82-0

I had a whole bunch of fun with this game for about three or four weeks this summer, and, about 10 days into playing it, I decided to start keeping track of the lineups that ended up with 82-0, 81-1 or 80-2 records. Each player would get a 2, 1 or 0 when they were picked for a team that recorded one of those records, respectively, and here are how things came out.

NBA Update

I can't remember the last time that the first three games of the NBA Finals were all up for grabs with a few minutes to go.  Here is what the Series looks like after Game Three (home teams listed first):

06/03:  San Antonio 95 - 105 New York

06/05:  San Antonio 104 - 105 New York

06/08:  New York 111 - 115 San Antonio

It's the first time since 1993 that the road teams have won the first three games of the Final.  That year, the Bulls ended up beating the Suns 4-2 with a 99-98 win in Game Six.

Here are the current odds to win the NBA Title:

New York:  -184

San Antonio:  +154

So it's very much up for grabs.  Personally, I think San Antonio has gotten better in each game so far, which means that New York will be in huge trouble if the Knicks cannot win Game Four at home.  For Game Four, Vegas has made New York a 1 1/2 point favorite, and have set the over/under at 216 1/2.  Those are almost exactly the same odds as Game Three, and it would mean something like a 109-107 win for New York.  I will certainly be tuned in to see what happens.

One other point should be made here.  The analytics revolution in both baseball and basketball led to some awkward moments, as teams played in styles that felt somewhat off-putting and artificial.  All those popups and strikeouts with a runner on third.  All those missed three-pointers when there were driving lanes available.  But last year, I thought the MLB playoffs showed that the managers and the players have caught up with the analytics -- the teams took advantage of the analytic insights, but in a way that fit the logic of the game.  The result was beautiful; well-played games that had all the traditional virtues, but avoided the obvious mistakes (leaving in tired pitchers, for example) that analytics has corrected.

You can see the same thing in this series.  Yes, they shoot a lot of threes.  But those shots are not forced -- they develop from offenses that feature beautiful passing and cutting.  And the defense has been both intense and clever.  The result is a very balanced game that uses the whole floor and is really fun to watch.  I always believed in analytics, because I believe in winning.  But I'm really pleased to see that analytics doesn't interfere with the beauty and traditions of the game.

NBA Update

As Eric reminds us, tonight is Game Three of the NBA Finals.  These have been the best NBA playoffs since at least 2019, and could end up being the best since 2016.  Here's what ended up happening in the Western Conference Finals (home teams listed first):

05/18:  Oklahoma City 115 - 122 San Antonio (2 OT)

05/20:  Oklahoma City 122 - 113 San Antonio

05/22:  San Antonio 108 - 123 Oklahoma City

05/24:  San Antonio 103 - 82 Oklahoma City

05/26:  Oklahoma City 127 - 114 San Antonio

05/28:  San Antonio 118 - 91 Oklahoma City

05/30:  Oklahoma City 103 - 111 San Antonio

Games Two through Six had a somewhat stately pattern, with the team leading at halftime winning every time, and Games Four through Six each being a fairly easy blowout.  But Game Seven, like Game One, was a death struggle -- and once again, the Thunder had no answer for Victor Wembanyama.  He finished with 22 points and 7 rebounds -- and even though SGA had 35 points of his own, the San Antonio defense prevented the rest of SGA's teammates from giving him the support he needed.

And so, San Antonio beat the defending Champs on the road, and headed home to play a red-hot Knicks team in the finals.  And then this happened:

06/03:  San Antonio 95 - 105 New York

06/05:  San Antonio 104 - 105 New York

The Knicks ran their winning streak to 13 with back-to-back thrillers in San Antonio.  Game Two was certainly the best NBA game I've seen in the final since the Cavs upset Golden State in 2016.  Wemby had 29 points and 9 rebounds, and led a late charge that put San Antonio in a good position to win.  But in the last minute, he had a huge turnover, committed the foul that allowed the Knicks to take a one-point lead, and then missed the shot at the buzzer that could have won the game.

