Best of The Herd

It’s Wednesday, we’re live on The Herd, rolling into an NBA playoff week—wherever you are, thanks for hanging with us.

In the playoffs nobody wants your injury update; Austin Reaves went three for sixteen, missed every clean look, got hunted on switches, and you saw his ceiling as a fourth option on a contender, not a one or two. With a potential cap hit climbing toward the high forties, that math gets tough even though he’s a tough, admirable pro who keeps squeezing more from his game.

Let’s not bury Reaves off one rough night; three seasons say he’s really good. If he can deliver most of what a secondary creator gives their star and stay on the floor, you can absolutely win with him.

Kyrie is a different class as a finisher, and the Lakers grade themselves on parades, not trips to June. Reaves as eighty five percent of Kyrie is wishful thinking.

Flopping has taken center stage, especially with SGA living at the line, and it’s lousy television. When one player stacks hundreds more free throws than the next guy over two seasons, the league has to tighten it.

Some players bake it into their games because the rules allow it, but the NBA already added a flopping penalty and can make it a point of emphasis. Expect refs to lean on it early next season after the usual preseason briefings with teams.

Quick aside: the Met Gala isn’t my scene; even Meryl Streep said it’s not her vibe, and even the greats have duds when you live in the spotlight long enough. LeBron’s been there for over two decades, and aside from a clumsy TV exit, a China tweet, and the Bronny draft noise, his résumé on and off the floor is remarkable.

People are not eager to see Jokic lose, but plenty cheer when LeBron stumbles, including peers with platforms, and that extra attention follows him everywhere.

Of course they do—he blocked a lot of stars and franchises from rings, the way Jordan did, only for longer. The schadenfreude is really a compliment to his dominance.

Back to Reaves: in a salary cap league, paying him around forty eight million at peak could squeeze you, the same way Boston learned Derek White looks elite as a fourth but less so when bumped up a spot.

The Lakers value how Reaves fits with their lead star, and he rushed back from an oblique that should have kept him out longer, so he’s not himself. I don’t see this series hurting his standing or his summer talks.

Players respect both Minnesota and Wemby; the current book is to crowd him, hit his chest and hip, and disrupt that first step. He studies fast, so I expect counters as the series goes.

The playoffs belong to older, stronger groups that work the margins, and Minnesota’s length and muscle are a headache for San Antonio. Wemby is a defensive disruptor and offensive finisher who still needs an initiator beside him, which makes this matchup even tougher.

With Joel Embiid out, I’m curious whether Tyrese Maxey can seize it, because if he can’t, the Knicks bigs can tilt this side of the East quickly.

You can scheme around a missing star for a game or two, but by game three the hole shows up, which is why regular season results rarely translate to May and June. Philly should start on fire tonight, but as the series stretches, depth and experience take over.