We Have Four Teams Remaining in the NBA Playoffs | HOOPS Daily, 5/19/2025
OKC dominates Game 7 vs. Denver, getting ready for the conference finals, and more.
The Tip-Off: Question of the Day
The Conference Finals Are Set
OKC & Minnesota Face-Off
The Western Conference Finals tip off on Tuesday, giving the #1 overall seed Oklahoma City Thunder about two days to regroup and prepare for a Wolves team that has been resting since last week. It’s always the age-old debate: rest or rust? I’m fascinated by how this series is going to go. I think about guys like Julius Randle and Jaden McDaniels on the Wolves, who have been such forces for Minnesota all playoffs going up against the insanely versatile Thunder defense. Can Lu Dort frustrate Randle and force him to settle and look a bit more like the player people have expected to see this post-season? I just watched Alex Caruso put the clamps on Nikola Jokic for three quarters so I’m at the point where everything is on the table.
The interesting thing is how different these teams feel now compared to their regular season matchups, they split their season series 2-2 but the fewest point total was 218 in their first meeting. Interestingly, it feels like both teams have relied on defense a bit more in the playoffs. Both currently rank top 10 in the playoffs for points per game but they are one and two in defensive rating1 so I think the difference here is going to be which team can disrupt the other more. Denver may have laid a blueprint for how to defend OKC, they just ran out of gas by the end of the series so I can’t wait to see if Minnesota has the extra energy and depth needed to push them to their first NBA Finals in their franchise’s history or if OKC, who has continued to grow before our eyes, are primed to get back to their first Finals since 2012.
Indiana & New York Meet Again
One of the great NBA rivalries renews once again as the Pacers and Knicks meet in the Eastern Conference Finals. Last year Indiana knocked off a battered Knicks team to make the Conference Finals and now, they’ll have to do it against a much healthier Knicks team this post-season if they want to get to their first NBA Finals since 2000.
The Knicks, one of basketball’s sports’ biggest franchises, hasn’t been to the NBA Finals since 1999. They haven’t won a title in 52 years. These fans are ready to explode in case the footage from their Game 6 win over Boston didn’t already show you how ready they are to celebrate:
The interesting thing about this series is the swing that’s happened for both teams as these playoffs have gone on. The Knicks have relied on clutch shotmaking and a top-5 defensive rating to help them make huge comeback after huge comeback while Indiana has exploded offensively. They’re second in post-season offensive rating, first in field goal percentage, third in pace, and have the identity of a team looking to get out and run their opponents ragged with free-flowing offense and ball movement. And while Jalen Brunson has been the man when the Knicks need him, the Pacers have had a much more balanced attack. Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, and Pascal Siakam are currently first, second, and third in post-season field goal percentage. I think this is one of the keys to this entire series: can New York’s defense shut down the Pacers’ efficiency, which is on historic pace (58.3% FG)?
The other key to me is offensive rebounding and second-chance points. The Knicks are currently second of all playoff teams, generating 17ppg off of second chances while the Pacers sit dead last at just under 10ppg. If Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson, and maybe the greatest rebounding guard in the league Josh Hart can generate second chances for the Knicks at their current pace, it could make a huge difference towards limiting Indiana’s chances to get out and run in transition. Keeping KAT out of foul trouble is going to be absolutely essential for New York.
During the regular season, the Knicks were 2-1 vs. Indiana but this feels like two completely different teams. I can’t wait for this series.
What’s Next for the Celtics?
Basketball life comes at you fast, this Celtics’ team was a favorite to go back-to-back and win this year’s NBA title and now, we’re sitting here as they’ve been eliminated in round two, they’re surrounded by question marks regarding their key players, and most importantly, their best player probably won’t be back on the court until Oct. 2026.
Boston’s new ownership is trying to make it known that it’s CBA rules, not new owner syndrome or penny pinching, that is likely going to lead to some roster retooling in the coming months but what that is exactly remains to be seen. Jaylen Brown said it “felt like death” losing to the Knicks in the fashion they did but maybe that’s the wakeup call this team needs. All series, shooting woes plagued them at the worst possible moments as cold streaks from beyond the arc constantly helped the Knicks cut 20pt deficits into stunning wins. For their round two series, Boston missed over 130 3pt shots, an insane volume that serves as a cold antithesis to their regular season record-breaking 3pt success.