So the Knicks are coming home to an absolute madhouse with a 2-0 lead.  If New York can win tonight, they should sweep the Spurs and win their first title since 1973.  And that may happen.  But the Spurs know how to win on the road, and in the fourth quarter of Game Two they started to figure out the Knicks.  I expect a spectacular game tonight that could go either way.

Vegas has New York as a 2 1/2 point favorite with an over/under of 216.5.  That would mean a score of something like 109-107.  I don't think they'll score that many points, but I do think it will be very close.

NBA Update

Let's look at what the Knicks have done.

On the evening of April 23, the Knicks trailed Atlanta 2-1 in the first round of the NBA playoffs, after back-to-back one-point losses.  Since then, the Knicks have won eleven playoff games in a row (home team listed first):

04/25:  Atlanta 98 - 114 New York

04/28:  New York 126 - 97 Atlanta

04/30:  Atlanta 89 - 140 New York (Knicks win 4-2)

05/04:  New York 137 - 98 Philadelphia

05/06:  New York 108 - 102 Philadelphia

05/08:  Philadelphia 94 - 108 New York

05/10:  Philadelphia 114 - 144 New York (Knicks win 4-0)

05/19:  New York 115 - 104 Cleveland (OT)

05/21:  New York 109 - 93 Cleveland

05/23:  Cleveland 108 - 121 New York

05/25:  Cleveland 93 - 130 New York (Knicks win 4-0)

I don't remember a run like this since the 1983 Sixers, and that was 43 years ago.

The NBA Finals start on June 3, so this list means that the Knicks will have a perfect 8-0 record in the month of May, which is amazing.

Meanwhile, the Thunder/Spurs series is very much up for grabs:

05/18:  Oklahoma City 115 - 122 San Antonio (Double OT)

05/20:  Oklahoma City 122 - 113 San Antonio

05/22:  San Antonio 108 - 123 Oklahoma City

05/24:  San Antonio 103 - 82 Oklahoma City

Game Five is in OKC tonight, and it should be a cracker.  In fact, the title is very much up for grabs.  Here are the current odds to win the NBA Championship:

Oklahoma City:  +110

New York:  +210

San Antonio +270

NBA Update

Here's where it stands:

EAST:

(3) New York 3 - 0 (4) Cleveland

The Knicks are going to win the East for the first time since 1999.

WEST:

(1) Oklahoma City 2 - 1 (2) San Antonio

After losing the first game at home in double overtime, the Thunder have played two great games, winning 122-113 in OKC, and then going to San Antonio and picking up a surprisingly easy 123-108 win.  OKC's ability to put up over 120 points in back-to-back games against a team with Wembanyama on defense is extremely impressive.  My guess is that San Antonio will tie the series tonight, however, so OKC is not out of the woods yet.

This is still the best NBA playoff since 2019, and I think that will be true no matter what happens.

NBA Update

Time for the conference finals:

EAST:

(3) New York Knickerbockers (53-29) v. (4) Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30)

WEST:

(1) Oklahoma City Thunder (64-18) v. (2) San Antonio Spurs (62-20)

Here are the odds to win the NBA Championship:

Oklahoma City:  -165

San Antonio:  +310

New York:  +550

Cleveland:  +2200

Last ten winners of the Eastern Conference (NBA Champs in bold):

2016:  Cleveland

2017:  Cleveland
2018:  Cleveland

2019:  Toronto

2020:  Miami

2021:  Milwaukee

2022:  Boston

2023:  Miami

2024:  Boston

2025:  Indiana

Last ten winners of the Western Conference (NBA Champs in bold):

2016:  Golden St.

2017:  Golden St.

2018:  Golden St.

2019:  Golden St.

2020:  L.A. Lakers

2021:  Phoenix

2022:  Golden St.

2023:  Denver

2024:  Dallas

2025:  Oklahoma City

San Antonio hasn't reached the final since 2014, when they beat LeBron and Miami.

