The Celtics were the heavy favorites to win the Eastern Conference — so heavily favored, that they were still projected to make the Finals after their star player had been announced out of a Game 7 that they still had to win to advance out of the first round. (I checked the sportsbooks.)

It was the 15th blown 3-1 lead in NBA playoff history — and not the only time it happened in this first round, more on that later — but the first time that a higher-seeded team has blown a 3-1 lead in the first round. If you’re the 2-seed and you’re up 3-1, you should win!

After Jayson Tatum was ruled out for Game 7, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla started a lineup that had never played together this season, featuring backups Baylor Scheierman, Luka Garza, and Ron Harper Jr. They were outscored by seven points in four minutes; Harper never played again, and the trio went a combined 0-for-7 from the field.

I like to say that you can’t always blame coaches for wins and losses, but you can blame coaches for not putting their teams in the best position to win. In the most critical game of the season, after having an entire season to figure out how to succeed without Tatum, Mazzulla’s rolled out an experimental lineup that immediately put Boston in a big hole.

The Celtics once again shot themselves out of a huge playoff game, going 13-for-49 from three. In the final five minutes of the game, they went 0-for-7.

The Celtics are the most three-happy team of all time, even more than the Steph Curry/Klay Thompson Warriors. The 2025 team set the all-time record for three-point attempts, and Boston’s last four seasons all rank in the top 11 of all time. The strategy has broadly worked; the Celtics shot their way to the 2024 NBA championship, and won at least 56 games in each of those seasons …

… but it has also killed them in critical moments. They shot 9-for-42 in Game 7 against the Heat in 2023, 15-for-60 while blowing Game 1 to the Knicks last year, and then 10-for-40 while blowing Game 2. In their back-to-back-to-back losses to the lower-seeded Sixers, they shot a combined 36-for-129 (27.9 percent).

As a young football writer, I thought, “Why don’t teams just pass on every down? It’s more efficient! The numbers prove it!” And the numbers do prove it. But passing is also higher-variance: sometimes you get 20 yards, but sometimes you get zero. And sometimes you just need to run out the clock against a weaker team.

Long story short: The Celtics need to learn how to run the damn ball.

The Knicks led the Hawks by 47 points at halftime, the largest halftime lead in NBA playoff history.

On the road, in a game Atlanta needed to win to keep its season alive.

The Knicks then started the second half on a 10-0 run, turning that 47-point lead into a 57-point lead.

The Knicks led by as much as 61, the largest lead in NBA playoff history. (Since the start of the play-by-play era in 1997; it’s possible somebody led by more before that.)

That 61-point lead came when the Knicks went up 101-40. It was the first time in NBA history that the road team reached 100 points before the home team reached 50 … and the Hawks had barely reached 40.

With four double-digit victories and two single-point losses, the Knicks beat the Hawks by 105 points in six games, the largest margin of victory ever in a six-game series.

The Magic almost became the seventh 8-seed to knock off a 1-seed in NBA playoff history …

… but instead joined that slightly longer list of teams that have blown a 3-1 lead, losing three straight to the top-seeded Pistons. This is the first NBA playoffs to feature two blown 3-1 leads in the first round.

This collapse was especially brutal for the Magic, who led Game 6 by 24 points at halftime before scoring just 19 points in the second half. They missed 23 shots in a row and went 45 real-time minutes without a basket. Their 19 second-half points were the fewest in a half in NBA playoff history by a significant margin. Nobody had ever scored fewer than 23 points in a half, and that includes teams from eras when they often finished with, like, 67 points.

On Monday, there were reports that the Magic had fired head coach Jamahl Mosley.

Incredible series win by Minnesota after losing Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo. Backup Ayo Dosunmu scored a career-high 43 points in Game 4 …

… and then Dosunmu got injured, so Jaden McDaniels, best-known for his defense and trash talk, stepped up with a career-high 32 points in Game 6 …

… and Terrence Shannon Jr., who didn’t even play in the first three games of the series, scored 24 points to help close out the series. He hadn’t scored 20 points all season until mid-April, when Minnesota was resting its starters.

I said in my last newsletter that I would not look into what was happening in this series and I stood by that.

