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New York, New York: The Knicks could actually do it this time

For a non-Knicks fan with a normal level of interest in the NBA playoffs, it’s become a springtime ritual the past few years: Peer in on the New York team making a medium-to-deep run in the playoffs as every New Yorker in your life goes berserk. Witness not just Spike Lee but also Timothée Chalamet and various Jenners going wild courtside. Behold Ben Stiller tweeting all night about the Knicks. Be aware, for some reason, of a Knicks-Met Gala conflict. Be happy for the various former Villanova players who have all come together on this roster.

That’s my perspective, anyway. The Knicks are a minor cultural fixation even when they’re bad, but they’ve become a party over the past few years of being good.

It’s been fun to watch. It also hasn’t been all that serious, because only fleetingly has it seemed like the Knicks had any shot to actually win the finals. (It did look possible for a moment last spring, after Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles and the Knicks got past the Celtics, before losing the Eastern Conference finals to the Pacers as slight favorites. But that didn’t feel like this.)

To be clear, the Thunder still exist and are the obvious title favorites. If it’s not them coming out of the West, the Spurs will be no picnic. But the Knicks are now commanding favorites in the East, having swept the 76ers in the conference semis. The Cavaliers and Pistons have exhausted each other in a seven-game series that won’t end until Sunday, while the Knickerbockers have been off since last Sunday. New York seems to match up nicely against either. This team has just gotten really, really good as it’s come together this spring.

You can look down the road and imagine the Knicks, with a major rest advantage, quickly winning the conference finals while the Thunder and Spurs slug out a long, brutal West final.

In short: The Knicks are probably not just having the same cultural moment they’ve had every spring since 2023. They’re an actual threat now, in part because of circumstance.

That doesn’t seem absurd, anyway. But I ran it past The Athletic’s Knicks beat reporter, James Edwards III: Does he feel materially better about this team’s chances than in recent springs?

💬 You have to say that the Knicks are the favorites coming out of the East right now based on their postseason to date. Other than the Spurs, they’re the only team in the playoffs that ranks in the top three in both offensive and defensive rating. They’re on a seven-game win streak with an average margin of victory of 26.4 points during that span. New York is about to get a week’s worth of rest. Other than the hamstring of OG Anunoby, the Knicks are healthy. This feels like the best opportunity the franchise has had to make the NBA Finals in over 25 years. Winning the whole thing? New York has a chance simply because it should be one of the last two teams standing, but the Thunder are a freight train right now, too.

At worst, there’s an excellent chance a blue and orange team wins it all. At best, the Knicks will complete their arc from lovable losers to a team with great energy to actual champs.

News to Know

A cluster atop the PGA leaderboard

After two rounds, there are 44 players within five shots of co-leaders Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley (4 under) at the PGA Championship at Aronimink. Sound like a lot? It’s the most ever through 36 holes. Gabby Herzig wrote a fun story about Smalley’s “momager,” who follows him around the course tracking his shot data and recording his swings to find an edge. McNealy said yesterday that his “superpower” is his putting — a handy asset at a course where diabolical greens and pin locations are giving the world’s best golfers some serious trouble. Bryson DeChambeau was among the big names to miss the cut. Find the leaderboard and more here.

Spurs-Thunder is on

There’s no reason it couldn’t be the Knicks ☝️, but popular opinion has held that if anyone is going to derail the Thunder, it’s the upstart Spurs, who beat them four out of five tries in the regular season. At their best, San Antonio looks plain delighted to be playing basketball together, as they did in winning Game 6 by 30 in Minneapolis last night. Get ready to hear a lot about this being the “real NBA Finals.” Game 1 is Monday.

• Earlier yesterday, Detroit won its second Game 6 to stay alive in these playoffs, this time without too much stress. It helped immensely that Jalen Duren (15 points, 11 boards and three blocks) was his regular-season self again. Takeaways here.

