Author: Dave Long

The Big Story – Celtics Season Ends Early: That’s all she wrote for the 2024-2025 Celtics. And maybe for 2025-2026 as well with Jayson Tatum likely out for much or all of next season after tearing his Achilles tendon in the closing minutes of Game 4. The loss of Tatum had nothing to do with why they were eliminated by New York in six games. It’s because of their horrid fourth-quarter play in Games 1, 2 and 4 as they were blowing 20-point leads in those games. Helped along by the truly awful coaching by Joe Mazzulla in the first two losses.

Sports 101: Who was the lowest-seeded team to win an NBA title?

News Item – Tanner Houck: After giving up nine runs and 12 hits in 2.1 innings vs. Detroit last week Tanner Houck inthismonth alone has had the two worst starts in the Red Sox’ 135-year history.

New Items – 3 Things To Like About The Knicks: (1) The resilience and mental toughness showed in the series. (2) The Villanova threesome of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges and yes foul shooting challenged, but offensive rebounding machine Marcus Robinson, who I’ll take all on my team any day. (3) That Brunson has clearly demonstrated how much better he is than Kyrie Irving after Dallas let him walk to sign the more expensive Irving.

The Numbers:

.122 –batting average of Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story while in a protracted 22-game slump dating back to April 22 in which he’s 11 for 90 with one home run and five RBI.

5 – margin of victory at the PGA Tournament on Sunday as Scottie Scheffler won his third major championship.

265 – million-dollar contract given 49er QB Brock Purdy, quite a pay increase for a guy who not long ago was the last person picked in his draft class.

… Of the Week Awards

Alumni News – Chris Sale: It probably didn’t look familiar because it was Fenway Park and he was healthy. But that was the Sox one-time ace lefty who bested their current ace lefty Garrett Crochet 4-2 Friday when Sale held the Sox to five hits and a run while striking out eight over seven innings.

Four Leaf Clover Award – Dallas Mavericks: For getting the NBA’s top pick after entering the lottery with a 1.4 percent chance to get it. Not to mention getting Cooper Flagg should quiet those still ticked over the Luka Doncic trade.

Coward of the Century – Rob Manfred: The Baseball Commissioner gets it for his capitulation on admitted baseball gambler Pete Rose’s eligibility for the Hall of Fame so Donald Trump won’t be mean to baseball. Of particular offense was the excuse that MLB’s objection should end after a guy dies. Earth to Rob, Shoeless Joe Jackson, who was better than Rose, died in 1951, so why the sudden rush now? And as a matter of point, when Whitey Bulger got offed in prison, did they vacate his murder convictions? No, because crimes don’t go away after someone dies. Rose broke baseball’s cardinal rule. Which, after lying about it for 15 years, he finally admitted, to juice book sales.

Random Thoughts:

With the Red Sox wearing green uniforms with yellow trim at Fenway against Atlanta last weekend, am I the only one who thought the Oakland A’s were in town? I know the answer is merchandise sales, but what is the point of the city edition uniforms?

Another reason to like the Knicks: they refused to talk to Steven A. Blowhard on ESPN after their Game 6 win.

Prediction – NBA Conference Finals: Indy over New York in six. Oak City takes out T-Wolves, setting up a Pacer-Thunder Finals.

Sports 101 Answer: The six-seed 1995 Houston Rockets were the lowest seed to become NBA champions. After going 47-35 to finish third in their division, they swept Orlando four straight in the Finals.

Final Word – Patriots Hall of Fame: Congrats to Julian Edelman for his election to the Patriots Hall of Fame. But with all due respect, he was erroneously selected because it was done thanks to recent popularity over the chronology of worthy contributions. First, Adam V should have won — and wouldn’t it have been a nice touch to see him go in with Bill Parcells, who first signed him in 1996? But second, how could Edelman go in before Wes Welker? Edelman has an incredible postseason resume for sure with arguably the greatest Super Bowl catch ever. But Welker came first and his per year averages of 112 catches, 1,243 receiving yards and 6 TDs are off the charts compared to Edelman’s 59, 620 and 3.5.

