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The Oklahoma City Thunder are not worried about this first-round series. Nor should they be.

Frankly, the Phoenix Suns might not be worried, either. They can see the writing on the wall.

My Suns vs. Thunder predictions and NBA picks expect at least one piece of Phoenix’s rotation to go down swinging, hopefully more figuratively than literally, in Game 2 on Wednesday, April 22.

Tip-off is set for 9:30 p.m. ET from the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, with the game airing on ESPN. 

Suns vs Thunder prediction

Who will win Suns vs Thunder Game 2?

Thunder: Oklahoma City is poised to notch its third straight sweep in the first round of the playoffs.

This series may be only 1-0 right now, but anyone who watched Game 1 knows what more to expect: a one-sided rout that loses your attention at halftime if you’re not sweating a player prop.

Suns vs Thunder best bet: Dillon Brooks Over 17.5 points (-110)

Here comes desperation. Not from the Oklahoma City Thunder, of course, but from the Phoenix Suns.

Losing Game 1 by 35 should make the Suns’ plight rather clear. A similar beatdown in Game 2 would create an absolutely deflated atmosphere in Phoenix for Game 3 on Saturday.

No one will embody that desperation more openly than Dillon Brooks. He has never been known for concealing his emotions.

Brooks already chucked plenty in Game 1, partly out of necessity. Phoenix knows it is out-gunned. It needs its backcourt of Brooks, Devin Booker, and Jalen Green to get hot and stay out, and even then, the Suns may not have enough.

Thus, Brooks went 6-for-22 from the field for 18 points. As inefficient as that may be, it is simply what Phoenix needs.

Counting Game 1, Brooks has cleared this modest prop in three of his last five games, averaging 18.2 points. Perhaps more pertinently, he has taken 14.8 shots per game. That latter number should stay elevated in this series, for better or for worse, thus elevating Brooks’s scoring output.

Suns vs Thunder same-game parlay

Oklahoma City knows the only way it loses this series is if Booker goes thermo-nuclear for four games. Getting the ball out of his hands should always be the Thunder’s priority, creating logic to back Brooks while fading Booker.

And if Oklahoma City can dictate those terms, it will stifle Phoenix’s offense to such an extent that this game cannot come near its total.

Suns vs Thunder SGP

• Dillon Brooks Over 17.5 points
• Devin Booker Under 23.5 points
• Under 215

Our “from downtown” SGP: SGA’s Easy Living

Why should Shai Gilgeous-Alexander play extended minutes when Oklahoma City is likely to be up by two dozen points early in the third quarter? The Thunder led by 21 at halftime in Game 1 and by 31 after the third quarter, part of why the presumptive MVP played only 29 minutes and scored only 25 points.

Sure, his postseason free-throw shooting could push his points tallies higher. Gilgeous-Alexander took 18 field goals in Game 1 and 17 free throws. Judge that as you should. But even with that foul-baiting, SGA still came more than a bucket short of this prop, simply because he did not need to pour it on.

Suns vs Thunder SGP

• Thunder 1H -10
• Thunder -17
• Under 215
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Under 29.5 points

Suns vs Thunder odds for Game 2

• Spread: Suns +17 (-110) | Thunder -17 (-110)
• Moneyline: Suns +1100 | Thunder -2200
• Over/Under: Over 215 (-110) | Under 215 (-110)

Suns vs Thunder betting trend to know

Oklahoma City has gone 4-1 against the spread at home in the first round across the last three postseasons. Find more NBA betting trends for Suns vs. Thunder.

How to watch Suns vs Thunder Game 2

Suns vs Thunder latest injuries

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The San Antonio Spurs picked up another award Wednesday, with Keldon Johnson earning Sixth Man of the Year honors. Johnson beat out the Miami Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and the Denver Nuggets’ Tim Hardaway Jr. for the award.

Johnson played in all 82 games this season, averaging more than 23 minutes per contest off the bench. He averaged 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game within those limited minutes while making a clear impact for the surging Spurs.

Johnson was selected No. 29 overall by the Spurs in 2019, and he was a starter in the 2020-21 season. But with the arrival of 2025 Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, Johnson’s starts were limited, so the 26-year-old has since become a key piece of the Spurs’ bench.

This year, Johnson worked primarily behind Castle at shooting guard, but also operated as a backup small forward and power forward in a pinch. Johnson finished the year with 13 games scoring 20-plus points, including a season-high 27 points twice; he also put up five double-doubles in points and rebounds.

