{"id":1918737,"date":"2026-05-05T14:30:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1918737"},"modified":"2026-05-05T14:30:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:30:12","slug":"the-bounce-a-wemby-record-in-a-loss-plus-lakers-thunder-and-cavs-pistons-begin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1918737","title":{"rendered":"The Bounce: A Wemby record in a loss. Plus, Lakers-Thunder and Cavs-Pistons begin"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Bounce Newslette<\/b>r<\/strong>\u00a0\":basketball:\"<\/span>\u00a0| This is The Athletic\u2019s<\/em> daily NBA newsletter.\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>\u00a0to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

LaPhonso Ellis turns 56 today. He\u2019s one of my favorite players from the \u201890s, and he had the greatest block in NBA history, in my opinion. Brian Davis took it to the hole, trying to dunk on Ellis, and The Phonz literally took it out of his hand. Watch it here<\/a> and admire the look of disrespect from Ellis and the fan pumping his fist in excitement.<\/p>\n

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About last night<\/h3>\n

Wemby blocks everything but a Wolves win<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the blink of an eye, Victor Wembanyama had seven blocks in the first half of Game 1 of the Spurs\u2019 second-round playoff series against Minnesota, setting the NBA record for blocks in a playoff half. Everything that came into the lane, Wemby emphatically sent the other way. And yet for all of the focus on his defensive excellence in the first half, the Timberwolves were tied with San Antonio at halftime.<\/p>\n

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Anthony Edwards returned alarmingly early from his hyperextended knee<\/a> in Game 4 of the first-round series win against the Nuggets, but he was simply one of many Wolves finding ways to get shots up and over the human French windmill.<\/p>\n

By the end of the game, Wemby had a triple-double and the record for blocks in a playoff game: 11 points, 15 rebounds and 12 blocks with five assists. He joined Hakeem Olajuwon and Andrew Bynum as the only players to have a triple-double with blocks in the playoffs. <\/strong>Those two totalled one assist in their games combined. And yet, the more experienced Wolves just kept the game close, hit big shots, got crucial stops and eventually waited for their star to regain his form.<\/p>\n

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Edwards only had 18 in the game, but 11 of them came in the fourth quarter. Terrence Shannon Jr., who had a monster Game 6 to close out Denver, was the victim of two Wemby blocks in the first 40 seconds of the game. He got blocked again in the fourth quarter, but he contributed 16 points on the night.<\/p>\n

The Wolves kept the game low-scoring and ugly and barely survived their Game 1 theft. Julian Champagnie had a great look after a few defensive stops by the Spurs to win the game. His 3-point shot from the right wing came up short, and Minnesota won 104-102.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the adjustment for San Antonio? <\/strong>The Spurs have to get Wemby better looks on offense. He was 5-of-17 from the field and 0-of-8 from deep. The Wolves kept him out of the paint a lot.<\/p>\n

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How does Minnesota take another one? <\/strong>Make sure Ant can increase his minutes and make free throws. The Wolves escaped despite shooting 12-of-21 at the line.<\/p>\n

Telling stat: <\/strong>Minnesota\u00a0converted 14 offensive rebounds into 20 points. San Antonio converted 13 offensive rebounds into 13 points.<\/p>\n

Playoff Panic Meter (out of five): \ud83d\udc7d\ud83d\udc7d\ud83d\udc7d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in Gotham\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Knicks 137, 76ers 98 | Knicks lead 1-0<\/strong><\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t much of a game. Really at any point. The Knicks led by only eight points after the first quarter, but they were up by 23 at halftime.<\/p>\n

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Jalen Brunson erupted for 27 points in the first half. He finished with 35 points in 31 minutes because New York didn\u2019t need him to do much else. The Knicks made 63 percent of their shots and 51 percent of their 3-pointers<\/a>. They had 34 assists; the Sixers had 30 made baskets total. And having 19 turnovers to just 15 assists didn\u2019t really help matters on the night for Philly.<\/p>\n

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{“endpoint”:”https:\/\/api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com\/graphql”}<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the adjustment for Philadelphia? <\/strong>Become a goldfish and forget about the game. The Sixers have to center things around attacking with Tyrese Maxey (just nine shots) and have Joel Embiid fit in where he can.<\/p>\n

