The Bounce Newslette<\/b>r<\/strong>\u00a0 On this date in 1986, Michael Jordan scored the most points ever in a playoff game with 63. It happened in a 135-131 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics. Larry Bird said after the game, \u201cThat was God disguised as Michael Jordan.\u201d You can take the memory-lane stroll here!<\/p>\n Who should be worried already?<\/strong><\/p>\n The 2026 NBA playoffs tipped off this weekend! Seven of the eight home teams won, and that means we had one upset. Yes, the Orlando Magic beat the Detroit Pistons as we all expected, based on this season\u2019s trends. Let\u2019s dive into games, look ahead and figure out where the Playoff Panic Meter hits for each losing squad (scale of 1-5).<\/p>\n Magic 112, Pistons 101<\/strong><\/p>\n What happened? <\/strong>The Magic were all over the Pistons, and Cade Cunningham (39 points) needs some help.<\/p>\n Who was the hero?<\/strong> Jalen Suggs. He set the tone from the start and was a tornado out there.<\/p>\n Who needs to step up?<\/strong> Jalen Duren. Did anybody see him yesterday? He was supposed to be at Game 1, but we didn\u2019t see the player who looked like an All-NBA big man.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the adjustment for Detroit?<\/strong> Slow down the pace and cut off the paint. It can\u2019t get outscored by Orlando inside. A lot of that is Duren\u2019s poor game.<\/p>\n PPM:<\/strong> \ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8 for Detroit.<\/p>\n Spurs 111, Blazers 98<\/strong><\/p>\n What happened? <\/strong>Victor Wembanyama put on a show, and the Blazers just didn\u2019t have enough offense.<\/p>\n Who was the hero?<\/strong> Wemby, duh. He set the Spurs franchise record with 35 points in a playoff debut with David Robinson and Tim Duncan in attendance. Also, you must watch this.<\/p>\n Who needs to step up?<\/strong> Donovan Clingan. He had more 3-point attempts (three) than made shots in the paint (two). It\u2019s asking a lot, but he has to be a big presence inside.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the adjustment for Portland?<\/strong> It has to knock down 3-pointers (10-of-38) to put pressure on the Spurs.<\/p>\n PPM:<\/strong> \ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8 for Portland.<\/p>\n Nuggets 116, Wolves 105<\/strong><\/p>\n What happened? <\/strong>Nikola Joki\u0107 put up another triple-double (25-13-11), and Anthony Edwards (knee) looked too hobbled to match.<\/p>\n Who was the hero?<\/strong> Jamal Murray. He had 30 points, and 16 of them came from the free-throw line. He had Wolves defenders off-balance all game.<\/p>\n Who needs to step up?<\/strong> Julius Randle. With Ant hurt, the Wolves need more offensive creation from Randle. His 16 points on 16 shots with just two assists isn\u2019t going to get it done.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the adjustment for Minnesota?<\/strong> Ball movement. Just 21 assists on 40 buckets. It settled for too many shots after one pass and ignored swinging the ball to the weak side.<\/p>\n PPM:<\/strong> \ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8 for Minnesota.<\/p>\n Lakers 107, Rockets 98<\/strong><\/p>\n What happened? <\/strong>Kevin Durant (knee) missed Game 1 and LeBron James\u2019 19 points and 13 assists led the Lakers to a surprise performance.<\/p>\n Who was the hero?<\/strong> Luke Kennard \u2014 27 points on 10-of-16 from the field and 5-of-5 from deep.<\/p>\n Who needs to step up?<\/strong> Alperen \u015eeng\u00fcn. He had 19 points on 19 shots and could not take advantage of Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes as his defenders.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the adjustment for Houston?<\/strong> Lock in defensively. It sounds simple, but the Rockets allowed the Lakers to hit 60 percent of their shots. So the 20 Lakers turnovers didn\u2019t even matter.<\/p>\n PPM:<\/strong> \ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8 for Houston.<\/p>\n Knicks 113, Hawks 102<\/strong><\/p>\n What happened? <\/strong>Jalen Brunson had 19 of his 28 points in the first quarter, and the Knicks seemed too big and strong for the Hawks.<\/p>\n Who was the hero?<\/strong> Karl-Anthony Towns. He was phenomenal with 25 points, 14 boards and five assists. He had 11 in the fourth and 19 in the second half to help close it out.<\/p>\n Who needs to step up?<\/strong> Nickeil Alexander-Walker. This was not the NAW we saw this season. He had 17 points on 17 shots and needs to do a better job breaking down the defense.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the adjustment for Atlanta?<\/strong> Get back on defense. New York has a good half-court offense, but you have to make it face a set defense. The Knicks had 22 fast-break points.<\/p>\n PPM:<\/strong> \ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8 for Atlanta.<\/p>\n Celtics 123, 76ers 91<\/strong><\/p>\n What happened? <\/strong>The Celtics allowed just 16 points outside of the paint or the free-throw line and pretty much demolished the Sixers from the opening tip.<\/p>\n Who was the hero?<\/strong> Jayson Tatum \u2014 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to set the tone.<\/p>\n Who needs to step up?<\/strong> Everybody not named Tyrese Maxey. He had 21 points, and no one else could find comfort on the floor.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the adjustment for Philadelphia?<\/strong> The Sixers have to hit 3-point shots (they made four) and turn Celtics mistakes into quick points (three points off 10 Boston turnovers).<\/p>\n PPM:<\/strong> \ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8 for Philly.<\/p>\n Cavaliers 126, Raptors 113<\/strong><\/p>\n What happened? <\/strong>The Cavs busted this game open in the third quarter (36-22) and forced a usually careful Raptors team into 18 turnovers (22 points off them).<\/p>\n Who was the hero?<\/strong> Donovan Mitchell \u2014 19 of his 32 points came in the second half, and the Raptors couldn\u2019t stop him.<\/p>\n Who needs to step up?