NBA Mailbag: What’s the X-Factor for New York in the East Finals?

The NBA Mailbag is open with NBA legend and NBC analyst Jamal Crawford right here to reply your questions throughout the 2026 NBA Playoffs as he calls video games on NBC/Peacock.

Have a query for Jamal? Submit it here.

What’s the Knicks’ X-Factor for them to win the championship? – from Moses in Defiance, OH

3-point taking pictures. They’re so explosive, particularly once they’re enjoying free and quick. Jalen Brunson goes to do what he does. He’s so good and offers stability to their workforce, particularly from 15 toes and in. When the recreation will get extra bodily, he nearly turns into like a submit participant as a result of he will get near the basket. He can use his footwork and bumps to generate alternatives. But the method they shoot the ball once they play with tempo is what makes them particularly explosive.

I’m a Pistons fan who’s been having coronary heart palpitations watching this playoff collection. How would you generate offense with out constant exterior taking pictures? – from Caiman in Las Vegas, NV

I might attempt to generate extra offense off my protection. Get stops and keep in transition as a lot as potential. We know in the half-court, it should be a heavy dose of Cade. But the quick breaks are the place they will carry different guys into the recreation, and that is arduous for Cleveland to arrange for.

Are you shocked OKC began 8-0? Do you assume they are often the first workforce to go 16-0? – from Tim in Denver, CO

I’m not shocked they began 8-0. I feel they’re that good. If they have been a boxer, they’d have so many various kinds. In boxing phrases, you possibly can say they shoot the jab, they’re nice defenders, they’ve a very good chin, they seem to be a knockout puncher, they’re technical, they’ve the whole lot that you really want in a workforce. So, I’m not shocked they’re 8-0. But I do not assume they will go 16-0.

If the Spurs beat the Timberwolves in this collection and face OKC in the West Finals, who do you assume will win that collection and why? – from Cole in Leesburg, VA

That could possibly be an epic collection. My intestine feeling tells me the Spurs, and the cause being, the method OKC will get you is that they normally beat you as a result of they’ve extra defenders than you might have playmakers. The Spurs even have the correct quantity of playmakers to match OKC’s top-notch defenders. And they’ve an alien with Wemby. So I feel the Spurs would win that matchup. But it will be an excellent, nice, nice West Finals.

What are your ideas on how Wemby has developed his recreation over the first two rounds? – from Andrew in Hartford, CT

It’s unimaginable how briskly his changes have been. Most instances, you need to go into the playoffs a few instances to make these sorts of changes. He’s doing it in actual time. So, it is scary to consider what his subsequent changes could possibly be, given how these developments have gone to date.

Who are your favourite gamers to observe throughout these NBA playoffs? – from Cole in San Luis Obispo, CA

All the apparent guys – Anthony Edwards. Wemby, after all, Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. SGA, Cade, LeBron.

For extra under-the-radar guys, I’ll go along with Dylan Harper and Ajay Mitchell.

Jamal, you’ve got referred to as “Lob City” the greatest workforce ever to win a championship. Looking at the present OKC Thunder and the way they dominate at the moment, how do you assume your Clippers squad matches up in opposition to them? Who wins a 7-game collection? – from Kristian in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria

Wow. That’s an excellent query. First of all, I mentioned the Clippers squad was the greatest workforce not to win. We’re not evaluating us to present championship groups. So I’ve to offer the nod to this present Thunder squad as they defend their title.

But the matchups can be wonderful. SGA in opposition to CP3, who’s one of his mentors and taught Shai a lot once they have been collectively in OKC. And then you definately’d get Blake in opposition to Chet and Jaylen Williams, and DeAndre Jordan in opposition to Hartenstein would have been nice.

What has modified the recreation of basketball extra: particular person gamers’ expertise degree or elevated recreation analytics? – from Blakely in Lacey, WA

Increased recreation analytics. Numerous the methods groups are constructed or how groups need to play, particularly in the common season, are geared in the direction of analytics. And everyone is attempting to realize an edge from that. So whereas expertise has risen rather a lot from high to backside, the use of analytics has risen much more, which is not a unfavorable factor. It’s simply the actuality of the place the recreation is at proper now.

Does your weight loss plan and diet plan change in the common season vs. the playoffs? – from JM in the Philippines

Yes, it does. Not solely does your weight loss plan and diet change in the playoffs, however you are wanting for any benefit you may get. Whether it’s extra sleep, or not doing belongings you normally do throughout the common season, like buying at the grocery retailer. Usually, you’ll go file issues throughout the common season, however in the playoffs, it is like, “Sorry, wife, you may have to go record that and I’ll stay off my feet.” So each little factor is adjusted once you’re attempting to get these benefits throughout playoff time. You know it is the most essential time of the yr. In these video games, each recreation is gold. So, sure. Not solely does weight loss plan change, however some belongings you do in your day by day life change as nicely.