New York hasn't reached the final since 1999.  The Knicks haven't won the title since 1973, which is amazing to me.

NBA Update

Only one of the four quarter-final series is going to a Game Seven:

EAST:

(1) Detroit 3 - 3 (4) Cleveland

(3) New York 4 - 2 (7) Philadelphia

WEST:

(1) Oklahoma City 4 - 0 (4) L.A. Lakers

(2) San Antonio 4 - 2 (6) Minnesota

Tonight, Detroit and Cleveland will settle their series at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.  Here are the scores of the first six games (home teams listed first):

05/05/26:  Detroit 111 - 101 Cleveland

05/07/26:  Detroit 107 - 97 Cleveland

05/09/26:  Cleveland 116 - 109 Detroit

05/11/26:  Cleveland 112 - 103 Detroit

05/13/26:  Detroit 113 - 117 Cleveland (OT)

05/15/26:  Cleveland 94 - 115 Detroit

Having survived Game Six on the road, Detroit should be favored to close out the series at home, and indeed they are favored by 4 1/2 points.  They are also -186 on the Moneyline.  ESPN gives them a 70.1 percent chance of victory.

But you can't see this game on ESPN, or TBS, or NBC, or any of the other places that have carried the NBA for most of my life.  This game is on Amazon Prime Video, and I would love to know how many fans will actually figure this out.

In the regular season, Detroit went 60-22, winning the Central Division by eight games over the Cavaliers, who went 52-30.

NBA Update

There's no reason to tune in until OKC runs into some trouble, and so far they haven't lost a game:

ROUND OF SIXTEEN:

East

(1) Detroit 4 - 3 (8) Orlando

(4) Cleveland 4 - 3 (5) Toronto

(3) New York 4 - 2 (6) Atlanta

(2) Boston 3 - 4 (7) Philadelphia

West

(1) Oklahoma City 4 - 0 (8) Phoenix

(4) L.A. Lakers 4 - 2 (5) Houston

(3) Denver 2 - 4 (6) Minnesota

(2) San Antonio 4 - 1 (7) Portland

So that brought us to the quarterfinals, which currently look like this:

East

(1) Detroit 2 - 2 (4) Cleveland

(3) New York 4 - 0 (7) Philadelphia

West

(1) Oklahoma City 4 - 0 (4) L.A. Lakers

(2) San Antonio 2 - 2 (6) Minnesota

NBA Update

The first major contender of the NBA playoffs has been eliminated.  The Celtics, who were the number-two team in the East, had a 3-1 lead on Philly, but lost the last three games and are eliminated.  Jayson Tatum was injured and unable to play, and the Celtics missed a ton of three's in a 109-100 home loss.  Tyrese Maxey made play after play down the stretch to seal the game for Philly.

There are still two more Game Sevens tomorrow, and then that will complete the First Round of the playoffs, which looks like this (seedings in parentheses):

EASTERN CONFERENCE

(1) Detroit 3 - 3 (8) Orlando

(4) Cleveland 3 - 3 (5) Toronto)

(3) New York 4 - 2 (6) Atlanta

(2) Boston 3 - 4 (7) Philadelphia

WESTERN CONFERENCE

(1) Oklahoma City 4 - 0 (8) Phoenix

(4) L.A. Lakers 4 - 2 (5) Houston

(3) Denver 2 - 4 (6) Minnesota

(2) San Antonio 4 - 1 (7) Portland

On this Day in 1976

The Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association played their last game.  They were beaten by the Denver Nuggets four games to three in the semifinals of the ABA playoffs.

The Colonels played nine seasons in the ABA, from 1967-68 to 1975-76.  They finished with a regular season record of 448 wins and 296 losses, for a winning percentage of .602.  They went to the ABA finals in 1970-71, 1972-73, and 1974-75 -- winning in all in 1974-75.