Overall it’s Welker 672, 7,549, 37 TDs, five 100-plus catch and 1,000 receiving yard seasons in six Patriot seasons to Edelman’s 642, 6,822 yards, 36 TDs and just one 100 catch and three 1,000 receiving yard seasons in 11 years. No complaint about Edelman’s worthiness. But how dominant Welker was in the slot as Tom Brady’s first big target is being lost to time. Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

The Big Story – C’s Go Down 1-2 to New York: There’s not enough space to list the number of coaching decisions and non-decisions Joe Mazzulla made to cause the Celtics to lose Games 1 and 2 at home to the Knicks, in an astonishingly poor job of inaction to adjust during a game.

In Game 3 they were much more aggressive going to the rack. But ironically Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown missed tons of those shots and they got their 115-93 win thanks to making 15 more 3’s than NY. Game 4 went off after I filed this column.

Sports 101: Name the only Division I players in history to lead college basketball in scoring and rebounding in the same season.

News Item – Mazzulla Game 1 and 2 Box Scores: The players had something to do with it by missing an NBA record 45 three-point shots and being 25-100 overall. But those 45 misses were the point. They kept firing blanks with no intervention by Mazzulla as they blew a 20-point third-quarter lead without adjusting to stop the bleeding by going inside for better shots or to get free throws.

The first-quarter hacking of poor foul shooting Mitchell Robinson was dumb for two reasons. (1) You don’t have key people (Jrue Holiday, Payton Prichard, Luke Kornet) accumulate unnecessary early fouls because you can’t predict when more will come as the game proceeds. So Mazzulla handcuffed his end-of-the-game decision-making when Kristaps Porzingis couldn’t play in the second half and the now needed Kornet was chained to the bench with five fouls. (2) You don’t give free points to a guy who doesn’t have the ball or is nowhere near the basket. And guess what? While he only went 3 for 10, no free 3 points, no OT and C’s win Game 1 by two. Plus it puts teams in the bonus much earlier than normal to give the better shooters more free throws.

End of Regulation: As usual the C’s have no set play. Just a Tatum isolation that leads to a bad 23-foot fallaway, which (as usual) he bricked. Meanwhile Jalen Brunson got a back screen and slithered into a 10-foot leaner that went in and out. He missed it, but it was a good final shot.

Finally — with three seconds left in OT and down three — again no set play, and in the game are frigid three-point shooters Brown (1-10), Tatum (4-15), Holiday (2-7), Horford (1-5) and White (5-16). Who’s not in? Prichard, their best three-point shooter, who shot 45% on the year 2-5 in Game 1. The 91-90 Game 2 loss mirrored Game 1.

News Item – Here Comes The Judge: If the season ended today Aaron Judge would win the triple crown and be the first .400 hitter since you know who in 1941. To go along with the .409 average, his 14-homers 39-RBI stat line after 40 games projects to 64 and 156 to rank among the greatest single seasons ever.

News Item – Rest In Playoffs: A long rest after ending an NBA playoff series early isn’t as good as some think. It was the opposite again last week as the rested higher-seeded Celtics, Cavaliers, T-Wolves and Oak City all blew home court advantage with rusty, unfocused Game 1 play.

The Numbers:

21 – runs allowed by Colorado in a 21-0 loss to Arizona that dropped them to an astonishing 6-33, which got manager Bud Black fired the next day.

31 – years streak Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton are trying to end of a Canadian team (Montreal) not winning the Stanley Cup.

600 – cheapest ticket price in dollars at MSG for Celtics-Knicks Game 3.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Mike Tirico: For calling out ESPN’s Stephen A. Blowhard talking about being a Knicks fan during halftime of NBA playoff broadcasts. Sorry, nobody gives a flip who you’re rooting for, Steve A.

What A Stupid I Yam Award – Me: For last week’s Sport 101 Answer, which numerous people mentioned was wrong. I assumed Rickey Henderson holdingthe record for lead-off homers meant he’d broken up the most no-hitters by homer. It didn’t occur to me, but the Babe and others got up after two outs in the first inning and then homered to end the no-hit bid more often.

Random Thoughts:

The NBA shouldn’t limit coaches to just two replay challenges. Why should a team be penalized if the refs keep missing calls? Instead they should retain their right until their challenge fails.

Sports 101 Answer: Wichita State’s Xavier McDaniel (1985) and Loyola of Marymount’s Hank Gathers (1989).

