SI:CYMI | Thunder Get Even

The NBA playoffs are getting physical.

Stephen Douglas Good morning, sports fans! This is Stephen Douglas from Sports Illustrated here to remind you to keep your head on a swivel if you’re wearing white today. Isaiah Hartenstein might mistake you for a Spurs player and grab when you least expect it. He might be tired from grabbing 13 rebounds in 27 minutes last night, but you can never be too careful.  Forward this to your friend who has been staying up too late watching basketball the last few days.   Recommended by  The headlines … Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images LOSING FOCUS: Fans are fed up with Peacock’s odd camera angles. … I tried to explain Danhausen, the WWE star who may actually be the deciding factor in the Eastern Conference finals. … Looking back at three coaching blunders that led to the Cavaliers epic collapse in Game 1. …Knicks fans were chanting “we want Wemby” after beating the Cavs. Be careful what you wish for. … Anthony Edwards has a new Adidas commercial and it is full of celebrities. … The Bulls are eyeing Jerry Stackhouse as their next coach. … There are four open NBA coaching jobs right now and SI’s Liam McKeone ranked them from worst to best. … And SI’s Blake Silverman ranked the top five announcers in the NBA right now.  SOME NFL: SI’s Tom Dierberger spoke to Freddie McGee III, who went viral asking the Lions for a tryout last month. …  Aaron Rodgers plans to play this season and then retire. He sounds certain this time. … Cam Skattebo has some lofty goals for himself this season, statistically speaking. … Joe Burrow thinks this is the best Bengals team he’s been a part of and that they can win the Super Bowl. … Bill Belichick believes Tom Brady made the right decision when he left the Patriots. … The latest on the Browns’ quarterback competition starring Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson.  SPORTPOURRI: James Wood of the Nationals hit his first career grand slam. It was an inside-the-parker. … Missouri star running back Ahmad Hardy made his first statement since he was shot last week. … Four MLB stars are having breakout seasons and are now in the running for awards. … ABS has reached college baseball and is already resulting in amusing challenges in the SEC tournament. … Caitlin Clark was a late scratch on Wednesday for the Fever’s nationally televised game against the Fire. … Clark also spoke about the importance of good mental health during a recent podcast appearance. … The Mets let a rookie wear Gary Carter’s No. 8 for a game. Oops!  Join Verducci's View Newsletter MLB insights and analysis delivered by Tom Verducci, offering a mix of expert commentary, inside angles and thoughtful perspectives on baseball’s biggest storylines. CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE   Recommended by  Feed refresher … NBA/YouTube-Screenshot Some fun storylines for you ...  CASTLE ROCK: Stephon Castle dunked on Isaiah Hartenstein during the second quarter of Game 2 of the Spurs-Thunder series. You may have seen it. If you haven’t seen it you should really check it out. It was so sweet that Victor Wembanyama was left playing the role of Dylan Harper, who is usually in charge of reacting to whatever Wemby is doing.  BIG DOM SMITH MOMENTS: The Braves beat the Marlins 9-1 on Wednesday night. Designated hitter Dom Smith hit a little league home run when he tripled and scored on an error. Then he had a 12 pitch at-bat in the top of the sixth that ended with a home run and put the game out of reach.  Get the print edition of Sports Illustrated delivered to your door. Click to subscribe! 📺 What we’re watching tonight ... NBA Playoffs: Cleveland Cavaliers @ New York Knicks—8 p.m. ET; ESPN The Cavaliers blew Game 1 after being cursed by a wrestler. The Knicks made an improbable comeback in front of Paul Atreides and a bunch of former players. The thing about the result of the first game of the series is that you have to watch the entire game, no matter how big of a lead one of the teams has. You’ll have to rewatch Dune and Dune 2 during the offseason.  Stanley Cup Playoffs: Montreal Canadiens @ Carolina Huricanes—8 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, HBO Max The Canadiens haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1993, but they were in the final as recently as 2020. The Hurricanes, who had the second most points in the standings in the NHL this season, won the Stanley Cup in 2006. The Hartford Whalers never played in a Stanley Cup, but they live on forever in Mallrats.  That’s all for today. Keep an eye out for any other crazy storylines to grace the sports world today.   Recommended by  We may receive compensation for some links to products and services included in this email. 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