Johnson set a franchise record this season with 1,081 points off the bench, which surpassed the mark Manu Ginóbili set in 2007-08 when he won Sixth Man of the Year. They are the only Spurs in history to win the award.

Jaquez came in second in the voting on Wednesday, and Hardaway finished in third.

Johnson becomes the second Spurs player to win an NBA award this week, joining Victor Wembanyama, who was unanimously named Defensive Player of the Year on Monday. Wembanyama is also nominated for NBA MVP, while Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson has been nominated for Coach of the Year in his first full season.

The Spurs are in the midst of their opening-round playoff series with the Portland Trail Blazers. That series sits at 1-1 after two opening games in San Antonio, though the Spurs lost Wembanyama to a concussion on Tuesday night. Game 3 of the series is set for Friday in Portland.

The San Antonio Spurs picked up another award Wednesday, with Keldon Johnson earning Sixth Man of the Year honors. Johnson beat out the Miami Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and the Denver Nuggets’ Tim Hardaway Jr. for the award.

Johnson played in all 82 games this season, averaging more than 23 minutes per contest off the bench. He averaged 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game within those limited minutes while making a clear impact for the surging Spurs.

Johnson was selected No. 29 overall by the Spurs in 2019, and he was a starter in the 2020-21 season. But with the arrival of 2025 Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, Johnson’s starts were limited, so the 26-year-old has since become a key piece of the Spurs’ bench.

This year, Johnson worked primarily behind Castle at shooting guard, but also operated as a backup small forward and power forward in a pinch. Johnson finished the year with 13 games scoring 20-plus points, including a season-high 27 points twice; he also put up five double-doubles in points and rebounds.

Johnson set a franchise record this season with 1,081 points off the bench, which surpassed the mark Manu Ginóbili set in 2007-08 when he won Sixth Man of the Year. They are the only Spurs in history to win the award.

Jaquez came in second in the voting on Wednesday, and Hardaway finished in third.

Johnson becomes the second Spurs player to win an NBA award this week, joining Victor Wembanyama, who was unanimously named Defensive Player of the Year on Monday. Wembanyama is also nominated for NBA MVP, while Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson has been nominated for Coach of the Year in his first full season.

The Spurs are in the midst of their opening-round playoff series with the Portland Trail Blazers. That series sits at 1-1 after two opening games in San Antonio, though the Spurs lost Wembanyama to a concussion on Tuesday night. Game 3 of the series is set for Friday in Portland.

Of all the superlatives that one can bestow on the Detroit Pistons this season, one of the most significant is the team’s resilience. The 60-win Pistons have experienced multiple-game losing streaks three times this season. When the team dropped four in a row in early March, you would have thought the roof was caving in on their season.

When a bunch of starters were out at the beginning of the season, the team stepped up. Whenever they would lose, they bounced back. When Cade Cunningham went down with a collapsed lung the team banded together. It’s just what these Pistons do. We shouldn’t expect anything different tonight in what is effectively a must-win game against the Orlando Magic.

Detroit is down 0-1 in the best-of-seven series, and doesn’t want to fly to Orlando facing a giant two-game deficit. We know Cade will step up. He tried to will his team to victory in Game 1, scoring 39 points while the rest of the team seemingly short-circuited. We need Jalen Duren to step up, one game after one of his worst showings of the season. We need JB Bickerstaff to step up and find the lineup combinations and matchups that unlock the offense and slow down Orlando, no offensive juggernaut.

The Pistons are looking to break an 11-game losing streak at home, the longest in the NBA. They have spent the entire season brushing aside old, embarrassing records. Tonight shouldn’t be any different. It can’t be.

Game Vitals

When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Watch: ESPN
Odds: Pistons -9.5

Projected Lineups

Detroit Pistons (0-1)
Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Orlando Magic (1-0)
Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bane, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr.

Logan Gilbert made a wild catch on Wednesday. Just with the wrong tool.

In the first inning against the Athletics, the Seattle Mariners’ right-hander got a 107.8-mph comebacker off the bat of Carlos Cortes. The ball arrived before Gilbert could react and ended up nestled in his jersey.

Much to the confusion of Gilbert.

So that’s a catch, right? Because the ball never hit the ground? Unfortunately, no.

From the official MLB rulebook, here’s the comment that addresses this exact situation:

A CATCH is the act of a fielder in getting secure possession in his hand or glove of a ball in flight and firmly holding it; providing he does not use his cap, protector, pocket or any other part of his uniform in getting possession.