The Denver Nuggets, New York Nets, San Antonio Spurs, and Indiana Pacers were all invited to join the NBA when the ABA collapsed, and they are all still going strong.  But the Colonels disappeared, and Louisville hasn't come close to getting a major pro sports team since.

Game Seven: Fourth Quarter

OKC outscores Indy 34-20 in the third quarter, and the Thunder lead 81 to 68 with one quarter left in the season.

Game Seven: Third Quarter

Here are the key halftime stats:

Indiana:

8-16 from 3-point range (50.0 percent)

8-22 from 2-point range (36.4 percent)

8-13 from the line (61.5 percent)

48 points, 20 rebounds, 9 assists, 8 turnovers

Oklahoma City:

4-18 from 3-point range (22.2 percent)

13-24 from 2-point range (54.2 percent)

9-13 from the line (69.2 percent)

47 points, 22 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 turnovers

As these facts make clear, OKC's inability to make three-point shots -- and the Pacers' red hot outside shooting -- are keeping the Pacers in the game.

Whoever wins this championship will have really earned it.

Game Seven: Second Quarter

After one quarter, OKC leads 25 to 22.  In the first quarter, Tyrese Haliburton led all scorers with nine points -- he was 3/4 from three-point range.

Dean Smith always claimed that an injury doesn't hurt a team in the game where the injury takes place -- it only hurts the team in later games as their opponents adjust.  We'll see what happens tonight.

The Road Ends Here

For the first time in nine years, we will have a Game Seven in the NBA Finals.  Here are the results so far (home team listed first):

June 5:  Oklahoma City 110 - 111 Indiana

June 8:  Oklahoma City 123 - 107 Indiana

June 11:  Indiana 116 - 107 Oklahoma City

June 13:  Indiana 104 - 111 Oklahoma City

June 16:  Oklahoma City 120 - 109 Indiana

June 19:  Indiana 108 - 91 Oklahoma City

I'm not convinced that either of these teams will go down as one of the all-time greats -- although OKC is both very young and very good -- but this series has been very good, and tonight marks a fitting end to the sports year.  LSU wrapped up its eighth College World Series title today, so the NBA is the only title left for the 2024-25 season.

This is only the fifth time in the 21st century that the NBA finals have gone to Game Seven.  Here are the other results (home team listed first):

06/23/05:  San Antonio 81 - 74 Detroit

06/17/10:  Los Angeles 83 - 79 Boston

06/20/13:  Miami 95 - 88 San Antonio

06/19/16:  Golden St. 89 - 93 Cleveland

So we should expect a low-scoring, physical game.  Vegas expects OKC to win by 6 1/2 points in a game with 214 1/2 points scored, which would work out to something like a 111-104 win for the Thunder.  That seems high to me in terms of the total score, but we'll see what happens.

It's always poignant to come to the end of a sports year.  Last year was a leap year, so we had the Olympics to look forward to.  But this year, we will have two months of (mostly) quiet for sports fans, until Texas goes to Ohio State on August 30 to begin the new year.  So I'm hoping for a great game tonight.

Here are the starters:

INDIANA PACERS:

Pascal Siakam, 6' 8", 245 lbs., Power Forward (New Mexico St.)

Aaron Nesmith, 6' 6", 215 lbs., Small Forward (Vanderbilt)

Myles Turner, 6' 11", 250 lbs., Center (Texas)

Andrew Nembhard, 6' 4", 191 lbs., Point Guard (Gonzaga)

Tyrese Haliburton, 6' 5", 185 lbs., Point Guard (Iowa St.)

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER:

Chet Holmgren, 7' 1", 208 lbs., Power Forward (Gonzaga)

Jalen Williams, 6' 5", 211 lbs., Forward (Santa Clara)

Isaiah Hartenstein, 7' 0", 250 lbs., Center (Played in Europe)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 6' 6", 195 lbs., Point Guard (Kentucky)

Luguentz Dort, 6' 4", 220 lbs., Guard (Arizona St.)

