JJ: “Will The Garden Party Continue In The Eastern Conference Finals?”

By John Jastremski

For the first time in 25 years, the New York Knicks are playing in the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Last Friday night, the Knicks sent the Celtics packing for Cancun with a performance that will live forever in Knicks lure. 

The Knicks finished off the Celtics in a wire to wire, resounding 119-81 victory and to be honest the final score doesn’t even do the beatdown justice. 

The Knicks finished off the defending champs, who lost star Jayson Tatum after Game 4 due to a devastating achilles injury, but that said, don’t let the Tatum injury take away from the Knicks vibes of the past series. 

The Knicks were cruising to a 3-1 series lead advantage before the injury took place late in the 4th quarter. 

They were the better team in the series and that was obvious in almost every single 4th quarter of the series. 

Now, the Knicks are four wins away from a place they have not been since 1999. The NBA Finals. 

How appropriate is it that the team that’s standing in their way of an Eastern Conference Crown is the same team that knocked out the Knicks a year ago. 

The Indiana Pacers. 

Make no mistake, the Pacers are a very dangerous team. 

They are 9 plus deep in their rotation, they place a ridiculously fast pace that is tough to contend with and Rick Carlisle is one of the best coaches in the NBA. 

In addition, Tyrese Haliburton has emerged as one of the game’s biggest stars and has been lights out this entire postseason despite some of the “overrated” criticism that was thrown his way earlier in the season. 

The Knicks will have their hands full with the Pacers, but there’s a lot to like coming into the series. 

The Knicks toughness and defensive intensity is an element that the Pacers have not matched up with quite yet this postseason run. 

In addition, the Knicks did not have Karl Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges in their series a year ago.

Both Towns and Bridges had brilliant regular season games against the Pacers in the regular season.

I expect both to pay major dividends in this series.

The Pacers will be a formidable opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, with the grit and toughness of this Knicks group combined with the fact that they have Jalen Brunson who is the best player in the series, it’s impossible for me to go against the wave. 

Knicks in a hard fought 7 games.

And if that happens, oh baby what a party on 7th avenue will it be.

You can listen to my podcast New York, New York on The Ringer Podcast Network on Spotify/Apple Podcasts following every Knicks ECF Game. You can watch me nightly on Honda Sports Nite following the Mets postgame on SNY.

Brutal Lottery for Brooklyn as Nets fall to 8th

Mavs climb 10 spots, earn rights to Cooper Flagg

By Noah Zimmerman

Noah@queensledger.com

It was a rough NBA Draft Lottery for the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, as they fell to the 8th overall pick. After holding the 6th worst record in the league, Brooklyn wasnít rewarded for a lackluster season that is best described as tank-adjacent.

To add insult to injury, the Nets will be selecting behind the Philadelphia 76ers, who were unpunished despite their blatant descent into the draft lottery.

Philly is guaranteed a chance for one of Cooper Flagg,  Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecombe, or Ace Bailey, the consensus top four in the class.

The outright winners of the lottery were surprising. Aside from the 76ers, the only other teams to move up in the lottery were the San Antonio Spurs (+6 spots) and the Dallas Mavericks (+10).

Conspiracy theorists can rejoice with Dallas landing the top overall pick, as they are just a few months removed from arguably the worst trade in NBA history. After moving Luka Doncic to the Lakers, the Mavs set a record for the highest jump in the lottery and can replace him with Flagg, the Duke standout.

Brooklyn will still be able to select plenty of talent, as they hold four first round picks (#8, #19, #26, and #27). Plenty of teams will also be calling, looking to offload albatross contracts in exchange for more picks and prospects.

For next season, the question turns back to the tank. The last two lottery winners finished with the 10th and 11th worst records, so is it wise for the Nets to hunt a top pick in 2026 even after recent lottery trends?