Final Thought – Raphael Devers: Absolutely hard to believe the Red Sox let this immature player tell them he won’t switch from DH to first base. What they should say is, that’s insubordination. You’re suspended without pay. We’re bringing Roman Anthony up to DH, Marcello Mayer to play second base and moving Kristian Campbell to first base. And if you don’t like it, too bad.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

The Big Story – Celtics vs. Knicks Playoff Series: There have been a few skirmishes the last two decades. But there hasn’t been a good one since 1984 or one of equals since the early 1970s.

It’s most reminiscent of the ’84 series when the Celtics had a huge talent edge but still needed a 39-12-10 Game 7 triple double from Larry Bird to survive. That’s because NY’s Bernard King was at the height of his dominant scoring powers. Similarly, this time NY’s best chance is built around their high-scoring point guard Jalen Brunson. And how he fares against Derrick White and Jrue Holiday is the series’ biggest key. If he plays like he did vs. Detroit, NY can give the C’s trouble. But if they keep him contained, the series will be over early. It’ll be two games in when you see this, so we’ll know if it’s followed the “C’s are favored” script.

Sports 101: What hitter broke up 81 MLB no-hitters with home runs?

News Item – Jayson Tatum Update: (1) Even missing Game 2, with a 26.3, 8.7, 6.0 stat line JT had one of his best playoff series ever. (2) Not much for contrived nicknames like “the Truth” for Paul Pierce. But I do like Tatum being called “Player A.” (3) Talk radio made a big deal that he joined Bird as the only Celtic with three straight playoff games of 35 points or more. They didn’t mention that the likes of John Havlicek, Sam Jones and Tommy Heinsohn didn’t have the 3-ball to pad their total. If JT didn’t have it, he would’ve been 32, 33 and 34. Not knocking him, just setting the record straight amid gushing from the green teamers.

News Item – Red Sox Update: How does the Triston Casas injury not solve the Red Sox DH/Of log jam? Put Raffy Devers at first and Masataka Yoshida at DH to see how Devers does there, and if Yoshida hits, it expands his trade market.

News Item – NBA Playoff Update:(1) After being taken out in R1 by the T-Wolves, so much for the Lakers catching Boston at 18 for most NBA titles. (2) Was that LeBron’s last game?(3) Steph Curry reminded in the Game 7 win over upstart Houston how generationally great he is.

The Numbers:

0 – after the release of long snapper Joe Cardona, players left on the roster who’ve won a SB with the Patriots.

3 – games lost by Justin Slaten as the Sox bullpen spit the bit all week, losing four times in five games.

7 – points scored by James Harden in L.A.’s 120-101 loss to Denver to add to his extensive list of Game 7 chokes.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Red Sox Brass: For resisting the suddenly revived Red Sox Nation and media impatience to throw 20-year-old stud Roman Anthony into a brand new position at first base to get him into the line-up. Rather, when it happens they’ll let him acclimate to baseball’s highest level playing a position in the field he knows.

Stat of the Week: If you’re wondering why the Lakers lost in Round 1, how about that Minnesota outscored them 127-85 in the fourth quarter? It brought to mind that a lack of conditioning is a reason why Dallas traded Luka Doncic.

Random Thoughts: Next stop Hall of Fame for retiring Spurs legend Greg Popovich. He earned those five titles and reverence given league wide at the announcement. But his obstinacy with the media was unnecessary and his invention of “load management” is an insult to any fan paying $150 to see a guy play who didn’t.

Sports 101 Answer: Rickey Henderson broke up 81 no-hitters before they got started by leading off those games with a homer.

Predictions: T-Wolves over GS, Oak City over Denver, Indy upsets Cavs and C’s best NY.

Final Thought – Patriots 2025 Hall of Fame: While fellow nominees Logan Mankins and Julian Edelman are worthy, Adam Vinatieri should be this year’s Patriot Hall inductee.

His FG through that blinding snowstorm is the NFL’s greatest kick and with the game winner later in OT vs. Oakland they kickstarted the dynasty. He then won two SB’s with kicks down broad street as time ran out. It’s not close, really, as he’s the greatest kicker in NFL history.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

The Big Story – NBA Playoffs: Yes, the NFL draft captured a lot of attention, but since it’s four months before those 257 kids will strut their stuff it’s not the week’s big story — especially since its top feature was about an entitled, cocky kid (Shedeur Sanders) getting his comeuppance in full view of a national TV audience.

