NBA Player News

With just a 1.8 percent chance of success, Dallas leaped up in the lottery to nab the top pick in the 2025 draft. A little over three months after GM Nico Harrison traded away Luka Doncic, the Mavs will have a new young superstar to build around. Cooper Flagg is the expected top pick, and he will flawlessly fit Harrison’s mantra “defensive wins championships” that he has echoed tirelessly in every interview since trading Doncic. Assuming nothing changes, Flagg will join a loaded Dallas team that should be a contending team in the stacked Western Conference next season. San Antonio, Philadelphia and Charlotte round out the top four picks in a talented draft class.

Podziemski was 3-of-14 from the field and missed all four of his three-point attempts. His 22.5 field goal percentage in this series is the worst for any player (min. 35 attempts) since Pero Antic shot 16.7 percent in the Hawks vs. Pacers series in 2014, according to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press. Down 3-1 in the series now, the Warriors need Stephen Curry to return from his hamstring injury for Game 5, a miracle or both to get back in this series.

Despite the Warriors win in Game 1, Butler warned in postgame interviews that Stephen Curry is the team’s best player and it was going to be difficult to win games without him. After what’s transpired over the last three games, which the Warriors have all lost, he might’ve been underselling it. Butler wasn’t able to fill Curry’s shoes in Game 4. In fact, he was a team-worst -30 in 34 minutes in the seven-point loss. The Warriors will have their backs against the wall facing elimination in Game 5 on Wednesday.

Randle has now had at least 24 points in each of the last three games in this series and the Timberwolves have won all three of those games. Minnesota is on the brink of knocking out the Warriors on their way to the Western Conference finals and Randle has been a big part of their success. The Timberwolves will look to advance at home in Game 5 on Wednesday.

Edwards has now had at least 30 points in back-to-back games. While the Warriors stayed with the Timberwolves in the first half, Minnesota turned it up a notch coming out of halftime. The Timberwolves won the third quarter by 22 points and the Warriors never recovered. Edwards and teammate Julius Randle became the first pair of Timberwolves with at least 30 points each in a playoff game since Kevin Garnett and Sam Cassell in 2004. The Timberwolves will look to close out the series at home in Game 5 on Wednesday.

White was the Celtics second leading scorer in Game 4, but he was the only consistent scorer for Boston outside of Jayson Tatum. The 30-year-old point guard got all of his points on six three-pointers and five free throws. Unfortunately for the Celtics it wasn’t enough as Boston was trailing when Tatum went down with a lower leg injury in the final minutes, essentially taking a comeback off the table. The Celtics will look to stave off elimination with their backs against the wall at home in Game 5 on Wednesday.

Tatum was playing a whale of a game before going down with what appeared to be a non-contact lower body injury in the final minutes. The 27-year-old small forward had given the Celtics everything they needed up to that point as he kept them in the game with his fifth career 40-point playoff performance. While specifics have yet to come out about Tatum’s injury, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters that he’ll undergo an MRI on Tuesday. It’s safe to say it was a significant injury given Tatum’s anxious reaction and that he was carried off the floor by trainers before taking a wheelchair to the locker room. The Celtics are now down 3-1 in the series and with Tatum unlikely to make it back before a possible Game 7, a potential comeback has become that much more difficult.

Towns has now had at least 21 points in each of the last three games against the Celtics. While the Celtics struggled to get much offense from anyone beside Jayson Tatum in Game 4, Towns, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby all had at least 20 points in support of Jalen Brunson, who had 39 points. Towns put up another double-double despite quietly playing through a finger injury he suffered in Game 3. The Knicks will have their first chance to advance to the Eastern Conference finals in Game 5 in Boston on Wednesday.

14 of Bridges’ 23 points came in the second half of one of the biggest Knicks playoff wins in decades. The 28-year-old small forward was his usual active self on the defensive end with four steals and a block. Still, his offensive contributions were potentially even more important, especially with so many of his points coming in the second half and when Jalen Brunson took a rest at the start of the fourth quarter. Bridges has been a thorn in the Celtics’ side this series and will look to keep that going in a potential close out game in Game 5 on Wednesday.

Brunson recorded his fourth playoff game with at least 35 points and at least 10 assists since joining the Knicks on Monday. His 39-point performance, which included 18 points in the third quarter alone, has the Knicks one win away from the Eastern Conference finals. With the Knicks up 3-1 in the series, they’ll have three chances to close out the Celtics, starting with Game 5 in Boston on Wednesday.