So you can use only your hand or your glove to catch the ball. Therefore, the play was ruled a single for Cortes, which loaded the bases with no outs.

That wound up being costly for Gilbert, who saw two runs score on a sacrifice fly from Tyler Soderstrom and an RBI single from Jeff McNeil that included a fielding error by center fielder Julio Rodríguez.

Gilbert finished his day with 4 innings pitched, 6 hits allowed, 3 runs (all earned), 2 walks and 3 strikeouts on 89 pitches. However, that didn’t stop the Mariners from notching a 5-4 win courtesy of a walk-off single from Josh Naylor.

That was the Mariners’ 24th walk-off win since the start of the 2024 season, the most in MLB. Their record is now 11-14, good for fourth in the AL West.

Juan Soto is officially back. Now we see if it’s already too late for the New York Mets.

The club officially activated its star outfielder from the 10-day injured list on Wednesday, amid a 12-game losing streak that has parked it at the bottom of the MLB standings. He will be batting second and operating as the designated hitter in his first game back against the Minnesota Twins.

Soto drew some attention before the game, however, when he had this exchange while speaking with reporters:

Reporter: “You’ve been talking to guys throughout and trying to gauge where they’re at and try to lift them as we go along here?”

Soto: “No, not at all. They’ve been on the road most of the time, so I haven’t talked to them.”

The video:

That’s, well, pretty blunt.

Even if there’s some context we’re missing here, the highest-paid player on a team with playoff expectations saying he hasn’t tried to encourage his teammates amid a historic losing streak is an odd look at best, especially when that player’s clubhouse leadership has been questioned in some corners since his move to Queens.

However, some unnamed Mets veterans did defend Soto in quotes to The Athletic later Wednesday. A sampling:

“If it’s getting a lot of attention,” one Mets player said, “then that’s wrong and way overblown.”

“They’re going through it, and you’re not there,” another veteran said. “He was here every day and on the top step when we were home. On the road, he’s taking care of business. What’s he going to say in a text message, anyway? What it comes down to is, we’ve needed to do our jobs, and we haven’t.”

While still only 27 years old, Soto is in his ninth MLB season and is playing for the Mets on the most expensive contract in the history of baseball, worth $765 million. His last appearance was on April 3, when he sustained a calf strain while running the bases. The Mets won their next three games without Soto, then began their worst losing streak since 2002, at 12 games and counting.

As Soto notes, they’ve been on the road for some of that streak. The first five losses came at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Athletics, then the team traveled to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs and was swept in both three-game series.

They returned home Tuesday and once again lost, this time to the Minnesota Twins via a meltdown by new closer Devin Williams. Soto was definitely on hand for that game, as he was seen running the bases at Citi Field earlier in the day.

At 7-16, the Mets have the worst record in MLB despite the second-largest payroll (behind the Dodgers). They are 8.5 games back of first place after playing only 23 games. They certainly have talent on their roster and should be better, but the unfortunate news is that no team in MLB history has lost 12 consecutive games in a season and also made the playoffs.

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama suffered a concussion after he fell and hit his face on the court during Tuesday’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. The NBA has a regimented return-to-play protocol that will ultimately determine when he might be able to resume playing in the teams’ first-round NBA playoff series.

Wembanyama was at the Spurs’ practice facility on Wednesday, and ESPN reported he is “hopeful” of traveling to Portland on Thursday. Once a player is diagnosed with a concussion he is not allowed to resume playing for at least 48 hours. Game 3 of the series is Friday, which falls outside that window, but Wembanyama will need to clear a rigorous series of tests and evaluations before he is cleared to play.

NBA teams use a baseline neurological evaluation given to players prior to the season to assess their recovery during the official concussion protocol.

What’s next?

According to the NBA’s concussion protocol, players are allowed to gradually resume physical activity 24 hours after the concussion was diagnosed — provided the activity doesn’t worsen their symptoms. Until then, they are encouraged to limit their use of electronic devices, including video games, and focus on their overall health and nutrition. They also are encouraged to not spend time around large groups of people.

Clearance requirements

To be allowed to resume playing in a game, players have to clear a handful of requirements in the protocol. The NBA defines these as:

• “He is without concussion-related symptoms at rest

• He has been evaluated by a physician with training and experience in the management of concussion

• He has successfully completed the NBA return-to-participation exertion process

• A team physician has discussed the return-to-participation process and decision with the Director of the NBA Concussion Program. “

According to the NBA, the final return-to-participation decision is made by the player’s team physician.