NBA Finals Update

It's been a great finals so far.  Here's what has happened:

Thursday, June 5 (Game 1 in OKC):  Indiana pulled off one of its patented miracle comebacks, with Tyrese Haliburton hitting a shot at the buzzer (well, with 0.3 seconds left) to stun the Thunder in Oklahoma City by the score of 111 to 110.

Sunday, June 8 (Game 2 in OKC):  The Pacers, having already taken Game One and the home court advantage, pretty much conceded Game Two.  The Thunder rolled to an easy 123-107 win.

Wednesday, June 11 (Game 3 in Indy):  This game was a hard-fought battle all the way, but the Pacers again dominated the fourth quarter.  They outscored the Thunder 32-18 in the last frame to win 116 to 107 and take a two games to one lead.

Friday, June 13 (Game 4 in Indy):  This game was the Big One.  If the Pacers win this game, they go up three-one and can close out the series at home in Game 6.  And the Pacers led 87-80 going into the last quarter.  But this time, the Thunder turned the tables on Indy.  Down the stretch, Shea Gilgeous-Alexander (who finished with 35 points) dominated the game in a way no one else has been able to do against the Pacers.  Behind SGA, the Thunder roared back to win 111 to 104.

So the series is tied at two games apiece, and Indy has to win one more game in OKC to take the title.  If the Pacers had won Game Four, I think they would have coasted in Game Five and then closed it out in Game Six.  But now Game Five is a must-win for both teams -- OKC cannot afford to lose at home, and Indy will not want to come back to Oklahoma for Game Seven.  I'm pretty sure that whoever wins tonight will be the NBA Champion for 2024-25, so this is the Game to Watch.  In the meantime, I give credit to both teams for three really good games.

NBA Update

This has been a pretty good series so far.  Indiana pulled off yet another amazing comeback on the road in Game One, storming back in the last two minutes to beat Oklahoma City 111 to 110.  Then the Pacers conceded Game Two, with OKC rolling to an easy 123-107 win.  But of course, the Pacers have no intention of conceding Game Three back in Indiana.  With 6:05 left in the second quarter, the Pacers and the Thunder are tied at 42.

NBA Update

In recent years, it has been noticeable how the energy seems to drain out of the NBA playoffs in the later rounds.  Somehow the NBA has managed to combine a situation where we have a different champion every year with a situation where we never seem to have close series in the end.

In the Western Conference, the T-Wolves were never competitive with OKC.  The Thunder conceded Game Three, which was a blowout, but OKC won the other four games without too much trouble to win the series in five.

In the Eastern Conference, the Pacers won two thrillers in New York to open the series, and the Knicks could never get off their back foot after that.  The Pacers closed them out in six.

So now we have the Thunder and the Pacers for all the marbles.  Neither team has won the NBA title before.  The Thunder are overwhelming favorites -- the odds on OKC to win the title are now -750, compared to +525 for the Pacers.  I will be surprised if the Pacers can win two games in the series.

The sports year is coming to an end.  Paris-Saint Germain won the championship of European Club Soccer yesterday, which means that the NBA, the Softball College World Series, and the College World Series are the only big trophies yet to be handed out.  Last year was an election/Olympics year, so we've been pretty much going full blast since September 2023.  I have enjoyed this all enormously, but I'm looking forward to quiet months in July and August.

NBA Update

The quarter-finals are finished, and they look like this:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

(1) Cleveland 1 - 4 (4) Indiana

(2) Boston 2 - 4 (3) New York

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

(1) Oklahoma City 4 - 3 (4) Denver

(6) Minnesota 4 - 1 (7) Golden St.

Here are the last five NBA Champions:

2020:  L.A. Lakers

2021:  Milwaukee

2022:  Golden St.

2023:  Denver

2024:  Boston

All these teams have been eliminated, so we will have a new champion for the sixth season in a row.  The last time that happened was between 1975 and 1980, when the champions looked like this:

1975:  Golden St.