<\/strong> Scottie Barnes. He uncharacteristically hit three 3-pointers in the first half, and his line of 21 points and seven assists is fine. But he needs to be way more impactful.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the adjustment for Toronto?<\/strong> Run. Toronto forced 17 turnovers, but only three were live-ball turns. The Raptors led the league in fast-break points (18.9) and only had three in Game 1.<\/p>\n PPM:<\/strong> \ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8 for Toronto.<\/p>\n Thunder 119, Suns 84<\/strong><\/p>\n What happened? <\/strong>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25, and Oklahoma City happily gave up 22 shot attempts to Dillon Brooks for 18 points.<\/p>\n Who was the hero?<\/strong> Jalen Williams. He\u2019s had a rough year because of injuries, but 22 points, seven boards and six assists in 29 minutes is the level of play OKC wants to see from him.<\/p>\n Who needs to step up?<\/strong> Royce O\u2019Neale. He has to let it fly (two shots in 23 minutes).<\/p>\n What\u2019s the adjustment for Phoenix?<\/strong> Not losing the turnover battle too much. It had 11 more turnovers (19-8) and 32 more points given up off turnovers (34-2) than OKC. Yikes.<\/p>\n PPM:<\/strong> \ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8 for Phoenix<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfc6 Legacies! <\/strong>From Wemby to Cade to SGA to KD, I discussed legacies at stake in the playoffs. Including the idea of Joki\u0107 as Godzilla<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \ud83d\uddfd The KAT\u2019s meow. <\/strong>Towns had a big Game 1 for the Knicks. His involvement moving forward is huge<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc51 Constantly in motion. <\/strong>It\u2019s absurd that LeBron can keep doing this. But he never stops moving<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u23f0 Dialing back? <\/strong>We might see less Caitlin Clark this season. The Fever plan to reduce her\u00a0reps after her injury-plagued rookie year<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Stream the NBA on Fubo (<\/em>try it for free!)<\/em>\u00a0and catch out-of-market games on\u00a0<\/em>League Pass.<\/em><\/p>\n Steve Kerr sounds like he might be done<\/strong><\/p>\n Something emotional happened for the Golden State Warriors on Friday night after the Suns knocked them out of the Play-In Tournament. It wasn\u2019t just about their season being over and missing the playoffs. There was a moment when Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr huddled during a late stoppage of play with the game decided.<\/p>\n We got the soundbite from the moment, with Kerr telling them, \u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s gonna happen next, but I love you guys to death, thank you. Appreciate you.\u201d Kerr\u2019s contract is up at the end of this season, and there have been questions all year long about whether he\u2019ll be back as the Warriors coach. After the game, Kerr was frank about his situation.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen, I still love coaching, but I get it. These jobs all have an expiration date. There\u2019s a run that happens, and when the run ends, sometimes it\u2019s time for new blood and new ideas and all that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Kerr, 60, has been Golden State\u2019s coach since 2014; only Erik Spoelstra, who has been the Heat\u2019s coach since 2008, has a longer tenure among current coaches. Kerr took over what Mark Jackson started to build with the young Warriors core and mutated it by inserting Draymond into the starting lineup when David Lee got hurt. What transpired over the next 12 years is one of the most successful stretches of basketball in the modern era.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n His 604 wins are 28th all-time, but his .631 win percentage is fifth among those who coached at least a decade. His 104 playoff victories are sixth all-time, and he has the second-highest playoff win percentage (.684). He also has the sixth-most championships with four. Maybe Kerr is done with coaching, or just done with coaching the Warriors. His place in history will endure, regardless<\/p>\n Awards finalists and schedule announced<\/strong><\/p>\n he NBA announced during yesterday\u2019s NBC games the 2025-26 awards finalists and the schedule for some of the award announcements. Today, the Defensive Player of the Year will be named. Tomorrow, it will be the Clutch Player of the Year. On Wednesday, the Sixth Man of the Year will be revealed, followed by the Sportsmanship Award on Thursday and Most Improved Player on Friday.<\/p>\n Here are the three finalists for the major awards: This mirrors everybody I included in the top three of my ballots. Except for one award. I had Derrick White just edging out Ausar Thompson for third place for DPOY. Other than that, there aren\u2019t really any surprises for me here. We\u2019ll analyze the awards decisions after each announcement.<\/p>\n Since we\u2019re here, let\u2019s do a quick preview of today\u2019s Game 2s. All times Eastern.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Raptors at Cavs, Game 2, 7 p.m. (NBCSN\/Peacock) | Cavs lead 1-0<\/strong><\/p>\n Something to look for: <\/strong>The Raptors trying to win the points in the paint battle by getting 15-20 fast-break points. They only had 36 points in the paint in Game 1.<\/p>\n Hawks at Knicks, Game 2, 8 p.m. (NBC\/Peacock) | Knicks lead 1-0<\/strong><\/p>\n Something to look for: <\/strong>The Hawks keeping the Knicks off the offensive boards. New York had just six offensive rebounds in Game 1 but managed to score 13 second-chance points.<\/p>\n![\":basketball:\"](\"https:\/\/a.slack-edge.com\/production-standard-emoji-assets\/14.0\/apple-medium\/1f3c0@2x.png\")
<\/span>\u00a0| This is The Athletic\u2019s<\/em> daily NBA newsletter.\u00a0Sign up here\u00a0to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox.<\/p>\nPlayoff Panic Meter<\/h3>\n
The last 24<\/h3>\n
Is this goodbye?<\/h3>\n
Coming up<\/h3>\n
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