Return-to-participation steps

A player may not begin the return-to-participation exertion process until at least 24 hours after the time of injury. The process involves several steps. Each exertion stage must be monitored by the team’s medical staff. Players must be symptom-free to advance to the next step after a neurological exam is done.

The steps:

• Stationary bike: low-intensity aerobic activity with no resistance

• Jogging: light cardiovascular exertion

• Agility work: more basketball-specific movement drills

• Non-contact team drills: full practice activity, minus physical contact

If the player experiences symptoms, he must return to the stage where he was symptom-free and begin again. The NBA does not have a set timeframe to complete the entire process.

Potential top-five pick Darius Acuff Jr. has made his NBA Draft intentions official.

The Arkansas guard said on ESPN’s “NBA Today” on Wednesday he would enter the 2026 NBA Draft. Acuff is considered a surefire lottery pick and could even be the second guard taken in June.

Acuff was also as capable as anyone in college basketball of dropping 30 points in a given game. He hit the 30-point mark six times and even scored 49 points in a 117-115 double-overtime loss at Alabama in February. Acuff was 16-of-27 from the field in that game and made 11-of-12 free throws.

Acuff shot at least 50% from the field in each of those six 30-point games and dropped 31 in a win over Auburn just four days before that loss to Alabama. Against the Tigers, Acuff was 10-of-15 from the field. On Jan. 24, Acuff was 13-of-19 as he dropped 31 points in a home win over LSU.

With Acuff leading the way, Arkansas finished 28-9 overall and was second in the SEC at 13-5. The Razorbacks were a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament and lost 109-88 in the Sweet 16 to No. 1 Arizona. 

In Yahoo Sports’ latest mock draft on Wednesday morning, Kevin O’Connor had Acuff going seventh overall to the Brooklyn Nets. Here’s what O’Connor wrote about him. 

Acuff is a wiry scorer who can get a bucket from anywhere on the floor with a quick trigger, slippery handle, and a feel for manipulating defenses. He can also thrive off-ball as a shooter and cutter, which would be vital for a Nets roster already full of ball-handlers. Acuff would have the highest upside of them all, though. He entered college with a scoring reputation, but has emerged as a skilled, low-turnover playmaker; he looks like a future All-Star who can toggle between a score-first or pass-first approach. Plus, he displays leadership qualities. The Nets are still badly in need of a lead dog. Acuff could be that guy.

Acuff came to Arkansas as a five-star recruit and the No. 9 player in the country. He was the No. 3 prospect in the state of Florida — he played his high school basketball at IMG Academy — and was the No. 2 point guard behind fellow 2026 NBA Draft entrant Mikel Brown Jr. 

The Minnesota Timberwolves must have been feeling good about themselves following Monday’s 119-114 upset win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the first round of the NBA playoffs. Following the contest, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels unloaded on Denver’s defense, saying the team is full of “bad defenders.”

The Nuggets were asked about those comments Wednesday and mostly brushed them aside. Christian Braun gave perhaps the most measured approach, saying he believes McDaniels’ comments were all about stoking the rivalry between the two teams.

When asked whether those comments would light a fire under the Nuggets, Braun said a team shouldn’t be in a spot where it needs to light a fire during the postseason.

Cam Johnson, one of the players McDaniels called out by name, said there’s been a lot of trash talk from the Timberwolves. He encouraged them to get it off their chests.

Nuggets head coach David Adelman took a different track, implying McDaniels was saying those things to help with his “podcast” or increase his “social media” views.

Adelman then asked what the Nuggets’ defensive rating was in the series so far before moving on to the next question.

McDaniels’ comments came hours after Monday’s game. When asked what worked for the Timberwolves on offense, McDaniels decided to call out the Nuggets’ defense, saying, “They’re all bad defenders.”

He specifically called out players like Tim Hardaway Jr., Johnson and Aaron Gordon before just saying “their whole team” is full of bad defenders.

Perhaps the best response to McDaniels’ comments came early Tuesday morning. When informed that he was on McDaniels’ list of bad defenders, Gordon responded by saying, “Brother, I don’t care.”

Monday’s win evened the series, making it 1-1 heading into Game 3. The two teams are scheduled to play again Thursday in Minnesota. While the Nuggets tried to downplay their response to McDaniels’ comments, the team could come out with a little more energy and emotion in Game 3.