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Player Notes

  • Stands tall in victory
    Lively had 12 points (5-6 FG, 2-3 FT), 15 rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal in 29 minutes during Saturday's 117-116 victory over the Thunder in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals.

    Advice: Lively continues to play well above his age, producing when it mattered most as the Mavericks eliminated the Thunder. Despite coming off the bench, Lively played the majority of the center minutes, recording his second straight double-double. Dallas will face either the Timberwolves or the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, and either team will provide Lively with elite opposition at the center position. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 9:07 pm
  • Chet Holmgren records 21/3/1/2 line in Game 6 loss
    Chet Holmgren finished Saturday’s Game 6 loss to the Mavericks with 21 points (9-of-15 FGs, 2-of-2 FTs), three rebounds, one assist, two steals, and one 3-pointer in 35 minutes.

    Advice: Despite scoring 21 points, Holmgren’s final game of the season wasn’t his best. More concerning than the 1-of-7 night from three was the rebounding, with the rookie only grabbing three. By comparison, Mavericks rookie Dereck Lively II grabbed 15 by himself. Holmgren’s struggles to rebound prompted Thunder coach Mark Daigneault to go with a bigger lineup down the stretch, with Jaylin Williams (6/2/2/1/1 with one 3-pointer in 18 minutes) joining the rookie in the frontcourt. Overall, Holmgren had an excellent rookie campaign, finishing second to Victor Wembanyama in Rookie of the Year voting and providing top-20 per-game value in 9-cat formats. Based on his Yahoo ADP, Chet was expected by many to be a 4th-round player. Those days are over; he should not get out of the third round in standard league drafts, and that’s being conservative. Rotoworld Yesterday, 8:24 pm
  • PJ Washington sinks series-winning free throws
    PJ Washington shot 2-of-6 from the field and 3-of-5 from the foul line in Saturday’s win over Oklahoma City, scoring nine points with five rebounds, two assists, and two 3-pointers in 30 minutes.

    Advice: Scoring-wise, Game 6 was Washington’s worst of the series. However, more will remember the two free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining that clinched the game (and the series) for Dallas. Washington had a good series overall, scoring 21 points or more in Games 2 through 4 and recording three double-doubles. Next will be another difficult matchup, with the Mavericks facing the Nuggets or Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals. Rotoworld Yesterday, 8:11 pm
  • Rare appearance in loss
    Sims racked up one rebound, one assist and one block across four minutes during Friday's 116-103 loss to the Pacers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

    Advice: Sims played four minutes of garbage time as the Knicks were soundly beaten by the Pacers. Though he is known for playing his stars heavy minutes, even in losses, common sense prevailed with Tom Thibodeau closing with his second unit. Despite another ankle injury to Mitchell Robinson, Sims has been unable to carve out a consistent role, something that doesn't bode well for his future when looking beyond this season. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 3:42 am
  • Held in check Friday
    Hartenstein contributed four points (1-3 FG, 2-2 FT), seven rebounds, six assists and one steal over 33 minutes during Friday's 116-103 loss to Indiana in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

    Advice: Hartenstein was unable to repeat his heroics from Game 5, grabbing just seven total rebounds in the loss. Coming off an astonishing 12 offensive rebounds, he struggled to have a meaningful impact as the Knicks were simply outclassed. With the series now deadlocked at 3-3, the two teams will face off one final time in Madison Square Garden on Sunday, with the winner moving on to face the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 3:36 am
  • Myles Turner posts 17/8/3/0/2 line in Game 6 rout
    Myles Turner finished Friday’s 116-103 win over the Knicks with 17 points (6-of-10 FGs, 4-of-5 FTs), eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and one 3-pointer in 31 minutes.

    Advice: Following their 30-point loss in Game 5, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle described his team’s effort as “embarrassing.” The players took those words to heart, maybe none more than Turner. Isaiah Hartenstein, who grabbed 12 offensive rebounds in Game 5, was his assignment in that loss, and the longest-tenured Pacer was much better on Friday night. In addition to throwing down a few thunderous dunks, Turner led the Pacers in rebounds and did an excellent job of protecting the rim. He’ll look to do more of the same in Game 7 on Sunday afternoon. Rotoworld Friday, 8:12 pm
  • Mid-range mastery: Pascal Siakam scores 25 points
    Pascal Siakam shot 11-of-21 from the field and 3-of-4 from the foul line in Friday’s win over the Knicks, scoring 25 points with seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals in 31 minutes.

    Advice: After getting blown out in Game 5, the Pacers returned the favor in Game 6 to keep their season alive. And Siakam was a significant part of that. Spicy P shot 11-of-19 from two, doing a lot of his damage in the mid-range. He led six Pacers in double figures with 25 points, and all five starters grabbed at least six rebounds. Siakam and the Pacers will need a similar effort in Game 7 on Sunday, as they are 1-5 on the road this postseason. Rotoworld Friday, 8:07 pm
  • Woj: Porzingis likely to miss Games 1 and 2 of ECF
    According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Kristaps Porzingis (right soleus strain) is unlikely to be available for Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

    Advice: Injured during Game 4 of Boston’s first-round matchup with Miami, Porzingis missed Game 5 of that series and the second-round (five games) against Cleveland. On May 4, the 7-foot-3 big man said he was “slowly making progress” in his recovery, with the Celtics considering him to be week-to-week. Regardless of who the Celtics draw in the conference finals, Games 1 and 2 will be played on Tuesday (May 21) and Thursday (May 23) of next week. According to Wojnarowski, there is optimism that Porzingis will be available at some point in the series, with Boston taking on either New York or Indiana. Al Horford will remain in the starting lineup for the foreseeable future. Rotoworld Friday, 5:13 pm
  • Records double-double
    Towns finished Thursday's 115-70 victory over Denver in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals with 10 points (4-10 FG, 0-4 3Pt, 2-2 FT), 13 rebounds and five assists across 29 minutes.

    Advice: Towns had a couple of clutch buckets in the early stages of the game, but for the most part, he took a backseat in the scoring column as Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels carried Minnesota offensively in this win. The Timberwolves need Towns to be at his best if they want to have a shot at winning a complicated Game 7 on the road, and for that to happen, he'll need to be even more aggressive on the offensive end of the court, an area in which he hasn't been consistent throughout the series. Towns has reached the 20-point mark in four of the six games he's played in the semis, and the Timberwolves have gone 3-1 in those contests. Rotowire.com Thursday, 9:02 pm