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Good morning! What’s life if not just a long string of series? Inside:
Basketball: Spurs vs. Knicks, starting Wednesday
We have our NBA Finals.
The Spurs beat the Thunder last night in Oklahoma City, 111-103, setting up a final confrontation with the Eastern Conference champ Knicks that begins on Wednesday in San Antonio. So concludes one of the best Western Conference Finals ever, a true classic.
One more series to go. Here’s an interesting set of facts about it. The Knicks will:
- Enter as the hottest team in the history of the NBA playoffs. They have won 11 games in a row, against the Hawks, 76ers and Cavaliers. In running up a 12-2 playoff record, the average score of their games has been Knicks 120, Opponents 101. New York’s 19.4-point margin per game is, for the moment, six points ahead of any other postseason team since the NBA-ABA merger. (If you’re into trivia, I put the three closest teams behind them at the bottom of this section.)
- Have been resting since last Monday, while the Spurs spent an extra five days slugging it out in a brutal conference final against an ultra-elite opponent.
- Be clear underdogs. The Spurs are -210 to win, per BetMGM. Most New York fans wouldn’t disagree, I don’t think. The Knicks are outstanding, but they’re about to face a much stiffer test than the East could offer.
(Personally, I spent last night at a diehard Knicks fan’s wedding. The groom asked me to whisper the score to him during the reception. I was happy to oblige. That’s journalism.)
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We’ll have a few more days to get psyched for the finals. But for now, here’s Zach Harper, author of our free NBA newsletter, on why the Spurs have the upper hand on paper:
💬 The Spurs are favored against the Knicks for a few reasons: 1) Have you seen what Victor Wembanyama has been doing to some of the best defensive frontcourts in the league? Now he goes against Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson. Good, but not what he’s faced. 2) They just knocked off the Thunder. You can argue that it took a lot out of them, but that’s borderline reaching the mountaintop. 3) Have you seen what Wemby has been doing?!
Thanks to Zach. Trivia answer: The 2017 Warriors (+13.5 points per game), 2001 Lakers (+12.8) and 1991 Bulls (+11.7) are the top three teams in playoff margin of victory, this year’s Knicks aside. All three won the championship. Here’s the full table, via Stathead.
News to Know
PSG defend European title
The Champions League final mostly went how Arsenal would have hoped, with PSG dominating the ball (75% possession!) but accomplishing little while the Gunners threatened on the counter. But with the score still 1-1 after a listless extra time (with an Arsenal penalty shout you can read about here), the title holders had steadier nerves in the shootout: First Eberechi Eze sent his effort wide after an overcomplicated run-up, then Gabriel fired over to seal a PSG repeat. For neutrals, it’s fun that Europe’s most entertaining team is also its acknowledged best. For Arsenal, it’s another European disappointment. Good story here on how they build from this.
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Gauff goes out
The chaos at this French Open is no longer confined to the men’s bracket. American defending champ Coco Gauff led in all three sets against Anastasia Potapova but couldn’t close out the final two — while playing in front of an oddly sparse crowd because of the Champions League tilt. Afterward, she blamed a lack of killer instinct.
- Also yesterday: American Zachary Svajda scrambled his way to a five-set win over clay-court specialist Francisco Cerúndolo and said it was extra special, coming on his late father’s birthday.
More News
- Claude Lemieux’s family is donating his brain to Boston University CTE Center for head injury research. Full story here.
- The Vikings wanted their new GM to be a leader who could bring the organization in concert. Their choice, Seahawks assistant GM Nolan Teasley, is a big swing.
- On the subject of big swings, Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr., who once hit 42 homers in a season, had gone 55 games this year without one. He snapped the skid with a 451-foot blast.
- A respectable start by the White Sox is largely due to American League home run co-leader Munetaka Murakami — how will they weather his hamstring injury?
- Defender Tim Ream is set to become the oldest player ever to appear for the USMNT at the World Cup. He’ll also be captain, it was announced yesterday.
- Paige Bueckers said it’s “insane” the jersey from her WNBA debut sold for a record $64,720: “I wouldn’t even pay $10 for my own jersey.”
Watch Guide
📺 French Open: Casper Ruud vs. João Fonseca
2:15 p.m. ET on TNT and HBO Max
Let’s see what the Brazilian 19-year-old Fonseca can do in the fourth round after his electric win over Novak Djokovic two days ago. The Norwegian Ruud, 27, has been to the final in Paris twice in recent years.
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📺 WNBA: Aces at Valkyries
3:30 p.m. ET on NBC
The Aces are right behind the Liberty as title favorites, but they’ve had a tumultuous start. Meanwhile, the upstart Valkyries look competitive in the West.
📺 Soccer: USMNT vs. Senegal
3:30 p.m. ET on TBS and HBO Max
Just two tune-ups left before the World Cup for Mauricio Pochettino’s newly named 26-man roster. They’ll be without one of their most important players in defender Chris Richards, whose Cup prospects are uncertain. By the way, all World Cup coverage is free to access in The Athletic’s app.
Get tickets to games like this here.
Pulse Picks
Top-shared Athletic features last week:
- My season inside Wemby’s world: An up-close look at the many dimensions of Victor Wembanyama
- Dominique Wilkins reconnects with fan he gave shoes to 42 years ago: ‘Totally blew me away’
- Want to ‘Read Like Wemby’? Bring an appetite for fantasy to this San Antonio library
- Teen umpire Jameson Morris tossed a baseball coach in a now-viral video. Here’s his story
- 49ers’ Fred Warner wanted a quick rehab from a devastating injury. So he learned how to swim
Social media is fueling college softball’s rise thanks to moments of connection and pure joy, as Molly Keshin writes.
I wanted a swing set my girls could grow up with and this thing is an absolute unit. Feels like a park swing. Zero-stress assembly, too. — Matt Piper
49ers star Christian McCaffrey isn’t worried about his workload. He’s too busy preparing his body.
OK, sorry this is extremely NYC-centric, but New Yorkers are voting for jingles for a new free childcare program, and I felt childlike joy listening to them! (And watching Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Lin-Manuel Miranda talk about it like, as one commenter put it, “two golden retrievers greeting each other.”) Also, ICYMI: Mayor Mamdani wrote about his love for Arsenal ahead of the Champions League final. — Hannah Vanbiber
How writing hockey romance novels became an unexpected Happily Ever After for a former pro player.
Excuse the absurd corporate shill chatter here but I was very pleasantly surprised with how much I like my new Athletic hat, which you can also buy. — Chris Branch
Introduced my daughter to Nilla Wafers dipped in Cool Whip. Big W. Join us. — Chris Sprow
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Jaxson Dart and Abdul Carter going into more detail on the President Trump rally.
📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.