How does New York take another one? <\/strong>Keep attacking Embiid in the pick-and-roll with Brunson. He isn\u2019t nimble enough to go to the perimeter, so the Sixers\u2019 drop coverage gives Brunson easy scoring chances.<\/p>\n

Telling stat: <\/strong>Teams coming off a Game 7 victory since 2003 (when the first round switched to a seven-game series) are 25-44 in Game 1 of the following series. Philly was destined to lose<\/a> this for several reasons.<\/p>\n

Playoff Panic Meter (out of five): \ud83d\udd14\ud83d\udd14\ud83d\udd14\ud83d\udd14<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The last 24<\/h3>\n

\ud83c\udfc0 Whole lotto love.<\/strong> The NBA has a plan to reform the draft lottery and fix tanking. Our John Hollinger says this is a wonderful idea<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc0 He\u2019s back! <\/strong>The Mavericks have their new lead executive. It\u2019s former Toronto Raptors boss Masai Ujiri<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\ud83c\udfc0 Will he be back? <\/strong>Tom Thibodeau wants to return to coaching \u2014 maybe even a reunion with the Bulls. Our Sam Amick has that and lots of other league intel he\u2019s hearing<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc0 Flop City. <\/strong>Jaylen Brown has some Embiid criticisms after their series. Says JoJo is known for flopping<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd0a \u201cNBA Daily.\u201d <\/strong>Watch and listen to a recap of last night\u2019s games and a preview of Cavaliers-Pistons<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Stream the NBA on Fubo (<\/em>try it for free!<\/a>)<\/em>\u00a0and catch out-of-market games on\u00a0<\/em>League Pass<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Spin City<\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s simulate the lottery, Part 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

As we lead up to Sunday\u2019s NBA Draft Lottery, we\u2019re taking a spin on the Tankathon lottery simulator every day this week.<\/p>\n

Tankathon is the best website for tracking the lottery odds<\/a>. It\u2019s also the best site for simulating the lottery and seeing what comes up. We are trying to figure out what would happen with each random drawing. One spin and we play the result, no matter what. Yesterday, it was Miami winning the top pick. Today might be even more ludicrous.<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s right! Two straight years of the Mavericks hurdling improbable odds to end up with two spectacular prospects. Putting BYU\u2019s AJ Dybantsa next to Cooper Flagg would be a massive win for the construction of the Mavs\u2019 future. And we\u2019d undoubtedly have so many people screaming about conspiracies for this lottery. We also get Indiana keeping its pick, and probably putting Kansas guard Darryn Peterson in the backcourt with Tyrese Haliburton. Brooklyn gets to take Duke\u2019s Cameron Boozer as a future building block.<\/p>\n

From there, the Pelicans move way up, which means the Hawks move up to fourth. The Wizards, Jazz, Kings and Grizzlies end up with tough luck, but nothing truly detrimental. They\u2019d all have chances at important prospects. Just not the three prized guys.<\/p>\n

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Round 2<\/h3>\n

Lakers-Thunder and Cavs-Pistons begin!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Round 2 rolls on with a couple more Game 1s tonight. Let\u2019s preview these series:<\/p>\n

4) Los Angeles Lakers vs. 1) OKC Thunder
\nGame 1, 8:30 p.m. ET, on NBC\/Peacock
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Big question for the Lakers:<\/strong> When does Luka Don\u010di\u0107 get back on the court, and will it allow the Lakers to find the right balance between offense and defense?<\/p>\n

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Big question for the Thunder:<\/strong> How do they consistently generate offense if Jalen Williams\u2019 hamstring doesn\u2019t allow him to play or be 100 percent if he does play?<\/p>\n

Big matchup:<\/strong> Marcus Smart against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Nobody can stop the MVP, but can Smart make things consistently difficult?<\/p>\n

Playoff Pressure Meter: <\/strong>\ud83c\udfac\ud83c\udfac for Los Angeles | \u26c8\ufe0f\u26c8\ufe0f\u26c8\ufe0f\u26c8\ufe0f for OKC<\/p>\n