1976:  Boston

1977:  Portland

1978:  Washington

1979:  Seattle

1980:  L.A. Lakers

What's interesting about that list is that the Trail Blazers, Bullets, and SuperSonics each won their only title during that period.  Of the four teams left in this year's playoffs, three of them -- Indiana, Oklahoma City, and Minnesota -- have never won the title.  So we're just in one of those eras.

NBA Update

Last night, the Knicks beat Boston 121-113, to pick up their biggest win since the days of Pat Riley.  And then Minnesota beat Golden State 117-110.  So after four games, the quarterfinals look like this:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

(1) Cleveland 1 - 3 (4) Indiana

(2) Boston 1 - 3 (3) New York

WESTERN CONFERENCE

(1) Oklahoma City 2 - 2 (4) Denver

(6) Minnesota 3 - 1 (7) Golden St.

Here are the latest odds to win the conference:

New York:  +115

Indiana:  +210

Cleveland:  +410

Boston:  +850

Oklahoma City:  -195

Minnesota:  +240

Denver:  +850

Golden St:  +8000

It's important to understand that Jayson Tatum and Steph Curry are both injured, and that helps to explain why Boston and Golden State are probably done for the year.

NBA Update

OK, so I've been traveling, which is why this update is delayed.  The First Round of the playoffs was relatively predictable -- except for Golden State's win on the road in Game Seven.  Here are the results from the first round:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

(1) Cleveland 4 - 0 (8) Miami

(4) Indiana 4 - 1 (5) Milwaukee

(3) New York 4 - 2 (6) Detroit

(2) Boston 4 - 1 (7) Orlando

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

(1) Oklahoma City 4 - 0 (8) Memphis

(4) Denver 4 - 3 (5) L.A. Clippers

(3) L.A. Lakers 1 - 4 (6) Minnesota

(2) Houston 3 - 4 (7) Golden St.

And that set up the following quarter-finals:

(1) Cleveland v. (4) Indiana

(2) Boston v. (3) New York

(1) Oklahoma City v. (4) Denver

(6) Minnesota v. (7) Golden St.

Now on paper, this looked to be pretty straightforward.  Cleveland and Boston would advance.  Denver is probably the only team in the West that could challenge OKC.  And it would be fun to watch the aged Warriors take on Minnesota, even if it was only for a few games.

But then the games started, and things got nuts (home teams listed first):

05/04:  Cleveland 112 - 121 Indiana

05/05:  Boston 105 - 108 New York (OT)

05/05:  Oklahoma City 119 - 121 Denver

05/06:  Cleveland 119 - 120 Indiana

05/06:  Minnesota 88 - 99 Golden St.

05/07:  Boston 90 - 91 New York

05/07:  Oklahoma City 149 - 106 Denver

The first six quarterfinal games were all won by the road team.  Four of those games were decided by three points are less, and they all went to the road team.  One game went to overtime, and it was won by the road team.  I would be willing to bet that in the entire history of the NBA, there has never been a season where road teams won six games in a row in the quarterfinals.  And it's even wilder than it looks on paper -- the Knicks, for example, won back-to-back games in the Boston Garden where they trailed by 20 points.  For second time in these playoffs, Indiana won a game where they trailed by seven points with less than 50 seconds left.  Crazy, wonderful stuff.

So now the quarterfinals look like this:

(1) Cleveland 0 - 2 (4) Indiana

(2) Boston 0 - 2 (3) New York

(1) Oklahoma City 1 - 1 (4) Denver

(6) Minnesota 0 - 1 (7) Golden St.

But the gamblers haven't completely abandoned the top seeds.  Here are the current odds to win the Eastern Conference:

Boston:  +155

New York:  +300

Indiana:  +350

Cleveland:  +350

And here are the odds to win the West:

Oklahoma City:  -195

Minnesota:  +390

Denver:  +700

Golden St:  +1100

The next two weeks probably can't compare with this week, but they should be very entertaining.