No, the big story is the NBA playoffs getting off in fine fashion. Especially with great games Sunday. Denver (down 1-3) and Memphis (swept) showed dumping their coaches three weeks before the playoffs didn’t pay off. The refs were once again in the middle of it by screwing Detroit out of a last-second win over New York. And emerging future stars like Paolo Banchero and Anthony Edwards continued their rise.

Sports 101: Last week Payton Pritchard became the fourth Celtic to win the Sixth Man of the Year award. Name their other three.

News Item – Pats Draft: In pretty much following the script to fill their needs it looks good. But time will tell, so check back in December. But here are two things I liked: Will Campbell was impressive during his interviews after getting picked; and while I didn’t see a lot of college ball last fall, I loved what I saw of second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson during Ohio State’s playoff run.

News Item – Celtics Update: They start the week up 3-1 vs. Orlando. (1) The Game 3 loss was the result of not being ready for physical play from Orlando that led to Jayson Tatum missing Game 2 and causing concern till the end of Game 4. (2) Tatum has been the man, especially in Game 4, where he scored 37 with 14 rebounds and even pushed someone back after a cheap bump for a double T. Boo-la-boo-la for that. (3) Someone please show Uncle Joe how a pick and roll to the basket will produce easy points against a team over playing the line to prevent against their 3-ball attack. (4) If the C’s took care of business in Boston on Tuesday, good night Orlando.

News Impatience is Back in Red Sox Nation:All I can think of when I hear impatient dopes like Tony Massarotti wanting to give up on the struggling Triston Casas three weeks into the season is Frank Costanza in the Seinfeld episode when George Steinbrenner thinks George Constanza got kidnapped. Upon meeting the Boss, instead of asking about his son, Frank shouts at the notoriously impatient Steinbrenner, “HOW COULD YOU TRADE JAY BUHNER,” who George dealt for journeyman DH Ken Phelps before Buehner went on to hit 310 homers for Seattle. As for Casas, he’s still not there yet but he hit two homers and a Wall Ball walk-off single to beat Seattle last week, so he’s getting there.

News Item – NFL Draft Notes: (1) Love that Travis Hunter will get a chance to play both ways.(2) But I wouldn’t have given as much as Jax did to move up to get him. (3) Which means my pre-draft plan to trade up for Jabar Carter wouldn’t have worked. (4) Mel Kiper Jr. seemed to take it personally as his top ranked QB kept falling like a rock until Sanders went in R5.

The Numbers:

4 & 14 –players from Ohio State taken in the first round and overall to give OSU the most players taken from any school in the NFL draft.

6 & 28 – homers and RBI for Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer in his first 21 games at AAA Worcester.

53 – most pitches thrown a single inning since 2022, by Toronto’s Kevin Gausman in the third inning of Sunday’s 11-3 loss to the Yanks.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Eugenio Suarez: While I doubt I could pick him out in a police line-up, Arizona D-Back slugger gets it for being the 19th guy in MLB history to hit four homers in a game.

Delusional Megalomania Moment of the Week: Hearing Steven A. Blowhard actually say if they don’t start getting it right, and he wasn’t kidding.

Random Thoughts: Pardon my cynicism, but, while it’s his right ’cause he earned it, I doubt Lawrence Taylor’s refusal of Sharp’s request to wear 56 was a gesture to help him make his own mark.

Sports 101 Answer: In addition to Pritchard, the other three Sixth Man of the Year winners are Kevin McHale (’84 and ’85), Bill Walton (’86) and Malcolm Brogdon (’23).

Final Thought – NBA Officiating: What good does it do after the fact to admit the refs missed an obvious Knicks foul on Pistons shooter Tim Hardaway Jr. as time expired that every fan in the building and millions watching on TV saw? The P’s still lost to give the Knicks a tainted 3-1 lead. Isn’t that what replay is supposed to prevent? So what were the people in the NBA replay center doing when it happened? And how could the only three people in the building who didn’t see such an obvious foul be the people paid to call the game? If they can’t make that call they should be fired

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

The Big Story – NFL Draft: It comes your way on ESPN and The NFL Network starting Thursday at 8 p.m. and goes through Saturday. Picking fourth and having four in the first 77 and nine picks overall, the Patriots have major skin in the game to make it a fun weekend for Patriot Nation.