It’s weird to say the Celtics should bottom out just one year removed from winning a title but until Jayson Tatum comes back, I don’t think they’re getting back to the Finals without him. They have some interesting decisions to make with all their stars and role players and names like Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, and Payton Pritchard will likely all find their names in trade rumors all summer. It’s interesting to imagine what a package with a few of those guys can get but at the same time, the other option is trading players for picks and hoping you can hit the NBA lottery like Dallas, San Antonio, and Philadelphia just did. Three teams with stars all up and down their rosters will be picking 1-3 because of bad injury luck and inexplicable GM ineptitude.
If Boston is seriously thinking about trimming a bunch of contracts from their budget, this has to be a discussion that’s happening, especially with no Tatum timeline coming for the foreseeable future. A world where they’re welcoming Tatum back to the lineup and introducing a #1 or #2 overall pick to the roster makes a lot more financial sense than $140M+ in contracts for players getting older and already against the 8-ball without Tatum there to help next season. It’s such an interesting place to be in and it’s crazy to see the Celtics be the team in it.
What’s Next for the Nuggets?
I feel bad saying this is so obvious but this is so obvious: Denver needs a lot of help. Specifically with their bench depth which has been an issue all year. Everyone knew they were thin when they let so many players from their title team walk but it was glaringly obvious down the stretch of Sunday’s Game 7 as OKC just outlasted a worn-out Denver team. Nikola Jokic looked absolutely gassed, only attempting 9 shots for the game and repeatedly falling down at contact. For the playoffs, Jokic is currently first in points, rebounds, assists, steals, stocks, double-doubles, triple-doubles, and total field goals. It’s insane the amount he was doing throughout both series.
Worse than that, Aaron Gordon had more points at halftime than Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray combined and Gordon was playing through a grade 2 hamstring sprain that should’ve kept him sidelined. It was an unbelievable effort for Mr. Nugget, as his magnificent playoff run comes to an end.
Former coach Michael Malone and former GM Calvin Booth were both fired right before the playoffs in part because they couldn’t agree on who to play. Booth wanted to play young players, Malone wanted players he could trust. On Sunday, it was clear why both were fired as everyone off the bench struggled. Russell Westbrook was limited to just six points and four turnovers. Jalen Pickett (who Booth wanted over Russ) had six points in 10 minutes on 2-5 shooting, and Peyton Watson, Hunter Tyson, and Zeke Naji all combined to go 3-13 for nine total points.
Again, this Nuggets team is going to need some deep retooling to get back to title contention and star Nikola Jokic seems to know it:
If it were me, I’d get rid of everyone not named Jokic, Murray, Gordon, or Braun and start from scratch but having Jokic, who may be the best player in the world, you don’t really have the time to do that so instead, I would look at maybe moving on from Porter Jr. and Murray in favor of a bit more consistent, more durable players.2 The problem is I don’t know what that looks like. I imagine anyone could play alongside Jokic but are there trades out there worth shaking things up that drastically?
The first priority has to be improving the bench, I enjoyed Denver Russell Westbrook a lot more than I expected and I think he has some real value for this team in some doses but he can’t be the only option. I would look at someone like Tyus Jones to act as a backup should the team keep Murray but again, I just don’t know how viable any of this is.
At the Buzzer
- “The next couple of days is gonna be a lot of beer probably.” - Nikola Jokic on his offseason plans
- Caitlin Clark tied for third All-Time in WNBA triple-doubles (3) after opening day performance3
- Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis still dealing with effects from mystery illness
- Fans notice eerie similarity as Jayson Tatum and Kobe Bryant both suffered torn Achilles’ with 3:08 left in fourth quarter of their games
- Trae Young stays hating the Knicks from outside the club
The Conference Finals Start Tuesday
No basketball tonight, we’ll have Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals Tuesday.
Timberwolves at Thunder
And since there’s no games tonight, I’ll be back with the next newsletter Wednesday morning to recap Game 1 of the WCF and preview the ECF as well as cover any other news we get in the meantime.
I hope everyone reading this had a fantastic weekend and is doing well. I appreciate your time here hanging out and I hope you enjoy it. Start your week strong. Take care.
OKC: 102.5ppg, MIN: 106.8ppg via NBA.com
Am I including Murray in this because I’m a petty Lakers fan that hates to watch him somehow struggle against every team except mine? Yeah, you bet.
She did it in 41 games which is crazy but it only being 3 triple-doubles to be third all-time is nuts to me