More News

• The Golden Knights have to forfeit their 2026 second-round pick and coach John Tortorella was fined $100,000 because they violated media availability rules. Harsh? The league says they were warned. Read the full story.
• A’ja Wilson became the only player in WNBA history with multiple 45-point games. Look at this line: 45 points on 15/18 field goals, 13/13 free throws, 2/2 3-pointers. Goodness.
• Deion Sanders says he plans to talk to Browns coach Todd Monken about how to best coach his son, Shedeur. Several interesting quotes here.
• Speaking of legendary defensive backs and their sons, Charles Woodson Jr. committed to Michigan.
• Bucks center Myles Turner had some blunt descriptions of this past season with ex-coach Doc Rivers and superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Sounds like chaos.
• The Warriors expect Draymond Green to return next season. More here.
• In more horrible Mets news: They lost their best starter this season, Clay Holmes, for “a long time” after a 111-mph comebacker broke his fibula. Ouch.

📰 Find more news here 24/7.

Watch Guide

📺 Preakness Stakes
6:50 p.m. ET post time on NBC
Golden Tempo, the Kentucky Derby winner, is not running. It’s the latest installment in a trend. Also, here’s a great, emotional story by Jerry Brewer about Barbaro, who was injured at the Preakness and later euthanized 20 years ago. Where does the time go?

📺 MLB: Yankees at Mets
7:15 p.m. ET on Fox
In case there wasn’t enough New York flavor to today’s newsletter, here’s the Subway Series to add a little more. The Yankees don’t have Mets-sized problems but do have a few.

📺 NHL: Sabres at Canadiens, Game 6
8 p.m. ET on ABC
The Sabres have to win on the road to bring the series back to what would be a deafeningly loud Buffalo. It will require much, much better goaltending from someone.

Get tickets to games like this here.

Pulse Picks

Courtesy of the Tijuana Toros

Former MLB All-Star Justin Turner expected to be playing in the majors this year at 41. Instead, he is raking for the Tijuana Toros and refusing to let his baseball career die.

Whether you love gardening or hate it (✋), get a weeding knife. They’re amazing for pulling weeds but also great at carving out edges for flower beds, post holes, whatever. Just be advised: They’re sharp! — Matt Piper

After the NFL’s big 2026 schedule release Thursday night, Dan Shanoff projected the league’s most-watched national TV games.

“Tucci in Italy” season two was recently released, and I’m halfway through another marvelous exploration of how the country’s local dishes stem from their region’s history. There are so many dishes you’ve probably never heard of before, or knew were Italian. Perhaps the least surprising thing if you know me, but I can’t recommend enough. — Lauren Merola

In another NHL era, the kind of back-and-forth goalie-swapping we’re seeing lately would be unthinkable — especially in the playoffs. Here’s why tandems are on the rise.

I’ve made espresso-based drinks, I’ve dipped into pour-over coffee … but I finally made an iced pour-over, using what’s referred to as the Japanese method. Best iced coffee I’ve ever had. — Chris Branch

🚨 Saturday Night Live is hosted by Will Ferrell with musical guest Paul McCartney tonight. Umm, yeah. — Chris Sprow

Well worth your time this weekend, via David Ubben: Alabama’s Ryan Coleman-Williams has a new name — and strives for a football “rebirth” along with it.

Some combination of potatoes and cheese is a pretty safe bet for weeknight dinners, but this 20-minute recipe is at least a fresh twist on the concept (gift link!). — Torrey Hart

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Best matchups on the NFL schedule.

📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.

CLEVELAND — This is why he is here. It’s on him now. This is why the Cleveland Cavaliers surrendered three players and three unprotected draft picks to acquire Donovan Mitchell, for moments such as Sunday’s Game 7 in Detroit.

Mitchell has heard all the criticisms of not being able to get out of the second round. He had the perfect opportunity at home Friday night in Game 6 to close out the Pistons, to unburden himself from one of the largest stains left on his terrific career.

Instead, he delivered one of his worst performances of this postseason: 18 points on 6-of-20 shooting in the Cavs’ 115-94 loss. The Cavs were outscored by 25 points while he was on the floor, matching his second-worst plus/minus in a playoff game since arriving in Cleveland.

I wrote after last season’s series loss to the Indiana Pacers that it felt like Mitchell was farther ahead on his career trajectory than the rest of the younger roster. Mitchell has reached the point in his career where he is obsessed with winning. He has made his money. He has made enough All-Star teams and All-NBA teams that the only thing left to do is win. It felt last year like the rest of the Cavs’ roster hadn’t quite caught up to him in their growth.

That’s no longer the case. The trade to bring James Harden here addressed some of it. The growth of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen over this postseason seemed to narrow that gap as well.