Sports 101: Name the only team since 1960 (NFL and AFL teams) to draft a QB in both the first and second rounds in the same draft.

News Item – NBA Playoffs: Nothing started off weird in the first weekend. The C’s got off nicely with an easy 103-86 Game 1 win over Orlando; OK City became the sixth team to beat an opponent by more than 50 points in a playoff game, and Golden State used its experience to frustrate upstart Houston. Only the T-Wolves thumping the Lakers was surprising in the weekend.

News Item – NFL Draft: Here are a few interesting facts, rumors and pre-draft scuttlebutt.

It was interesting to see that in a pre-draft Big Board on ESPN its author Jeff Legwold ranked presumed No. 1 pick Cam Ward as only the 20th best player in the draft.

With just four, the Vikings have the fewest picks this weekend, while the 49ers and Ravens have the most with 11 each.

One team that could move up to prevent the expected Shedeur Sanders slide is New Orleans, whose QB Derek Carr could be out for all of 2025.

Can an arm that’s 1/16 inch shorter than desired for an offensive tackle be worth all the hullabaloo we’ve heard about LSU’s Will Campbell? Seems like paralysis by over-analysis. If it were me, I’d just look at his tape.

With Matthew Judon still out there in free agency, Eliot Wolf got it right by not giving him the contract extension he demanded last summer. Instead he’ll use the 77th pick he got for Atlanta for him on Friday night.

The Numbers:

4 – errors by Gold Glover Alex Bregman, who by taking over at third base was supposed to solve the Red Sox’ defensive issues of 2024.

11 – earned runs allowed in 2.1 innings in a 16-1 loss to Tampa Bay by Tanner Houck to make it the worst start in Red Sox history, which ballooned his ERA from 4.41 to 9.16.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Joe Mazzulla: For donating his entire $3.2 million bonus to local charities. This incredibly generous act is made even more impressive because he hasn’t been collecting the big dough for very long.

Inning of the Week – the eighth in Chicago: The D-Backs scored 10 in the top half of the eighth and then the Cubs roared back to score six in the bottom half to take a 15-11 lead that became the final.

Astonishingly Incompetent Draft Note of the Week: Boston Globe columnist Chris Gasper reported last week that aside from Julian Edelman, who was a college QB, none of the 10 receivers the Patriots drafted between 2003 and 2024 had more than 58 career receptions or 750 career yards and four touchdowns. An amazing track record of abject failure.

Random Thoughts:

With victory margins of 25, 19, 16 and 5 not a lot of drama in the NBA’s boring play-in games to grab seventh and eighth seed in each division.

Sports 101 Answer: The 1965 NY Jets drafted Joe Namath second overall in the 1965 AFL draft and then took Heisman Trophy winner Notre Dame’s John Huarte in Round 2.

A Little History – John Huarte: Came out of nowhere to win the 1964 Heisman while leading Notre Dame to a shocking 9-0-1 season and a national title. But the pro career was a different story. He lasted just two seasons in NY and six overall where he completed just 39.1% of his 58 passes for one TD.

Final Thought – What Should The Pats Do?

I know they need a left tackle and a lead receiver going into the future. But after what Mike Vrabel and company did in free agency, unless a receiver they can get is the next Randy Moss, I’m willing to pass on both needs to do what I have to do to get Penn State edge rusher Abdul Jabar Carter. Adding a premier pass rusher to a team with three other passing threats and two very good corners gives them a chance to have a top 5 defense or maybe higher. And I’d rather have one dominating unit to always count on and a middling offense than have a 15th-ranked O and 10th-ranked D, because the latter seems to be a formula for 9-8. Then I’d add what’s needed with the 37th pick to move into the first round to get the tackle they need and hope an impact receiver will surface at the mid-year trade deadline.