NBA DRAFT LOTTERY RESULTS

  1. Dallas Mavericks (+10 from 11)
  2. San Antonio Spurs (+6 from 8)
  3. Philadelphia 76ers (+2 from 5)
  4. Charlotte Hornets (-1 from 3)
  5. Utah Jazz (-4 from 1)
  6. Washington Wizards (-4 from 2)
  7. New Orleans Pelicans (-3 from 4)
  8. Brooklyn Nets (-2 from 6)
  9. Toronto Raptors (-2 from 7)
  10. Houston Rockets (-1 from 9)
  11. Portland Trail Blazers (-1 from 10)
  12. Chicago Bulls
  13. Atlanta Hawks
  14. San Antonio Spurs

What Would it Have Taken for the Nets to Land Doncic?

What would it have taken a team like Brooklyn to pry the 25-year-old superstar from Dallas?

By Noah Zimmerman

The Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers. Even after a handful of days there is little sense to be made of the blockbuster trade that shook the NBA and sports world to its core late Saturday night.

Los Angeles also received Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris in the deal. Alongside Davis, the Lakers sent Max Christie and a first round pick to Dallas, as well as Jalen Hood-Schiffino to the Utah Jazz. 

Following the trade, a dejected Mavs team was forced to take the floor against the Cleveland Cavaliers, one of the best teams in the league. The Cavs scored 50 points in the first quarter en route to a 144-101 trouncing, a foreboding sign for the future in Dallas.

Despite bringing Anthony Davis to Texas, the Mavs departure from their franchise player confused fans and risks going down as one of the worst trades in sports history. Only time will tell if this deal damages the Mavs as much as Billy Kingís trade for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce crippled the Nets.

To defend his move, Mavs GM Nico Harrison echoed a well known sentiment that defense wins championships. There were many concerns with Dallas regarding Luka’s apathy on the defensive side of the court, as well as his conditioning and injury issues. With Luka due for a max contract extension at the end of the year, Harrison decided it was too risky to pay up.

As a result, Dončić is no longer eligible for the $346M/5-year contract Dallas could have given him. The most he can receive from LA is $229M/5-years.

Another young superstar, Minnesota’s Anothony Edwards had trouble making sense of the deal. “At 25 they traded, probably the best scorer in the NBA,” the 23-year-old guard lamented. “He just went to the finals.”

“I still feel like there is something, some facts that are going to come out over time,” said Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. “I can’t really comprehend how that makes sense to be honest.”

What would it have taken other teams to land a player as coveted as Dončić? It’s clear that the Mavericks’ priority was to land a dominant two-way center in Davis, but it’s hard to see any long-term benefit with their new center turning 32 in March. Their inability to fetch more than one first round draft pick is baffling considering the modern trade market.

Other centers like Rudy Gobert netted four first round picks on the trade market. The Nets were able to fetch five first round picks from the Knicks in exchange for Mikal Bridges. 

Brooklyn was able to transform their return for a 34-year-old Kevin Durant into 9 first round picks, two first round pick swaps, a handful of second rounders, Cam Johnson, and Zaire Williams. Dallas turned a 25-year-old Dončić into Davis, Christie, and a single 2029 draft pick.

For a rebuilding team like the Brooklyn Nets, young centers and draft stock were aplenty. Surely if Harrison had shopped Luka around the league he could have netted a haul of picks from the Nets alongside younger centers with upside like Nic Claxton or Dayíron Sharpe.

Regardless, whatís done is done. The NBA has been forever changed by the arrival of Luka in LA. With the trade deadline on Thursday afternoon, teams will finish making tweaks to their rosters while carefully eyeing the future.

“I thought I was gonna stay my whole career there. Loyalty is a big word for me,” said Dončić in his Lakers press conference. “But I got the ocean here. I get to play for the Lakers. Not many get to say that.”

Luka also expressed his love and admiration for the late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. After landing in LA he made sure to mention Bryant and his daughter Gigi, who tragically passed in 2020.

Dončić is nursing a calf injury that has sidelined him since December. He is currently slated to make his Lakers debut this Weekend as LA plays two games against the Jazz ahead of the All-Star Break.

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