How have you ever NBA Draft Combine modified because you entered the league? Do you assume you’ll’ve been drafted increased if the mix had been just like what it’s at the moment? – from James in Aurora, IL

I’m undecided as a result of what actually helped me again then was that everybody was competing in the scrimmages. So once I performed in opposition to a few of the high guys at the Chicago camp and gained all the video games, it helped me rise as a prospect, as a result of I used to be projected to be a second-round choose. But I had a very good exhibiting that made my inventory skyrocket. The individual workouts and testing have been nonetheless essential, however there have been extra scrimmages and competitors, the place my recreation may actually shine.

What’s one playoff second out of your profession that followers do not speak about sufficient? – from Nikhil in Corpus Christi, TX

Probably the Game 3 takeover with Atlanta in opposition to Orlando throughout the 2011 first spherical.

As a microwave scorer who usually got here off the bench, what was your particular routine or psychological trick to really feel heat and immediately efficient in your first minute on the court docket? – from Kylon in Tampa, FL

Before I stepped on the flooring, I might stretch on the bench. And individuals can be like, “Oh, you’re getting old and need to stretch.” I might say, “No, I’m staying young.” The extra you heat up and stretch, the extra prepared you might be once you enter the recreation. Now, I haven’t got to heat up once I hit the flooring.

So I might stretch on the bench and watch how groups have been enjoying sure actions and gamers. Then I might mentally put myself in the recreation earlier than I used to be truly checked into the recreation. I might see the weaknesses in their protection and simply see how I may influence the recreation.

One factor I thought of a couple of nights in the past with Naz Reid and the Wolves. When you come off the bench and your workforce is down, you get to be extra aggressive. Your workforce is already down, so that they’re wanting for a bunch of offense straight away. If your workforce is up and also you come in, you do not need to disrupt the stream of what they’ve going, and also you simply play off of them. Then in the second quarter, you begin feeling extra snug being aggressive.

What’s the largest mistake younger gamers make when attempting to turn out to be ‘on the spot offense’ guys off the bench? – from Sam in Great Neck, NY

Sometimes they do not learn the room. They assume once they come in that it is about them. Instead, they need to see the stream of the recreation or determine what each recreation wants. Even although I used to be the major scorer off the bench, I is perhaps the man who would run two pick-and-rolls in a row, though I do know they are going to entice me, simply so I can get my teammates going first.

You have to have the ability to learn the room and see what’s wanted, though you already know you are on the market for a particular cause. You must do different issues first.

What can youngsters in this era take from earlier eras, and the way can they implement these kinds of play into at the moment’s recreation? – from Brandon in DeWitt, AR

I might say extra movie examine and fundamentals. I do know we now have one million totally different strikes now, however the fundamentals all the time present up and are all the time essential. For movie examine, there’s been an increase in gamers who watch highlights, however they do not watch movie. They will see a loopy transfer, like, “Oh, did you see the dunk by Wemby?” And I’ll say, “Did you see the footwork and how he used the defensive leverage with the bump against them? That’s what helped him gain the momentum to get to the basket for the dunk.” They see the end result, however not the way it developed. More movie tapes, fewer mixtapes.

As a man who grew early and was pressured to play massive, how do I develop my recreation? – from Davin in Colorado

In the world of positionless basketball, everybody’s in every single place. You can see a man like Chet Holmgren out on the perimeter taking pictures 3s, or a man like SGA in the mid-post or submit enjoying nearer to the basket. So, for you, deal with creating a constant catch-and-shoot exterior shot and a deal with (perhaps not Kyrie degree, however sufficient to get you previous your defender). That will aid you mix measurement and talent.

Jamal, I’ve seen your clips and studied your video games extensively. How do you dribble so shortly and are so versatile with the ball? And how do you see JJ taking in your skillet as he grows and also you coach him? – from Jackson in Omaha, NE

For me, I all the time saved a ball with me, regardless of the place I went. I did not do any cone drills. I simply turned one with a ball, and naturally, my deal with received higher. Over time, I received extra snug and assured with my actions.

For JJ, I’m instructing him a few of the similar issues, after which I need him to be artistic as nicely. With me touring and doing video games, he spends time by himself being artistic and seeing what works, what would not, and the way he could make it higher. So, it is humorous once I watch him on digicam – and he would not know I’m watching him, so he might learn this and discover out – I can see his thoughts working that method as a result of it jogs my memory of once I was a child going by means of the similar issues. It’s so cool. Coaching him is my favourite factor to do.

Jamal, you’ve got usually mentioned that whilst you push your kids on the court docket, the drive in the end has to come back from them; how do you efficiently stability the position of a demanding coach with being a supportive father — particularly in terms of instructing them to like the strategy of getting higher moderately than simply the outcomes? – from Hunter in Fall River, MA

I might say I’ve gotten rather a lot higher at it. It was powerful to discover a stability in the first yr. I used to be most likely more durable on him than anyone else. After that, I feel I turned only a coach. The first yr, I used to be dad-balling the flawed method. I used to be more durable on him as a result of I used to be like, “You know this stuff. We live together!” But it was higher the subsequent yr, and it is improved every season. This is my fourth yr teaching him. I feel for him, too, it helped him develop to deal with him like some other participant. He was simply one other man on the workforce. I feel that helped his progress actually take off as a result of he may simply be a part of the workforce and never the coach’s son.

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