Prediction – they take LSU’s Campbell in Round 1. Unless N.O. trades up with NY at 3 to get Sanders. Then it’s who’s left between Heisman winner Travis Hunter and my pick, Carter.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

The Big Story – Celtics Begin Title Defense: The play-in Tournament Tuesday to send four teams to the NBA’s main playoffs which starts Saturday. The Celtics begin their title defense Easter Sunday. Enjoy.

Sports 101: Just four players in NFL history have had four consecutive 100-catch, 1,000-receiving-yard seasons. Name them.

News Item – NBA Regular Season Ends: A few season notables.

Nikola Jokic became the third to average a triple double — 29.8 points, 12.8 assists and 10.3 assists.

Denver and Memphis fired their coaches two weeks before the playoffs start. Sayonara to them.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the league in scoring at 32.7 ppg and OKC won a fourth best ever 68 games.

How bad was the Southeast Division? Only 41-41 Orlando wasn’t below .500.

Coaches who once got unfairly fired in Kenny Atkinson and Doc Rivers got their measure of revenge on their nemeses. Doc by digging out of a big early hole to be the 4-seed in Milwaukee, as Philly, who fired him, finished 24-58. For Atkinson it was winning the East in Year 1 with the Cavs, while the punks who stabbed him in the back in Brooklyn (just because they could) got theirs — Kyrie Irving with the latest injury, a torn ACL, and after costing a billion draft picks to get Kevin Durant to form a supposed super team, the 36-46 Suns didn’t even make the playoffs.

Brooklyn, who let those two do that to Atkinson, went 26-56 and is farther away than ever.

After going 20-7 since falling into their lucky trade for Luka Doncic, the Lakers are a real threat to re-tie Boston for first in championships with 18.

SGA gets MVP over Jokic because he is by far the most valuable player on the team with the best record.

News Item – College Football: Who didn’t see NIL holdouts coming?

Well, it happened at Tennessee last week when starting QB Nico Iamaleava sat out spring practice amid contract talks. UT’s response was “go fly a kite” and they immediately dropped him from the program.

News Item – The Masters: Notable happenings over the weekend.

Rory Mcllroy finally held onto a lead to win and become the sixth to win golf’s grand slam. But with all those makeable missed putts on that rollercoaster of a back nine he sure didn’t make it easy for those rooting for him

Clutch putt on the 72nd hole by Justin Rose to force the playoff, then he missed basically the same putt on the same hole (18) in the playoff to lose.

Sixty-seven-year-old Bernard Langer missed the cut by one shot in his final Masters thanks to a double bogey on the dastardly 15th hole.

Scottie Scheffler buried a 62-foot putt during Thursday’s opening round.

The Numbers:

19 – MLB-leading errors the Red Sox committed in their first 15 games. Meanwhile Dave Dombrowski’s Phillies have made just three all year.

31 – first-half points scored by the jacked and pumped Doncic in his return to Dallas before finishing with 45 in L.A.’s 112-97 win.

80 – hard-to-believe age legendary baseball reporter Peter Gammons turned last week.

… Of the Week Awards

Better Late Than Never Award – NCAA Final Word: We’re 10 days past Florida’s win over Houston for the national basketball championship. But it’s worth mentioning the most amazing stat of that game is that Florida somehow managed to win despite trailing for 38 minutes and 57 seconds of its 40 minutes. Big D that forced Houston turnovers in the final two minutes was the difference. It was the first time since 1989 that a freshman didn’t play in the game.

Sports 101 Answer: The four 100-1,000 players are Antonio Brown, Marvin Harrison, Dasante Adams and newly signed Patriot Stefon Diggs.

Final Thought – Celtics Playoff Keys: Having won 22 of 27 since the All-Star break, they go in playing well, with the quest for Title No. 19 starting Sunday. Here are their keys for a solid run:

Having an inside scoring Plan B for when the 3’s aren’t falling, which inevitably will happen.

Health — Brittle Kristaps Porzingis is always just one play away and the big unknown is the knee issue dogging Jaylen Brown. Is it just an annoyance or worse?

Thus they need no disappearing games from Jayson Tatum, which has been a past playoff (and Olympics) issue for him.

Consistency from the Top 3 on the bench.

Can Mazzulla please come up with a better end of the game (quarter) scoring play beyond the isolation fall away that Tatum always misses?

Hoping for the Knicks in Round 2 and the Lakers in the Finals.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.