Pacers headed to NBA Finals; Can Knicks fix big issue?; Big signings, trades on NFL horizon?

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THE INDIANA PACERS

The pace has officially been set in the Eastern Conference, and no one could keep up. In fact, no one came close. The Pacers are headed to the NBA Finals to face the Thunder after dispatching the Knicks, 125-108, in Game 6 Saturday. It’s Indiana’s first Finals appearance since 2000.

Tyrese Haliburton responded from a shockingly quiet Game 5 with 21 points and 13 assists. But it was series MVP Pascal Siakam‘s 31 points that led the way for Indiana, which got double-digit points from seven players.

Indiana, much like Oklahoma City, has the stars. After being voted “most overrated” by his fellow NBA players, Haliburton has been sending messages all postseason. Siakam — who already has an NBA title on his resume — is a wonderfully skilled, smooth scorer who gets his buckets in all sorts of ways and took it to New York’s best defenders.

But how about Andrew Nembhard, who pestered Jalen Brunson and finished with 14 points, eight assists and six steals? Or Aaron Nesmith, who defended Brunson effectively all series? Or Myles Turner, headed to the Finals after years of being in trade rumors? Or Obi Toppin, who had 18 points off the bench to eliminate his former team?

They certainly aren’t the biggest markets in the Finals, but it’s a tremendous matchup with stars, depth and smart, detail-oriented, well-coached teams. I’m tired of the TV ratings talk. If you like basketball, you’ll watch this series, and you’ll enjoy it.

Jasmyn Wimbish has three early storylines for the Finals, which begin Thursday.

THE NEW YORK KNICKS

This is the closest the Knicks got to the NBA Finals since 1999, but their loss to the Pacers showed they still have a ways to go. Sam Quinn examines what’s next for New York, including its one major flaw.

Towns’ defensive issues even became a source of frustration during the season.

Then there’s the Tom Thibodeau question. He has plenty of internal support, but Sam says firing him might get the Knicks to the next level.

It’s June — holy cow, time flies! — and while it’s mostly quiet on the NFL calendar, June 2 is not.

After June 1, expensive veterans become less expensive to move on from, as teams can spread the dead money from their departure over two years, rather than just one. Since 2006, teams have been able to designate up to two players as post-June 1 cuts — Aaron Rodgers is one such example this year — so June 1 is now more important symbolically and financially than anything else.

Traded players, however, can’t be designated as post-June 1 cuts. That’s why today opens up a world of possibilities for players such as Kirk Cousins, Tyreek Hill and Jalen Ramsey, who headline Cody Benjamin’s top cut and trade candidates as we move past June 1. He also has landing spots and predictions for those players, too.

That’s only part of what makes post-June 1 so interesting. After June 1, signings don’t impact the compensatory pick formula, so another wave of player movement will be upon us. Cody assessed biggest remaining needs for contenders, including …

Paris Saint-Germain put the ghosts of past UEFA Champions League failures in the past, and they did it in record-setting fashion. What a future they have, too. Les Parisiens defeated Inter, 5-0, the largest win in UCL final history.

At 19, Doue is the youngest player ever with a goal and an assist in the UCL final, much less two goals and an assist. Mayulu is 19. Joao Neves is 20. Nuno Mendes is 22. Kvaratskhelia is 24. Hakimi and Ousmane Dembele are 26 and 28, respectively. This team reigns supreme, and it could be just the start, James Benge writes.

Still, they aren’t atop Chuck Booth’s top five 2025-26 Champions League contenders.

Let’s not catch ourselves looking ahead, though. This was supposed to be a building year. Instead, they completed the quadruple — the Champions League, Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and the Trophee Des Champions — with former superstars like Kylian Mbappe and Neymar congratulating this year’s team for doing what their teams (and even Lionel Messi‘s teams) couldn’t.

Here’s more:

This is normally not the time of the year for MLB teams to make statements. We haven’t even gotten to the dog days, much less the fall baseball that determines a champion.

Yet we saw the Dodgers make a statement, taking two of three games from the Yankees in their first meetings since the World Series. After two Shohei Ohtani home runs fueled a Friday comeback, Los Angeles handed New York its largest loss against an NL team — 18-2! — Saturday. Max Muncy called it a statement, so we will too.

Give the Yankees credit for coming back Sunday and beating Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but the Dodgers jumped the Yankees in Matt Snyder’s MLB Power Rankings. Here’s the top five:

And here’s more: 

⚾ Brewers at Reds, 7:10 p.m. on FS1
⚾ Mets at Dodgers, 10:10 p.m. on MLB Network

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