imagine anyone putting their hands on LeBron? LeBron would dislocate his shoulder flailing his arms for foul calls on every possession. The constant bumping of Brunson as he started to move towards the basket should be called a foul every time. The Pacer guards dare the refs to do just that and once you see that is will be allowed, well why stop? Something to watch this next series.
4. Older Knick fans like SU will recall the 1968 – 69 Knicks’ team that pushed the Celtics in the playoffs until Walt Frazier pulled his hamstring muscle and played heavily taped in the deciding game 6 in Boston. But that season was a major step forward that set them up for their championship run in 1969-70. Sometimes you need to fail in order to be ready to go to the next level. This year does feel like that for the Knicks.
5. A lot of respect for Myles Turner. He had so many blocked shots against the undersized Knicks at the rim in this series. For SU, he plays the game the right way. SU is not a fan of the trash talkers – it’s why Brunson is so likable. I know the NBA is a trash talking League now (oh sorry, players “playing with such joy”) and that is why players who are different really stand out.
6. No more replays on foul calls. Just stop. And how about technical fouls for players that wildly gesticulate over every non-call? Just stop and get back on defense.

Bottom line for Knick fans: great season, gritty team and you can’t wait for next season. Now, the reality in the NBA is that it’s hard to keep teams together and there will be changes. But the core will be back in Brunson, Hart and DiVincenzo, and it’s up to management now to not screw it up. You have to sign Anunoby – he is a difference maker on defense and plays with a quiet confidence. Siakam was a killer once OG went out with his hamstring injury for the last 5 games. The Knicks had no one to match up with him.

For SU, it’s on to baseball and the Yankees are quietly having a great year. Of course, no injuries so far so there is that but the starting pitching has far exceeded what you would expect. Are they really 33 – 15?

Anyway, your thoughts on the Knicks?

Veteran sports fans who follow multiple professional or even college sports teams have to appreciate what the Knicks are doing this season. You won’t necessarily see it again – it’s just the nature of team sports and how people play the game. For example, the Yankees showed so little passion and fire in 2023 that SU finally stopped watching games the last 2 months of the season. Unheard of. It took so much disinterest from players not hustling, not running hard to 1st base and mindlessly hitting balls into the defense to get me to that point. Actually never happened before for me.

The Knicks this year just play hard every minute, every game. They don’t hang their heads when there are injuries or they’re not shooting well for stretches of the game. The defensive effort is still there. Sure, it’s coaching and Thibodeau has done a masterful job with these players. But it’s really about the players and collectively caring about one another and playing the game the right way all the time. You watch Josh Hart get close to 20 rebounds in a game – amazing for a guard.

Last night, Brunson was basically playing on one leg and just had no lift on his shots. Most of his misses were short. But he was out there playing major minutes and they came close down the stretch. They are just so undersized now with Robinson and OG Anunoby both out, and not being able to get defensive rebounds down the stretch did them in. It’s unclear if Anunoby can even come back this series as hamstring injuries tend to linger.

For SU, I will enjoy the passion and the effort from this team as it feels like it’s just so rare these days. SU refuses to be pissed off by the refs who have a tough job in the NBA. The pace of play is so fast and the players are so athletic. I will say that the challenge system is basically annoying. If you want to review plays in the last 2 minutes, that’s fine but during the flow of the game, just move on. The calls will even out in the end. Pace of play matters and some of the overturns on foul calls are just ridiculous. The one on Brunson last night where he was fouled twice at mid-court (not called) and then maybe lost the ball out of bounds where the defender had his elbow in his side. The Pacers’ guards are basically saying we will play you physically and dare the refs to call fouls on every possession. Of course, they won’t and then you set the tone for the game. Brunson takes his share of bumps, grabs and holds – no doubt. Unclear to SU why that is allowed.

Sooooo, enjoy the rest of this series and what will be will be. DiVincenzo took a big hit on his back, and he was not the same down the stretch. With game 4 on Sunday afternoon, we will have to see how mobile he is. The Knicks may want to consider a “load maintenance” game and rest several guys Sunday. I am sure they will not but when you play 7 players, you really need them to be close to top form.

Tyrese Maxey did his best Reggie Miller imitation against the Knicks last night in the last 25 seconds. Long-time (suffering) Knick fans will remember that playoff game where Miller pushed Greg Anthony to the ground on an in-bounds pass to hit a killer 3-pointer in a playoff game. Last night has to rank right up there with that one.

Full transparency: SU is only recently back on the Knicks’ bandwagon going back to last season. Too many years of Isiah Thomas, Stephon Marbury and Carmelo pushed me away for a long, long time. And as a NY sports fan, the Yankees’ collapses in the 2004 ALCS against the Red Sox after being up 3-0 has hardened me against tragedies like last night. That was the all-time low point, and emotionally, just can’t go there again.

ESPN reports that “before these playoffs, there had been only three games in the past 25 years that had seen a team recover from a deficit of at least five points inside the final 30 seconds and win the game.” And now it has happened twice in the same series – and there are still potentially 2 games to go.

Look: of course, Mitchell Robinson cannot foul on a 3-point attempt there. Just can’t do it. And then on the game tying logo 3-pointers, he actually pulled back. The Knicks are the all-time gritty team – they play so hard and fight until the end. But SU has these observations:

1. Thibodeau is playing only 7 players now in his rotation. SU says that is crazy – especially with the load that Brunson has to carry. His shots were definitely getting shorter and shorter in the 2nd half. You have to give him a blow in each half. Precious Achiuwa played some quality minutes on Sunday but was MIA last night on the bench. Sometimes a bench player can change the flow of a game. If you don’t sub, much harder to make that happen.
2. Game 6 may be the first blowout of the series. It is hard to recover in just 48 hours when you are playing your starters so many minutes. Bogdanovic is done for the season. Maybe Alec Burks can give them a lift in game 6? Dust him off for a bit of scoring?
3. Embiid is hurting – he has no lift on his shot at all. You can’t expect Maxey to provide those types of heroics every game but the reality is that the Sixers are a deeper team. These teams are so evenly matched – I believe the Sixers have scored 1 more point than the Knicks in the series so far.
4. For Knick fans, you stole game 2 at home, and now the Sixers stole game 5. That is sports for you. Crazy.
5. Watch out for Dante DiVincenzo in game 6. He is due for a breakout game. It could be the difference.

Apparently, game 6 is 9 pm Thursday night (???) and then game 7 is Saturday. Quick turnaround now as we get late into the series. All the more reason to play another player in the rotation for the Knicks. Brunson is amazing but the offense has become stagnant with him dribbling around the top of the key for much of the shot clock. The Knicks are much better in transition and converting off their tough defense.

Bottom line: for Knick fans, this one hurts – a lot. Game 6 will test the resilience and grit of the team going back to Philly although a lot of Knick fans seem to make the trip down the Turnpike. If game 6 is close at the end, memories of game 5 will be fresh. Gotta love the NBA playoffs. SU still says the Knicks win the series but it may take 7 games. You know the NBA is hoping for 7 games given how some of these series have been no shows so far.

SU has to comment on the Yankees before leaving you today. Seasons are not lost in April/May but there have to be concerns about the offense against the better teams with good pitching. The Orioles are making a statement and they are really good of course. Maybe the tide turns tonight but very disappointing. Verdugo is away for a few days on parental leave and it immediately exposes the bench. Really lacking.