The Pacers carry no expectations, featuring a core that will probably never reach this stage again after facing a first-round opponent without a two-time MVP (Giannis Antetokounmpo) and a second-round opponent with more injuries than regular rotation players.
The Celtics will be contenders for the foreseeable future, boasting the most-balanced starting five in the NBA. Luka Doncic is shouldering less weight than in seasons past, playing on a balky knee beside Kyrie Irving.
That leaves Anthony Edwards with more at stake than any player left in the postseason.
The 22-year-old Timberwolves superstar is ahead of schedule — he slaying three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the defending champs in Denver in Game 7 — but ascending at the ideal time for a league that seeks someone to take the torch as the next face of the NBA.
It is no coincidence the league’s rise in popularity — and escape from tape delay — four decades ago began with superstars who appealed to every market and demographic. It was Magic and Bird in the ’80s. Then Michael Jordan in the ’90s. The Shaq-led Lakers dynasty followed, with Kobe Bryant eventually taking his former teammate’s top spot. LeBron James came next, with Stephen Curry standing beside him in four straight NBA Finals matchups.
Now, James is 39. Curry is 36. They still boast the two-highest selling jerseys in the league, but even after strong individual seasons, it has been nearly a month since either star took the court. And it is unlikely either will play for a title again.
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Edwards, who has led the Timberwolves to their first conference finals appearance in 20 years, is positioned to succeed those stars.
His game is designed to attract the eye, with court-tilting speed,inspiring athleticismandjaw-dropping finishes at the rim. He carries the confidence of Kobe, the charisma of Magic, the marketability of Michael. He oozes authenticity in eachentertaining press conference, he stole scenes as the antagonist in “Hustle” and his emphatic on-air invitation to Charles Barkley to “bring ya ass” to Minnesota inspired a government-approved URL (bringyaass.com) that redirects to the official site for tourism in the state.
He is also American. It shouldn’t matter, but it does. To corporate sponsors, to the media, to fans.
Jokic is the league’s best player, but would rather stay out of the spotlight with his family and horses in Serbia than be in a championship parade. This year’s MVP runner-up, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, still hasn’t been introduced to casual fans. The league’s other top talents (Antetokounmpo, Doncic, Joel Embiid, Victor Wembanyama) are among the most popular, but their ceilings are capped by their birth certificates.
Heavyweight boxing’s popularity started sagging when Americans stopped ruling the sport. The same happened domestically with men’s tennis, which is at the end of a golden age that didn’t include one American grand slam champion and never captured the same attention as when previous decades featured Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe. Soccer’s lack of American superstars is why the world’s most popular sport isn’t bigger here. The NFL benefits from a surplus of them. Foreign-born players can capture the imagination — there is no greater example than Shohei Ohtani — but who would argue he wouldn’t be a bigger star in America if he were born in Ohio or Oregon?
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Blind patriotism is the backbone of so much of sports, including the Olympics, the Ryder Cup and tennis’ grand slam events. Casual fans see a graphic with a flag next to a name and suddenly have a horse in the race. Edwards’ profile only will be lifted with Team USA at this summer’s Olympics.
This week, the fourth-year guard was named a Second Team All-NBA member, but he’s assumed the appearance of a top-five player in this postseason, averaging 28.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.8 steals while shooting 40 percent on 3-pointers. Should he carry the Timberwolves to their first title, he will enter rare territory.
In the 3-point era, only Larry Bird won a title as his team’s best player so early in his career, but did so at an older age. Kobe played besides the league MVP when he won his first ring. So did Magic. Jordan didn’t win a title until his seventh season. Shaq’s first championship came in his eighth season. LeBron didn’t get a ring until Year 9. Curry needed six seasons.
Edwards still needs eight more wins. He enters Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals after an off-night — still, he had 19 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and two steals in the Game 1 loss — in which he was clearly not physically or emotionally prepared after an exhausting battle against Denver. That’s part of being 22, of being at this stage for the first time in his career.
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He may not climb the mountain this season. He may not ever get there.
The list of players who never reached their ultimate potential is far longer than the list of stars whose legacies span generations.
Torches are seized, not received.
Today’s back page
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Ranger danger
It is no time to panic — yet.
The Rangers return to Madison Square Friday night for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final (8 p.m. ET, ESPN), facing their first series deficit of the postseason after a 3-0 loss to the Panthers on Wednesday night.
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The Presidents’ Trophy winners are now heavy underdogs in the series (+245) after three losses in their past four games, while Florida — the reigning Eastern Conference champs — boasts a 5-1 road record in this postseason.