It’s not a talent issue; the Cavs have the league’s highest payroll. It’s not a health issue, which is the excuse they could have used in the past. This appears to be the healthiest they’ve been for a postseason run during this era. It’s not a maturity issue. Harden is 36. Allen is 28. Mobley has played five full years now.

There are no more excuses. Mitchell has what he needs. It’s on him now to deliver.

“I can’t dwell on it,” Mitchell said. “I missed shots tonight. … I’ve been making them most every game of this series, and tonight I didn’t.”

That’s not entirely accurate. Mitchell hasn’t looked like himself for most of this postseason. If he isn’t hiding an injury, it’s otherwise difficult to explain. The Toronto Raptors threw unorthodox, junk defenses that he never really unraveled. Fine. But he hasn’t fared much better against the Pistons. 

Aside from his historic second-half eruption in Game 4, Mitchell is shooting 42 percent in this series and 26 percent from 3. He shot 36 percent from 3 during the regular season.

Mitchell is shooting more from midrange, primarily floaters, than he has in the recent past, and he’s making fewer of them. He has struggled getting to the rim at various points in this series, and he has struggled from 3 for most of it. That doesn’t leave much else.

Detroit’s Ausar Thompson was great at guarding Mitchell in Game 6. Thompson is long and athletic and causes matchup problems. The Pistons are well known for their physicality defensively as well. Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson wants to get Mitchell easier looks in Game 7 by getting out and running in the open court. When it slows to a half-court game, the Pistons can set their defense, which leads to clutching, grabbing and holding that the officials aren’t calling.

Detroit’s physical style of defense is why Atkinson didn’t use a timeout at the end of regulation in Game 5. He didn’t want to give the Pistons a chance to set their half-court defense, which proved problematic again Friday in Game 6.

“That was a logjam tonight,” Atkinson said. “All of us, we had a tough time getting free. At the end of the day, that’s on us. This is how the game’s being called. We have to adjust to how the game is being called. … We have to find a way to play with more force offensively.”

The Cavs’ lack of urgency and sloppy ballhandling have let the Pistons drag this to a Game 7. It has been a terrific series, but the Cavs certainly appear to be the more talented team. The Pistons, however, are now 4-0 when facing elimination in these playoffs and have proved to be a tougher out than their youth would indicate.

Another huge Game 7 is looming for the Cavs on Sunday. Mitchell is due an extension this summer. Harden, who has a reputation for poor performances in Game 7s, is eyeing a new contract as well.

What becomes of Atkinson if the Cavs lose this series to his predecessor?

There’s a lot at stake for this franchise. There’s a lot at stake for Mitchell.

He has the help he needs. It’s all right in front of him. There’s only one thing left to do.

Win.

A FIFA delegation is set to meet officials from the Iran Football Federation (FFIRI) on Saturday to offer reassurance over the team’s participation at the 2026 World Cup in the United States.

Sources briefed on the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity, indicated the meeting is scheduled to take place in Istanbul, Turkey, and the FIFA delegation will be led by the federation’s secretary general Mattias Grafstrom.

Iran’s participation at the World Cup has been in doubt since the American-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, which sparked a wider conflict across the Middle East.

President of the FFIRI, Mehdi Taj, told reporters on Thursday, in quotes carried and translated by Reuters: “I think it’s a decisive meeting, meaning they have to give us some guarantees, because the visa issue hasn’t been resolved yet.”

Multiple Iranian soccer officials were denied U.S. visas ahead of December’s World Cup draw, while at least one was turned back by Canadian authorities en route to April’s FIFA Congress.

Speaking in April, U.S., Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran’s soccer team will be welcome at the World Cup but anyone deemed to have links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) will be denied entry.

President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House his administration “would not want to affect ⁠the athletes” of Iran but Rubio said anyone deemed to be “terrorists” who “pretend they are journalists or athletic trainers” would not be allowed into the country.

The IRGC has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the U.S. and other governments.

FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, has consistently said that Iran will compete at the World Cup as planned.

Iran are due to play group-stage matches in Los Angeles, against Belgium and New Zealand, and Seattle, against Egypt, during the tournament that is being co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada between June 11 and July 19.

In February, Iran’s embassy said it was negotiating with FIFA to move its World Cup matches from the U.S. to Mexico, though football’s world governing body said it had no intention of allowing the change.