Golden Tempo is a closer. He ran almost the exact same race in the Lecomte Stakes in January, going last-to-first in one of the bigger Derby prep races. His horse-father (technical term!), Curlin, is a two-time Horse of the Year and also an exceptional closer, winning the 2007 Preakness from eighth place. One of Curlin’s grandsons, Rich Strike, won the 2022 Derby from 18th place.

I googled Curlin, and apparently the proud dad is going through some tough times: The 22-year-old is experiencing a fertility issue and recently had to take a break from breeding to regenerate semen. Hang in there, buddy!

I found a 25 minute video of Golden Tempo living the good life the day after the Derby, doing all the stuff champions do: hay, getting nuzzled by his friends, trying to eat a wall. Much better than doing a Twitch livestream.

It’s particularly incredible that Golden Tempo nipped Renegade at the line because Golden Tempo’s jockey, Jose Ortiz, is the brother of Renegade’s jockey, Irad Ortiz Jr.

All the horses in the Kentucky Derby were also related: 19 of the 20 horses could be traced back to Secretariat, who sired 663 foals.

I wonder what Thanksgiving is like!

LMAO, thinking about Horse Thanksgiving. “Pass the oats” lol.

History was made as Golden Tempo’s trainer, Cherie DeVaux, became the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby. She’s only the 18th female trainer to enter a horse in the race.

Racing is such an old boy’s club that there have been more than twice as many female horses in the race as female trainers. (Three fillies have won the Derby, most recently in 1988.)

Knicks-Sixers: Let the toxicity commence! Many are saying the Knicks are the new favorites to win the Eastern Conference, now that the Celtics are out and the Knicks just won a closeout road playoff game by 51 points. Not me, though! I’m not one of the people saying that. Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George are healthy at the same time for what feels like the first time ever. (Game 1: May 4, 8 p.m. ET; Game 2: May 6, 7 p.m. ET)

Cavs-Pistons: Two teams that surprisingly struggled in Round 1. The Pistons looked completely cooked down 24 points and 3-2 in the series in Game 6 against eighth-seeded Orlando, but the Magic went Kelvin-scale cold. Cleveland struggled with an upstart Toronto team without any real guards. The Jarrett Allen-Jalen Duren matchup at center could decide the series; both players struggled before coming through late in Round 1. (Game 1: May 5, 7 p.m. ET)

Thunder-Lakers: Oklahoma City decimated Phoenix in four, while LA went up 3-0 and played with its food a bit before beating Houston in six. The one-seed Thunder will almost 100% win this series, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a classic LeBron 50-point performance in Game 1 just for a teammate to make a completely boneheaded play on a free throw rebound and lose to the superteam. It’s tradition. (Game 1: May 5, 8:30 p.m. ET)

Spurs-Timberwolves: San Antonio blitzed an overmatched Portland squad in five games in the first round. Without Anthony Edwards, it’s hard to imagine Minnesota having a chance in this series, but he may be back by Game 3. (Game 1: May 4, 9:30 p.m. ET; Game 2: May 6, 9:30 p.m. ET)

Avalanche-Wild: Both teams finished Top 5 in goals against in the regular season … and then Game 1 had FIFTEEN GOALS, with Colorado winning 9-6. (Game 2: May 5, 8 p.m. ET)

Golden Knights-Ducks Vegas struggled with Utah in the first round, falling behind 2-1 before winning back-to-back overtime games, while Anaheim looked relatively comfortable taking down Connor McDavid and the reigning Western Conference champs. The winner will be steep underdogs against the winner of Colorado-Minnesota. (Game 1: May 4, 9:30 p.m. ET)

Sabres-Canadiens: Out east, we have two successful rebuilds facing off with Buffalo taking on Montreal. The Sabres have the best vibes in hockey, but again: Montreal just won a game in which it only took NINE(!!!!) shots. So great vibes there, too. (Game 1: May 6, 7 p.m. ET) 

Hurricanes-Flyers: The battle-tested Hurricanes blitzed through Ottawa in four games and took Game 1 in this series 3-0; the Flyers just beat the Penguins in what might have been the last playoff run for Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Odds say Carolina wins this in four; Philadelphia devil magic says the Flyers pull it out. (Game 2: May 4, 7 p.m. ET)