The Panthers opened last year’s Eastern Conference Final by winning the first two games on the road, leading to a sweep over the Hurricanes. Only 22 of 109 teams in NHL history have won a best-of-7 playoff series after losing the first two games at home.
The Rangers need better execution after putting just 12 shots on net in the first two periods of Game 1. But they don’t need anything they don’t have.
“Throughout the year we’ve done a good job of responding after losses,” Adam Fox said Thursday. “Adjustments are a big factor in that, but mentality and just realizing what you were lacking in the game before, whether it’s execution, urgency, it’s understanding that and responding for a big game.”
A French opening
There was a time when Paris was the Wild West, where chaos reigned supreme and the red clay proved the most unpredictable of all surfaces.
From 1989 to 2004, the French Open crowned 12 different champions in men’s singles.
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Michael Chang, then 17, became the youngest male grand slam singles champion ever with his shocking run as a 15-seed in 1989. It would be his lone grand slam triumph, as it would be for Andres Gomez (1990), Thomas Muster (1995), Carlos Moya (1998), Alberto Costa (2002) and Juan Carlos Ferrero (2003). In 2004, unseeded Gaston Gaudio — who never reached another grand slam quarterfinal — became champion.
Then came Rafael Nadal, winning the first of his record-setting 14 French Open titles in 2005. In the 19 years since his debut in Paris, just three other players (Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka) have been champion. Those four players have won a combined 69 grand slam titles.
Federer is now retired. Wawrinka is 39. Djokovic, 37, is finally showing signs of aging. And Nadal is set to bid adieu to his favorite tournament.
It has been nearly two decades since the French Open — which begins Sunday — has been so difficult to project, with so many contenders and so many questions.
While Iga Swiatek is a massive favorite to win her fourth French Open crown in five years, the favorites on the men’s side are difficult to trust.
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Djokovic is the No. 1 seed and reigning champ, but the three-time French Open winner hasn’t held a trophy since November and has suffered multiple head-scratching losses to no-name opponents this year.
No. 2 Jannik Sinner, who is 28-2 this season and knocked off Djokovic en route to the Australian Open title, has one career title on clay, hasn’t been to the quarterfinals in Paris since 2020 and is coming off a hip injury.
No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz recently suffered an arm injury and hasn’t looked like the Second Coming since besting Djokovic at last year’s Wimbledon. No. 4 Alexander Zverev has never won a grand slam title. No. 5 Daniil Medvedev is often allergic to clay. No. 6 Andrey Rublev is 0-10 in grand slam quarterfinals.
And the injury-plagued Nadal, who is 112-3 all-time at Roland Garros, has played just 11 matches in the past 16 months. He is an underdog in Round 1 after landing a brutal opening matchup with Zverev, who recently won the Italian Open.
As Nadal exits, chaos returns.
Prospect of the day
Mike Vasil finally bounced back in a big way.
The Mets pitching prospect, who has struggled for most of 2024, pitched a season-high 5 ⅓ innings on Thursday, allowing two runs while striking out six in Triple-A Syracuse’s 4-2 win over the Yankees’ affiliate.
Vasil, 24, entered May with an unseemly 10.13 ERA, but ended the nightcap of the twin bill with a 7.71 mark, his lowest number this season.
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The high point came at the start of the fifth inning, when he struck out Oscar Gonzalez swinging on an up-and-in pitch that completely befuddled the Railriders designated hitter.
— Andrew Battifarano
What we’re reading 👀
⚾ Luis Gil has been the Yankees’ savior with Gerrit Cole absent from the rotation, writes The Post’s Joel Sherman. Gil’s 6 ⅓ innings of one-hit bill, backed by another homer from the scorching-hot Aaron Judge, led the Yankees past the Mariners.
🏈 The Post’s Steve Serby calls on Giants fans to give Daniel Jones a chance after he endured NFL Draft flirtations to remain the team’s QB1.
🏀 Julius Randle is at the heart of a pivotal Knicks offseason, whether he’s part of running it back or included in a blockbuster trade.
⚾ The Mets are back at Citi Field on Friday night to face the Giants, and they’ve had an awfully hard time hitting at home.
🏀 The Liberty suffered their first setback of the WNBA season.
⛳ The Scottie Scheffler arrest saga: still going, apparently.
💰 This NCAA legal settlement could completely transform college sports.
⚾ Super-weird ending to the White Sox-Orioles game.
🥎 Keep an eye on Maya Brady.