Who is the favorite? <\/strong>OKC -2000 on BetMGM<\/p>\n

Series prediction:<\/strong> Thunder in five (six if Luka comes back early)<\/p>\n

Something to look for: <\/strong>Are the Lakers going to be able to generate enough good 3-point looks (and make them) to put pressure on the Thunder\u2019s defense? That could determine if they can steal one of the first two games in OKC.<\/p>\n

4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 1) Detroit Pistons
\nGame 1, 7 p.m. ET on NBC\/Peacock
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Big question for the Cavs:<\/strong> Are we going to see any consistency from this team\u2019s offense or defense? Is this a team serious about going deep into the playoffs?<\/p>\n

Big question for the Pistons:<\/strong> How are the Pistons going to generate offense aside from what Cade Cunningham does? Will the Cavaliers\u2019 perimeter defense help answer that for them?<\/p>\n

Big matchup:<\/strong> Jalen Duren against Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. Duren was awful against Orlando and now faces a better frontcourt.<\/p>\n

Playoff Pressure Meter: <\/strong>\u2694\ufe0f\u2694\ufe0f\u2694\ufe0f\u2694\ufe0f for Cleveland | \ud83d\ude99\ud83d\ude99\ud83d\ude99\ud83d\ude99 for Detroit<\/p>\n

Who is the favorite? <\/strong>Pistons -135 on BetMGM.<\/p>\n

Series prediction:<\/strong> Pistons in seven<\/p>\n

Something to look for: <\/strong>How much can the duo of James Harden and Donovan Mitchell score consistently against the defense of Cunningham and Ausar Thompson? Cleveland\u2019s ability to draw early fouls could greatly impact this backcourt matchup<\/p>\n

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End of the road<\/h3>\n

So long, Magic and Raptors<\/strong><\/p>\n

After an epic weekend of first-round elimination, it\u2019s time to say goodbye to some teams. Yesterday, we bid adieu to Houston and Boston. Today, we say farewell to the teams that lost Game 7s on Sunday.<\/p>\n

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Goodbye to the Magic<\/strong><\/p>\n

Was this the expected outcome?<\/strong> Not really. At least, not in this manner. The Magic were expected to lose to the Pistons, but not by going up 3-1 and then collapsing the way they did. That Game 6 second-half collapse was an all-timer.<\/p>\n

Who are the Magic\u2019s big free agents?<\/strong> Moe Wagner, Jevon Carter.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the draft situation?<\/strong> Their pick (18th) goes to Charlotte. They have the 46th pick.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the pressing need for Orlando?<\/strong> Outside shooting and a point guard. This team is awful on offense and needs to find a way for some easy buckets. The Magic had big expectations, and they fell way short. Spacing is a massive issue. A new coach is on the way, after Orlando fired Jamahl Mosley on Monday.<\/p>\n

Overall grade for the Magic\u2019s season:<\/strong> C-<\/p>\n

Goodbye to the Raptors<\/strong><\/p>\n

Was this the expected outcome?<\/strong> For the postseason, yes. Losing in seven games always felt inevitable for the Raptors against Cleveland. But they overperformed for the season. They won 46 games after just 30 the year before. They played elite defense most of the season. This was a great step forward, but they do feel close to their ceiling.<\/p>\n

Who are the Raptors\u2019 big free agents?<\/strong> Garrett Temple, AJ Lawson, Sandro Mamukelashvili ($2.8m player option).<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the draft situation?<\/strong> They have the 19th and the 50th picks.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the pressing need for Toronto?<\/strong> The Raptors desperately needs shooting and consistent point guard play. Maybe Immanuel Quickley being healthy solves a lot of that, but they still need far more shooting on this roster, regardless. They were abysmal from the outside.<\/p>\n

Overall grade for the Raptors\u2019 season:<\/strong> B<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bounce Newsletter\u00a0\u00a0| This is The Athletic\u2019s daily NBA newsletter.\u00a0Sign up here\u00a0to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox. LaPhonso Ellis turns 56 today. He\u2019s one of my favorite players from the \u201890s, and he had the greatest block in NBA history, in my opinion. Brian Davis took it to the hole, trying to dunk […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1918737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1918737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1918737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1918737\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1918737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1918737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1918737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}